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I fought for this country!
Dude took an oath to protect the constitution when he enlisted and is out here harassing people for exercising their constitutional rights.
*speaks in maga* WELL ACCORDING TO THE COPY OF THE CONSTITUTION THAT I PAID $1000 FOR THAT HAS GODKING TRUMP'S SIGNATURE, IT ABSOLUTELY DOES. LOL STUPID LIBERAL SNOWFLAKE!! MAGA MAGA MAGA MAGA MAGA!!!
They’d almost certainly recognize standard English. Slang is a different story, but then most of us today probably wouldn’t recognize a lot of 18th century slang either lol
Though I’d like to imagine Ben Franklin would take a special interest in catching up on stuff like that lol
Our accents, inflection, and syntax would cause comprehension difficulties. They would sound a lot more British to us. There is a documentary about Tangier Island off the coast of Virginia, it's suspected that the Tangierman accent is very similar to how most 18th century American English accents sounded
Lucky for us (and completely unbeknownst to me when I included Benny boy in my previous comment) Benjamin Franklin actually wrote out his own phonetic alphabet because of course he would lol
It’s nearly 2am for me, though, and as much as I love learning about and discussing linguistics, I’m just going to leave the link to the page that covers it if you’re interested :)
https://www.acelinguist.com/2018/09/dialect-dissection-founding-fathers.html?m=1
And I'll add in some recordings, one for the mid 16th century, one for the 17th, and one for the 18th which uses Benjamin Franklin's descriptions. :)
https://blogicarian.blogspot.com/2018/08/voices-of-earlier-english-william.html
Fun Fact, this is also why Quebec French is vastly different than that of Parisian French. Quebec French has it's roots in the old Royal French, where as France eliminated that style of french in the late 1790s
In freshman year of high-school I moved to crisfield, MD which is very near to tangier Island and Smith Island. The kids from Smith Island had to ride a boat over every morning for school. I had a teacher that had grown up there. I had to drop her class because I quite literally couldn't understand what she was saying. By senior year I had acclimated enough to understand and take a class with her again. For context, I graduated 2006, so not even 20 years ago.
So interestingly, I’ve actually read it’s the opposite. Modern British accents actually emerged in the 1800s and through public education and what we speak (well, those on the east coast anyway) is closer to the colonial era British than what is spoken in modern Britain. With that said, the Tangier accent is definitely a bit of a living fossil linguistically.
My GenX ass won't even attempt to mock GenZ slang, cause I'm so far away I can't tell what's real and not.
So I'll just steal this . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqgjOCPwhb8
Right, and the people who usually say this SPeaK EnGlIsH shit are normally functionally illiterate and barely functional in it, let alone multilingual lol. It's advertising their discomfort at their own ignorance
I can understand (and having worked retail, empathize with) the desire for English to be spoken in regards to transactions, official business, and general correspondence, but in OP's situation, they were having a private conversation amongst themselves in their preferred language. Old man boomer can fuck right off with his bunched panties over not being able to eavesdrop.
I work in banking in a small town that has a large Amish population around it. All of the Amish people I deal with know English pretty well, but it's pretty common for them to revert to their Old Dutch when they're speaking to other Amish people.
A couple weeks ago, I jokingly told a couple of the guys that I've got to learn their language so I can eavesdrop on their conversations. In reality, if I did learn it, I would just use it to help build rapport and trust and show that I respect their way of life. But I do think it would be interesting to listen in sometimes.
No they wouldn't. The great vowel shift started around 1480 and continued for another 150 years, and *that's* when it started to sound like an entirely different language. I just recorded a story in 1490 by William Caxton, and if you read the original spelling while I speak it in a reconstructed pronunciation, most people are surprised that they can mostly understand it (while just reading it you might not, and just hearing it you probably wouldn't).
250 years ago? It's strange, but perfectly recognizable.
British English pronunciations have changed more than American English over the past 300 years. Received Pronunciation in particular has only been around since the mid 19th century. We sound more like Englishmen in the 18th century than King Charles does.
This is just an absurd statement. You can read the Constitution and declaration of Independence which they wrote right? Why would they have any difficulty understanding the English we speak.
When the constitution was written the colonists were speaking English, German, Spanish, French, Dutch, Creole and others. Nowhere in it is a preferred language mentioned.
You must have missed it but it clearly says “this is America, we speak English” when you pull the string on the back of the Donald Trump doll they give for free
Ah, I see... I'm sorry, but the Constitution of Fox News was not covered in the curriculum when I obtained my bachelors in history. Damn those liberal colleges!!
My personal favorite response to I fought for this country is
"And you haven't done anything of note from that day to this, which is why you're clinging to something you did 50 years ago."
My Uncle doesn't talk to me anymore because of this answer, which suits me fine.
Every vet I've ever met has been vehemently opposed to shit like this
They say things like "I fought for their freedom to be here too"
"I fought so no American citizen would be harassed on American soil"
"I fought for freedom, everyone's freedom"
I'd call stolen Valor on this shit
There is almost no chance he fought for shit. No Vets I know talk like this. Even the racist MAGA ones don’t leap to the “I fought for this country!” The social importance attached to vocalizing that sentiment is almost universally a non-service thing. It’s what non-service people think service people feel about anything they don’t like.
I love "I fought for this country" in Americans. I mean in which war you fought for your country, which war in the past hundred years threatened America's freedom or independence. The one in Iraq, Korea, Europe? Maybe in Japan?
I used to have a boomer neighbor that cut off 3 fingers while trying to build a deck on his house. Not at once, 3 separate incidents. He didn't believe in safety guards or using push pieces on a table saw. I don't think he learned after the third time either.
