Nashvillians--We need to band together and vote no for the English only amendments. (Early voting between now and Jan. 17 at the Davidson County Election Commission--800 2nd Ave. So; election day Jan. 22) It is very bad for business. Listen to Tom Oreck. He just relocated his Oreck vaccum business to TN. He says that if this amendment had been in place when he was considering TN, he probably wouldn't have moved his company here.
We have had great success in attracting international companies to the state, Nissan and Volkswagen for instance. Many American companies that are located here or might want to locate here do business with international customers. It would just be rude and ridiculous to force Tennesseans not to speak to them in their native tongue. Much of the time, they might be able to speak English anyway, but it is courteous to at least try to speak to them in their native tongue and make them feel welcome.
With the economy as bad as it is, we don't need to put Nashville and Tennessee in a down position. We have actually fared pretty well, compared to some other locations, so let us not kick ourselves in the behind.
Frankly, I am surprised this initiative got this far. The person who spearheaded this seems to be an intelligent person, but he dropped the ball on this one. We can't afford to put the state in a handicapped position just because of his bad judgment. This is a very expensive proposition to get nothing in return, and in fact to do damage to the state.
Some people from other locales still think of Nashvillians and Tennesseans as hayseeds. We know we aren't. If we pass this amendment, it will just reinforce their idea that we are not sophisticated and because of that should not be players in the international arena.
Quick facts about the amendment here: http://www.nashvilleforallofus.org/Why-Nashville-should-defeat-English-Only.pdf
http://www.nashville.gov/VOTE/schedule_early.htm
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