Obama Embarrassed by single language Americans

Man, this guy just keep on giving.

-"typical white people" who are racists.
-"bitter white people that cling to their guns and religion"
-"I'm the underdog for APPARENT reasons"
-"Typical American cant speak other languages".

This guys is full of stereotypes and assumptions.

Originally posted by muzzleflash
im an American
i grew up in Texas
...
i mean seriously people would elect an idiot that makes pointless generalizations like this? maybe hes embarassed for himself, cuz i can speak LATIN a dead language for over 1000years
...
i love the irony

Yeah... I love the irony, too...

For one thing, because you took languages in high school does not mean you are bilingual. After reading your post, I'm not sure I believe that you are conversant in any foreign language. Sorry. And even if you are, yes, he was speaking in generalities. You alone do not make a majority.

Associated Press

Half (50%) of European citizens know 2 languages.

In the United States, by contrast, 9 percent of Americans speak both their native language and another language fluently, according to a U.S. Senate resolution designating 2005 the "Year of Foreign Language Study."

Originally posted by TruthWithin
Well, let's look at the WHOLE context about what Obama said. I know it is difficult flyersfan to look at the REASON why he said it instead of pulling a line out of context to smear him.

You know, it's embarrassing when Europeans come over here, they all speak English, they speak French, they speak German. And then we go over to Europe, and all we can say [is], "Merci beaucoup." Right?

Why is it that whenever Barry O. or his wife say something embarrassingly idiotic, Obama supporters immediately are forced to trot out the lame "you took it out of context" line?

Here is what Barry O. said. Follow along closely:


"You know, it's embarrassing when Europeans come over here, they all speak English, they speak French, they speak German. And then we go over to Europe, and all we can say [is], "Merci beaucoup."


This is just wrong on so many levels it's hard to know where to start.

First, Obama is saying he's embarrassed about how the rest of us act! It's the same old elitist bs. If he would have said he's embarrassed because HE can only speak one language, fine.

But to say he's embarrassed because his fellow Americans didn't learn French or German is an insult to the personal choices all of us make everyday.

Generally speaking, when a person says he's embarrassed by how somebody else acts, it's insulting, degrading, and condescending... which is typical of Barry O.'s elitist attitude.

What this really is an example of how the liberal elite view the rest of us. Like we're too stupid to even realize we're stupid. This is just like the comment about typical whites, and the comment about the bitter middle-class clinging to their guns and religion.

Finally, how stupid must Barry O. be to say this out loud even if he really believes it? Saying you're embarrassed by your fellow American's lack of sophistication and education while running for POTUS is just plain dumb.

Of course Obama already knows most of his supporters will defend him no matter what, or will never read or hear about this latest disrespect to the American public.

Originally posted by TruthWithin
Well, let's look at the WHOLE context about what Obama said. I know it is difficult flyersfan to look at the REASON why he said it instead of pulling a line out of context to smear him.

Because they are exactly the same as the "neocons" and "lemmings", that they try to discredit. To them, its their way or the highway. Everyone else is either racist, bigoted, white, a neocon or a Republican.

[edit on 9-7-2008 by Dronetek]

reply to post by FlyersFan


I'm embarrassed too. By no means am I fluent in either spanish or french, but I can at least speak spanish and understand french a little bit. Italian is a little harder though.

We as americans think we're the center of the god damn universe. Well we're not. We may think so, but that doesn't make it reality.

Originally posted by Alxandro
I think Americans should be embarrassed by headgear worn by the Lefties.

I'm embarrassed by mumu's worn by neocons. The lazy susan spins 360 degrees, remember that.




Or pretending to be pilots:




Or how about the 'connecticut cowboy' costume:




Or the 'baseball player'. Nice pitch...




Or the comedian:




The rock star:




The golfer, who supposedly gave up golf to 'support the troops':




Even Bush likes to play dress up. Understand the context Alxandro. I can pick and choose pictures that portray people in a certain light.