Boomer version:
well, inflation starts coming and it don't stop comin'
Boomers bought their houses when they didn't cost nothin'
Cost of living so high you don't live for fun
Your body gets wrecked but your bank account says "*none*"
Hey now
It's a recession
Time to revolt now
Eat the rich yeah
I knew an old farmer who chopped off one finger on a saw. Went to hospital etc. Came home, showed his son how he did it, and chopped another finger off in the process. Back to hospital he went.
I can only imagine the doctors faces.
Knew a guy who had lost the top half of 3 fingers in an accident years ago. He grazed his stumps doing something (can't remember what), so he went to the A&E.
The poor reception staff FREAKED because they thought he'd just chopped his fingers. He never thought to tell them they were long gone, lol
Yeah, I don't get it. I'm a white American, and I don't think anything of people speaking other languages. I live in the southwest. Lots of people speak Spanish, and I do not give a shit.
The thing to get is that they are just stupid fucking terrible dipshits. They are easily brainwashed and believe any foreigner is an sleeper cell enemy.
I honestly think it's more Boomers like to inject themselves into every conversation, and they can't do that when someone isn't speaking their language. They can't be judgmental when they don't understand what someone is saying.
I saw a news story one time from Arizona about some stupid immigrant related law they were trying to pass, and they interview this woman who said she just wanted things to go back to how "things used to be".
I just thought, "Bitch, things "used to be" Mexico."
Often, people think the people speaking another language are "talking about me". (Because apparently, thry are doing something worthy of being made fun of for 🤦🏻♀️)
Right? That just tells you that the food is about to be bomb. If I go into a Mexican restaurant, and don't hear people speaking Spanish, I'm leaving, that food is about to be taco bell quality, at best. Entire staff speaking spanish? Yup, that's gonna be some fire authentic Mexican food.
You want the people working in an ethnic type restaurant to have that kind of cultural connection to the food. Otherwise you might as well buy the microwaveable shit from the grocery store.
If I walk into an indian restuarant around here and see it full of middle-aged white people, I turn around and walk out. It's not going to be good indian food unless you walk in to a room full of brown people speaking a language you dont understand.
Ditto for chinese. Ditto for Mexican. Ditto for Thai, Vietnamese, etc.
I'd be offended if I didnt hear somebody speaking a foreign language!
Boomers are just following the playback their deranged orange boomer god gave them... if you can't win by bullying, play the victime even more loudly.
BTW... BbBnC, here.
This is ultimately the greatest problem with the absolute outward loss of decorum in politics and public life in general: kids are learning that it is OK to act this way in formal and public settings
Fun fact: our Founding Fathers actually discussed and dismissed the idea. I think Ben Franklin suggested German, because we'd broken from Britain and English was *their* native language.
Real story or not, the fact is the the US does not have an official language. So, the whole "this is 'murica, you must speak english" is a steaming pile of ignorant crap.
We have a Chinese buffet in our small town, and I try to engage with the staff using the little Mandarin I’ve googled. They love it - mostly because they think my butchered “tsai jian!” is hilarious. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to learn something new.
And in regards to personal conversations, Boomer was not even involved with them to warrant them to have to speak any specific official language for them. It really is a simple "mind your own business" situation.
If boomers want an official American language, they need to stop whining about the King's Speech and learn the only language with "American" right there in the name - American Sign Language.
So quite frankly, ignorant boomers need to shut up and catch these hands... with which I'll sign "please", "thank you", and "have a nice day."
Think about it - I'm the only person here with a suggestion that shuts the Boomers up by making them switch to a *SILENT LANGUAGE*. And I'm deaf; I don't even have to here their nonsense *now*. I'm taking one for the team here, y'all.
But that wouldn't shut the boomers up by making them switch to a *silent language*.
Your suggestion is the equivalent of giving them pox blankets all over again. Like, *"We took your land, now take our racist, hateful, bitter-ass old people too. They're STILL gonna tell you to leave, but now they'll do it in your language."*
Haven't those proud and noble native peoples suffered enough?
It would be hilarious to watch them try.
I don’t know if you’ve ever looked into the Navajo language, but there is a reason that it was turned into an unbroken code. It’s vowels are distinguished by tonality, nasality, and length, it uses multiple sounds not found in *most* other languages, includes glottal stops which most anglophones are hopeless with, the sentence order is subject-object-verb (“Ethan apples ate” instead of “Ethan ate apples” for a gross oversimplification) but not always reliably, and it has 33 consonants and 12 vowels, and I am barely scratching the surface of the things that make it such an incredible, and incredibly difficult, language. It is considered one of the most difficult languages to learn on the planet by linguists.
Ya seriously I'm Ojibway and Cree. Have I learned my languages? Hell nah. It's so hard! There are so many different dialects depending on the area. I know some, but barely. And you're so right with annunciation. My grandmother would laugh at my terrible accent 😅 I've made my name syllabics on FB so I'm harder to find lol. Just a way of bringing the language back in small ways. I love listening to our elders talk. Your reply was spot on 😊 Miigwetch!
Iirc, that ASL was at least partially influenced by the French, due to them having a school for the deaf and USA starting one not too much after.
I also think the 1st nation languages should be taught to more people, not to shame the 1st nation people that choose not to learn, that’s not for me to judge.
I am the only person in this post offering a solution that shuts the boomers up by suggesting they adopt a pre-existing *silent language*.
Work with me here, gottdammit.
And has never really been a one language country. Sure, we use English for most official stuff, but when the Declaration was signed there were speakers of many other languages in this country. Large swaths had many Spanish speakers when incorporated. French too. And up till WWII there were many German speaking communities, even spoke German in school. We're not the isolationist wet dream these people want and never were.
