Michigan Offers Help Applying For SNAP In Arabic, Conservatives Outraged
Of all the states, Michigan has the largest percentage of people of Arab descent. The Michigan Department of Human Services offers 3 options when calling for help applying for assistance. 1 for English, 2 for Spanish, and 3 for Arabic. The practice isn’t uncommon for a state with large number of a particular ethnicity. Florida, for example, offers Creole in addition to English and Spanish from their Department of Children and Families’ Miami Switchboard to assist those of Haitian descent. The USDA SNAP information website offers applications for download in more than 30 languages.
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Conservatives have been sharing that Michigan offers help for its Arab population in Arabic, and they are not very happy about it. Clash Daily’s Doug Giles wrote:
The camel’s nose is officially in the tent in Michigan!
Muslim men are allowed to have as many as 4 wives. Many Muslims have immigrated into the U.S. and brought their 2-3-or 4 wives with them, but the U.S. does not allow multi-marriages, so the man lists one wife as his, and signs the other 2 or 3 up as extended family on welfare and other free Government programs!
Apparently, for Doug, the issue goes beyond simply allowing people to apply in Arabic. He misrepresents Muslim polygamy in a sensationalist attempt to create outrage toward a misunderstood practice. In Islam, monogamy is the basis for a standard relationship. Muslim men are allowed to enter into polygamist arrangements in cases involving marriage to the mothers of orphans so they can be taken care of. The Quran allows an exception in these cases so the greater needs of the community can be met.
Snopes offers an in depth analysis of Doug’s story.
Senior Airman (retired) Brian Kolfage also offered his thoughts on the subject:
What ever happened to learning a country’s language that everyone speaks?
I hate it when I can’t even communicate with people who work and can’t speak English. Many fast food employees lately don’t speak an ounce of English. That’s in Florida and even Arizona. When I was in Miami, roughly 25% of employees that I ran into didn’t speak any English.
Kolfage is no stranger to hate. He’s also no stranger to invented statistics. There is no statistic available for how many people taking fast food orders don’t speak English, so we’ll have to take his word for it, though 72% of internet statistics are made up. I just made that up.
He also posted the story:
Everyone in America, so long as they’re legally allowed, is entitled to apply for government assistance. After all, that’s what it’s there for. The question is, should the Arabic demographic – Muslims – be provided an option to better communicate and apply for taxpayer-funded help?
Should hungry people be able to apply for benefits or should they be denied if they don’t speak English or don’t qualify for the conservative list of approved religions?
I asked Kolfage for an interview on the subject. He blocked my Facebook profile and banned me from his page. I’m assuming he’s declining to comment.
Conservatives have been attacking the SNAP program for years. Hopefully some day they realize that SNAP isn’t about race, it isn’t free food for illegal immigrants, and it isn’t destroying the economy. SNAP is about battling hunger, and hunger doesn’t discriminate.[su_csky_ad]
forpeace October 2nd, 2014 at 11:16 pm
I haven’t seen Conservatives being outraged by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud of Saudi Arabia who is a “Muslim” and speaks “Arabic.”
Through his Kingdom Holding Company, he owns 7% of News Corp.’s shares, making Kingdom Holdings the second largest shareholder.
Wayout October 2nd, 2014 at 11:23 pm
Looks like Spanish will just have to play second fiddle to Arabic in Michigan. And I thought the main language in these United States was English. Silly me.
forpeace October 2nd, 2014 at 11:28 pm
Do you mean this kind of English? http://www.liberalamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/crestwood.jpg
whatthe46 October 2nd, 2014 at 11:41 pm
HA! would do you wanna bet it goes over his head?
Chinese Democracy October 3rd, 2014 at 12:02 am
those people are missing more than a P .. lol
Chinese Democracy October 3rd, 2014 at 12:02 am
this is America .. where the language of Shakespeare needs no defending.
You must think we live in Buchananland
whatthe46 October 3rd, 2014 at 12:17 am
how do i post a picture i find?