Obama wore garb during Kenya trip

I'm not even a fan of Obama, I'm just sick of all the neocon attack dogs.

What about your boy McCain? How about his condoning of torture even though he was tortured and claims how bad it is?

How about the 100 more years of war? How about the constant flip-flopping?




[edit on 7/9/2008 by biggie smalls]

I have stayed neutral in the whole Obama campaign thing but not all of us are Harvard graduates.I am a product of the public school system due to the fact we grew up in a single parent household. Foreign language studies were not very prevalent nor suggested as a major subject.I think his statement is ridiculous to say the least. I don't know if he speaks Spanish or not and at the risk of sounding like some of the other Obama haters out there..."I'll bet he can speak Arabic though." And I still want to know why I have to press the #1 for English?

New flash , Bush was a fighter pilot and joined up during the Vietnam war.

reply to post by Dronetek


Was that before or after he draft-dodged and skipped out on his air force nation guard duty?

Oh, but this thread isn't about Bush, its about bashing Obama for wanting americans to be more intelligent.

Sorry, carry on in your own ignorance. I didn't mean to stir the pot.

Originally posted by BlueTriangle
It's complete BS, Obama is an idiot. Every few weeks he sticks one foot or the other in this mouth.

We have a different culture here. I took SEVEN years of french in school. All the way from beginner stuff in 6th grade to AP French in 12th grade which was a college level course. I wouldn't say I was fluent by any means, at least not at a normal conversational speed, but I knew enough to get by.

The only time I have ever used this was during my senior year of high school on a class trip to Toronto. We had a french speaking family sitting near us and I was able to understand a good deal of what they were saying. Since then, I have never applied it. Instead of teaching french, they should have been teaching personal finance then maybe the average person wouldn't be up to their eyes in debt.

And if we shared a border with FRANCE i can promise you, you'd be using it a lot more.


Dont want to learn spanish? Fine. Waller in ignorance and get left behind. But no whining and moaning when you're standing by yourself, wondering what the hell "cabasa" means

Why learn spanish? Because we share a border who's prime language is spanish. Mexico.

The influx of mexican culture is okay for you when we celebrate Cinco De Mayo, and drink Mexican beer, eat at mexican resturaunts

but the influx of the spanish language is dispicable?

Yeah, i guess we shouldnt force our youth to set through grammar school either?
Because i honestly can't remember the last time i had to cite what the preposition of a particular sentence was at the job i work at.

:shk:


I dont remember where i heard it, but


Ignorance costs this country more money than all other problems
- combined.


Whoever said it - deserves a trophy.

[edit on 7/9/2008 by Andrew E. Wiggin]

Originally posted by Dronetek
New flash , Bush was a fighter pilot and joined up during the Vietnam war.

News flash.......you might want to check out his resume here before making that statement.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

so am i an odd-ball american for having my own interest in learning languages? too bad i picked french and japanese. for some reason i have no desire to learn spanish and my town is FILLED with hispanics. french i started picking up before i even got to high school. the summer after 8th grade i went on a trip to europe. my group stayed in a hostel and there was a group of french girls staying there at the same time. i was actually able to convey ideas in absolutely horrible broken french, but it was enough. i got to be the translator for the other guys in my group that wanted to talk to the cute french chicks. =) i also did 3 years of french in high school and i still remember a lot of it. japanese was an interest i picked up in college and i have the structure figured out, but i'm still working on building my vocab.

i don't speak french or japanese fluently, but if i were dropped off in the middle of tokyo or paris, i might manage to get myself some food and a place to stay.

too bad obama seems to be calling on everyone to learn spanish. i guess my efforts were wasted.

Maybe I misunderstood something. I haven't watched the video, only read the quotes.... Obama used the word "we" a couple of times, right? So he's including himself. Basically saying he's embarrassed when he travels and can't speak any of the languages, and assumes other people feel the same way. In no way can you read that quote to mean he's embarrassed by *other* Americans, or even *typical* Americans. Why all the outrage? Is it politically incorrect to be embarrassed about something you personally do?

