"Jabbering"

I've never expected the Lehigh Valley, lovely as it can be, to be a bastion of open mindedness. Then I read this NYT article about the all-white Bethlehem school board that turned down a Hispanic candidate, and this quote just made me say a big "ugh" :

"We certainly need diversity,” said Johanna Bees, a Republican committeewoman who spoke outside the city library. “But the school board had to consider qualifications first.” Ms. Bees paused and then added: “One of my gripes is that all these people should learn English. When they’re walking on the street and they’re jabbering in Spanish, it really annoys me." (emphasis added)

The guy in question, Mr. Torres Cordero, is a "lawyer, parent, community activist and trained practitioner of conflict resolution."