I Am Not a Bigot or a Racist, But...

I'm mad today. Or, at least exceptionally irritated. Before I can get into my laundry list of things that irritate me, I have to say, unequivocally, that I am in no way a racist or a bigot.
Now that that's out of the way, here's my list:
1 - I hate having to preface a completely logical complaint with a disclaimer that I'm not a bigot. Why do we have to worry about that? How dare anyone to assume that of me. From now on, I won't worry about that. Good, I've taken care of that little irritation. Let's move on.
2 - I hate multi-language signs, instructions, directions, etc. Last time I checked, this is America. It's an English-speaking country. Sure, it's also a melting pot for individuals from every nation. But, for years, those individuals have been willing to come here, learn our language, and fit in to this culture. That didn't mean they abandoned their culture. They didn't have to do that, but they did WANT to blend in with us. And, by us, I don't mean Mayflower descendants. I just mean those who were taught English from infancy.
This morning as I was entering the 7-11, I noticed a sign that said something like "Ahora Desponsible." I read it and re-read it, trying to figure out why I wasn't understanding it. Finally, it dawned on me that the sign was in Spanish. Inside the store, I see more Spanish-language signs. Why? Why should I have to subject my English-reading eyes to those signs. It's clutter. If I went to Mexico, I wouldn't expect anyone to speak English, or any signs in English. If I couldn't figure it out, then shame on me.
And, what really gets me is when I buy some sort of electronic gadget or an appliance and I get this really nice, thick instruction booklet. I'm thinking how cool it is that the instructions are so thorough, because I'm pretty dumb when it comes to putting things together. And then, I open the instruction booklet and find that there is only one page of instructions in English. The rest of the booklet is the instructions in about twenty-five other languages, including Swahili. And, even the English instructions were written by someone who's native tongue is Swahili.
My philosophy is if you're going to sell the product in America, then give us our own instruction booklet, as well as English-only labeling.
3 - The third thing I hate, and, remember I'm no bigot, is New Dehli-based customer service centers. I called Comcast the other night to get help in setting up a new computer with their internet service. They guy was nice enough, he just couldn't speak English. I'm really glad Comcast is able to save money (and I'm sure they pass the savings on to me), but I hope they're going to be happy when I pay my next bill in rupees.
I hate having to be the one who has to struggle to understand the foreign language being spoken by customer service reps, by fast food employees, by convenience store clerks, etc. If I were in their homeland, I'd expect to struggle. That's the way it works.
It used to be that we had this "ugly American" reputation because some Americans would go to foreign countries and expect the locals to adapt to the American culture. That is ugly. But it's just as ugly when foreigners come here and do the same thing. Although, I suspect, it's not the foreigners who are insisting on it. I think it's those Americans who are so afraid of being branded as politically incorrect, that they feel they have to make ridiculous concessions to everyone who is a little different.
I have two final thoughts on this whole matter - I hate political correctness and, most importantly, I'm not a bigot or a racist.