I think the McCainoholics are really reaching on this one.

Thats just wonderful, a soon to be Presidential Candidate "embarrased" by the people he wants to lead. Sure, speaking Spanish is definitely an asset in America today, but so is correctly speaking English. An "embarrassment" is that people actually take Obama and all of his "change" promises serious. What change has he accomplished so far in his miniscule political career? None, nada, zip. His only asset is being the media's golden boy hoping to follow an unpopular President.

Originally posted by biggie smalls
reply to post by Dronetek

 

Was that before or after he draft-dodged and skipped out on his air force nation guard duty?

Oh, but this thread isn't about Bush, its about bashing Obama for wanting americans to be more intelligent.

Sorry, carry on in your own ignorance. I didn't mean to stir the pot.

He never draft-dodged, as he was never drafted. Your citing information from a forged document, that was incidentally used by CBS just before the election in an attempt to influence the outcome.

He got out of the USAF after he started his political carrier. Its called a deferment or waiver. For example, I got out of the USAF on a waiver, so that I could pursue a career opportunity.

Seriously, I love being told I'm ignorant, when the guy telling me obviously doesn't have the slightest idea what hes talking about.

reply to post by SKMDC1

Then as a presidential candidate he should choose his words more carefully.Perhaps he should have said "I am embarrassed that we and myself included"

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
Half (50%) of European citizens know 2 languages.

Because they live on top of each other in tiny little countries so it makes sense for them to.

Americans have SPANISH being taught in most schools. Most high schools, at least in the places I've lived, REQUIRE two years of a language. Most colleges that I applied to (even way back then) REQUIRED 2 years of a second language to get in.

Nowadays some schools are accepting sign language as a second language. I think that's fantabulous!

Originally posted by biggie smalls
I'm embarrassed by mumu's worn by neocons.

So am I. So what?

Originally posted by biggie smalls
its about bashing Obama for wanting americans to be more intelligent.

WRONG. It's about Obama claiming to be 'embarrassed' by 'all those Americans' who go on vacation to Europe and don't speak the native language...

Obama doesn't get it. SPANISH is what is taught in the schools because it makes the most sense. And he doesn't get that Europe is different.

Americans don't have to go learn a whole language like French, German, Italian or whatever just to go on a freak'n two week vacation.

Obama also doesn't get that a whole lot of Americans who travel to Europe DO speak enough to get around.

Originally posted by TruthWithin
look at the REASON why he said it instead of pulling a line out of context to smear him.

He said what he said. It's not 'smear' to EXPOSE the ignorance of what he said.

Your spin is really incredible.

No ... but your excuses for this idiot are.

Originally posted by CaptGizmo

Originally posted by Dronetek
New flash , Bush was a fighter pilot and joined up during the Vietnam war.

News flash.......you might want to check out his resume here before making that statement.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

ANOTHER newsflash .. he was a pilot during the Vietnam war who didn't see action in the war zone.

No taking any sides to the story here, I was a Spanish teacher for a while, the reality on the issue is that even when we have immigrants from all over the world, Spanish is the fastest growing population in the US, whenever people like or not and by the way our government is approaching the issue of immigration is not going to be deal with any time soon.

So I can only suggest that in order to be more competitive in our society Spanish as a second language is a plus.

But then again this thread is about how bad Obama is.

Originally posted by CaptGizmo

Originally posted by Dronetek
New flash , Bush was a fighter pilot and joined up during the Vietnam war.

News flash.......you might want to check out his resume here before making that statement.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

en.wikipedia.org...

