What do Miss Universe, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and new White Sox player Manny Ramirez have in common?
All three of them have been in the news lately for their use of language.
English, Spanish or bilingual.
After his arrival in Chicago, Ramirez held a press conference in Spanish. He used a translator.
The truth is that Ramirez is bilingual. He was born in the Dominican Republic but he grew up in New York.
The question isn't why did he speak to reporters in Spanish when he could address them in English?
The question is why do people care?
He's bilingual and I think everybody should be bilingual. Maybe he just felt like speaking Spanish. That's not criminal. It's called free speech.
But some pundits were offended. Even a commentator on my always faithful National Public Radio called his actions "bizarre."
I didn't know that speaking Spanish constituted bizarre behavior.
What is truly bizarre is Brewer's blank out on live television. For a second, I thought she was having a stroke. I actually felt sorry for her - for a minute. But apparently it was just a giant brain fart.
Check it out.
Brewer paused for around 15 seconds, completely lost her train of thought. When she recovered she not so eloquently said, "We have did what was right for Arizona."
Huh?
Then she went on to defend Arizona's immigration law SB1070, which has thankfully been gutted at least for now.
It occurred to me. Maybe Brewer really is bilingual. She speaks English and gibberish.
Now on to Miss Universe, Jimena Navarrete. She is beautiful, smart and proud of her Mexican heritage.
During the Q & A of the pageant she answered a question from ice skater Evan Lysacek about Internet use. But she answered in Spanish through an interpreter.
Despite rumors to the contrary, she does speak English. You can see her in this interview below on Fox and Friends.
So then why did she use an interpreter?
Maybe she felt more comfortable expressing herself in front of millions of people in her own language.
Why did baseball player Ramirez use an interpreter?
Don't know. Maybe he just wanted attention.
I think Miss Universe and Ramirez should join forces and encourage people to become bilingual.
Now that would be fun to watch.
Filed under: Hispanic, Mexico, politics, sports
Tags: Arizona, bilingual, Chicago, English, immigration, Jan Brewer, Jimena Navarrete, Manny Ramirez, Mexico, Miss Universe, SB1070, Spanish, White Sox
It's just, "Manny being Manny!" ask the good folks in Boston and L.A.