10-05-2023, 03:15 AM
(10-04-2023, 02:57 PM)tomh009 Wrote:(10-03-2023, 04:54 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: Has racism increased in the region in the past few years? I definitely feel like it has, just perusing the Waterloo subreddit. More complaints about "foreign students", foreign drivers, people not speaking English.
Foreign drivers? Yeah, the Toronto drivers are really aggressive and obnoxious, we should not allow them in our region!
And, seriously, people not speaking English in public? When did that become illegal? The foreign students and other immigrants do, as a rule, speak English quite well, but of course they may speak another language with family or friends.
(And, no, Dan, these comments are not aimed at you.)
Haha...
I'm the one who lives in a country where English is not the main language* but who speaks English and doesn't speak the native language (much). Just because most people here do speak English I don't think negates that entirely.
FWIW, I do know that before I open my mouth, I can more or less "pass" as a non-immigrant, although in the EU, I suspect that is somewhat less important. But I've always feel a little funny when there are people of a visible minority speaking perfect Dutch that I cannot follow at all.
* The funny thing is the official primary EU language--the language all meetings, business, and official communications are conducted in--is English...which is not the first language of any of the member nations (thanks to Brexit anyway). It does provide a nice kind of neutral ground where nobody is favoured.