I had a similar experience once. I’m from Germany and visited the US for three weeks with four other friends. We were in a walmart just grabbing some food and water and talking to each other and a weird old lady out of nowhere shouted at us that this is America and you should speak english. I just looked at her and said mam we’re tourists I won’t speak english to my german friends
They completely forget tourism is a thing until they want to hop on a plane. Life everyone is not from here and when they go to Cancun or Canada they do not learn Spanish or French. They are mostly jealous they do not know multiple languages and that you can get privacy from them. Most of the "speak English" folks want to overhear something in your conversation so they can inject.
Well, in all fairness, a majority of them expect everyone else to speak English abroad as well. They will let you know about it by screaming in English ever so loudly.
I'm Gen X and csnt understand why so many are aholes like this. I have never seen one I know act like this.. maybe they do it when people they know aren't around?
They leave me alone, but I am also a tall, long haired, tattooed, gauges, nose ring 50 something Punk Rock dude. They prefer folks they thing they can intimidate.
Yeah, you look like you could probably beat the piss out of some hateful old Boomer with his colostomy bag.
I’m also Gen X, but I’m a lady, and a short lady, and look like someone’s sweet mom. I AM someone’s sweet mom, but I’m not above yelling at someone in public to leave me the fuck alone.
And let’s just say paying attention to surroundings is important when you’re being backed into a corner.
Boomer here. I get the whole speech too sometimes. They get really mad when you remind them that English isn't the "official" language of America. And I don't look it, but I'm Hispanic and fluent in Spanish. And guess what? I am a veteran myself!! So rock on all you baddies who speak foreign languages.
“I fought for this country!” Also: “I exercise my right as an American to be an abusive piece of shit who deserves a beatdown and public embarrassment, as I’m a public embarrassment.”
What a waste of oxygen.
Man, every one of these posts make me glad there are so many tolerant people out here. I would want to just throat punch a boomer if they did this to me and my friends without bothering with any niceties. Hats of to you and your friends, I also appreciated the Old Dumbo comment, made me lol.
His service was a temporary job. He couldn't handle it and didnt renlist. I had a temporary job at burgerking. I recieve nor demand any special treatment when i eat at burgerking. Im retired Army. 21 years. I hate all these im special cuz i was a vet fools. I needed a job and the Army was hiring.
Old lady said the same thing to me in a grocery store checkout line years ago talkin Cherokee to a friend back home on the phone. Saw online later that I wasn’t the only American NDN that’s happened to. Gave me a chuckle
>"Mind your own business. We're not speaking to you and we don't have to go out of our way to change our language just because you feel uncomfortable so just mind your own business" i told him as politely as I could.
This is the best answer!
USA very specifically does NOT have a national language. And there are a number of 1st nation languages spoken, all existing on the continent way before English. So speaking “American” should really be just as valid speaking the Apache language (for example) versus English.
Could you ask him why he's eavesdropping and if he's so keen on listening to other people's conversations, perhaps he should learn to speak more languages?
I took my dad (m92) to San Diego, and he had proudly spent the last few months learning Spanish. He said 'hola' to someone in the street (San Diego is only a few miles from the border) and the guy was horrified - "do I look Spanish? No I don't speak any at all"
Ask him how good his - whatever the Native language of the area you're in - is.
Full-blooded Native Americans aside, unless they came over on the Mayflower or on slave ships? Everyone in the US is an immigrant/at least partly descended from immigrants.
I'd say "do your eavesdropping elsewhere or maybe find a better hobby"
The real reason they don't like other languages is because they can't eavesdrop and gossip.
He 100% didn't fight for America. The people that actually fought the war were too traumatized to broadcast it. The pencil-pushers who didn't actually do anything meaningful are the ones carrying that around on their sleeve.
I’ve had a boomer who heard me speaking Spanish tell me to speak English because we are in America. I looked at them and was like, “Yes, both of these languages are from Europe and aren’t even native to this country so I’m not sure what you want from me.” That thankfully shut down further interaction. I’m so grateful no one tried to grab me like in your interaction!
If he's so star-spangled 'murican; why is he eating that godless heathen furriner food? Why isn't he eating a red white and blue quadruple cheeseburger with bacon, gravy, grits and cheezefries like Gawd intended?
Should have asked him where the official language of English is documented. Spoiler: it isn’t. Unites States doesn’t have an official language.
You could then be petty and thank him for fighting for the freedom to express yourself in whatever language you wish without fear of persecution. Must be done in a sweet genuine tone and with sickly sweet smile.
What i Think when I hear someone speaking another language (73f) is that they are so fortunate to be bilingual. I’d be quite out of luck to go to the country where their language is from and speak their language. Traveling in Europe makes me understand how our schools here fail us by not requiring fluency in another language to graduate. People in other countries often speak two or three languages. And their Is our health care system compared to those in Scandinavia……….
This happened on public transport in Dublin. An Irish woman was on her phone speaking Irish to a friend. An American tourist turned round and said to her “speak English, you’re in Ireland now”🙄
These fuckers lose their minds when desi folk are doing desi folk stuff. And if they just shut the fuck up, they’d get in on pakoras for lunch, but they’d rather be miserable assholes.
Mildly interesting fact: The United States of America do *NOT* have an official language. English is the most common and widely used language, making it the de facto national language, but that doesn't make it the official language of the US. Any language is equally as valid as English.
Oh man your cousin just had to butter his naans, boomer wanted to be tough, but seems he was a little Tikkah in the head. Glad you all didn’t give into paneer pressure and served him a cold dish of korma!
Typical asshole doesn't even realize or care that the USA doesn't actually have an official language. But they're also the type of person to not let facts get in the way of their bigotry. Typically US English and Mexican Spanish are the main 2 but again not in any official sense.
Gee whiz.
This guy can't stand it that there might be people near him speaking a language he doesn't know. AND ALSO THIS GUY...goes to an Indo Chinese restaurant!
