A language barrier can really escalate an issue and cause undue frustration. However, some people think the U.S. should be a monolingual. That’s limiting, especially given the country’s strong Hispanic culture. When a Spanish-speaking woman’s vehicle broke down in California, she found herself in a difficult situation. A police officer couldn’t understand her Spanish, but luckily, one man was able to get past that language barrier and avoid a misunderstanding.
TikToker Escondidoautosupercenter is a used car dealership in California. The dealership owner was sitting in his office when he heard a police officer yelling at someone outside. He walked out and saw a woman in a pickup truck whose vehicle had broken down in the middle of the road, with several other people inside. However, the woman and the police officer couldn’t understand one another because he spoke English and she spoke Spanish.
As this salesman said, “The cop was clearly frustrated and started yelling at her through the intercom.”
He looked at the woman and saw she was confused and scared by the situation, not knowing what she could do. In a true act of heroism, this salesman decided he was going to take the wheel for her.
He told the police officer he would hop into her pickup truck and drive it off the road for her. The officer agreed and pushed on the vehicle’s bumper to get it rolling while they safely parked it at a local gas station.
The salesman said this situation could have been avoided and that it didn’t have to put undue stress on the woman. These things happen all the time. He says, “Sometimes people don’t need pressure or shouting. They just need someone willing to step in and help.” It’s a good thing he was there to save the day with calm understanding!
Commenters were mixed on the situation, having a major issue with this lady’s inability to speak English. Some argued she should know by now.
“The first European language spoken in the United States was Spanish,” TikToker Escondidoautosupercenter retorted.
“How are you in a country where the primary language is English and you can’t speak English,” argued one. Spanish is 2nd to English in America, with the U.S. having a diverse smattering of others. There’s a reason people call the U.S. a melting pot. Getting frustrated over the language barrier won’t help, either. You can literally translate with an app, so there’s no excuse.
