Thread: Mayor decries Spanish billboard

absolutely_astonished,

I'm absolutely astonished by your post. Several of your comments are violating forum rules of personally attacking another person on the forum, and are very close to race baiting. You better be careful or your posting privileges will be taken away if it continues.

The majority of the people in the United States prefer the English language and want it declared the official language of the country. You mention they haven't assimilated and that's the problem. If you keep catering to people in other languages they will never learn English. Also if these people are illegal immigrants we should not be encouraging them by advertising in their language. Put the Spanish billboards in their own country where they belong, and let them learn to speak English like everyone else here.

As for living in a small town that's a laugh since I'm in Southern California. It's anything but small here. I'm living in the real world and can see what is going on. I support the mayor and he should not have to resign for standing up and doing what is right.

I fired off an e-mail to McDonalds. I told them that I am boycotting all McDonalds franchises until all Spanish language billboards are removed, and that I will continue to boycott individual franchises that employ illegal aliens.

R.I.P. Jordin Paulder 11/22/96-06/05/06

All Hispanics are not Mexicans and all Mexicans and Hispanics are not Illegal and dont speak English and haven't assimilated.

OK, but how hard could it be to say or read "Iced Coffee" in English? Shouldn't legal citizens or resident aliens be able to do this? Who cares if an illegal alien isn't able to order "Iced Coffee" at the drive-thru?

Why not have signs in Hebrew, Russian or Korean?? Could it be that they don't have the La Raza mentality and are assimilating better??

How much of our taxpayer money is being wasted on bi-lingual services? How much more are we paying for products that need to fund bi-lingual advertising?

Why did this McDonalds put up a Spanish only sign that would cater to only 25% of the population??

http://www.northjersey.com

The poster in battle over immigration
Thursday, July 13, 2006

By MARY ELLEN SCHOONMAKER


THE MCDONALD'S billboard advertising iced coffee in Spanish could be the poster for the immigration debate that's divided the nation.

If you think we're being overrun by illegal aliens, then a big sign in your hometown in their language is proof positive that your fears are justified.

If you want English designated as the nation's official language, you certainly don't want to read billboards in any "unofficial" language.

Or maybe you aren't prejudiced but still don't understand why the sign in Bogota has to be in Spanish. Why not in English? Anyone who sees the giant picture of iced coffee and the McDonald's arches will get the obvious message anyway, won't they?

Sure. But this debate isn't really about language, is it? The Spanish language itself isn't the problem. The underlying sentiment is more about "America for Americans," whatever that means.

What's the real fear here -- that immigrants will take our jobs and dilute our culture? Does an influx of people from another nation water down our culture or enrich it?

Hyper-Americans

Actually, immigrants who come to this country often become even more "American" than people who were born here. Years ago, I spent holidays with the family of a man from Cuba who decorated his Christmas tree with American flags. I sometimes meet an elderly Russian man on morning walks in the park, and he's always happy to talk to me in his fledgling English. The last time I saw him, he was listening to an iPod.

My college-age daughters have friends with a United Nations collection of native languages: Bulgarian, Hindi, Japanese, Mandarin, Tagalog, Hebrew and Arabic.

All of them also speak English. The difference is if they saw the McDonald's billboard, they wouldn't automatically be offended or insist that it be in English only. They are comfortable with different languages and cultures. That's the world they know.

Unfortunately, many Americans aren't that broadminded. The controversy over the McDonald's billboard is a reminder that in some circles, anyone who doesn't speak English is suspicious. According to this logic, speaking a "foreign" language is a sign of inferiority, and it's right to be wary of "foreigners," especially since 9/11.

Debate fallout

The billboard uproar is direct fallout from the bitter immigration debate that swept through Congress like a flash flood and then went nowhere. All kinds of nasty sentiments were stirred up. It's not that far a jump from wanting to wall up the border to getting mad if you see a local billboard in Spanish. If you're willing to make anyone who helps illegal immigrants a felon, then you certainly don't want any signs giving the "wrong" people the impression they are welcome here.

My guess is Mayor Steve Lonegan of Bogota, who is leading the anti-billboard crusade, doesn't like the impression it gives that a lot of Spanish-speaking people live in Bogota. Is he afraid Bogota will turn into el barrio?

