Thread: The Cunneyworth hiring and the U.S. debate over English-first

The Cunneyworth hiring and the U.S. debate over English-first


examiner.com
Curt Macysyn

Monmouth County Conservative Examiner
December 20, 2011

People say that sports mirrors society, and in many cases that may be true, but in other cases, sports can lead society. The leadership aspect of sport, where a team can unify a city, region or country cannot be underscored enough.


For example, the 1980 United States Olympic hockey team was a beacon of hope for Americans during the Lake Placid Olympics. Jackie Robinson's promotion to the Major Leagues in 1947 elevated the spirits of African Americans in the post-World War II era.


The Montreal Canadiens are undoubtedly a cornerstone franchise of the National Hockey League (NHL), yet they inadvertantly caused a stir this week when they fired Jacques Martin as their coach and hired a new coach. The team had gotten off to a mediocre start, and in Montreal, as well as most of Canada, hockey is a religion, not a sport.


Like many teams do when making a coaching change during the season, Montreal management saw fit to elevate assistant coach Randy Cunneyworth to the top spot. Cunneyworth is a former NHL player, assistant coach, and American Hockey League head coach. In most, if not all, respects, the Cunneyowrth hiring made sense for the Canadiens.


The only thing is that Cunneyowrth doesn't speak French, and this "flaw" has sparked outrage from politicians all over Quebec, and prompted the team owner to issue two separate statements on the hiring.
Canadian broadcaster, The Sports Network (TSN), reports:


"The hiring of Randy Cunneyworth was enough to prompt calls, from nationalist fringe groups, for a boycott of products related to the Habs. One political commentator even suggested local hockey journalists should refuse to address Cunneyworth in English.


And Quebec's entire political class predictably weighed in, with politicians of every stripe calling the move unacceptable."



The uproar in Canada was a reminder about the debate in this country over initiatives that proclaim English as the official language of the United States.


ProEnglish, the self-proclaimed leading advocate of official English, issued a candidate report card on December 7. All seven Republican candidates were given grades, using issues like Official English, Puerto Rican statehood, and amnesty as tests.


Not surprisingly, Texas congressman Ron Paul was the only candidate to receive an "A" from the group. Michele Bachmann and Newt Gingrich did receive "A-" grades, while Rick Santorum got a "C".


Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney received a "D+" based upon his position on amnesty, since according to the group his campaign does not have an official position on English first.


Meanwhile, both Jon Huntsman, Jr. and Rick Perry received failing grades from the organization.

Since the first stops on the campaign trail, Iowa and New Hampshire, are not hot beds of controversy on the illegal immigration issue, the official English issue has not received much play. But as the campaign swings to Florida next month, immigration and official English are sure to rise to the top of the discussion list.

http://www.examiner.com/monmouth-cou...-english-first

Ah, yes... the language police! People find it hard to believe, but yes in Quebec there is such a thing! Everything in Que. MUST be in French first (and bigger in size) than in English. In all other Provinces the signs must have French... such a stink from such a small Province.