A friend of mine recently brought me to a sandwich shop that served what he emphatically insisted was “the best Philly cheese steak in existence.” It was. However, they will never have my business again.

My problem wasn’t with the store’s food; it was with its decorations. In all of their windows they hung signs displaying degrading statements such as, “Why do we have to press one for English?”, “Did America move?” and “Hasta la vista, baby.” All of the slogans, of course, were plastered over pictures of the Star-Spangled Banner and eagles staring dramatically off into the distance.

Those slogans are not political statements. They’re harassment. And this isn’t the first time I’ve seen signs like them. Take a look at some of the bumper  stickers around town, or some of the graffiti in the Free Expression Tunnel. 

Why is it culturally acceptable to express racism this way?

Publically condemning groups of people based on their first language and culture isn’t a stance on illegal immigration, as defenders of such slogans have tried to explain to me. 

It’s just bigotry.  Not all Spanish-speaking people entered the country illegally. Posting signs only referring to the language is vague and discriminatory. Besides, no one, not even people living in the country without legal permission, deserves to be harassed.

I took such personal offense not just because it’s sleazy, but because I’ve been on the other side of the language barrier. My dad serves in the Navy, and so I spent all of high school overseas in Lima, Peru. The official language there is Spanish, and I, unfortunately, started off not speaking a word of it.

Not many people were rude about my lack of talent when it came to Spanish. The majority of people were encouraging. The best kind of people spoke slowly and used small words. 

But still, no matter how hard you try, or how legal your stay in the country is, some people are going to tell you to go home. 

One of my least favorite dentist appointments – which, as you know, are normally delightful – was only a few months into my stay in Peru. It consisted of a one-sided conversation where the dentist criticized me for my “embarrassing” accent and vocabulary while my gums bled. 

“Estoy tratando,” I tried to say through the metal instruments in my mouth. “I’m trying.”  

And I really was trying. Everyone who doesn’t speak the official language of the country they’re living in is trying to learn it every waking minute of the day. We might speak our native tongues among ourselves, but that’s not shameful. They’re our traditional languages – our culture.

It’s difficult to communicate in your second language anyway, and being judged for it just makes you want to give up. It’s disgusting that it’s acceptable to dismiss and dislike groups of people based on their heritage. The different heritages of this country should be celebrated.

The United States is supposed to be a melting pot where we mix-and-match cultures and languages. We’re a whole country of immigrants – if we start playing the “we were here first,” game, most of us are going to lose. It’s disgraceful that our flag is being used as a background for slogans that express hate for not only Spanish-speakers, but Americans for whom English is not their first language.