A Losing Battle: Why “CALIENTE!” Needs To Be Stamped On Our Coffee Cup Lids

I just don't see what the problem is.

Did you forget to press "1" for English?

Originally posted by jupiter869
I mean really. Why AM I looking at Spanish embossed on a plastic coffee cup lid when I am living in the Midwest of the United States?

Because things change. Because all political, social, economic and ethnic boundaries are temporary. People move from here to there. I guess the questions you really need to ask yourself are, "Why am I so fearful of change?" and "Was the past so wonderful that it should never ever go away, or am I just being blinded by sentimentality?"

Because there's nothing all that great about the past or the present. And we all get older. I'm sorry you feel that you've lost power somehow with the shift in demographics, but honestly, you never really had much power to begin with. Sorry you feel that way.

I thought "Caliente" meant hot? I live in California though.

We always wanted to learn the language of the Down Under Border South of Cali.


We have NAFTA..

Says we're all one anyway.

Where has the outrage been in the Mid West?

NOW your whining?

reply to post by AlternateEnding


The reason the spanish speakers are so many in numbers is because of illegal immigration. We have many cultures coming here respectfully and going through the proper channels. All our foreign immigrants learn english.

reply to post by SprocketUK


Sprock
Nicely put. A long period of time with changes occurring throughout. Wazzahh!!. I suppose it is easy to fall through the cracks in the floorboards of history.

And a little side note. I followed your history lesson perfectly. My fourth grade teacher(1956) taught us English history and the word CRADN for Celts Romans Angles Danes and Normans. Man it's been all these years and finally that bit comes home to me. Ah memory lane.

Years ago, when I bought something like a TV set, there would be a 8 page manual with it. Now, I have to thumb through 20 odd pages searching for my language (English). All those trees and ink for this wastage of pages I cannot read.

I go to the supermarket, and have some difficulty trying to read whether I am looking at Spanish or English (I don't bring my glasses with me) but really ticks me off trying to read the fine print of the ingredients then realize it was in Spanish....What used to look like nice colorful labels, is now nothing but tons of wordage trying to fill such limited space to accomodate an added language....

Now, I REALLY HATE this part - when I am on the phone trying to talk to a rep, etc. the recording says:
"For English, press 1"
What crap is that? I am tired of that. By DEFAULT it SHOULD be English. Folks should press a number for the language they speak so they can get proper assistance.
Can everyone see that we are catering to outsiders to so much extent? When is it going to stop?...I take that back, it will happen no matter because we will not by the millions stand up....A few people here and there objecting will not work...
IN PLAIN SIGHT

Oh heck, McDonalds?

You're part of the problem, not the solution.

*Damn, I hate it when McDonalds and Starbucks come here and force our local coffee makers out of work with their big dollars, wasting of resources and shiny corporate manifestos, fattening up our children and poisoning us with Americanisms*





Organise your time better and maybe you will gain some perspective.You are part of a continuum,one that is leading to a Spanish-speaking United States.

Something else I would like to add. It is good to put a Spanish warning on, let's say, a coffee lid, but think about it...How many Asian dialects are here? There are Indians, Punjabi, Japanese. See what I am trying to say? It would be near impossible to put so many languages on alot of things folks need in their daily use.
What is the solution to that? I think it would be wise for people who come here to learn just some of the basic words so they would at least be able to heed warnings. Just as we would try to do the same when we go to another country. It just helps alot more, and the folks don't need to be fluent in English...Same applies when they go for a drivers license, they must know at least the words on signs here so there will not be any mishaps.

but yeah, it does bother me to have to press a number for my own language....I have antique books that are in English....yes, this is the melting pot of the world (and we could not have made it otherwise), but as far as I and my senior family has known, English was always the main or primary language.

It's crap because of only one group of people. How many cultures do we have here in our melting pot? How many of them demanded that we speak their language? It is common sense that if all foreigners are required to learn, understand and speak english, that we will all be able to understand and appreciate each other. It is crap because we have an overwhelming amount of illegals who demand that all other cultures here speak their language instead of the one commonly spoken by all.

reply to post by Night Star


I cannot speak for others, and I have no bad feelings for others, either, but have always enjoyed trying to communicate with folks in the supermarket aisle when they could not find something they were looking for. It brought us friendship, and we each were learning from eachother. I just do not like the idea of having to read (or in future speak?) a language I have never grown up with. What would folks in Mexico say if they were ordered to start speaking or reading a completely different language other than what they were born and raised? They would not approve, it would be too difficult learning a new language.

Or in India, etc, when there are so many people who have grown to a primary language their whole life.

That is the point I am trying to make, melting pot or not, there is a primary language of this country for MANY years.

Originally posted by triplereiki
Something else I would like to add. It is good to put a Spanish warning on, let's say, a coffee lid, but think about it...How many Asian dialects are here? There are Indians, Punjabi, Japanese. See what I am trying to say? It would be near impossible to put so many languages on alot of things folks need in their daily use.
What is the solution to that? I think it would be wise for people who come here to learn just some of the basic words so they would at least be able to heed warnings. Just as we would try to do the same when we go to another country. It just helps alot more, and the folks don't need to be fluent in English...Same applies when they go for a drivers license, they must know at least the words on signs here so there will not be any mishaps.

but yeah, it does bother me to have to press a number for my own language....I have antique books that are in English....yes, this is the melting pot of the world (and we could not have made it otherwise), but as far as I and my senior family has known, English was always the main or primary language.

