| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/19/2009 8:12:30 PM | A Postmaster in Nottingham is refusing to serve customer who dont speak english or try to speak english !
The postmaster runs the post office inside a shop in Sneinton, an inner city area of Nottingham that boasts a diverse ethnic mix.
He became so weary of customers expecting to be served without uttering a word of English that he took to telling them to go away and learn the language.
It’s not exactly a ban, he says, because they keep coming back anyway.
But he tells those who make no effort to speak English they will need an interpreter if he is to give them a proper standard of service.
‘Our laws are written in English; our culture is chronicled in English. How can anybody understand that if they can’t understand English?
I tell them if they don’t speak the language and they can’t be bothered to learn, then don’t bother coming here.’
The Postmasters , whose wife is a nurse, likes to call his regular customers ‘duck’ and ‘dear’, following local tradition.
‘The fabric of the nation begins to unravel if we don’t all speak the same language.
Deva Kumarasiri’s THE Postmaster says "When I left Sri Lanka I left behind that country’s culture, customs and language. I have done my utmost ever since to be part of this country’s culture. Far too many people come here and expect Britain to change to suit them. "
Deva Kumarasiri’s Fly a huge Union Flag flying proudly outside house and it’s been there so long the edges are tattered and torn.
he drives to work in a Land Rover
So is he a racist or proud of the country that taken him & his family in ? | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/19/2009 8:32:21 PM | | Bet the PC crowd love him : if they speak against him , they're insulting an immigrant : if they agree with him , they're insulting other immigrants. | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/20/2009 12:28:21 AM | | At a time when Post Offices are being closed down left, right & centre, I'm surprised he's restricting his custom by doing this but, as long as his employers are okay about it, I say fair play to him. Shops dont have to serve anyone if dont want to, he's exercising his rights as he sees fit. | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/20/2009 12:37:37 AM | To be able to speak the native language or to be actively learning it should be a prerequisite of residency in any country...
English lessons are free, so there's no excuse....
I agree with him, the Post Office offers a huge amount of diverse services... How are the counter staff meant to decipher whether the customer wants a stamp, a postal order or a coarse fishing licence, if they speak no English??
How isolated must these people feel if they speak no English? It should be a priority to learn English and it should be actively pushed forward...
It's neither pride nor racism, it's just plain and simple sensible practicality ... | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/20/2009 1:16:36 AM | I watched this on tv yesterday and can see his side of the story...I was standing waiting to be served in a local shop a while ago and I cant count how many times the young lady behind the counter told the Polish guy in front of me not to put in his pin number till her was told.
In the end the manager put his hand over the machine to stop him till it said to insert the pin number.. | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/20/2009 2:49:39 AM | How can he be racist?
I heard him on local radio yesterday, his English is good, he's obviously made an effort to integrate into his new home. Got to celebrate that.
He also is happy to serve those who don't speak English if they bring their own interpreter. He is shifting the onus of responsibility back to where it belongs. Instead of expecting the rest of the world to fall in with our wishes and desires, we must learn to fit in with the rest of the world.
Don't want to learn the native tongue? Fine, just don't expect everyone to fall over backwards to accommodate you with interpreters and signage written in 101 other languages. Make your choices and follow them through. | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/20/2009 3:08:14 AM | About time the government took a leaf out of his book and stopped translating anything for those who won't learn the language and refuse to integrate
Its not racist to expect immigrants to learn our language, its common sense | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/20/2009 3:13:55 AM | | While I agree with the Postmaster in Nottingham, I wonder what would happen if the post offices here in Wales started taking on that policy! | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/20/2009 3:22:36 AM | My parents have emigrated to Spain. They feel they are a little to old to learn the language beyond the basics. If they need to communicate with a professional who does not speak English, they are expected and do pay for an interpreter. They feel that this is right and have no qualms in doing so.
They both need medical attention so have an interpreter when seeing the consultant. I feel that we as a country should not have to pay for people who cannot speak the language. There are enough free college courses that provide ESOL courses around. I do not think that it is racist to expect people who want a service provided for them to expect that it will all be delivered on a plate and for them to do nothing.
