The Q-View

I recently came across an advertising flyer for a house cleaning service.

An industrious young white woman in jeans and a sweatshirt is pictured cleaning a toilet and a mirror.

According to the brochure she works for a company that trumpets:

• “Family owned and operated.”
• “Reasonable rates.”
• “We provide all supplies and equipment.”
• “Pre-screened, trained, supervised.”
• “English-speaking employees.”

Uh, what? That last bullet point there…

English-speaking employees?

Immigration-phobia as a selling point? Did a focus group reveal that companies will do more business if they hire English-speaking employees only? Are E-SE’s better cleaners than nonE-SE’s? Is this company aiming for the America First demographic, specifically? Will they take a job in non-English speaking households?

And what constitutes an E-SE? Can English be a second language? Sign language?

This seems about a half-step away from openly advertising “White Employees Only”.

Anyone who has paid any attention to social media this year has come across video of non-English speakers being screamed at by English-only zealots. Then there was the mother in an urgent care who refused to allow her child to be examined by anyone who was not “American”.

The times we live in. Have these types always been around and are now emboldened to crawl out from under their rocks? Has social media simply made us more aware of them? Has some empathy-reducing chemical recently entered the water supply?

No matter how “meticulous” and “thorough” and “professional” the cleaners are–according to the testimonials in the brochure–I think the house might be a little dirtier after being cleaned by bigots.

At least the company does “Pet Friendly Cleaning”–if the dogs bark and the cats meow in English?

Ironically “Pet Friendly” should be hyphenated, according to the rules of standard English.

If you aren’t using standard English, are you really speaking English?