Has the Melting Pot begun to burn?

Carolina Sanchez/Contributing Writer

With only a few days in office, President Donald Trump is wasting no time in implementing and executing his “America.”

Despite his short time in the White House, Trump has already prioritized his to-do list, placing the removal of the Spanish version of WhiteHouse.Gov at the top.

WhiteHouse.Gov/Español was the alternative page to the White House website available to Spanish speakers.

On Friday, Jan. 20 the page was no longer accessible. The reasons behind the elimination of the page are obscure at the moment, leaving warranted space for speculation and controversy.

Judging from his “Make America Great Again” slogan, the most plausible intention behind this event translates as an attempt, on Trump’s part, to “preserve” his definition of the American culture.

Language is symbolic, both literally and figuratively. The change may imply what Trump believes America, and its respective “government,” should be.

Contrastingly, it seems much more fitting that this action, debatably meant for American “inclusion,” more closely resembles a deliberate act toward exclusion of non-native English speakers.

The conspicuous message implied by this Trumped up Trojan horse is undoubtedly an impolite euphemism for “In America we speak English.”

But, Hispanics, according to the U.S. Census Bureau constitute an estimated 56.6 million of the entire “American” population. Of those 56.6 million, a large majority is proficient in the English language, meaning that not many Latinos will be affected by the change, in the literal sense.

Figuratively, however, the change sends a subliminal message to the Hispanic community. The message implies non-receptiveness to the notion of Spanish as an adopted secondhand American language.

The ambiguous change has left the underlying purpose open to interpretation. What changes are Americans to expect next? Are these the first telltale signs of Trump’s America? Have the contents of the “Melting Pot” begun to burn?

 

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The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of Panther Press Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

 

Image retrieved from Flickr.