Your opinion on Coke's version of America The Beautiful? [W:1014]

DA60 · Feb 4, 2014

The first few seconds made me roll my eyes.

But as they showed more and more different ethnicities and non-traditionally, American individuals...I actually grew to like it.

The 'white', male WASP-dominated America is slowly becoming a thing of the past (thank goodness)...and this commercial emphasizes that.

It was encouraging...if just a commercial.

BTW - I am a 'white', male WASP.

Arcana XV · Feb 4, 2014

Dr. Chuckles said:

LOL!

Omg how did he get out of that room alive!!?? :lol:

Mach · Feb 4, 2014

The commercial should have been:

Stop drinking so much god damned coke.
And by the way, stop such being ****ing xenophobes, we're a nation of immigrants and love your damned neighbor.

That's why I'm not in marketing.

Moon · Feb 4, 2014

SouthernDemocrat said:
I guess conservatives believe it should not have been:

"e pluribus unum" but rather "e pluribus unum conformare"

I think you paint with a brush that is a tad bit broad.

polgara · Feb 4, 2014

SouthernDemocrat said:
In addition to our biological son, we have 2 adopted daughters from China. One we adopted when she was 4 the other when she was 9. Neither of them spoke a word of English when we got them. We only spoke a few phrases in Mandarin. I can't imagine how scary it had to be for them. Our oldest came here just 3 weeks before she had to start school. So here she was, in a completely different country, could not speak a word of English, could not even talk to her new parents, and was going to school where no one would understand her either. The both picked up English really fast though from being immersed in it. That said, our oldest daughter still has a heavy accent despite having been here 4 years now. I think she is still going to sound fresh off the boat when she is 40.

Kudos for your kindness! :thumbs: I can't imagine being in their shoes, and wondering what people are talking about! :mrgreen:

ALiberalModerate · Feb 4, 2014

polgara said:
Kudos for your kindness! :thumbs: I can't imagine being in their shoes, and wondering what people are talking about! :mrgreen:

They both speak english fluently now. It was amazing how quick they picked it up. Kids pick up new languages in no time.

ALiberalModerate · Feb 4, 2014

Moon said:
I think you paint with a brush that is a tad bit broad.

I am being sarcastic because of the ridiculous reaction to this commercial.

disneydude · Feb 4, 2014

I think its great. For too long, media has portrayed America as a much more "white" country than it is. America is a melting pot. I'm sorry if it makes some people uncomfortable to actually see this, but America has ALWAYS been a melting pot and its becoming less and less white every day.

HonestJoe · Feb 4, 2014

Well, the advert worked because you're all talking about Coke, which is what it would have been about. The handful of reactionaries talking about never drinking it again probably won't follow through and are minor in relation to the cultural indoctrination they've achieved. Some PR guy earned his bonus this month.

As for the manufactured controversy (I wouldn't be surprised is some of the early negative reactions were paid for by Coke), I say "Meh". It's not news that lots of people in the USA speak other languages but that doesn't mean they don't speak English too. I saw some follow-up videos featuring some of the people singing and they spoke perfectly good English (better than many "real" Americans in some cases). Speaking the primary language of the country you're living in is vital but being multilingual should never be something looked down on, quite the opposite in fact.

Anyway, some of the people in the advert were speaking/singing true American languages and not the one you stole from us and corrupted beyond all recognition.

Rocketman · Feb 4, 2014

disneydude said:
I think its great. For too long, media has portrayed America as a much more "white" country than it is. America is a melting pot. I'm sorry if it makes some people uncomfortable to actually see this, but America has ALWAYS been a melting pot and its becoming less and less white every day.

is that why liberals portrayed Zimmy versus Trayvon as black and white when Zim was not white at all but hispanic. I don't think liberals and progressives can make up their minds sometimes.

Grant · Feb 4, 2014

Higgins86 said:
Worth pointing out that all of the founding fathers were British citizens, many had worn the uniform and were subjects of the crown. Van Buren was the first president born a citizen of the United States.

Actually that's not quite right. Just in case one of the posters ever appears on Jeopardy here is the list.
List of Presidents of the United States by home state - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

opendebate · Feb 4, 2014

DiAnna said:
You are free to disagree with me.

Yes I am as are you.

I don't need to be lectured about tolerance and freedom, and I don't need to be patronised nor spoken down to. You can disagree with me without being self-righteous,

Sorry if you took it that way but I'm not, it certainly is not my intention. I am passionate about my perspective, just like you and I have every right to be. I may often be over sentimental for many on this forum, the only people I make the conscious choice to look down on are those who are openly cruel and hateful without any real provocation.

whether you are interested in why I feel as I do or not.

that's why I asked. It's supposed to be a discussion. You were passionate about your views and so was I. I don't disrespect you for your position but I do disagree with it.

