Post by: wmenorr67 on April 02, 2008, 05:30:15 AM
Quote
OKLAHOMA CITY -- The federal government is investigating whether the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety violated the civil rights of Iranian immigrants by refusing to provide them with driver's license tests in their native Farsi language.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched the investigation in March after a complaint filed on behalf of two Iranian nationals living in Bartlesville accused the state agency of unlawful discrimination based on their national origin, according to a letter from the NHTSA to Public Safety Commissioner Kevin Ward.
Public safety officials said Tuesday that offering state driver's license tests in Farsi could force the state to offer tests and other state documents in a host of other languages, creating new costs and administrative burdens. The written portion of Oklahoma's test is currently provided only in English and Spanish.
"The enormity of the situation is overwhelming," said Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. Chris West. Driver's license tests in multiple languages would create huge composition and printing costs and translators would have to be hired to grade the tests in each language, West said.
"It could be a huge financial burden. And very labor intensive," West said.
The complaint was filed on behalf of Fardha Sharifi and her husband, Alireza Sanghinmanesh, who immigrated to the United States with their young son, said Hassan Sharifi, Fardha Sharifi's cousin and a restaurant owner in Bartlesville.
He said the couple wanted to get Oklahoma driver's licenses last year but did not understand English well enough to take the Oklahoma test.
"They wanted to go to work. And I had to drive them around almost everywhere they went," said Hassan Sharifi, who immigrated to the U.S. 30 years ago. "It seemed like my life was interrupted."
He said he contacted state driver's license officials to see if the test could be provided in the couple's native language, Farsi.
"They didn't answer me," Hassan Sharifi said. "I feel bad. No one wants to take the responsibility."
Finally, the couple went to the neighboring state of Kansas, located less than 25 miles north of Bartlesville, where they each passed a Kansas exam that tested their driving skills using graphic symbols rather than language, Hassan Sharifi said.
"There was no translation needed," he said. Once they returned to Oklahoma, they exchanged their Kansas driver's licenses to Oklahoma licenses and are now both legally licensed to drive in the state, he said.
The formal complaint was filed with the government by Hassan Sharifi's son, Payam Sharifi, a senior in economics at the University of Oklahoma.
The chief legal counsel for the Department of Public Safety, Wellon Poe, said the agency plans to formally respond to the complaint later this month.
"I think we've acted correctly and properly," Poe said. He said the incident is the only time the state has ever been asked to provide its driver's license test in Farsi.
Poe said the complaint could be dismissed after the agency responds or the government could order state officials to take corrective action to comply with federal civil rights requirements.
If the state does not comply, it could be penalized by the withholding of federal transportation money.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched the investigation in March after a complaint filed on behalf of two Iranian nationals living in Bartlesville accused the state agency of unlawful discrimination based on their national origin, according to a letter from the NHTSA to Public Safety Commissioner Kevin Ward.
Public safety officials said Tuesday that offering state driver's license tests in Farsi could force the state to offer tests and other state documents in a host of other languages, creating new costs and administrative burdens. The written portion of Oklahoma's test is currently provided only in English and Spanish.
"The enormity of the situation is overwhelming," said Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. Chris West. Driver's license tests in multiple languages would create huge composition and printing costs and translators would have to be hired to grade the tests in each language, West said.
"It could be a huge financial burden. And very labor intensive," West said.
The complaint was filed on behalf of Fardha Sharifi and her husband, Alireza Sanghinmanesh, who immigrated to the United States with their young son, said Hassan Sharifi, Fardha Sharifi's cousin and a restaurant owner in Bartlesville.
He said the couple wanted to get Oklahoma driver's licenses last year but did not understand English well enough to take the Oklahoma test.
"They wanted to go to work. And I had to drive them around almost everywhere they went," said Hassan Sharifi, who immigrated to the U.S. 30 years ago. "It seemed like my life was interrupted."
He said he contacted state driver's license officials to see if the test could be provided in the couple's native language, Farsi.
"They didn't answer me," Hassan Sharifi said. "I feel bad. No one wants to take the responsibility."
Finally, the couple went to the neighboring state of Kansas, located less than 25 miles north of Bartlesville, where they each passed a Kansas exam that tested their driving skills using graphic symbols rather than language, Hassan Sharifi said.
"There was no translation needed," he said. Once they returned to Oklahoma, they exchanged their Kansas driver's licenses to Oklahoma licenses and are now both legally licensed to drive in the state, he said.
The formal complaint was filed with the government by Hassan Sharifi's son, Payam Sharifi, a senior in economics at the University of Oklahoma.
The chief legal counsel for the Department of Public Safety, Wellon Poe, said the agency plans to formally respond to the complaint later this month.
"I think we've acted correctly and properly," Poe said. He said the incident is the only time the state has ever been asked to provide its driver's license test in Farsi.
Poe said the complaint could be dismissed after the agency responds or the government could order state officials to take corrective action to comply with federal civil rights requirements.
If the state does not comply, it could be penalized by the withholding of federal transportation money.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080401_1__OKLAH23086
I just want to scream.
Post by: Manedwolf on April 02, 2008, 05:32:53 AM
Like, oh, DO NOT ENTER, WRONG WAY...
