Amir Odom · Transcript · · Updated
Why It Feels Like No One Speaks English in Miami – Transcript
Video by Amir Odom · Watch the original on YouTube
Summary
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- Miami features many areas where individuals do not speak English and the predominant language spoken is Spanish.
- The speaker argues that anyone immigrating to America or working in customer service should know and learn English.
- Customer service interactions involving non-English speaking workers create difficulties with tasks like delivery directions.
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not speak English. SO, >> IT'S BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW ENGLISH. >> You know what? I actually do like the fact that in Miami, everybody speaks Spanish and it does feel like you're in a Latin American country rather than part of the United States. >> Then go to the don't go to the damn country. As someone who loves Miami and goes pretty often, it's actually insane the sheer amount of people there that do not speak English. Truly, in some of the areas, it feels like I'm in a foreign country. And while some people love that part of Miami, others don't. from immigrants to business owners, Door Dash
drivers. There's a lot of people in Miami that refuse to speak English, do not want to learn how to speak English, and hell, don't even want to assimilate into American culture. And that's exactly what this episode will be about today. And even outside of Miami, just America in totality. Is it wrong or out of pocket for us to want to have at least a shared language? Do we have the same expectation when we visit other countries? So again, a huge thank you to my supporters, whether you're listening on Spotify or iTunes or watching here on YouTube. I'm so grateful for you. Be sure to subscribe if you like this kind of content and let's get right into this
video and see what's going on. >> I don't get it, bro. How do these people in Miami have jobs? They don't speak English. The United States is an English-speaking country. If you come here, it should be your biggest priority to first learn English and then get into the workforce.
>> Especially if you're going to be living here and getting a job here. It's one thing if you're visiting. It's another if you're from out of town, but I feel like if you're getting a job, like for example, if I were to move to Mexico and I'm looking to get a job in Mexico, I would be a fool to say that, oh, I'm not going to learn Spanish. Like, I just I'm not really worried about that.
Obviously, with context, unless I'm working at a resort, that's a little nuance, but if I'm like working in downtown Mexico City and I don't know a lick of Spanish, I feel like I'm the one that's out of pocket for that. And I don't think it's wrong to at least have a shared language in said country. If you work in the United States, you should know English. English is the primary language, so you should learn it. You should know it. How about when you're driving on the roads, how the hell are you reading the road signs? Why is it that when I'm going to This really
happened to me. Why is it that if I'm going to ice cream shop down in Miami, I'm being like, people have attitude with me. Oh, no. No glass. I'm like, what the hell? I just want an ice cream cone. We here in the United States. What you mean no glass? What do you do? What are you doing not knowing English and you work here? And nothing pisses me off more than them damn door drivers who don't know a lick of English. First off, again, how the hell are you reading the the road signs? How are you driving around? That's a hazard in itself. But two, why am I struggling to communicate
with you in my home country? Why am I getting in a Uber and you don't know English? Now, I'm sitting here trying to tell this happened to me, too. I'm sitting here trying to tell you, okay, I'm trying to tell you you need to drop me off two blocks over, but you got you not even comprehending what the hell I'm saying to you. You just looking at me like from family guy. Hey, no, no, no more. Let me pitch the damn car. Look at the G. You can
barely understand the GPS. Like, yeah, there's a lot to get into in this video, but at the bare minimum, if you are have a job in the United States, it is not wrong for it to be expected for you to at least know English. >> And you know what? I actually do like the fact that in Miami, everybody speaks Spanish. And it does feel like you're in a Latin American country rather than part of the United States.
>> Then go to the Don't go to the damn country. Why are so many people obsessed with coming here and then changing it to to to what they left? go. I'm not going to go anywhere else and try to change how they operate and how they run things.
That's just so entitled of me to do so. Entitled me to think that. No, I would never do that. >> I do like the fact that everywhere you go, you overhear conversations, everyone's talking in Spanish. You go to a restaurant, they're taking your order in Spanish. You go to any store, grocery store, clothing store, people are asking you if you want the receipt re in Spanish. I do. Those are just the vibes in Miami. It's always been that way.
It's part of the allure. It's part of the culture. >> And when he says it's always been that way, it really has. It really has. '7s, '8s, '9s, it has always been this way. Where it is a lot of people who are speaking Spanish in Miami, there are plenty of people who speak only one language and it's not English. I'm with CNN.
>> No, no speak. No, no English. >> No language. >> No. >> Hi, I'm with CNN. Can I ask you a question? >> No English. >> No English. My problem is when you don't know English, you can speak another language all day long. I love when I go to New York and I'm I'm sitting down at a really nice restaurant and I'm hearing so many different languages. That's dope. It is cool, but to a certain point, you at the bare minimum at least need to know English. That's all I'm asking. It's literally quintessential
Miami. Whatever your vibe is, you can find it in the United States. If you like surfing culture and being by the beach, go to Hawaii. Go to California. You will have that. If you want great barbecue all the time and want like a ranch style life, go to Texas.