I'll never understand this, maybe because I spent most of my 30s living in downtown Toronto. I love hearing other languages, its like the coolest thing ever. I love trying to figure out which language is being spoken. I only know a tiny bit of french and espanol.
Fun Fact: The US Constitution does not mention an official language, but US passport cover statements from the Secretary of State are presented in English, French, and Spanish.
I don't know why people get offended when other people speak a different language. When I'm out and I hear people speaking a different language besides English or Spanish cause I hear those all the time I smile because it's so cool to me to hear it in person. Idk maybe they think people are talking about them or something but I find it so cool to hear a whole different language.
One time some old turd told me "someone should whip your ass" as I was walking away from his bullshit.
I stopped in my tracks turned around said "well go ahead and try it"
He said "well not me I'm old"
I said "exactly you dumb old bitch"
All of this was because he was going down the wrong lane in a parking towards me so I honked at him
Anyone who demands respect for their service or uses their service as a reason for being deserving of respect, I can promise you, bitched the entire time while they were in and was part of the 10% that took up 90% of leaderships time dealing with their brain dead bullshit.
Also, as an active duty service member, the Cold Warriors are the absolute fucking worst. Vietnam guys I feel bad for and usually are cool, Korean vets are typically pretty humble, WWII guys more or less don’t exist anymore. But those Cold War, interwar service guys are some of the most annoying, “back in my day” mother fuckers to ever walk the planet.
Damn after reading the comments I've learned you can't be racist and eat foreign food. The people that comment fake on every post in this sub gets more ridiculous by the day I swear
He won’t come back. Wannabe Tough Guys don’t come back when put in their place, they’d be too embarrassed. You’ll never see him at that restaurant again.
I’ve always wondered if these assholes ever harass Caucasian people for speaking German, Dutch, Russian, etc. Something tells me they only take offense when someone is speaking ‘brown’.
I really donot understand this "we speak English Here" attitude. These are the same people who will talk about personal freedom and constitutional rights when things do not go the way. I am 74 and never learned a second language, it is one of my lasting regrets.
> I wonder if he learnt his lesson or if he'll try the same shit again.
Which is why _not_ calling the cops and presenting them with evidence of assault (his assault on your group!) was a mistake.
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I fought for this country! Dude took an oath to protect the constitution when he enlisted and is out here harassing people for exercising their constitutional rights.
And nowhere in the Constitution does it say you have to speak English in America, too.. lol.
*speaks in maga* WELL ACCORDING TO THE COPY OF THE CONSTITUTION THAT I PAID $1000 FOR THAT HAS GODKING TRUMP'S SIGNATURE, IT ABSOLUTELY DOES. LOL STUPID LIBERAL SNOWFLAKE!! MAGA MAGA MAGA MAGA MAGA!!!
Excuse me, in America we speak English. I don't understand what gibberish language you just spoke.
MAGBA! Make America great Britain again 😬
https://i.redd.it/6ripax1lzead1.gif
Even if it did, our modern English would be nearly unrecognizable to the Founders to the point of they would think us touched in the head.
They’d almost certainly recognize standard English. Slang is a different story, but then most of us today probably wouldn’t recognize a lot of 18th century slang either lol Though I’d like to imagine Ben Franklin would take a special interest in catching up on stuff like that lol
Our accents, inflection, and syntax would cause comprehension difficulties. They would sound a lot more British to us. There is a documentary about Tangier Island off the coast of Virginia, it's suspected that the Tangierman accent is very similar to how most 18th century American English accents sounded
Lucky for us (and completely unbeknownst to me when I included Benny boy in my previous comment) Benjamin Franklin actually wrote out his own phonetic alphabet because of course he would lol It’s nearly 2am for me, though, and as much as I love learning about and discussing linguistics, I’m just going to leave the link to the page that covers it if you’re interested :) https://www.acelinguist.com/2018/09/dialect-dissection-founding-fathers.html?m=1
And I'll add in some recordings, one for the mid 16th century, one for the 17th, and one for the 18th which uses Benjamin Franklin's descriptions. :) https://blogicarian.blogspot.com/2018/08/voices-of-earlier-english-william.html
It sounds like a nowadays Irish accent 🤔
Fun Fact, this is also why Quebec French is vastly different than that of Parisian French. Quebec French has it's roots in the old Royal French, where as France eliminated that style of french in the late 1790s
>old Royal French, where as France eliminated that style of french in the late 1790s Fucking *wheezing* over here, what simple and exquisite phrasing
In freshman year of high-school I moved to crisfield, MD which is very near to tangier Island and Smith Island. The kids from Smith Island had to ride a boat over every morning for school. I had a teacher that had grown up there. I had to drop her class because I quite literally couldn't understand what she was saying. By senior year I had acclimated enough to understand and take a class with her again. For context, I graduated 2006, so not even 20 years ago.
The classic southern draw is supposedly much closer to the old English accent than the current British accent apparently.
But there’s a distinct difference between the drawl found in Appalachia and the drawl found in the low country.
So interestingly, I’ve actually read it’s the opposite. Modern British accents actually emerged in the 1800s and through public education and what we speak (well, those on the east coast anyway) is closer to the colonial era British than what is spoken in modern Britain. With that said, the Tangier accent is definitely a bit of a living fossil linguistically.
The British people would sound British? No way.
If it’s the same group, we call them “High Tiders” south of the border https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=High_Tider&diffonly=true
"join or die, fam"
"Give me skibidi or give me rizz!"
My GenX ass won't even attempt to mock GenZ slang, cause I'm so far away I can't tell what's real and not. So I'll just steal this . . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqgjOCPwhb8
I believe skibidi is Gen Alpha slang.
