Governor Schwarzenegger: "Turn Off Spanish TV"

Source: http://joomla.latinoreporterdigital.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=77&Itemid=31

Wednesday, 13 June 2007
By Ana Ley

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger touched on some of his signature issues – including immigration and the environment – in an appearance before hundreds of journalists at the California Theater in San Jose Wednesday night.

A panel of journalists peppered the governor with questions at an informal chat that was part of the National Association for Hispanic Journalists convention.

One issue that drew attention was Schwarzenegger’s comment on the need for immigrants to turn away from Spanish-language media in order to better assimilate in this country.

"You have to turn off the Spanish television set," the governor said. "I know this sounds odd, it’s not the politically correct thing to say, and I’m getting myself into trouble. But I know that when I came to this country, I did not or very rarely spoke German anymore."

His comments raised the ire of some in the audience.

"Hello, you’re at a convention with Spanish-language media," said University of Texas-El Paso student Fernanda Camarena, adding that the message seemed contradictory to the message of the convention.

Others said his comments reinforced the perception of him as a moderate Republican.

"He's compassionate about immigration, but he's no-nonsense about it," said Gustavo Arellano, a staff writer at the Orange County Weekly. "You can't peg him."

Schwarzenegger is credited with raising the state minimum wage and flexing his muscle on global warming issues. Some critics say he spends too much money and is too lenient on immigration issues.

Before tackling politics, Schwarzenegger was a businessman and "famous bodybuilder and a Hollywood action hero," according to a biography on his office's Web site.

Schwarzenegger: Hispanics should shun Spanish media to learn English

Source: http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/24190

By KEVIN YAMAMURA
Thursday, June 14, 2007

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told hundreds of Latino journalists that Spanish-speaking immigrants who want to learn English more quickly should shun various forms of Spanish-language media.

"You've got to turn off the Spanish television set," Schwarzenegger said Wednesday at the 25th annual National Association of Hispanic Journalists convention, which included many who produce Spanish-language material.

"It's that simple. You've got to learn English," he said. "I know this sounds odd and this is the politically incorrect thing to say and I'm going to get myself in trouble. But I know that when I came to this country, I very rarely spoke German to anyone."

The Republican governor, an Austrian immigrant, was responding to a question about how to improve Latino academic performance.

Schwarzenegger said tutoring and after-school programs are essential. But he emphasized that immigrants should avoid a diet of Spanish-language books, TV and newspapers in order to learn English, calling it a "drastic" but necessary step.

Schwarzenegger last year angered some Latino leaders by observing that Mexican immigrants have problems succeeding in the United States because "they try to stay Mexican." He hammered at the same point Wednesday in San Jose, saying that immigrants from Germany or France have an easier time learning English because they do not have many outlets to speak their native tongues.

"You're just forced to speak English, and that just makes you learn the language faster," Schwarzenegger said. "It is much more difficult and much more challenging when you are ... let's say, Latino. Because you have so many Latinos, as I see at the Capitol in Sacramento, there are so many Latinos who speak Spanish all the time, they speak to each other in Spanish. So it makes it difficult to perfect their English skills as quickly as possible."

"They're busy working," remarked panelist Pilar Marrero, political editor of the Spanish-language newspaper La Opinion. "They don't have time to."

Marrero seemed to grow visibly tense as Schwarzenegger made his case against Spanish-language media, and the governor apologized at one point after he said not to read Spanish-language newspapers.

She agreed later that Latin-American immigrants have a different experience than European newcomers. But she said those coming from Spanish-speaking countries do make an effort to learn English and that there are plenty of bilingual immigrant households.

"Spanish media is there to do what the English media doesn't do, which is to serve the immigrants," Marrero said afterward. "As he said, it's a political hot potato. I think he believes it, he thinks about his own experience. It's different when you come from Austria than when you come from Latin America."

During his 45-minute appearance, Schwarzenegger had a wide-ranging discussion moderated by Sacramento Bee Executive Editor Rick Rodriguez. The governor was generally received warmly by more than 300 journalists at the California Theatre in downtown San Jose and drew his biggest applause when promoting bipartisan themes.

The governor said he does not support the immigration bill that has stalled in Congress despite his repeated calls for an overhaul. He said the current bill lacks specifics on enforcement, financing and regulations for new immigrant arrivals, though he believes lawmakers are close to an agreement.

(Kevin Yamamura can be reached at kyamamura(at)sacbee.com.)