>> Yes, you can travel anywhere in the United States and you can find your vibe. You can find your needs. You can find whatever you're looking for. You really can. My whole problem is when you don't know English and you're not even trying to learn English. You can speak other languages if you want. That's fine. People have different slangs in different cities. Lots of different things to experience down in Miami. But again, you just need to know how to speak English. is the people that are refusing to learn English, the people that are running their businesses in
non-English. You could go to another country for that. I'm so sorry. So this whole conversation that is going on right now on social media about Miami and the entitlement that many Latinos feel to living only in a Spanish-speaking world within the Miami bubble all boils down to the fact that Miami, Florida is a deeply racist city. Oh my god, people go crazy when I've said that before. How
can you say that? You're so stupid. Miami is so diverse. Yeah, that doesn't take away from the fact that Miami is still a deeply racist city, particularly against black people, against black Americans, against Haitians, against black Caribbeans, against Afro Latinos, too.
>> So, that's where the problem begins, right? There is this thing called the Miami bubble. And within the Miami bubble, there are Latino communities that have developed over decades and decades and generations where you don't have to speak a lick of English to get by. And Miami, Florida is unique in that regard. You can go to Texas, LA, New York City, any city or metro area in this country that has a huge population of Latinos, huge Latino neighborhoods,
etc. That problem doesn't exist. Both languages are spoken. And you know what's crazy is I've seen a couple of reals from this. I've seen a couple of videos of like you have black patrons and they go to like a taco I think there's a Taco Bell example. of a Taco Bell employee refusing to take an order, actually telling a customer to go to another location because that order wasn't placed in Spanish. Take a look.
>> Nobody here speak English. Nobody in the back speak English. >> At this Taco Bell drive-thru, no Spanish, no service. >> I'm trying to order food and >> um they go to these restaurants like, "Oh, no. No hab. No. Is it no hab? I think it's no hab. No ha English. Like me. No speak English. No. No. No. More lemon pledge. No more lemon pledge. They do all that
>> We need more lemon pledge. >> You need more lemon pledge. >> Yes. >> And it's just to shoe away the black patrons. And it's like there is like this like racial split between Latinos, Hispanics, and then the blacks. It's so crazy. And it is like you said, it seems to be this only Miami thing where like it doesn't matter where I'm at in LA, in New York, wherever maybe if I'm in a heavily like Mexican Latino area or
district, they're at least going to know English, some of it, and they're going to try their hardest to understand me. But in Miami, I Oh my gosh, it happened to me at the ice cream shop. I mean, I guess so, but I don't view everything through a racial lens. But I did walk into a ice cream shop in Miami and I basically got told off. I'm like for not speaking Spanish.
I'm like what the We are in America and you mad at me cuz I don't know a lick of Spanish. What are we doing here? So that is a very interesting component. But he no lies are detected when you when there is a Spanish predominately Spanish area in Miami.
Oh, they don't know English at all. >> My first time getting Vanishing food. What's the name of this establishment, ma'am? >> Sorry. >> Oh, >> no. Speak English. Sorry. >> Just like that. No speak English. No, sorry. No speak English glass.
We are in America. I would be dumbfounded to open a business in Japan and only spoke English. And if a if a Japanese person walked in my store, I gave them attitude cuz they don't know English.
I'm in their country. This is this the that people be talking about that's just annoying and it seems like it's kind of growing all over Miami. This is starting to bubble up more. More people are talking about it. Is this divide this split and how there's so many entitled Hispanics down there just only speaking Spanish?
>> Should immigrants that come to America learn English and should they assimilate? Before you answer that question, I have another. Should Americans that immigrate to other countries, let's say Japan, should they learn Japanese and should they assimilate into the Japanese culture? If your answer is yes to both, we are on the same page.
>> And I'm not saying you can't bring your own culture a little bit too. I'm not saying when you move somewhere you have to leave everything at home. No, you can make it a nice little blend, but like damn. Yeah, if you're moving to that country, you can't expect to go in there and change the whole damn country and or you can't expect to navigate that country and move around and converse to people without learning said language.
You need to do that. >> And for context, I'm an immigrant who came here and assimilated. But if your answer is no to immigrants assimilating to American culture, but yes to Americans assimilating to other cultures, then let me just clarify your position. You're not pro-immigrant, you're anti-America. Because if immigrants come here, are accepted by the people, but all of their loyalty is still to their country of origin, which they chose to leave, by the way.
>> They wave that flag instead of the American flag. They refuse to learn the language, refused to assimilate, and instead want to change America to be more like the country that they left. >> And here's the thing, America isn't perfect. We have a lot we need to address. I'm down for like immigration reform, the whole nine, right? I'm okay with that. But like during these ICE riots and the protest when people over here waving the Mexican flag and viva
Mexico, well take your ass to Mexico. What are you doing waving their flag here? Go. I've always been so confused by that. Like, yes, we have things we can work on here in America. I'm not saying we're totally perfect, but I am saying if you're going to burn the American flag and wave your Mexican flag, then go to Mexico. Why are you just this anti-America? If you hate America so much, then leave. Again, I'm not saying we can't work on certain things, but the bare minimum, why are