Your disagreement does not make you superior to me, and my sharing my history in growing up in the midst of another culture does not make me "condescending", despite your rude comment to the contrary. I makes me completely appreciative of the vibrancy of Mexican culture, of VietNamese culture, of Chinese culture, of Persian culture, of Filipino culture, all of which have given me friends, peers and colleagues who have enriched my life, as I hope I have enriched theirs.

People put their opinions here for the very purpose of being discussed and challenged.

This country goes the extra mile for its non-English speaking citizens, residents and guests. We provide free English tutoring, ballots and other public documents are available in dozens of different languages, translators are available free of charge for any who require them, from the classroom to the courtroom, one of the very few countries on the planet that does so. I support this wholeheartedly. I also understand that it sometimes takes a generation or two for assimilation into the American culture, an assimilation which does indeed require being able to eventually communicate with each other. The coexistence of the dozens and dozens of diverse cultures in America does add to our richness as a nation, but I will point out that although these cultures have maintained their history throughout the development of our nation as it is today, those cultures understood that eventually they would have to communicate in the common language of the nation in order to become a part of their new country, and not just an isolated pocket unable to understand their neighbors, and their own government officials.

annoyed as I am by your intolerance of any who have differing opinions and life experiences than your own.

You seem to be the one that is being intolerant and this is a gross over-reaction.

You disappoint me.

And you disappoint me. You're not my Mother. I don't care if I disappointed you. I care if I offended you because I respect and like you but your disappointment for your children. You're are overstepping your reach by even saying that.

I am the most tolerant person you will ever know. My words my give you a different impression sometimes but you don't know me and you do not have enough information from what is provided in this forum to make such a judgment.

RogueWarrior · Feb 4, 2014

You would think conservatives would applaud Coca-Cola for using the Super Bowl to reach a world wide audience, most of whom do not speak English. Capitalism 101 right there.

Grant · Feb 4, 2014

polgara said:
My grandparents came from Northern Europe through Ellis Island. They had very limited knowledge of English, but they knew people who had arrived previously, and they learned from them, and others, just by being exposed to it. Brave souls, but they did it, and it didn't take four schools of language classes! My grandfather called a dime a "diamond," till he died. He gave us kids lots of "diamonds" for ice cream cones back then, and we didn't care what he called them! :mrgreen:

Greetings, Southern Democrat. :2wave:

We live in very sensitive times where anyone questioning the correct political positions is branded a 'racist', 'misogynist', anti Gay, and so on.

However we should keep in mind that language is a means of communication only and encouraging people to speak the common language, especially in a 'melting pot' like the US, is not necessarily a bad thing.

An argument was made a few years ago that 'Ebonics' should be taught to Black children in school because that's what they spoke in their neighborhoods. The result was that these Black children grew up to be unemployable.

These people can be made welcome and encouraged to speak their native language, or any language they choose, but they are likely to be shut out from the mainstream and restricted to working and socializing only with those with the same language and culture. Without English the average person's world shrinks remarkably. And the better your English is the more employable and socially advanced you will become.That's just the way it is.

Erod · Feb 4, 2014

Sounded like an ad for amnesty more than Coke.

The CEO for Coca-cola is Turkish. I wasn't surprised.

polgara · Feb 4, 2014

Grant said:
We live in very sensitive times where anyone questioning the correct political positions is branded a 'racist', 'misogynist', anti Gay, and so on.

However we should keep in mind that language is a means of communication only and encouraging people to speak the common language, especially in a 'melting pot' like the US, is not necessarily a bad thing.

An argument was made a few years ago that 'Ebonics' should be taught to Black children in school because that's what they spoke in their neighborhoods. The result was that these Black children grew up to be unemployable.

These people can be made welcome and encouraged to speak their native language, or any language they choose, but they are likely to be shut out from the mainstream and restricted to working and socializing only with those with the same language and culture. Without English the average person's world shrinks remarkably. And the better your English is the more employable and socially advanced you will become.That's just the way it is.

Excellent post! :thumbs:

Greetings, Grant. :2wave:

Boo Radley · Feb 4, 2014

pbrauer said:
It was one of the Super Bowl ads:

I thought it was fine. There is no legitimate reason for anyone to be offended. In fact, I may switch to Coke. :coffeepap

eohrnberger · Feb 4, 2014

Grant said:
We live in very sensitive times where anyone questioning the correct political positions is branded a 'racist', 'misogynist', anti Gay, and so on.

However we should keep in mind that language is a means of communication only and encouraging people to speak the common language, especially in a 'melting pot' like the US, is not necessarily a bad thing.

An argument was made a few years ago that 'Ebonics' should be taught to Black children in school because that's what they spoke in their neighborhoods. The result was that these Black children grew up to be unemployable.