Obewon October 3rd, 2014 at 12:41 am
Disqus shows how to post pics from Earth’s Arabian cradle of our civilization. https://help.disqus.com/customer/portal/articles/466234-adding-images-or-videos-to-comments
whatthe46 October 3rd, 2014 at 12:47 am
lol. thanks.
Obewon October 3rd, 2014 at 1:05 am
Oh! And hover mouse cursor over image, right click ‘save image as…’ note path for ‘My pictures.’
whatthe46 October 3rd, 2014 at 1:13 am
i did that and i “save picture as” in pictures then copied to paste and it still won’t work. i give up.
Obewon October 3rd, 2014 at 1:28 am
When the pic is saved, then you can post it via “Upload Images” in the lower left comment box, before posting your comment.
whatthe46 October 3rd, 2014 at 1:45 am
YES!!!!!! finally. thank you. lol. i did it and it didn’t post, so i tried it again, nothing. so, fine i refreshed the page and now there’s 2 of the pics. lol. i mean, i know i’m slow but, damn i didn’t think i was that bad.
Chinese Democracy October 3rd, 2014 at 2:47 pm
ok that was a little more in depth than I went lol ..
Im on a mac what can I say
Chinese Democracy October 3rd, 2014 at 2:06 am
just drag it into the text box from your desktop it will be automatically added
whatthe46 October 3rd, 2014 at 12:13 am
yes… silly you.
whatthe46 October 3rd, 2014 at 12:14 am
….
whatthe46 October 3rd, 2014 at 1:38 am
…
Larry Schmitt October 3rd, 2014 at 6:28 am
It was worth the effort.
whatthe46 October 3rd, 2014 at 8:12 pm
thank you… LOL. WHEW!
Anomaly 100 October 3rd, 2014 at 6:44 am
A man a sort of adopted as a father in my adult years speaks very little English. He worked hard his entire life and paid taxes. What’s your problem with that?
arc99 October 3rd, 2014 at 10:53 am
For what it’s worth, over the past 5 years where right wing outrage has been the reaction to such atrocities as the lunch menu at the Obama daughters’ school, I have come to a conclusion.
Anything that pi$$es off you right wingers is by definition a good idea.
Go for it Michigan. If right wingers are unhappy, it is a clear sign you are taking the correct action.
tracey marie October 3rd, 2014 at 2:00 pm
you are worse then silly, you are willfully ignorant believeing we have an official language in this country
whatthe46 October 2nd, 2014 at 11:28 pm
“Their religious belief is that they’ll bleed the beast, meaning the government,” said Mark Shurtleff, Utah’s attorney general. “They hate the government, so they’ll bleed it for everything they can through welfare, tax evasion and fraud.” “More than 65 percent of the people are on welfare … compared with 6 percent of the people of the general population,” Shurtleff said.
***
The above is about warren jeffs. so, forget that these are American citizens who speak english and don’t need assistance reading the forms in “english” they don’t like the govt. but will bleed it dry. i don’t hear them crying over this. forget they are raping children as well. stupid asses.
tiredoftea October 2nd, 2014 at 11:54 pm
SNAP is also highly means tested, so those who qualify, get it, deservedly. We have Repubs to thank for that.
fahvel October 3rd, 2014 at 4:14 am
it is considerate and does define the incredible multi ethnicity of the usa but I don’t know of many other countries where the language of the country is a requirement for services and naturalization.
Larry Schmitt October 3rd, 2014 at 6:32 am
This has been going on in America since there was an America. The first generation to arrive speaks their native language, and their kids grow up and learn English. The kids translate for their parents, but each new generation becomes more acclimated. Second languages have been used by govt agencies and businessess for decades. They’re only pissed because it’s Arabic. I’m surprised their rant didn’t blame on the Mooslim in Chief.
tracey marie October 3rd, 2014 at 1:59 pm
It takes 3 generations to fully acclimate.
uzza October 3rd, 2014 at 8:18 am
“I hate it when I can’t even communicate with people who work and can’t speak English. When I was in Miami, roughly 25% of employees that I ran into didn’t speak any English.”
