July 24, 2006
Another Jackass of the Week
Since Geoff is tongue-tied, I'll help him out. Mayor Steve Lonegan of Bogota, New Jersey is our new Jackass of the Week. He thinks that an ad for iced coffee in Spanish sends the message that Spanish-speaking immigrants don't need to learn English. Hunh? People surrounded by English-language media, who for the most part need to use English at work, at school, and in business, including when they work or eat at McDonalds, are going to conclude that they needn't bother learning English because the occasional ad is in Spanish? And how is advertising in Spanish "divisive"? Surely whining about other people's languages is what is divisive. Warren Meyer has aptly named the phenomenon whereby some people turn into blithering idiots on hearing Spanish Spanish Derangement Syndrome.
I think I'll stop by my local McDonalds tomorrow. Incidentally, according to this article, Bogota doesn't even have a McDonalds.
Posted by Bill Poser at July 24, 2006 02:26 AM