Getting in the Way of Assimilation

* While searching for a book in the basement of the UC Irvine main library, I happened across an East Asian section. To my amazement, this section encompassed several aisles. Among the selections were magazines and comic books, although I’m not exactly sure, because not one word was in English.

I find it incredible that taxpayers must pay for this roadblock to assimilation. Sadly, this is not the only thing that taxpayers must subsidize, as it is possible to vote in Spanish or Vietnamese and to take a driver’s test in Spanish.

I recently returned from a five-month trip to South America. While only a tourist, I took Spanish classes and attempted to assimilate. Not once did I expect anyone to speak to me in English, or to provide reading material or instructions in English. Both my parents are immigrants. When they arrived in the United States, they quickly dropped their respective languages and completely assimilated within months. To those who refuse to drop their languages and non-Western cultures, I have only three words: Assimilate or vacate.

R.A. TEJIDOR

Fountain Valley