Alvin Lee Message & Discussion Board
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No no no, not our beloved Magical Hystery Bus, despite the jabs (non-innoculative) made thereon by our tour guide's narrative towards assorted nationalities, especially Scots. Tsk. But tame stuff indeed compared with the sentiments expressed on multiple bumper-stickers I saw displayed on the back of a certain truck while out and about with a friend yesterday! "Speak English or get out", "The only reason some people are alive is because it's against the law to shoot them", "And on the eighth day, God created Marines", "NOPE" (with the Obama for Prez logo as the "O"), "LOL" (with the same logo as the same letter), etc., etc. This is a bonafide anecdote, guys. No funnin'. Not that it's funny. I'd never seen any of these particular slogans before, much less all on the same vehicle (though of course, the sentiments expressed are nothing new under the sun, however NOT usual to see or hear in Des Moines). My friend, au contraire, sports a handful of progressive and pacifistic bumper stickers on her stalwart, er, roadster, including "COEXIST", with symbols from several religions (as well she might, since she herself is a Buddhist-Catholic-Hoodoo-Neo-Pagan syncretist). Upon first spotting the Marine (or Marine-wannabe) right ahead of us, my intrepid chum (eek! I'm turning into Nancy Drew!) and I were seized with the desire to pull up alongside the truck to attempt to engage in roundly challenging if necessarily fleeting verbal expressions of our distinct disapproval. No such luck. The traffic and congested lanes on the scene did not permit us that satisfaction, alas. Nor were we at all able to zoom on ahead to, er, OK, basically taunt this driver with my friend's morally superior bumper benedictions of peace, love, and tolerance. All in a good cause, of course. Ah, well. We tried. And even after all these years, deep in my heart, I do believe that We Shall Overcome some day.
Laurie, you can't let the haters get you down. Sometimes it is impossible not to break down and cry, but then we get back up to fight the good fight, one day at a time.
You said it, Robin! Eloquently expressed. My friend and I laughed ruefully at ourselves-- VERY ruefully-- but we didn't let this guy get us down, don't worry. We're both experienced campaigners and too persistent in our causes for that. And I should clarify to anyone reading this that I certainly don't consider Marines, an increasingly diverse entity, to be inherently bigoted. Just the one (if he even WAS a Marine) in question, judging from the juxtaposition of his bumper sticker slogans. Another note: I myself am in favor of English being our official language. There's nothing whatever bigoted about a country having an official language and expecting people to learn it if they don't know it. I'd never dream of trying to live in another country without learning or using their language. But I would never hatefully tell someone to "get out" on the basis of their language practises. This country is so much more vast and diverse than many. There's room for reasonable debate on the matter.
Of course, there are countries like India where many languages are spoken, which could prove quite challenging if I wanted to live there, which I don't. I did recently enjoy the movie "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", though! :-)
One earth - one people. Personally, I think everything would be so much easier and better if everyone in the whole wide world could speak Swedish, instead of all these strange foreign languages like English, German and French, etc.. 
Javisst, B! Det menar jag ocksaa! ;-)
Aw, gee, Freddy, you're no fun anymore. Such tact! Such finesse! Such understanding! NOT. But seriously, it's always nice to know one's efforts are appreciated. Hey, I'll try to remember to express myself primly in drab, meaningless, monosyllabic posts completely devoid of any trace of passion or personality from here on in if it makes you feel better, OK? :-)