Maybe the billboard would be far less of a problem if the advertisement in Spanish was for a fancy car or a fancy restaurant, something a bit more upscale. But it's for a fast-food chain. So it gives the town an undesirable image. The billboard brings down the neighborhood. It could even bring down property values.

Fortunately, there are people in Bogota and in North Jersey who like to live in diverse communities, who like hearing different languages spoken and who may even consider being bilingual a good thing.

Diversity and division

A friend who is a former longtime resident of Bogota and still has family there says many people in town are very comfortable with diversity and aren't threatened by the growing Hispanic presence. They want newcomers to feel welcome and included, and they resent the divisiveness the mayor is trying to stir up over what basically amounts to a non-issue.

My friend says her grandson called her one night this week to tell her Lonegan was on a show on CNBC talking about the billboard. The guest before him was Anne Coulter.

So even if the billboard debate is not doing Bogota any good, it sure is doing Lonegan some good -- making him an even bigger star in conservative circles and giving him a national soapbox.

Right up there with Anne Coulter. Now that's the big time.

Mary Ellen Schoonmaker is a Record editorial writer and columnist. Contact her at schoonmaker@northjersey.com.

We have McDonald's spanish billboards as well. Also, we have spanish billboards from Verizon. I must have tuned them out before I read this post. I'll start watching more closely now.

http://www.northjersey.com

Bogota formally requests billboard removal
Friday, July 14, 2006

By BRIAN ABERBACK
STAFF WRITER


BOGOTA -- The borough has formally requested that McDonald's remove its Spanish-language billboard and replace it with an English version.

In a letter sent to McDonald's on borough letterhead, Mayor Steve Lonegan said the River Road advertisement for the company's new iced coffee drink sends a "divisive" and "unfair" message that immigrants and other Spanish speakers do not need to learn English or assimilate into the community.

"Many non-Latino residents of Bogota view your billboard as a sign that the Latino population no longer wants to share our American heritage," Lonegan wrote in the letter sent Wednesday to McDonald's officials.

"The billboard's perhaps subliminal message is that Latinos no longer want or need to be part of the intangible bond that has forged Bogota into one community," Lonegan wrote. "It is an attack on the sensibilities and history of our community."

The Borough Council voted 4-2 last week to authorize Lonegan to write the letter.

McDonald's officials had no immediate response to the letter, but a spokesman said Thursday that the company had no plans to remove the advertisement.

Also Thursday, the state Attorney General's Office called Borough Hall to request a copy of the letter, borough officials said.

Jeff Lamm, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, said the request came from the Civil Rights Division, but he would not say specifically why it was made.

"We asked for it so that we have firsthand information," Lamm said. "At this point, we just want to ensure that we have factually accurate information, as opposed to what we hear people saying."

Lonegan said the Attorney General's Office might be trying to intimidate him, but that he would not back down. "It's disconcerting," Lonegan said, "but I don't care. This is America, and I'm going to speak out."

Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, called the letter a waste of public resources.

"It's wrongheaded to use taxpayer dollars to suppress fundamental American free speech rights," Jacobs said. "We stand ready to defend free speech rights against this mayor's actions."

Lonegan caused a firestorm when he said last week that McDonald's should remove the billboard.

The issue has received nationwide media attention. Locally, Internet bulletin boards have been abuzz with opinions that run the spectrum from damning Lonegan as a bigot to praising him as an American hero.

Lonegan said the emotional outcry shows the topic is worth raising. "I think it demonstrates that this issue is simmering," he said.

He said the billboard issue also has touched a nerve because of the current debate over illegal immigration.

"I think it ties into the fact that the country is divided over the immigration issue," said Lonegan, who favors strict immigration policies. "People connect the billboard to that."

Council President George Shalhoub and council members Patricia Kearns, Patrick McHale and Melissa Schnipp voted in favor of Lonegan making the request. Council members George Silos and Joe Noto cast dissenting votes.

Noto said the controversy distracts from more pressing council business, such as lowering taxes and providing quality services.

"I'd rather focus on the issues at hand," Noto said, adding that he has no problem with the billboard.

"If a corporation wants to spend money to target potential customers, it's their right to do so."

Fast facts


Hispanics are the fastest-growing segment of the population in middle-class Bogota.


Residents of Hispanic origin accounted for 21 percent of Bogota's 8,249 residents in 2000, up from 10 percent in 1990.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau


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E-mail: aberback@northjersey.com

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