With so many years of illegal immigration that is what we get, a population that is catered to while all others are pushed aside. We have millions of other people from other countries waiting to become legal citizens. If the illegal spanish speaking population would have come through the proper channels, there would not be as many in numbers and we would have a bigger diversity.

With English being spoken by so many diverse cultures here, there is no reason for one group to be catered to. Even many spanish speaking people who learned and respect our language are against this.

reply to post by Night Star


Yes, I personally know a large number of people of different races, religions and languages, and 90% of those people I know either did what what required to become legal citizens here, or are currently waiting for a better time, AND they are not on welfare, etc. They work work their rear-ends off every day trying to provide a decent life for their families....the illegals are not only screwing us and our country, they are also screwing those folks who did things proper so they enjoy being part of this country. I know studying and answering test questions to become a citizen can be very hard....I also know many folks that were born here could not recall the info to answer the same questions. LOL
If they can pass the test and try to understand some of English, by golly they earned the right to be here. Yes, English can be hard even for us who have been speaking, reading it and writing it all our lives..

Originally posted by Night Star
It's crap because of only one group of people. How many cultures do we have here in our melting pot? How many of them demanded that we speak their language? It is common sense that if all foreigners are required to learn, understand and speak english, that we will all be able to understand and appreciate each other. It is crap because we have an overwhelming amount of illegals who demand that all other cultures here speak their language instead of the one commonly spoken by all.

Wasn't Spanish spoken in the Americas before English? Why not all speak Spanish?

Is there a problem with seeing a Spanish word on your crappy Mickey D's coffee cup? Does seeing that word shatter your world-view?

Originally posted by InvisibleAlbatross
Is there a problem with seeing a Spanish word on your crappy Mickey D's coffee cup? Does seeing that word shatter your world-view?

Why not take a moment to read the post from the beginning and find out?
Just a suggestion.

Originally posted by triplereiki
reply to post by Night Star

 

I cannot speak for others, and I have no bad feelings for others, either, but have always enjoyed trying to communicate with folks in the supermarket aisle when they could not find something they were looking for. It brought us friendship, and we each were learning from eachother. I just do not like the idea of having to read (or in future speak?) a language I have never grown up with. What would folks in Mexico say if they were ordered to start speaking or reading a completely different language other than what they were born and raised? They would not approve, it would be too difficult learning a new language.

Or in India, etc, when there are so many people who have grown to a primary language their whole life.

That is the point I am trying to make, melting pot or not, there is a primary language of this country for MANY years.

Once upon a time when I had a job I worked with mostly hispanics, some africans, asians and some folks from india. Every single one of them knew and understood english and we were all able to communicate freely and enjoy each others conversation and friendships. The hispanics would often go back to speaking spanish and the other cultures would say how rude it was.

I will be 53 years old soon and have never in my life seen anyone forced to speak spanish in order to get hired for a job which I am now seeing in many areas. I have never seen any other language in signs all over the place etc. Millions of immigrants have already learned english and it isn't fair or right that citizens or new immigrants should have to speak spanish as well.

Originally posted by Night Star


I will be 53 years old soon and have never in my life seen anyone forced to speak spanish in order to get hired for a job which I am now seeing in many areas.

If you're 53, you may well have seen "other people" riding at the back of the bus?

here is the true story of the coffee lawsuit

Now, unless you crawled out from under a rock, a few years ago here in the US, some woman burned herself on a cup of McDonald’s coffee and ended up suing McDonalds for millions. And I mean MILLIONS of dollars! (I’m still kicking myself for not thinking of THAT get-rich-quick scheme.) I think she’s living in some villa in the south of France now and the price of every single Quarter-Pounder-with-cheese that you are buying instantly went up 10 cents to make up for those lost millions. So McDonalds, and everyone else for that matter, started covering their ass and plastering HOT! all over their coffee cups… and now evidently, as I look down at my cup, CALIENTE! as well.

I remember that cup of coffee well. The woman took the cup and held it between her knees to add cream. In taking off the lid, the cup folded up from the heat of the coffee and spilled all over her legs. See was in hospital for over a week with third degree burns over 6% of her body and took multiple skin graphs to repair her thighs.

The woman was 79.

All she asked for from Mac Donalds was to pay her medical bills. $20,000

They refused. So she got a lawyer.

They asked for $90,000 and Ronnie refused again

They lawyer asked for $300,000 and a mediator suggested $250,000

McDonalds refused again.

McDonalds company policy was to serve coffee hot

180 degrees F.

McDonalds had numerous complaints about the temperature of their coffee and knew full well that coffee at 180 degrees would cause third degree burns when spilled.

Yet they negligently continued in this practice.

The jury found for the defendant and awarded her $2.5 million.

The judge lowered the award to $640,000

McDonalds appealed and the parties finally settled out of court for less than $600,000.

This case has been used by many people over the years to validate their defense of frivolous lawsuits brought against corporations by stupid money grubbing people without finding the facts to support them. They invariably cite the multi-millions that this stupid woman won.

Invariably. They just use their own biases as proof enough and then have it when others with the same biases agree.

she was 79 years old and only wanted a cup of joe

reply to post by jupiter869


I did and I still fail to see the big deal.

reply to post by TerryMcGuire


And it is the perfect reason to have the word in Spanish on the cup. Though anyone buying a cup of coffee should know it will be hot, I am sure Mickey D's does not want another lawsuit. And though 99% of Spanish speaking Americans will know and understand the word "Hot' why take a chance?