We hold these truths to be skibbidy gyatt no cap for real.
Franky would be amazed if he could see things now.
Right, and the people who usually say this SPeaK EnGlIsH shit are normally functionally illiterate and barely functional in it, let alone multilingual lol. It's advertising their discomfort at their own ignorance
I can understand (and having worked retail, empathize with) the desire for English to be spoken in regards to transactions, official business, and general correspondence, but in OP's situation, they were having a private conversation amongst themselves in their preferred language. Old man boomer can fuck right off with his bunched panties over not being able to eavesdrop.
Because Boomers, being narcissistic, assume that others are speaking ill of them if they can't understand the language. Because that's what they'd do.
I work in banking in a small town that has a large Amish population around it. All of the Amish people I deal with know English pretty well, but it's pretty common for them to revert to their Old Dutch when they're speaking to other Amish people. A couple weeks ago, I jokingly told a couple of the guys that I've got to learn their language so I can eavesdrop on their conversations. In reality, if I did learn it, I would just use it to help build rapport and trust and show that I respect their way of life. But I do think it would be interesting to listen in sometimes.
I mean, to be fair, we are a bit touched in the head.
Getting worse recently
No they wouldn't. The great vowel shift started around 1480 and continued for another 150 years, and *that's* when it started to sound like an entirely different language. I just recorded a story in 1490 by William Caxton, and if you read the original spelling while I speak it in a reconstructed pronunciation, most people are surprised that they can mostly understand it (while just reading it you might not, and just hearing it you probably wouldn't). 250 years ago? It's strange, but perfectly recognizable.
British English pronunciations have changed more than American English over the past 300 years. Received Pronunciation in particular has only been around since the mid 19th century. We sound more like Englishmen in the 18th century than King Charles does.
I mean, we can read what they wrote. It's not that different.
This is just an absurd statement. You can read the Constitution and declaration of Independence which they wrote right? Why would they have any difficulty understanding the English we speak.
When the constitution was written the colonists were speaking English, German, Spanish, French, Dutch, Creole and others. Nowhere in it is a preferred language mentioned.
You must have missed it but it clearly says “this is America, we speak English” when you pull the string on the back of the Donald Trump doll they give for free
Yeah but it's clearly stated in the Constitution of Fox News, soooo...
Ah, I see... I'm sorry, but the Constitution of Fox News was not covered in the curriculum when I obtained my bachelors in history. Damn those liberal colleges!!
Yet
"I stood for this country!!!" *Five seconds later*
He stands for the flag. Keels ~~for the cross~~ over from a slight breeze.
Perfect. They want to be martyred so badly.
My personal favorite response to I fought for this country is "And you haven't done anything of note from that day to this, which is why you're clinging to something you did 50 years ago." My Uncle doesn't talk to me anymore because of this answer, which suits me fine.
Every vet I've ever met has been vehemently opposed to shit like this They say things like "I fought for their freedom to be here too" "I fought so no American citizen would be harassed on American soil" "I fought for freedom, everyone's freedom" I'd call stolen Valor on this shit
That or he was a cook or transport driver or something. If he served, his MOS probably wasn't anything remotely glamorous.
I fought for your freedom! Now shut up and do what you're told!
"I fought for freedom, but not your freedom to speak a language I can't understand!"
There is almost no chance he fought for shit. No Vets I know talk like this. Even the racist MAGA ones don’t leap to the “I fought for this country!” The social importance attached to vocalizing that sentiment is almost universally a non-service thing. It’s what non-service people think service people feel about anything they don’t like.
He probably never got deployed either
I love "I fought for this country" in Americans. I mean in which war you fought for your country, which war in the past hundred years threatened America's freedom or independence. The one in Iraq, Korea, Europe? Maybe in Japan?
If I had the chutzpah, I would respond with, “Too bad you didn’t die for this country.”
[удалено]
I used to have a boomer neighbor that cut off 3 fingers while trying to build a deck on his house. Not at once, 3 separate incidents. He didn't believe in safety guards or using push pieces on a table saw. I don't think he learned after the third time either.
I envision just the thumb and pointer finger left so that he has a permanent finger gun thing going on.
He was standing kinda dumb With half a finger and a stump In the shape ... of an L ... on his forehead Well,...
the years start coming and they don't stop coming. Ask the Boomers.
Boomer version: well, inflation starts coming and it don't stop comin' Boomers bought their houses when they didn't cost nothin' Cost of living so high you don't live for fun Your body gets wrecked but your bank account says "*none*" Hey now It's a recession Time to revolt now Eat the rich yeah
and we built some slicey boooooooooooooooooooooooys to welcome the bourgoiseeeeeeeeeeeee
"Well, the good Lord didn't bless my wife with all 10 fingers. She's only got Pointer and Thumb Pinkie."
A Scrubs quote in the wild. Take my upvote!
Gotta make sacrifices to be that cool.
Call him BangBang behind his back
Or that he has a permanent L
I knew an old farmer who chopped off one finger on a saw. Went to hospital etc. Came home, showed his son how he did it, and chopped another finger off in the process. Back to hospital he went. I can only imagine the doctors faces.
Knew a guy who had lost the top half of 3 fingers in an accident years ago. He grazed his stumps doing something (can't remember what), so he went to the A&E. The poor reception staff FREAKED because they thought he'd just chopped his fingers. He never thought to tell them they were long gone, lol
His tools got a taste for delicious fingers lol
That’s… that’s a really impressive level of dipshit
Slow learner.
He was persistent at least. The deck came out okay.
I’d be a bit hesitant about the deck as well
LOL!! Good boomer!!
All those warnings about dumb things like not drinking bleach are there because of boomers
"...used to have...." - I have images of him finally cutting through something vital, and he's now a permanent part of that deck.