Post by: wmenorr67 on April 02, 2008, 05:36:08 AM
Trying to read them all now.
Quite funny actually.
Post by: The Annoyed Man on April 02, 2008, 05:40:39 AM
Post by: mtnbkr on April 02, 2008, 05:42:13 AM
Chris
Post by: Manedwolf on April 02, 2008, 05:43:38 AM
You want to drive in an English-speaking country? Learn English. Does Mexico give English driver's license tests to people who move down there? Would Iran give an English driver's license test? Or even give a driver's license, period?
PC is turning us from a melting pot of contributing cultures to a Balkanization of insular tribes.
Post by: K Frame on April 02, 2008, 06:41:26 AM
Why are they dishonoring Allah by attempting to get a driver's license for a WOMAN?
Allah HATES women and wants them to be oppressed!
Post by: Glock Glockler on April 02, 2008, 06:44:01 AM
Maybe we shouldn't be providing them in Spanish.
Post by: HankB on April 02, 2008, 06:45:17 AM
Well, if they provide the test in Spanish, why not in all the other lenguas tambien? Why should only non English speaking latinos get a break? They can't read the road signs either
Maybe we shouldn't be providing them in Spanish.
Beat me to the punch by minutes . . .
Maybe we shouldn't be providing them in Spanish.
Post by: Werewolf on April 02, 2008, 08:11:41 AM
There was overwhelming support for it last year but the American Indians here objected saying if discriminated against them and their languages. This version added an exemption for them and a few tweaks to make the law more like those passed in other states so it would pass a constitutional muster.
When it goes into effect all state business will be conducted in English.
Post by: taurusowner on April 02, 2008, 10:12:00 AM
That's precisely why English should be the official language of the United States.
You want to drive in an English-speaking country? Learn English. Does Mexico give English driver's license tests to people who move down there? Would Iran give an English driver's license test? Or even give a driver's license, period?
PC is turning us from a melting pot of contributing cultures to a Balkanization of insular tribes.
You want to drive in an English-speaking country? Learn English. Does Mexico give English driver's license tests to people who move down there? Would Iran give an English driver's license test? Or even give a driver's license, period?
PC is turning us from a melting pot of contributing cultures to a Balkanization of insular tribes.
QFFT man.
Post by: Brad Johnson on April 02, 2008, 11:08:59 AM
Well, if they provide the test in Spanish, why not in all the other lenguas tambien? Why should only non English speaking latinos get a break? They can't read the road signs either
Maybe we shouldn't be providing them in Spanish.
Beat me to the punch by minutes . . . Maybe we shouldn't be providing them in Spanish.
Ditto, +1, and all that other stuff that annoys the heck out of Mike.
Brad
Post by: MechAg94 on April 02, 2008, 12:39:31 PM
Do they have the DL tests in brail?
Post by: RoadKingLarry on April 02, 2008, 12:50:06 PM
Post by: Bigjake on April 02, 2008, 01:06:19 PM
Post by: cassandra and sara's daddy on April 02, 2008, 03:52:03 PM
Post by: thebaldguy on April 02, 2008, 04:15:32 PM
I believe that our MetroTransit light rail train has 5 languages on their signs.
Post by: HankB on April 02, 2008, 05:51:07 PM
notice the parents went to kansas and got their license. the driving force here is their dipshit son who goes to college here and is thoroughly americanized was surprised hes an econ major expected law school
Just relieved it wasn't flight school . . .
Post by: Glock Glockler on April 02, 2008, 06:02:07 PM
Do you think their descendants learned English by this point? If you start printing them in Spanish then every other group is going to demand them and you'll end up in the mess we have now. There is no substitute for having an official language.
Post by: K Frame on April 02, 2008, 07:40:56 PM
Post by: Manedwolf on April 02, 2008, 07:51:34 PM
The Fairfax County School District sends information home with kids in a total of something like 90 languages and dialects.
Considering how much translation services cost for our brochures, along with checking for context (idioms often don't translate right), that's likely not cheap.
Post by: gunsmith on April 03, 2008, 01:41:04 AM
Some one should sue to get that in Farsi,(the gun safety certificate) Iranians living in CA are almost always pro gun.
I would rather CA go broke printing a million different text in a million different dialects then spend money chasing AR owners, Oklahoma not as much, they don't seem as eager to punish gun owners.
Post by: wmenorr67 on April 03, 2008, 01:48:04 AM
Post by: cassandra and sara's daddy on April 03, 2008, 02:43:24 AM
Post by: MicroBalrog on June 09, 2008, 06:01:02 PM
That's precisely why English should be the official language of the United States.
You want to drive in an English-speaking country? Learn English. Does Mexico give English driver's license tests to people who move down there? Would Iran give an English driver's license test? Or even give a driver's license, period?
PC is turning us from a melting pot of contributing cultures to a Balkanization of insular tribes.
You want to drive in an English-speaking country? Learn English. Does Mexico give English driver's license tests to people who move down there? Would Iran give an English driver's license test? Or even give a driver's license, period?
PC is turning us from a melting pot of contributing cultures to a Balkanization of insular tribes.