These people can be made welcome and encouraged to speak their native language, or any language they choose, but they are likely to be shut out from the mainstream and restricted to working and socializing only with those with the same language and culture. Without English the average person's world shrinks remarkably. And the better your English is the more employable and socially advanced you will become.That's just the way it is.

Very common sense and down to Earth.

Not sure if the Super Bowl had a world wide TV audience which leads me to question why all the multilingual. Seems to me that the ad could have been just fine, as well as more applicable to the US population, leaving it all in English.

Why is it 'politically correct' to ignore and affront the majority in favor of minorities? This seems like stupid political over-correctness to me.

RogueWarrior · Feb 4, 2014

Grant said:
Actually that's not quite right. Just in case one of the posters ever appears on Jeopardy here is the list.
List of Presidents of the United States by home state - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I would argue that John Tyler was the first because he was born after the ratification of the Constitution in 1789.
Martin Van Buren was the first president born after the Declaration of Independence.

Who do you think it might be if not one of those 2?

notquiteright · Feb 4, 2014

Ad_Captandum said:
I find myself agreeing with you again, Gathomas. What a sight. Multiculturalism is useful as a stepping stone to assimilation, but I entirely agree that a nation must have some sort of working lingua franca to get anywhere. France is actually pretty good at this. Despite a huge number of immigrants, French law is stringent that French and French only is the national language, and it is required that everyone in the country speak at least passable French if they want to do anything more than sit at home. This is, in my opinion, one of the last stumbling blocks before the EU can finally self-realise in a big way. I think maybe the French should conquer everyone again, get rid of all the Germans, then we could sweep in and impose English as the language of the EU after the Second Napoleonic World War. Plausible?

It's kinda funny to read a someone in Scotland talk about lingua franca. I have been there and just like the Welsh, keeping a culture separate of the Brits is pushed.

France doesn't have a 'huge' number of immigrants and of those many come from former colonies where french was enforced by colonial dictate. Have you read the history of the Toubon law the french enacted- it wasn't to stop immigrants from speaking their language but to keep ENGLISH commercials and many movies out of French commerce. Ironic a Scotsman is in favor of a law that was designed to keep his Queen's language out of France.

France in no realistic way compares to the USofA as we don't have a ancient regime. We ARE a nation of immigrants, not a fairly uniform nation with over 1000 years of history taking on a few immigrants. While English as our primary is a nice idea fact is laws declaring it so are ignorant. While some of we claim assimilation is a good thing, 'sink or swim' isn't the best way to do that.

But for me the biggest head shake is over the fact the hissy fit in the USofA over this is from the CONs about a soft drink known around the world by it's USofA name. From stinking jungles to euro trash discos you can get a 'COKE' with no additional comment.

Grant · Feb 4, 2014

polgara said:
Excellent post! :thumbs:

Greetings, Grant. :2wave:

Greetings, Muchacha~~!:2wave:

Grant · Feb 4, 2014

RogueWarrior said:
I would argue that John Tyler was the first because he was born after the ratification of the Constitution in 1789.
Martin Van Buren was the first president born after the Declaration of Independence.

Who do you think it might be if not one of those 2?

I'm not sure of your argument here. Are you saying that because they were born before the Constitution was ratified they were not born in America? Wouldn't that have made them ineligible for the presidency?

Manc Skipper · Feb 4, 2014

I just sat through it. Frankly, it's a boring tune, as most nationalist dirges are. Certainly nothing to get your Depends in a wad over.

Peter King · Feb 4, 2014

RogueWarrior said:
I would argue that John Tyler was the first because he was born after the ratification of the Constitution in 1789.
Martin Van Buren was the first president born after the Declaration of Independence.

Who do you think it might be if not one of those 2?

But he was also the only president that grew up with English not being his first language but his second language (according to wikipedia) because he grew up speaking Dutch.

Grand Mal · Feb 4, 2014

Grant said:
I'm not sure of your argument here. Are you saying that because they were born before the Constitution was ratified they were not born in America? Wouldn't that have made them ineligible for the presidency?

(grin!)

Your opinion on Coke's version of America The Beautiful? [W:1014]

Do You like this version of "America The Beautiful?"

Yes

No

Other

More options

DA60

Arcana XV

Mach

Moon

Why so serious?

polgara

ALiberalModerate

Pragmatist

ALiberalModerate

Pragmatist

disneydude

HonestJoe

Rocketman

Grant

opendebate

RogueWarrior

Grant

Erod

polgara

Boo Radley

eohrnberger

RogueWarrior

notquiteright

Grant

Grant

Manc Skipper

Wrinkly member

Peter King

Grand Mal

Russian warship, go f*** yourself!

Your opinion on Coke's version of America The Beautiful? [W:1014]

Do You like this version of "America The Beautiful?"

Yes

No

Other

Why so serious?

Pragmatist

Pragmatist

Wrinkly member

Russian warship, go f*** yourself!

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