Posted on Jul 27, 2023
Supporters rally around Vietnamese American City Council member who was called ‘un-American’
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A Georgia community is rallying around a Vietnamese American City Council member after a colleague said she was “un-American” and “failed as a citizen of this country” for backing a petition for multilingual voting ballots during city-level elections.
Dozens of residents of Morrow, which is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area, and neighboring cities filled the room during the council’s meeting Tuesday to support council member Van Tran and denounce the comments made by council member Dorothy Dean in a previous session.
Tran, who has been a council member in Morrow for four years, spent the last four months advocating during meetings for Spanish and Vietnamese voting ballots. Her colleagues vocally opposed the idea in April, adding that interpreters were already available at polling sites. As Tran continued to advocate for the ballots, earlier this month Dean approached the podium and accused Tran of dishonoring “the oaths” she took as an American citizen.
Dozens of residents of Morrow, which is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area, and neighboring cities filled the room during the council’s meeting Tuesday to support council member Van Tran and denounce the comments made by council member Dorothy Dean in a previous session.
Tran, who has been a council member in Morrow for four years, spent the last four months advocating during meetings for Spanish and Vietnamese voting ballots. Her colleagues vocally opposed the idea in April, adding that interpreters were already available at polling sites. As Tran continued to advocate for the ballots, earlier this month Dean approached the podium and accused Tran of dishonoring “the oaths” she took as an American citizen.
Supporters rally around Vietnamese American City Council member who was called ‘un-American’
Posted from nbcnews.com
Dialects of Vietnamese
Voting
Elections
Morrow
Spanish
Posted 9 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Dean said Tran should persuade her constituents to learn English instead of providing ballots in other languages. She did not respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
“I’d like you to know that I feel, as a citizen of this city and as a fellow council member, that you did not deserve to sit on that dais as an elected official. You have failed in your oath of office. You have failed as a citizen of this country,” Dean said. “You disregarded it, and you dishonored those oaths you took as an American citizen. I would like to say that is un-American and inexcusable. Shame on you, Van Tran.”
Tran pushed back. “Her offensive comments were really hurtful. It was not only harmful to me, but it was harmful to all the people that I’m standing for in this petition and the community,” she said.
On Monday, 28 Georgia state legislators signed a letter denouncing Dean’s comments.
“Georgia’s diverse electorate is a mark of our vibrancy and strength,” the letter said. “For elected officials to question whether immigrant citizens ‘deserve’ to participate in the electoral process, however, is truly un-American.”
..."Dean said Tran should persuade her constituents to learn English instead of providing ballots in other languages. She did not respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
“I’d like you to know that I feel, as a citizen of this city and as a fellow council member, that you did not deserve to sit on that dais as an elected official. You have failed in your oath of office. You have failed as a citizen of this country,” Dean said. “You disregarded it, and you dishonored those oaths you took as an American citizen. I would like to say that is un-American and inexcusable. Shame on you, Van Tran.”
Tran pushed back. “Her offensive comments were really hurtful. It was not only harmful to me, but it was harmful to all the people that I’m standing for in this petition and the community,” she said.
On Monday, 28 Georgia state legislators signed a letter denouncing Dean’s comments.
“Georgia’s diverse electorate is a mark of our vibrancy and strength,” the letter said. “For elected officials to question whether immigrant citizens ‘deserve’ to participate in the electoral process, however, is truly un-American.”
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We do need to encourage people to speak/read/write English but it (English) isn't an easy language, particularly for those who come from countries with entirely different writing systems. And learning it as an adult presents even more issues. It really is helpful for adults to be treated as adults and to be able to read documents for themselves if possible.
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