A lot of the guys who fought in the Revolutionary War spoke not a word of English.
Further, there is no authority in the Constitution to declare an official language of any kind.
That said, no person unable to read the Constitution in the original should be allowed to get a greencard in the first place, much less a citizenship.
Post by: Hawkmoon on June 09, 2008, 06:18:17 PM
Post by: Nitrogen on June 09, 2008, 07:46:14 PM
There is another article in today's paper stating that they were not asking for the test to be in Farsi. They just wanted the test to have a graphical version like the one they have in Kansas. They also went and rented an apartment in Kansas for two months to establish residency prior to getting the Kansas license then "moved" back to Oklahoma.
This is worse than the whole drivers license thing right there.
Post by: roo_ster on June 09, 2008, 08:42:08 PM
That's precisely why English should be the official language of the United States.
You want to drive in an English-speaking country? Learn English. Does Mexico give English driver's license tests to people who move down there? Would Iran give an English driver's license test? Or even give a driver's license, period?
PC is turning us from a melting pot of contributing cultures to a Balkanization of insular tribes.
You want to drive in an English-speaking country? Learn English. Does Mexico give English driver's license tests to people who move down there? Would Iran give an English driver's license test? Or even give a driver's license, period?
PC is turning us from a melting pot of contributing cultures to a Balkanization of insular tribes.
A lot of the guys who fought in the Revolutionary War spoke not a word of English.
Further, there is no authority in the Constitution to declare an official language of any kind.
True, the Hessian mercenaries the English inflicted on us were likely non-English-speakers.
The COTUS may not grant the federales that authority, but it is silent WRT the states.
Post by: MicroBalrog on June 09, 2008, 09:28:56 PM
True, the Hessian mercenaries the English inflicted on us were likely non-English-speakers.
There were German immigrants who fought for the Revolutionary side, as well as French.
It was the Germans who were in part responsible for introducing the rifle to America, or so Morrison has it in "Oxford's History of the American People."
Post by: De Selby on June 09, 2008, 09:37:45 PM
There's an additional factor to consider here: While congress has no constitutional authority to declare a national language and mandate its use, it clearly has the authority to prohibit states from mandating the use of one language or another, if it so chooses.
Post by: Phantom Warrior on June 10, 2008, 09:57:09 AM
Post by: Manedwolf on June 10, 2008, 10:13:06 AM
How are they supposed to read the road signs?!
Like, oh, DO NOT ENTER, WRONG WAY...
Like, oh, DO NOT ENTER, WRONG WAY...
Same way I did when I was stationed overseas. Learn the shapes, colors and important characters. Worked well enough for me in Japan.
Yellow sign, no icons. SLIPPERY WHEN WET. ONE LANE. BLIND CHILD. HIDDEN DRIVEWAY.
Red signs, no icons. REDUCE SPEED AHEAD. WRONG WAY. PREPARE TO STOP.
We're talking about America. Not Japan, which has almost entirely iconography-based signs.
Post by: Frank Castle on June 10, 2008, 11:21:58 AM
Post by: Balog on June 10, 2008, 11:24:07 AM
You do seem to have some interesting information/experiences, so let me try to help you once more.
Condescension, arrogance, and just generally acting like a prick with a serious Napoleon complex do not fit in with the mission of the Armed POLITE Society. Calm down, stop presuming you're far superior in every way to the rest of us here, and you'll be fine.
Post by: Balog on June 10, 2008, 01:07:23 PM
Quote from: DT
Where do you get that I'm presuming I'm "far superior"?
The near Prius-owner levels of smugness and arrogance.
Post by: De Selby on June 10, 2008, 03:03:39 PM
DT.....
You do seem to have some interesting information/experiences, so let me try to help you once more.
Condescension, arrogance, and just generally acting like a prick with a serious Napoleon complex do not fit in with the mission of the Armed POLITE Society. Calm down, stop presuming you're far superior in every way to the rest of us here, and you'll be fine.
You do seem to have some interesting information/experiences, so let me try to help you once more.
Condescension, arrogance, and just generally acting like a prick with a serious Napoleon complex do not fit in with the mission of the Armed POLITE Society. Calm down, stop presuming you're far superior in every way to the rest of us here, and you'll be fine.
Where do you get that I'm presuming I'm "far superior"? It's not very POLITE to say someone is wrong and basically call them a liar, either, here and in other threads. And I'm still waiting for a response regarding Manedwolfe's Japanese language qualifications.
Before you go any further with this, you might want to note that "iconographic" does not mean "employing ideograms"
Iconography does not equal use of alphanumeric or other writing symbols. I think that you are demanding his knowledge of japanese because you do not know what "iconographic" means....am I right?
Post by: Phyphor on June 10, 2008, 06:44:01 PM
Yea, and I want the entire female cast of Firefly to sex me the hell up!
</JCM>
Both are about as likely to happen, obviously.
Bunch of crap anyway, how the hell do they expect a OK state trooper to read that crap?
Post by: K Frame on June 10, 2008, 07:08:48 PM
MY German ancestors fought on the American side in the Revolutionary War.
As did my English AND Scottish ancestors.