It goes without saying that some of the people who run for offices in this country are rather unhinged, and many reasonable people would probably agree. That said, anyone who closely follows political news will have undoubtedly heard of Valentina Gomez, a Republican candidate running for Texas‘ 31st Congressional District. She has shown herself to be quite the far-right extremist and is proud of it. However, she has also recently shown herself to be a “hypocrite,” as Reddit has discovered.
On July 4, she declared on X/Twitter that “The United States is not a Hispanic country,” telling others to “Write in English.” However, user skullfac3lad posted on r/agedlikemilk, showing how, in less than a month, she has ended up contradicting herself by replying to someone in Spanish. She wasn’t born in the States and is ashamed to proclaim it. But publicly shaming people for not speaking English in the “melting pot” country, then turning around and speaking Spanish has rubbed many the wrong way.
“Imagine living in the Americas and refusing to acknowledge a language spoken by roughly half a billion people in the region,” remarks a commenter. “How ethnocentric, racist, insular, and insecure do you have to be to get upset about people speaking a different language?” Another added, “And doing it to your own people lol,” as she isn’t originally from the US. “The pick-me energy when you crave approval from racists that will never like you by design,” another user says ironically.
Dozens of others began to point out how people from the US tend to act as though they can and should only speak English, even when they’re visiting other countries. Some British commenters chimed in as well, claiming it’s a problem the UK has as well. Whatever the case, it’s more than common knowledge that plenty of people in the States can speak another language, considering how there are so many cultures and backgrounds. So, as one user puts it, by Gomez’s standards, “shouldn’t she be self-deporting?“