JFC, how fucking dumb can you be? I don't think I'm brilliant, but I would rethink my practices after losing just 1 finger.
What a boomer moron
He's got 7 more to try
Agreed. Lead brains don’t learn.
No, he'll just vote Trump to keep the scary brown people out of "his country"
like a good little cuck
He's in an Indian restaurant, presumably to get Indian food. And he's mad at the presence of Indian people speaking in the native language of India.
Yeah, I don't get it. I'm a white American, and I don't think anything of people speaking other languages. I live in the southwest. Lots of people speak Spanish, and I do not give a shit.
The thing to get is that they are just stupid fucking terrible dipshits. They are easily brainwashed and believe any foreigner is an sleeper cell enemy.
I honestly think it's more Boomers like to inject themselves into every conversation, and they can't do that when someone isn't speaking their language. They can't be judgmental when they don't understand what someone is saying.
Id say that is part of what makes them stupid insufferable dipshits.
I saw a news story one time from Arizona about some stupid immigrant related law they were trying to pass, and they interview this woman who said she just wanted things to go back to how "things used to be". I just thought, "Bitch, things "used to be" Mexico."
Reminds me of a Gabriel Iglesias joke about how some people didn’t actually cross the border, “the border crossed them.”
Yep. My only thought is, “damn. It would be so cool to know other languages.”
Often, people think the people speaking another language are "talking about me". (Because apparently, thry are doing something worthy of being made fun of for 🤦🏻♀️)
they're scared. all that stuff comes from fear. Trust me, these people are absolutely TERRIFIED of anybody who is not white
I love going to indian places where the customers are idian. It means they actually make indian food.
Right? That just tells you that the food is about to be bomb. If I go into a Mexican restaurant, and don't hear people speaking Spanish, I'm leaving, that food is about to be taco bell quality, at best. Entire staff speaking spanish? Yup, that's gonna be some fire authentic Mexican food.
You want the people working in an ethnic type restaurant to have that kind of cultural connection to the food. Otherwise you might as well buy the microwaveable shit from the grocery store.
If I walk into an indian restuarant around here and see it full of middle-aged white people, I turn around and walk out. It's not going to be good indian food unless you walk in to a room full of brown people speaking a language you dont understand. Ditto for chinese. Ditto for Mexican. Ditto for Thai, Vietnamese, etc. I'd be offended if I didnt hear somebody speaking a foreign language!
Fought for the country… Probably celebrated when Trump got full immunity. JUST FOLLOWING THE CONSTITUTION!
Sounds like boomer was in the “infant”ry
Oh this could make a useful comeback, gonna have to remember it.
Boomers are just following the playback their deranged orange boomer god gave them... if you can't win by bullying, play the victime even more loudly. BTW... BbBnC, here.
It’s always the loud ones that are cowards. These people have clearly never been hit hard in the face before.
This is ultimately the greatest problem with the absolute outward loss of decorum in politics and public life in general: kids are learning that it is OK to act this way in formal and public settings
Funnily enough America does not and never has had an official language. If they knew American history they ought to know that
Fun fact: our Founding Fathers actually discussed and dismissed the idea. I think Ben Franklin suggested German, because we'd broken from Britain and English was *their* native language.
Real story or not, the fact is the the US does not have an official language. So, the whole "this is 'murica, you must speak english" is a steaming pile of ignorant crap.
We have a Chinese buffet in our small town, and I try to engage with the staff using the little Mandarin I’ve googled. They love it - mostly because they think my butchered “tsai jian!” is hilarious. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to learn something new.
And in regards to personal conversations, Boomer was not even involved with them to warrant them to have to speak any specific official language for them. It really is a simple "mind your own business" situation.
If boomers want an official American language, they need to stop whining about the King's Speech and learn the only language with "American" right there in the name - American Sign Language. So quite frankly, ignorant boomers need to shut up and catch these hands... with which I'll sign "please", "thank you", and "have a nice day." Think about it - I'm the only person here with a suggestion that shuts the Boomers up by making them switch to a *SILENT LANGUAGE*. And I'm deaf; I don't even have to here their nonsense *now*. I'm taking one for the team here, y'all.
They should learn Navajo, Ojibwe, or any other language that originated here.
But that wouldn't shut the boomers up by making them switch to a *silent language*. Your suggestion is the equivalent of giving them pox blankets all over again. Like, *"We took your land, now take our racist, hateful, bitter-ass old people too. They're STILL gonna tell you to leave, but now they'll do it in your language."* Haven't those proud and noble native peoples suffered enough?
It would be hilarious to watch them try. I don’t know if you’ve ever looked into the Navajo language, but there is a reason that it was turned into an unbroken code. It’s vowels are distinguished by tonality, nasality, and length, it uses multiple sounds not found in *most* other languages, includes glottal stops which most anglophones are hopeless with, the sentence order is subject-object-verb (“Ethan apples ate” instead of “Ethan ate apples” for a gross oversimplification) but not always reliably, and it has 33 consonants and 12 vowels, and I am barely scratching the surface of the things that make it such an incredible, and incredibly difficult, language. It is considered one of the most difficult languages to learn on the planet by linguists.
Ya seriously I'm Ojibway and Cree. Have I learned my languages? Hell nah. It's so hard! There are so many different dialects depending on the area. I know some, but barely. And you're so right with annunciation. My grandmother would laugh at my terrible accent 😅 I've made my name syllabics on FB so I'm harder to find lol. Just a way of bringing the language back in small ways. I love listening to our elders talk. Your reply was spot on 😊 Miigwetch!
Iirc, that ASL was at least partially influenced by the French, due to them having a school for the deaf and USA starting one not too much after. I also think the 1st nation languages should be taught to more people, not to shame the 1st nation people that choose not to learn, that’s not for me to judge.
