Thread: Activist: CNN ignored Spanish speakers

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/10/29/No..._ignored.shtml

A former Clearwater mayor says the network showed disregard in cutting away from the governor's Spanish remarks after Wilma.

By JOSE CARDENAS
Published October 29, 2005

CLEARWATER - Three decades ago, Gabriel Cazares fought during his time as mayor to keep Scientologists out of Clearwater.

He was once heavily involved with civil rights groups, too, though in the last decade he had canceled his membership with the NAACP and the League of United Latin American Citizens, also known as LULAC.

But the 85-year-old has never stopped fighting. He is especially vocal about the welfare of minorities, especially Hispanics.

So he became angry on Sunday night after watching CNN break away from Gov. Jeb Bush's remarks to residents as Hurricane Wilma threatened the area. While other stations carried Bush's remarks in both English and Spanish, CNN broke away when the governor began to speak in Spanish. Cazares believes that showed disregard for Spanish speakers in Florida, and said he plans to write a protest letter to the network. He urges LULAC members to do the same.

Cazares also wants to bring attention to a boycott that LULAC, which he has rejoined, launched against the network last summer.

LULAC members think CNN is hostile toward immigrants because one of its reporters, host Lou Dobbs, has spoken regularly against illegal immigrants on his program Lou Dobbs Tonight. The incident Sunday evening occurred as Bush finished his English remarks. Then, the governor said, "If you don't mind, I'm going to say a few words in Spanish as well."

"All right, while the governor is speaking in Spanish, let's bring in Jacqui Jeras . . ." host Wolf Blitzer said. When Bush finished, Blitzer said, "Let's get back to the governor, Jeb Bush. He's resumed speaking in English."
Said Cazares, who was watching the program at his Countryside condominium, "I think it's a lack of consideration for a large portion of the population. Here, when a program was concerned with people's lives, CNN did not think it was important."

Laurie Goldberg, a spokeswoman for CNN, wrote in an e-mail response to the St. Petersburg Times that CNN has a separate Spanish-language channel that carried in-depth coverage of hurricane preparations and sound bites from Bush on Sunday afternoon.

Anita de Palma, LULAC's Florida director, shares Cazares' concerns. She said that at a meeting in Tampa Wednesday, about 80 LULAC members said they were angry at what CNN had done.

She also plans to write a letter to CNN on behalf of the 3,000 LULAC members in Florida. Other members plan to write or e-mail, too.

"I do think they showed a complete lack of consideration for the Hispanic community, which is so strong now," said de Palma.

Brent Wilkes, LULAC's national director, said he had not heard from members about the incident. The national leadership would support its members, he said, but cautioned that they should be well-informed first.

LULAC launched its boycott in July against CNN and parent company Time Warner at its convention in Little Rock, Ark., to protest a longstanding dislike of Dobbs' coverage of immigration issues.

"We feel there is no need to have people that are by and large hate speech kind of folks out on the airwaves like that," Wilkes said.

The organization's members were supposed to write to the network in protest. The network's spokeswoman did not answer an e-mailed question about whether the network has received any e-mails or letters of protest, saying only that while Dobbs opposes illegal immigration, he supports legal immigration.

This is not the first time Cazares has has taken a stance on such issues.

When he was the director of Tampa's LULAC chapter in 1998, his complaints against a Taco Bell commercial featuring a talking Chihuahua were quoted around the world. Some people found the commercial demeaning to Mexicans and Mexican-Americans.

Cazares said he quit LULAC at that time because the national organization didn't want him speaking out on the issue.

He recently returned to the organization, though, and in May the Tampa chapter gave him a lifetime award at a meeting at the Belleview Biltmore Resort & Spa.

In the past few years he has kept active by working with groups such as the National Farmworkers Ministry and Habitat for Humanity, including building homes for farmworkers in Immokalee.

He lives alone now, after his wife died of cancer last year while he was undergoing heart surgery.

But Cazares is a news junkie who still watches CNN, even though he's protesting it.

"I watch it because they cover all the things I'm interested in - except for one thing," he said. "I wish they would stop talking about "broken borders.' I just hope that they will hear from enough people that agree this war they have against immigrants should end."

Yes, every time there is a hurricane, Jeb gets on TV and speaks English, then he says, "And now I'd like to say a few words in Spanish". He literally says the same thing every time. It's nauseating, and the only thing that makes up for it, is the way the stations "break away" like they just touched a hot stove. I mean they cut him off like a light switch.

It is so funny, and he deserves it. He is a governor and he should be speaking to the American people in English. Just because his wife is from Mexico, this does not give him ANY right to impinge his own personal affairs and life on the American people or the people of this state.