Fair play to him. | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/20/2009 3:30:29 AM | | I agree with most not a question of racism but just personal choice, how many of us complain that our banks use foreign call centers and we can not understand an utter word being said to us and vice versa leading to miscommunication direct debits being cancelled when not asked to do so etc. | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/20/2009 4:04:54 AM | | Pat that man on the back! if only every immigrant had his attitude then maybe they wouldnt get so much stick? noticed none of the wanna be pc brigade have made comments yet? they must be looking up there pc courses by lambeth council lmao | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/20/2009 4:50:55 AM | I think immigrants face a "lose-lose" game here. When they pick up local cultures very well and thrive they are perceived as threats to the locals. When they prefer to stay away they are deemed "non-assimilating".
Heck, is there any exact degree of "acceptability" training that needs to be prescribed for immigration? It's almost like "please don't be too smart" or "please don't be too stupid" ... but just be "the exact and right type" for us (the locals).
Makes me wonder ! | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/20/2009 4:51:18 AM | He sounds like he considers himself British now and so has integrated into the UK well.
He sounds more patriotic than me and good on him in my opinion. I agree with him. People living in the UK should adjust to the UK not the UK to them. | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/20/2009 5:08:56 AM | It doesn't sound like he's either proud or a racist to me. It sounds more like the guy is a complete idiot.
He's running a business in a sector which has seen numerous closures recently in the middle of a credit crunch and he's turning customers away. | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/20/2009 5:16:13 AM | | ... or he is a budding PR guru, after all he has gained valuable media coverage. Well a thread on PoF, but we all have to start somewhere. | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/20/2009 5:28:04 AM | | how can immigrants be on a lose-lose situation? hes proving like so many before (not every name in uk is smith or jones) that with a bit of effort its easy to fit in. same as local shop keepers, many doctors and dentist etc | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/20/2009 11:24:21 AM | While immigrants to the UK should be expected make an effort to learn English I know from my rather feeble attempts at learning other languages that it isint always so easy (especially if one has only been in place a wet weekend) and common sense would suggest trying to meet them half way wherever possible.
Its a bit rich for people who know little or no of any language other than the one they were brought up with* moaning about Johnny Foreigner's lack of English when they themselves go abroad on holidays (or in some cases to live) without speaking a word of the lingo and expecting to be served in English everywhere they go.
* or even worse barely able to string a coherent sentence together in their own bloody language and barely literate in anything other than txt spk 
‘The fabric of the nation begins to unravel if we don’t all speak the same language.
We dont all speak the same language and never have done.
Welsh, Gaelic, Cornish, Manx, Norman French not to mention all the regional dialects of English. | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/20/2009 1:34:49 PM | Excellent point Net geek. Its all about making an effort I think. Keep it real. People coming over to do temporary work on a short term basis aren't going to know the language and aren't going to be able to learn too much if they're working. However someone that moves her permanently should learn the language of the country that they're here to sponge off. I mean Live and work in. If I went to live and work in poland now they're earning as much as here I'd learn their language. If I went there for a week I'd learn 'food' and 'fancy a shag' .
Some gorgeous polish girls, nearly as nice as welsh girls. 
Yes when in rome speak latin. | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/20/2009 1:49:09 PM | | Well I say pat that man on the back. All he is saying is make an effort. Why should he bend over backwards for the odd one or two, and risk upsetting his regular customers with the inevitable queues that will result? | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/20/2009 2:06:07 PM |
If I went there for a week I'd learn 'food' and 'fancy a shag' .
But, going by your postings on other threads, where you are so keen to let us know that you're such a 'good boy' who would never dream of having 'recreational sex' I guess you'd also have to learn.......
"How many lovers have you had?"
"How many times have you had unprotected sex?"
"What are your thoughts on casual sex"
"When did you last have an AIDS test"
"What were the results"
"When did you last have sex"
"Do you have sex on the first date"
"Can I interview your last ten lovers?"
"Did they have AIDS tests"
"What were the results"
"I would like to interview your Doctor"
"You do realise that I can't f*ck you because I haven't known you for three years?"
And lots more of course........ and Polish ain't the easiest language! | |
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| A matter of pride or racist ?
Posted: 3/21/2009 11:15:40 AM | Nice to see folk keeping on topic rather than slagging each other off AGAIN.
I have a friend who can ask "Can I have a beer" in over a hundred languages...ner ner  | |
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