So that’s why I learned Spanish.
Larry Schmitt October 3rd, 2014 at 9:00 am
Yell at them loud enough in English, and they’ll understand. Isn’t that what Americans do?
Maxx44 October 3rd, 2014 at 8:47 am
We’re the world’s melting pot. We do not have an official language. Some people, me included, have trouble learning other languages. I own a business in the Middle East, and cannot for the life of me learn Arabic. Should that preclude me from conducting my business in Arabic speaking countries? Grow up and realize that, thankfully, not everyone can be or should be assimilated into a mold you RWNJs want them to.
Spirit of America October 3rd, 2014 at 9:25 am
This is one hair on a full head of hair problem.
First, our(USA) problems are very unique compared to other countries on just the simple fact that we are w/out a doubt the most diverse country in the world. Look at other countries, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Congo, where ever, and look at their populations; no where near as diverse.
People from all over came/come here because of the core aspects of America, the sharing of some fundamental beliefs that we and they(others that wish to come here) share, such as certain fundamental freedoms, economic opportunities, a non-homogenous society.
And in that respect, to keep those fundamentals in place, certain things have to be ‘in common with all’ or instead of being a ‘melting pot’ and all it implies, we become a ‘cafeteria lunch plate’, w/separations that divide instead of mix.
Language should be one of those. At the government level English should be the standard. It used to be and it worked. Filling out forms, interacting in public(court, law officers, road signs, etc) should be conducted in a single medium.
For those that wish gov assistance, they need to learn english or have someone to help them w/that.
And I’m not talking about anything BUT at the gov level… what people do in their own homes, gatherings, weddings, even businesses is their own concern. If a spanish coffee shop owner wants only spanish spoken there(a niche market) and makes a go of it, more power to them.
From just a cost-to-tax-payer angle, the amount of money used to set up phone systems, forms, websites, sign, & such for every language is astronomical when added up from city/county/state/fed concerns.
Then there’s a ‘who gets their language’ to be used? If the spanish can, why not farsi? If the spanish and farsi can, why not french? And if the spanish, farsi, french can, why not italian? If you leave some out, that’s discrimination, no?
No one’s life is w/out hurtles, no ones. Immigrants choose to come here. There really should be, in my view, a certain amount of work on their part to conform to some of the basics here, not try to make America seem like “home but better” to them.
If you work for a small business and the owner hires 4 italian immigrants, gives them a chance. Should the owner make all the other 50 employees now write all memo’s/emails/bulletin board announcements in english and italian? No, he’s going to inform the italian workers they need to learn english.
My view.
Rusty Shackleford October 3rd, 2014 at 11:18 am
Uhhh…yeah, and that’s what they do. Have you never applied for a job in an area with a large non-English-speaking population? Most listings will insist bilingual English/[other language] mandatory.
Why not? Job creation for translators and transcribers.
Spirit of America October 3rd, 2014 at 1:11 pm
” … and that’s what they do… Most listings will insist bilingual English/[other language] mandatory.”
First, I said make, meaning no choice. Second, I’ve never seen where a company made current employees learn another language because of new hirees.
” Job creation for translators and transcribers.”
Seriously? And put most businesses that can’t hire a translator per language out of business.
Nah, gov should be english, giving a common bond to the nation, businesses should be free to choose how to address it.
Rusty Shackleford October 3rd, 2014 at 1:15 pm
Where did I suggest mandating businesses do anything? I said they already do it willingly, without anyone requiring them to.
The GOVERNMENT translating all of this stuff is job creation for translators and transcribers. Why not? Better and more productive than buying more tanks.
Spirit of America October 3rd, 2014 at 1:28 pm
LOL, besides tanks having nothing to do w/topic, actually, no, it’s not more productive… 1 translator compared to many people employed to build a tank… 🙂
Rusty Shackleford October 3rd, 2014 at 1:50 pm
No one dies when a translator does his job.
Spirit of America October 3rd, 2014 at 10:34 pm
Whole nations have gone to war because of bad translations… and no one died because many people built a tank.
