Our governor knows of what he speaks

I have been rather amused by the Spanish-language media in California, along with the state's Spanish-language politicians, and their hyperventilation over remarks made the other day by our German-language governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The governor's sinful remarks were made in response to a question about how Hispanics in California can be more successful. According to a Fox News article:

"You've got to turn off the Spanish television set," Schwarzenegger said Wednesday night at the annual convention of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists in San Jose, Calif. "You're just forced to speak English, and that just makes you learn the language faster."

Schwarzenegger answered a question about how Hispanic students can improve academic performance, saying he was about to make a politically-incorrect statement.

"I know this sounds odd and this is the politically incorrect thing to say and I'm going to get myself in trouble," Schwarzenegger said. "But I know that when I came to this country, I very rarely spoke German to anyone."

Judging by the reaction of the Hispanderers out there, you would have thought that our governor suggested they all ram their heads into a television set instead. The comments from some were downright funny when you think of the circumstances of our governor's past:

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger demonstrated his ignorance on immigration issues once again by perpetuating the myth that immigrants have to reject their old culture and language in order to learn English and assimilate," said Brent Wilkes, national executive director of the League of United Latin American Citizens...

A Hispanic advocacy group said Schwarzenegger's comments show his "ignorance on immigration issues..."

"I'm sitting shaking my head not believing that someone would be so naive and out of it that he would say something like that," Alex Nogales, president and CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition...

Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., called the governor's advice a "typical sound bite solution to an important issue," said Jim Dau, a spokesman for Sanchez. Sanchez said immigrants face the challenge of taking an ESL course because of long lines and up to a three-year wait to get into a class...

I'm sorry, did IQs drop sharply recently, or are these people purposely being disingenuous? I vote for the latter. Hello? Imbecils? "Ignorance on immigration issues"? Arnold Schwarzenegger is an immigrant himself. He could barely speak English when he emigrated here in the 1970s. In fact, if my memory serves correctly, his German accent was so thick in his very first movie, that his voice had to be dubbed over. And far from "rejecting his old culture", he kept his last name when he went into acting, even though movie execs pressured him to change it because they thought it would be too difficult for American movie audiences to pronounce.

There are many issues about which Governor Schwarzenegger and I disagree, but on this subject, I would think he knows what he is talking about. Not only that, whatever he did to assimilate must have worked, because look at him now: love him or hate him, he is a successful businessman and twice-elected governor of the most populous state in this country, with one of the largest economies in the world. For these nitwits to say that Governor Schwarzenegger is ignorant on the question of how to become a successful immigrant is simply laughable.

Good Day to You, Sir