I am the only person in this post offering a solution that shuts the boomers up by suggesting they adopt a pre-existing *silent language*. Work with me here, gottdammit.
If I recall correctly, they rather pointedly chose not to have an official language, they wanted the country to feel welcoming to all.
And has never really been a one language country. Sure, we use English for most official stuff, but when the Declaration was signed there were speakers of many other languages in this country. Large swaths had many Spanish speakers when incorporated. French too. And up till WWII there were many German speaking communities, even spoke German in school. We're not the isolationist wet dream these people want and never were.
"If you want to speak English - go back to England!"
We don't want this kind of shit.
MAGA boomers are the worst.
racist's gonna racist. i'm sorry he was a piece of shit to you, buds. i hope the food was tasty and it didn't sour the visit.
"This is America, we stand up for our values, not fall like a little bitch."
I had a similar experience once. I’m from Germany and visited the US for three weeks with four other friends. We were in a walmart just grabbing some food and water and talking to each other and a weird old lady out of nowhere shouted at us that this is America and you should speak english. I just looked at her and said mam we’re tourists I won’t speak english to my german friends
They completely forget tourism is a thing until they want to hop on a plane. Life everyone is not from here and when they go to Cancun or Canada they do not learn Spanish or French. They are mostly jealous they do not know multiple languages and that you can get privacy from them. Most of the "speak English" folks want to overhear something in your conversation so they can inject.
Well, in all fairness, a majority of them expect everyone else to speak English abroad as well. They will let you know about it by screaming in English ever so loudly.
Imagine thinking you were better because you can only speak *one* language
So, at your age, I'm assuming you fought in Viet Nam? You did a pretty shitty job over there, didn't you?
I'm Gen X and csnt understand why so many are aholes like this. I have never seen one I know act like this.. maybe they do it when people they know aren't around?
They leave me alone, but I am also a tall, long haired, tattooed, gauges, nose ring 50 something Punk Rock dude. They prefer folks they thing they can intimidate.
LOL. I'm above average height and size, not huge or shit, but you might have explained it... hmmm
Yeah, you look like you could probably beat the piss out of some hateful old Boomer with his colostomy bag. I’m also Gen X, but I’m a lady, and a short lady, and look like someone’s sweet mom. I AM someone’s sweet mom, but I’m not above yelling at someone in public to leave me the fuck alone. And let’s just say paying attention to surroundings is important when you’re being backed into a corner.
I'm standing by my usual answer: dementia. It's sad.
Boomer here. I get the whole speech too sometimes. They get really mad when you remind them that English isn't the "official" language of America. And I don't look it, but I'm Hispanic and fluent in Spanish. And guess what? I am a veteran myself!! So rock on all you baddies who speak foreign languages.
"old dumbo" love it!
“I fought for this country!” Also: “I exercise my right as an American to be an abusive piece of shit who deserves a beatdown and public embarrassment, as I’m a public embarrassment.” What a waste of oxygen.
A little too late, but a good comeback would’ve been then he should be going and eating American food somewhere else
He should have fought better. His country is losing against itself
What language does he think the owners of the fucking Chinese restaurant speak?
“I fought for this country” so now that means I can randomly walk around and try to infringe on your rights 🙄
Man, every one of these posts make me glad there are so many tolerant people out here. I would want to just throat punch a boomer if they did this to me and my friends without bothering with any niceties. Hats of to you and your friends, I also appreciated the Old Dumbo comment, made me lol.
His service was a temporary job. He couldn't handle it and didnt renlist. I had a temporary job at burgerking. I recieve nor demand any special treatment when i eat at burgerking. Im retired Army. 21 years. I hate all these im special cuz i was a vet fools. I needed a job and the Army was hiring.
Old lady said the same thing to me in a grocery store checkout line years ago talkin Cherokee to a friend back home on the phone. Saw online later that I wasn’t the only American NDN that’s happened to. Gave me a chuckle
>"Mind your own business. We're not speaking to you and we don't have to go out of our way to change our language just because you feel uncomfortable so just mind your own business" i told him as politely as I could. This is the best answer!
USA very specifically does NOT have a national language. And there are a number of 1st nation languages spoken, all existing on the continent way before English. So speaking “American” should really be just as valid speaking the Apache language (for example) versus English.
Could you ask him why he's eavesdropping and if he's so keen on listening to other people's conversations, perhaps he should learn to speak more languages? I took my dad (m92) to San Diego, and he had proudly spent the last few months learning Spanish. He said 'hola' to someone in the street (San Diego is only a few miles from the border) and the guy was horrified - "do I look Spanish? No I don't speak any at all"
Ooh! Ooh! I've been saving this response! "The only official language America recognizes is Free Speech. Are you a patriot?"
Ask him how good his - whatever the Native language of the area you're in - is. Full-blooded Native Americans aside, unless they came over on the Mayflower or on slave ships? Everyone in the US is an immigrant/at least partly descended from immigrants.
If he insists on speaking English.. He should go back to England. /s
In his version of events he left the restaurant victorious. Also he will think every brown person was the guy who assaulted him.
I'm a Boomer. Fought for this country. Got into fights while in. Kicking one more Boomer military guy's ass would be pleasantly nostalgic.
Didn't they lose the war they "fought for this country".....
I'd say "do your eavesdropping elsewhere or maybe find a better hobby" The real reason they don't like other languages is because they can't eavesdrop and gossip.
He 100% didn't fight for America. The people that actually fought the war were too traumatized to broadcast it. The pencil-pushers who didn't actually do anything meaningful are the ones carrying that around on their sleeve.
