Javier Resendiz

10/20/19
MWA 2
Dear Customer,

I do not recall if perhaps you remember of an instance at the local Home Depot in the

south valley of Albuquerque, NM to which you actually discriminated another individual for

speaking their native language. From what I remember you stated, “Doesn’t it bother you having

to speak Spanish to them, I don’t understand why they don’t learn to speak English”. And in a

matter of fact it does not bother me in any way. I enjoy helping people of all ethnicities and

cultures find what they are looking for no matter the language they speak. I know I didn’t say

much that day perhaps out of respect on your position as a customer, but I had always thought of

asking you, how can he so easily go and criticize people for speaking Spanish to one another?

I think to myself that perhaps you assumed I was out of my comfort zone for speaking

Spanish but, rather I wanted to make the customers experience the best possible. You had no

background information to infer such things. I was angry in how you butted into our

conversation. Instead of criticizing the language the other man spoke, you should have

acknowledged the ability to speak another language.

Now a days speaking multiple

languages in the U.S isn’t as rare as we

believe it may be. In fact, a study from 2011,

had mentioned 35 million people being Spanish speakers in the US, and that number was only to

increase in the following years1. Spanish is known worldwide, and the fact that the incident took

1
Pew Research Center: Mark Hugo Lopes and Ana Gonzalez-Barrera What is the future of
Spanish in the United States? Sep 5, 2013 https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-
tank/2013/09/05/what-is-the-future-of-spanish-in-the-united-states/
 Javier Resendiz
10/20/19
MWA 2
place here in New Mexico, a region most notably known for its Spanish influence, it shouldn’t be

a shock that people will be speaking languages other than English to each other.

The state of New Mexico also has high recognition to Spanish speakers. The culture and

geographical location should be a reference that many individuals can and will be

speaking different languages. Accepting other languages in New

Mexico should be a part of how we interact with one another.

Instead of shaming others and becoming upset with the

different languages being spoken we should embrace it. New

Mexico Public Education already sees multilingualism as a

benefit for the next generation, it offers a Bilingualism and

Biliteracy Seal2 to high schoolers who speak a second language

fluently. The seal embraces and rewards those students who learn

to fluently speak two languages following the fact that speaking more than one language in the

United States is in the rise.

We as New Mexicans should support and believe multilingualism is a benefit for the

state. It does not only benefit the single communities, to which speak their native languages but

other languages as well. Being bilingual or multilingual is more common than ever in the Unites

States and especially in our region. Our education departments have already realized that

speaking multiple languages is an advantage to its students, as a rise in diversity in the U.S is

expected in the future. Society is starting to outgrow the thought that the English language is the

only standard in the states, and although there is no other language to replace the importance of

2
New Mexico Public Education Department, Mayra Valtierrez, BME Specialist 2019
https://webnew.ped.state.nm.us/bureaus/languageandculture/seal-of-bilingualism-biliteracy/
 Javier Resendiz
10/20/19
MWA 2
English, being able to acknowledge the ability that others have to speak multiple languages is a

must.

Sincerely

The Home Depot employee