Bush enlisted in the Texas Air National Guard on May 27, 1968, during the Vietnam War, with a commitment to serve until May 26, 1974. In his 1968 Statement of Intent (undated), he wrote, "I have applied for pilot training with the goal of making flying a lifetime pursuit and I believe I can best accomplish this to my own satisfaction by serving as a member of the Air National Guard as long as possible." He performed Guard duty as an F-102 pilot through April 1972, logging a total of 336 flight hours[1] and was promoted once during his service, to First Lieutenant.[2]

After that, he got a waiver to be released for political duties.

[edit on 9-7-2008 by Dronetek]

Originally posted by SKMDC1
I think the McCainoholics are really reaching on this one.

I'm not voting for McCain.

Originally posted by marg6043
So I can only suggest that in order to be more competitive in our society Spanish as a second language is a plus.

which is why SPANISH is the language that most schools teach as a second language. Around here they start in Kindergarden with it.

Spanish is almost always offered ... and many schools then offer French or Italian. Some here offer Spanish and Greek.

For Obama to be 'embarrassed' by Americans who travel and don't speak the native language is pathetic. We have a whole different setup here in the USA as far as which languages are important to learn. SPANISH is. French is NOT.

reply to post by Dronetek


Before you go getting off on your swelled ego, and a big head over someone misquoting someone else, maybe you should head back and re-edit the post where you say

-"typical white people" who are racists.
-"bitter white people that cling to their guns and religion"
-"I'm the underdog for APPARENT reasons"
-"Typical American cant speak other languages".

lets take this line by line.

you say

"typical white people" who are racists.



but obama said

But she is a typical white person, who, if she sees somebody on the street that she doesn’t know, you know, there’s a reaction that’s been bred in our experiences that don’t go away and that sometimes come out in the wrong way, and that’s just the nature of race in our society.

I see nothing in there that says "white people are racist" or any derivative of the sort.




Next inaccuracy of your otherwise inaccurate claim:

you said

"bitter white people that cling to their guns and religion"




but obama said

You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

No where in there does he say anything about "white people". If you are INSINUATING that Obama is talking about White people, because he's talking about Pennsylvanians, then you are making the bigoted claim that only white people live in Pennsylvania. You dont want to be a bigot, do you?





next inaccurate claim to an otherwise inaccurate post

"I'm the underdog for APPARENT reasons"



But Obama said

"I'm always the underdog," Obama said at the Four Points Hotel near Midway Airport. "Sen. Clinton remains the favorite because of the enormous familiarity people have with her and the institutional support and the political insiders who lined up early behind her candidacy before they had a sense of how strong I might be.

But you take his quote out of context so bad, and add your own words, and leave out words that defeat your cause, to such a bigoted level, it must put shame and red blush on the cheeks of any intelligent conservative minded person anywhere.
He makes no mention of skin color....but you do?


And finally, you say

-"Typical American cant speak other languages".

Well guess what?

Only 9% of Americans can speak their native language plus another language fluently, as opposed to 53% of Europeans. Only 44% of high school students are studying any foreign language and less than 1% percent study a critical-need language. There is a shortage of language professionals in the U.S. diplomatic corps, military, and intelligence agencies. The national deficiency in the languages and cultures of critical areas around the world is compromising American security and business interests at home and abroad.

Source


and since the word "TYPICAL" means

1. of the nature of or serving as a type or representative specimen.
2. conforming to a particular type.
3. Biology. exemplifying most nearly the essential characteristics of a higher group in natural history, and forming the type: the typical genus of a family.
4. characteristic or distinctive: He has the mannerisms typical of his class.
5. pertaining to, of the nature of, or serving as a type or emblem; symbolic.

Source


Then Barack Obama's statement is true.


Its funny, you use race against the man, claiming he's making racist comments.
But the only way you can twist it to make it look racist is to leave out all the other words he said. I believe, in some ways, that makes you a racist yourself.

So scared of Obama that you have to make up lies to try and defeat him?

Shame shame :shk:

[edit on 7/9/2008 by Andrew E. Wiggin]