But neither addresses the original topic.
Rusty Shackleford October 3rd, 2014 at 11:34 pm
Douglas Adams jokes aren’t historical fact.
Spirit of America October 4th, 2014 at 12:33 am
Never said it was, but GREAT reference to an enjoyable series… 🙂
tracey marie October 3rd, 2014 at 1:57 pm
naw, we are a nation of immigrants and only the right is frightened by polyglots and people new to the country learning to speak and write english.
Chinese Democracy October 3rd, 2014 at 4:41 pm
Nah the Gov represents ALL the people not just the white males that you so desperately want to retain power.
Spirit of America October 3rd, 2014 at 10:44 pm
Man are you hooked on race or what?, especially since you have no idea what race I am yet you cast disparaging remarks about what I want?
And representing all the people has nothing to do w/a common language. There are over 6k living languages… why are you being so discriminatory against so many languages if you only want a few being supported by the gov? You only pick the people you like and to heck w/the rest?
Chinese Democracy October 3rd, 2014 at 4:37 pm
Where in the constitution does it say English is the official language ?
I grew up in FL where the drivers test is offered in several languages . I would prefer the person taking the drivers test understand it. Screw playing those white supremacist games
Spirit of America October 3rd, 2014 at 10:36 pm
Race has nothing what so ever to do with language, nothing.
Chinese Democracy October 3rd, 2014 at 11:21 pm
race has everything to do with you particularly .. not sure about everyone but sure about you
Spirit of America October 4th, 2014 at 12:36 am
LOL LOL, that’s rich…. you bring up race on a topic that has nothing to do with race and then say ‘race has everything to do with me’… man are you wacked or what?
I actually pity you racists, you are missing so many friendships and good times just because of skin colors.
Chinese Democracy October 4th, 2014 at 1:38 pm
LOLOL typical t bagger tactic calling anyone that points out racism a racist
Spirit of America October 4th, 2014 at 10:15 pm
That may be a tactic, but you can’t say it is being used here and you know it. You brought in racism when the topic was language, you charged me w/being racist w/out knowing me or even seeing a racist post. A ‘typical’ tactic of racists is to yell racism at every opportunity at others to deflect their obsession w/racism and being a racist themselves and you got caught using it.
What’s even more telling, not only were we talking about language(which can’t be a racist topic) but we were talking about a group of people using a particular language, which happen to be muslim, which is a religion, not a race thing there either.
And yet you still had to bring in race…. 🙂
BustaTroll October 3rd, 2014 at 6:24 pm
Your argument in support of immigrants learning English is concise. I thoroughly enjoyed how you were able separate the government from the personal levels of this issue. We are diverse, and yes, we do need to offer those languages if we choose to be a country responsible for the immigrants currently fleeing their (in many cases) beloved homeland as political refugees or for socioeconomic reasons since the 1600’s. At some point someone along the way in your Lineage was tolerated by somebody and became a part of a greater society.
What Brian Kolfage doesn’t understand is that his father would be the first in his paternal lineage to be a natural citizen, his family immigrating to, go figure, Dearborn from Ontario. If they happened to be French speaking they would have needed someone to help them with the legalities of being an immigrant while they learn to speak English. If not, they certainly had to at some point stop speaking Dutch when they immigrated to Canada. That’s how it works.
Unfortunately that’s where people want to personalize a public issue and get frustrated and post things that start with “I hate it when.”
On that note the fact of the matter is that most people immigrating or planning to immigrate here speak at least some English. According to the US Census Bureau, only 13% of legal immigrants speak no English at all.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/2014/06/forty-four_percent_of_immigran.html
As The United States of America we have a huge responsibility that we created for ourselves, through the very documents and the evolution of the laws created and adjudicated that conservatives want to claim as their own.
If only they understood what reality says.
Chinese Democracy October 3rd, 2014 at 4:35 pm
muslim does not = terrorist try again
rg9rts October 4th, 2014 at 2:57 pm
They don’t even want english