downlo:

The Flushing food and sign wars rage on.  It’s about accommodating all ethnic groups.  The diverse community that should be represented.  Accommodating everyone.

Assuming, of course, that “everyone” means “white English speakers.”

Chinese people have resided in Flushing for more than thirty years. In Census Tract 865, where New York Mart replaced Key Food, 70 percent of the population is of Asian descent (2005-2009 Community Survey, interactive map here).  Seven percent are Latinos, African Americans are one percent, white people are twenty-one percent and the final one percent is “other.”  According to the 2000 Census, 75.9 percent speak a language other than English, 72 percent don’t speak English very well and 73.2 percent were born outside of the United States (source).

[…]

“When you have a sign that’s only in Chinese or Korean, that’s very offensive. It says, ‘You shouldn’t come here.’ … You can have another language smaller than the English, but you can’t have these big Asian signs only.”

That’s James Trikas, described as “a community leader and member of the advisory board.”

The article that quotes Trikas also notes as follows:

“Many community members say it is imperative that all signs be written predominately in English, as it is a safety hazard as well as an inconvenience for shoppers and residents to have only other languages on important signs.”

Who is the “you” that is being offended by the Chinese or Korean signs? And who are the “many community members” and the “shoppers and residents” who find the non-English language signs an inconvenience?

[…]

Since that census tract is 70 percent Asian, it appears  “many community members” may find it convenient for signs to be in “Asian.”

It becomes clear that when people like Mary Ann Boroz asks “How can we accommodate everybody?” she has a very specific “everybody” in mind…

In 2004, City Councilman John Liu conducted a study of Flushing’s commercial signage.  It found that out “of 293 businesses in the area, 83 percent are identified by exterior signage containing English which accurately describes the products or services of that business, 12 percent had exterior signage containing English that was not descriptive of the business, and 5 percent had no English on their sign.”

83 percent sounds like plenty of “diversity” to me.

I find it fucking hilarious that these ‘community leaders’ think having non-English signs poses a safety hazard and makes people feel unwelcome. Non-English-speakers manage to make their way through a predominantly English-speaking country without getting fucked up. And I don’t see any white-owned businesses being pressured to put in non-English signs in order to make immigrant Americans feel more welcome in their communities.

Ethnocentrism strikes again!