This is a good reason why we need someone strong to run against him for the U.S. Senate where he has set his latest sights. NO, Jeb, you had your chance. Your brother also had his chance, and your father had his chance. And you ALL BLEW IT. Three Bushes are enough for any country and for any state.

I agree 100%. NO more Spanish. We're sick of Spanish. It's Spanish Special Interest. It's Spanish Puke!!

Spanish has worn out it's welcome in the USA.

If you speak Spanish and it's your only language, you need to go home to your Spanish-Speaking Nation and leave the USA.

I saw that segment on Wolf Blitzer last week and LOVED IT!!! And, I've also noticed what you called attention to, Legal, about your Governor speaking Spanish a lot of the time he makes speeches. I bet you CRINGE every time you hear THAT!

So--he has his sites set on a Senate seat, huh? Maybe Elizabeth Dole is trying to convince HIM to run instead of Katherine Harris who is the DUD of all DUDS!

We have aboslutely GOT TO START PUSHING OUR REPRESENTATIVES to hold a vote to declare ENGLISH our country's official language. THAT WOULD BE A HUGE START and it is something that should have been done LONG AGO. I'm going to start a letter writing campaign to my representatives on this issue.

I AM SICK TO DEATH of having SPANISH CRAMMED DOWN MY THROAT. I agree with you, Judy--if you want to live in a Spanish speaking country, HIT THE ROAD.

About 4 months ago, CNN held a poll about what the official language should be here in the US. An overwhelming 100% of the people participating said English should be our official language and that we should claim that.

Judy posted:

Spanish has worn out it's welcome in the USA.

I couldn't agree more. I am sick and tired of having another foreign language cramed down my throat and having my officials tell me I should start to learn it. Why? This is our country-not theirs--tell THEM they must learn English.

Here's the problem: as long as we allow businesses to post signs in Spanish in order to cater to a particular customer base, then we have greed over common sense, which we have all seen the consequences of.
As long as we allow our local governments to do the same, there will never be anything close to assimilation for these people. They MUST know if they plan to migrate here-LEGALLY-they will have to learn English.

I applaud CNN for breaking away when Jeb started babbling in Spanish. It sends the right message to the Governor and to the spanish speaking residents that live here--LEARN ENGLISH--THIS IS NOT MEXICO. They lost California in a war to the US a hundred and something years ago--I wish they would get over that.


LegalCitizen posted:

It is so funny, and he deserves it. He is a governor and he should be speaking to the American people in English. Just because his wife is from Mexico, this does not give him ANY right to impinge his own personal affairs and life on the American people or the people of this state.

Legal is absolutely right. This governor, if you can call him that, has gone beyond his boundaries, JUST LIKE HIS LITTLE BROTHER.

The Mayor of Clearwater and the LULAC can go to Mexico and live there if they want. Quit asking us to be tolerant of Spanish while our jobs are given to them just so larger profits can be made by the traitors that should be fined, jailed and put out of business for employing illegals.

Well, one thing is for CERTAIN. WE DO NOT NEED ANOTHER BUSH in WASHINGTON. The two we've had are more than enough. NO BUSH DYNASTY.

Alot of Spanish speaking immigrants feel some compulsion to learn English, Dominicans especially. I had a Dominican friend in the Army tell me that it's easier for him to speak Spanish but that he was urging his kids to learn English. He said that he realized how important it was for them, and spoke in English primarily with them. I knew another Dominican family whose son couldn't speak English (at 3). They used to go to great lengths explaining how he had learned to talk in the Dominican Republic and they were teaching him English. They enrolled him in a preschool that taught primarily in English for that reason. I have no problem with that.

But these are LEGAL immigrants who understand that they LEFT a certain culture. They want to pay homage and respect to their new one, and I welcome them. It's the ones that show up illegally and then demand that America COME TO THEM AFTER THEY BREAK OUR LAWS to get here. The ones that still fly the stupid little flags from their failed cultures from the rear view mirrors of their AMERICAN cars. The ones that live off of our culture and yet demand that their failed culture be celebrated on the backs of our successful country. Those are the "immigrants" I am against.

Absolutely right. It seems like the LEGAL ones WANT to assimilate. It's the ILLEGALS that expect the handouts.

Thinking back through history, I wonder how well FDR or JFK would have been received if they delivered their messages in English and a foreign language...like German or Japanese....or if the Wackident started speaking in Arabic?

nhantimassredrebel--You are right. It would seem that it is the legal immigrants who do care to assimilate, but for me, when I walk down the street and see a pharmacy or a laudry mat with a spanish sign, that tells me I'm not welcome because I don't speak spanish and they don't care to speak English (or they wouldn't be posting just in spanish). This is rampant all over the nation. It's discriminatory. These shops are owned by legal immigrants. If you go into one of those places, no one there can help you, or wants to, because of the language barrier. I don't have any solutions for this, thoughts anyone?