I like to thank Raw Story for picking my post. ¡Bienvenidos all Raw Story readers! Hope y'all stick around.

The Englishnistas have struck again. First we have the City of Bogota who was demanding that McDonald's to take down it's billboard that advertises iced coffee in Spanish because the mayor Steve Lonegan, felt that McDonald's is sending a message to Spanish-speaking immigrants that they don't need to learn English. Now it seems that a town in Tennessee (via Mixed Media Watch) has their own idea of an English only policy and a closed minded idea that if somebody is speaking Spanish, they must be illegal. According to the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, several city council members from Springfield, TN are considering banning all Hispanics from their city parks.

"In last month's Mayor and Aldermen Meeting on July 18, City Manager Paul Nutting and at least one Alderman made negative comments about the large number of Hispanics that populate the park on the weekends."

"In last month's city meeting, Alderman Ken Cherry expressed concerns for safety in the parks because of the big Hispanic crowds on weekends. Monday, he admitted his sentiments are not limited to the parks. He said, 'If I could do what I wanted to do, any illegal alien would be holed up in a barbwire tent and we'd haul them up to where they came from and turn them loose.'"

"When asked to comment on the possibility that not every Hispanic using the park was an 'illegal immigrant', Alderman Cherry responded, 'If they're speaking Spanish, I tend to think they are illegal.' ... On Tuesday he said, 'The comment that I made about if they're speaking Spanish they're illegal immigrants, that's probably a little strong. In my mind, that's an indication that the possibility may...
...exist.'"

"Not all members of Springfield's Board of Mayor and Alderman, however, are in agreement with Cherry's position on the issue. Assistant City Manager Gina Holt said, 'If you polled all seven of them, they'd all have a totally different opinion probably and as a board they have not taken any action yet as far as establishing any policies related to the parks or any other services right now.'"

"Springfield's Board of Mayor and Aldermen plan to hold a community meeting on September 7 to discuss the issues they've encountered with what Alderman Cherry terms the 'growing Hispanic problem.' ... Assistant City Manager Gina Holt said the goal of the September 7 board meeting is to achieve an arrangement that is fair and equitable for all."

They provide a couple links to a news video, but I took the liberty to download and upload to YouTude. That is not a misprint, Alderman Ken Cherry literally did say that "If they're speaking Spanish, I tend to think they are illegal" and that "any illegal alien would be holed up in a barbwire tent." I wonder if that goes for all gringos who know Spanish. Watch the video.

If there are any Hispanics that really thought that this anti-immigration did not include you, well -

YOU BETTER THINK AGAIN BECAUSE THEY ARE COMING AFTER YOU!!!

(a thank you to theunapologeticmexican for the pic)