NYTIMES focuses on EnglishOnly referendum; damage already is done to Nashville's image

Today's New York Times contained a large, well-reported story about the EnglishOnly efforts by Councilman Eric Crafton and his supporters.

And the damage done to Nashville's image with the unavoidable story has now been done. Nashville is the largest American city to consider such a proposal. It also is a place where the public schools are failing, and the pro sports bill is increasingly unaffordable.

So now it does not even matter if the measure passes or fails. The truth about Nashville is becoming known to more of the world and nation. Nashville is not a progressive city worthy of emulation.

The last time the world's newspaper of record devoted so much space to Nashville was over the torture of a pregnant Hispanic woman before and after childbirth. And the chamber of commerce, university presidents and the mayor who now oppose EnglishOnly stayed quiet about the torture.

So Nashville is going to get what it deserves, along with the Titans falling to the Ravens on their self-assured way to the Super Bowl,

Here is the how The Times describes Nashville to the world:

Thirty states, including Tennessee, and at least 19 cities have declared English the official language, according to Rob Toonkel, a spokesman for the U.S. English Foundation, which advocates such policies. But most of the cities are small, places like Hazelton, Pa., and Culpeper, Va.

In Nashville, which has a population of about 600,000, two factors have been driving interest in Mr. Crafton’s proposal: the booming immigrant population and the faltering economy.

In the 1990s, the number of immigrants in Nashville tripled, according to government estimates, and more than 10 percent of residents were born outside the country. But over the past year, as the state unemployment rate rose to 6.9 percent from 5 percent, experts say, immigrants came under greater criticism.


Today, Nashville's Catholic bishop joined the chorus against the referendum. Yet he, too, remained quiet about the torture of the Hispanic woman before and after giving birth to an American citizen.

Nashville, with the EnglishOnly referendum, is only getting what it deserves in the lasting damage to its image no matter how people vote Jan. 22.