Citations for Driving While Mexican

Published October 23, 2009 @ 11:00PM PT

The Dallas Police Chief, David Kunkle, has admitted that his officers wrote 39 citations to people over the past 3 years for not speaking English.

It would make a great Onion piece, except it is true.

Who would actually pay this ludicrous citation? The most vulnerable people who are either new to this country and do not know the law or those that feel bullied into paying citations for offenses they never committed simply to avoid additional prosecution under the law.

Kunkle probably wants to sweep this under the rug by calling it a 'rookie mistake.' After all, when six officers are found issuing citations for 'Driving while Mexican' it looks more like a department policy. Unfortunately for the Dallas police, they picked on the wrong person, who dragged them to court over the citation.

It seems like the anti-immigrant lunacy has led to the construction of new laws or rather, the enforcement of laws that do not exist.

In a country with a growing Latino electorate that may become the largest ethnic group within a hundred years, it might be wise to start learning Spanish especially if one is in law enforcement and expected to serve a diverse community.

(Photo Credit: WFAA)

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In that case and perhaps the others, officials said, the officer was confused by a pull-down menu on his in-car computer that listed the charge as an option. But the law the computer referred to is a federal statute regarding commercial drivers that Kunkle said his department does not enforce.

it might be wise to start learning Spanish It might be wiser to start learning English!

Posted by Liquid Reigns on 10/25/2009 @ 08:50AM PT
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(I saw this article coming.) Today, I read an article about a hotel owner making his Hispanic employees use the English translation of their names. There is an obvious underlying issue here, in both circumstances, that is not being addressed.

"Racism," you would think would be what I'm talking about, but it's more than that. I believe it's a cultural issue. Americans are trying to hold on to what they know this country to be, sometimes, using any means,(fair or not,) at their disposal. There is another side to this issue that is rarely addressed, and in order to, "save face," is often swept under the rug. This would be, "la Raza."

It is one thing to migrate to another country for a better life and work toward a peaceful future, but what la Raza is doing; no better than what this jerk-cop did. They claim California, New Mexico, *Texas,(*Aztlan,) and Arizona is rightfully theirs. This has resulted is a push and shove of cultures, (not just race.) There are many other immigrants here than Latinos. la Raza,"the race," is made up of many people/countries, from all over Mexico and S. America. Their ideology is: they are the indigenous people of this land, these states belong to them, and anyone that is here and is not of, "la Raza," should either go away, or will be met by the "reconquista."

So my point; when one side pushes with hate and the promise of war, the other side will push back with bias, and seedy-scare tactics. Are they both right? "No!" They are both f*cking morons. Do I see both side? "All too well." But we can't point a finger at one side and refuse to point it back at the other.

I'm pro-immigration,(for all races.) But I'm not going to sign my neighbors, (from Isreal,) up for a "reconquista," because all they wanted was a better life. Prerna, how do fix this? If I had an answer, I would gladly share it.

Posted by L.S. hope on 10/26/2009 @ 11:31AM PT
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Okay, aligning 'la raza' with reconquista is flawed -- the two are often not mutually exclusive. There is no credible evidence for the La Raza Aztlan consipracy. It is right-wing madness to believe that immigrants coming here (regardless of status) want to take over parts of the USA and give it back to Mexico.

Have you been to an National Council of La Raza conference? My goodness, it is the epitome of upper-class corporate American wining and dining.

The issue here is about giving out citations on the basis of not speaking English. I have U.S. citizens in my house and family who don't speak English but can drive perfectly. That really doesn't mean they should be cited for what language they speak. I believe it is completely fine to encourage bilingualism in everyone. I come from Fiji--it is mandatory for me to learn at least two languages from grade 1.

Posted by Prerna Lal on 10/27/2009 @ 02:57PM PT
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I'm going to politely disagree. That would be like me saying, "the KKK, is a left-wing conspiracy." I know both of these groups exist; too much evidence would say otherwise. My point was: "groups like these spread their ideology through society and it makes situations like your article, happen." Of course the cop had no right to give a ticket because of a language barrier. Although, there will be many more situations like this one, if both sides aren't held accountable, for what they've both brought to the table.

Posted by L.S. hope on 10/27/2009 @ 05:01PM PT
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Prenra makes a valid point about NCLR. It is hardly the grassroots organization, as 95% of it's support comes from corporations including the Ford Foundation, Microsoft, Chevron, WalMart, etc. Less that 5% comes from memberships. You can easily look this up on their website. What is scary, is that this organization doesn't speak for Latino or Hispanics, or Mexicans, or Peruvians, or whomever. It speaks for, and implements the agenda of ... corporate America. Just follow the money.

Someone from Latin America doesn't know they are hispanic or latino, until they come here, to the US. Hispanic and latino only exist in the US.

Posted by Wire Paladin on 10/27/2009 @ 06:01PM PT
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All our road signs are in English, consequently everybody driving a car must have a knowledge of English, otherwise it is unsafe. I can sympathize with officers issuing citations to citizens for driving while not knowing basic driver English,

Posted by Kurt Thialfad on 10/26/2009 @ 02:18PM PT
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Mr. Thialand, Really? Sympathy for a cop? I would love to give, more than a few of cops, tickets for driving while eating, or driving while being an asshole. I'm sure if I were a cop, I could find something I didn't like, about everyone I pulled over. But, had these people been speaking German, would they have received the same ticket? (I doubt it.) This cop was F*cktard, plain and simple.

Posted by L.S. hope on 10/26/2009 @ 02:47PM PT
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Wow, what an assumption that if a cop pulled over a German speaker that he wouldn't have issued him a ticket. Talk about victimhood for Spanish speakers well here it is in black and white. I noticed that Mr. Thailand's valid point about these drivers not being able to read English traffic signs didn't even merit a comeback response. Truth can be painful, can't it?

How does one obtain a driver's license in this country without knowing how to read or speak English anyway?

Posted by Mark Lindley on 10/28/2009 @ 12:52PM PT
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"In a country with a growing Latino electorate that may become the largest ethnic group within a hundred years, it might be wise to start learning Spanish especially if one is in law enforcement and expected to serve a diverse community."

Why? Hispanic-Americans are bi-lingual and so are every other non-caucasian citizen group in this country. We can all communicate in our national language which is English.

Posted by Mark Lindley on 10/28/2009 @ 12:57PM PT
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Author

Prerna obtained her Masters degree in International Relations in 2007 and took a hiatus from academia. During this break, she co-founded DreamActivist.org and helped launch a program for immigrant youth in the Bay Area (S4FC). Currently, she is also a Managing Editor at The Sanctuary. Views expressed on this blog are her own and not that of any organization currently affiliated with her. Contact email - prerna@change.org