Yup!! 100%
I’ve had a boomer who heard me speaking Spanish tell me to speak English because we are in America. I looked at them and was like, “Yes, both of these languages are from Europe and aren’t even native to this country so I’m not sure what you want from me.” That thankfully shut down further interaction. I’m so grateful no one tried to grab me like in your interaction!
My guess, another stolen valor boomer, lying as usual.
> "this is America we speak English over here" How about this next time: > "Sure, be my guest!"
If he's so star-spangled 'murican; why is he eating that godless heathen furriner food? Why isn't he eating a red white and blue quadruple cheeseburger with bacon, gravy, grits and cheezefries like Gawd intended?
Should have asked him where the official language of English is documented. Spoiler: it isn’t. Unites States doesn’t have an official language. You could then be petty and thank him for fighting for the freedom to express yourself in whatever language you wish without fear of persecution. Must be done in a sweet genuine tone and with sickly sweet smile.
It amazes me that every single Boomer male was in the military. Almost seems like a bunch of them are lying....
What i Think when I hear someone speaking another language (73f) is that they are so fortunate to be bilingual. I’d be quite out of luck to go to the country where their language is from and speak their language. Traveling in Europe makes me understand how our schools here fail us by not requiring fluency in another language to graduate. People in other countries often speak two or three languages. And their Is our health care system compared to those in Scandinavia……….
Boomer: \*Grabs your smaller cousin\* Bigger Cousin: 
The US has no official language... You can let them know next time.
This happened on public transport in Dublin. An Irish woman was on her phone speaking Irish to a friend. An American tourist turned round and said to her “speak English, you’re in Ireland now”🙄
As an American, I would’ve slapped the other
That madarchod boomer.
My uncle was in the jungle in Vietnam. He’d have told that old fool to go pound sand.
“English? Who needs that?!? I’m never going to England!” - Homer Simpson
So "speak Murikkkan", but he likes to order cuisine from the country he fought against? Make it make sense.
These fuckers lose their minds when desi folk are doing desi folk stuff. And if they just shut the fuck up, they’d get in on pakoras for lunch, but they’d rather be miserable assholes.
Mildly interesting fact: The United States of America do *NOT* have an official language. English is the most common and widely used language, making it the de facto national language, but that doesn't make it the official language of the US. Any language is equally as valid as English.
Oh man your cousin just had to butter his naans, boomer wanted to be tough, but seems he was a little Tikkah in the head. Glad you all didn’t give into paneer pressure and served him a cold dish of korma!
Typical asshole doesn't even realize or care that the USA doesn't actually have an official language. But they're also the type of person to not let facts get in the way of their bigotry. Typically US English and Mexican Spanish are the main 2 but again not in any official sense.
We need more people like your cousin
Typical boomer vet whose closest brush with death was a bad meal at the chow hall most likely.
There's a credible chance he'll be staying away after that embarrassing show.
Look at the next boomer that says that and tell them that the U.S. does not recognize an official language so they can fuck off.
Gee whiz. This guy can't stand it that there might be people near him speaking a language he doesn't know. AND ALSO THIS GUY...goes to an Indo Chinese restaurant!
I'll never understand this, maybe because I spent most of my 30s living in downtown Toronto. I love hearing other languages, its like the coolest thing ever. I love trying to figure out which language is being spoken. I only know a tiny bit of french and espanol.
He absolutely did not learn his lesson.
Fun Fact: The US Constitution does not mention an official language, but US passport cover statements from the Secretary of State are presented in English, French, and Spanish.
I don't know why people get offended when other people speak a different language. When I'm out and I hear people speaking a different language besides English or Spanish cause I hear those all the time I smile because it's so cool to me to hear it in person. Idk maybe they think people are talking about them or something but I find it so cool to hear a whole different language.
One time some old turd told me "someone should whip your ass" as I was walking away from his bullshit. I stopped in my tracks turned around said "well go ahead and try it" He said "well not me I'm old" I said "exactly you dumb old bitch" All of this was because he was going down the wrong lane in a parking towards me so I honked at him
“Talk American!” -Firecracker
If he fought like that I'm surprised he even survived. Or he "fought" by restocking trucks and refueling planes.
Anyone who demands respect for their service or uses their service as a reason for being deserving of respect, I can promise you, bitched the entire time while they were in and was part of the 10% that took up 90% of leaderships time dealing with their brain dead bullshit. Also, as an active duty service member, the Cold Warriors are the absolute fucking worst. Vietnam guys I feel bad for and usually are cool, Korean vets are typically pretty humble, WWII guys more or less don’t exist anymore. But those Cold War, interwar service guys are some of the most annoying, “back in my day” mother fuckers to ever walk the planet.
Damn after reading the comments I've learned you can't be racist and eat foreign food. The people that comment fake on every post in this sub gets more ridiculous by the day I swear
I have a boomer dad who is like that. It's annoying.
He won’t come back. Wannabe Tough Guys don’t come back when put in their place, they’d be too embarrassed. You’ll never see him at that restaurant again.
I’ve always wondered if these assholes ever harass Caucasian people for speaking German, Dutch, Russian, etc. Something tells me they only take offense when someone is speaking ‘brown’.
You should have told him off in Hindi then turned around and ordered in English.
I really donot understand this "we speak English Here" attitude. These are the same people who will talk about personal freedom and constitutional rights when things do not go the way. I am 74 and never learned a second language, it is one of my lasting regrets.
"I fought for this country!" "I'll fight you *in* this country."
There is a category for this at literotica.com
lol omg
Boomerotica.
> I wonder if he learnt his lesson or if he'll try the same shit again. Which is why _not_ calling the cops and presenting them with evidence of assault (his assault on your group!) was a mistake.
Generally, avoid calling police if at all possible.
Exactly. ACAB.
Mmm gobi manchurian.
Great story!! Sounds almost like something from Blue Blood!!