Thuy Phan/Nguoi Viet
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Long Beach Business Journal ruffled a few feathers when its chief executive officer created a series of tweets criticizing non-English speakers at a City Council meeting for being allowed extra time to speak and use translators. And in a news release sent by the Long Beach Language Access Coalition on Feb. 19, the group denounced the “disrespectful language on Twitter by the Long Beach Business Journal regarding the recent public-comment speakers for the minimum-wage policy.”
The tweet sent by the Long Beach Business Journal that caused a strong reaction from the community. (Photo: Long Beach Business Journal Twitter account)
The release relays details of the meeting, which took place Jan. 19. More than 50 people spoke during the public-comment session for the item. During the meeting, “multiple posts from the Long Beach Business Journal Twitter account bemoaned the practice that speakers of languages other than English were given double time for their testimonies and shamed them for not speaking English fluently.”
The first tweet in question, sent by the publication’s co-founder, George Economides, read: “Minimum Wage: 1st speaker gets 6 min because she doesn’t speak English even though she has lived her (sic) 28 years. This is going to be a mess.”
He followed up that tweet with another, saying, “Min Wage: Another person who gets 6 minutes to testify because he doesn’t speak English and he’s lived here at least 20 years.”
Laura Merryfield, 26, who is a parent organizer with Building Healthy Communities Long Beach, spoke on behalf of the coalition and said Economides’ tweets were out of line.
“A value of ours is civic engagement – being able to participate and speak in government,” Merryfield said. “To see lots of different people come out to speak about important issues such as the minimum wage is something to celebrate, not demean. When we see a respected business come out and use that kind of rhetoric, we thought it was important spread the word. It was hateful language, and it was not appropriate.”
Economides said he disagrees. As an immigrant himself, he said he understands the hardships but feels people who want to get paid more must learn the language.
“I was criticized for being racist,” said Economides, 69. “I’m the last person they would call racist. I feel strongly about that. If you’re going to put your roots in this country, learn the language. That’s how you get ahead. I can’t imagine anyone disagreeing with that. We have a lot of free programs in Long Beach to learn English. Plenty of opportunities.”
What are your thoughts? Should citizens be offended by Economides’ tweet? Please comment below and let us hear your thoughts.
——————–
Contact the writer: [email protected]
