Right-Wing Mayor Calls for McDonald’s Boycott Over Spanish-Language Ads
Right-Wing Mayor Calls for McDonald’s Boycott Over Spanish-Language Ads
Mayor Steve Lonegan (R) of Bogota, New Jersey is “calling for a McDonald’s boycott if the fast-food chain does not take down a Spanish-language billboard advertising iced coffee.”
Lonegan said the advertisement is “offensive” and “divisive” because it sends a message that Hispanic immigrants do not need to learn English.
“The true things that bind us together as neighbors and community is our belief in the American flag and our common language,” Lonegan said. “And when McDonald’s sends a different message, that we’re going to be different now, that causes resentment.”
Lonegan’s remarks must come as quite a surprise to the U.S. Army, which launched a major Spanish-language ad campaign in 2001. The tagline is “Yo Soy El Army” (I Am The Army):
Here’s the official “Yo Soy El Army” H2 humvee:
You might also be interested in the Spanish-language recruitment sites for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force. So when does Mayor Lonegan launch his boycott against the U.S. military?
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115 Responses to “Right-Wing Mayor Calls for McDonald’s Boycott Over Spanish-Language Ads”
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Dude needs to roll around San Fernando Valley and South LA. He would be really offended then.
July 10th, 2006 at 3:23 pm#1 But better doesn’t open his motormouth or will be severely spanked in minutes…
July 10th, 2006 at 3:24 pmI bulieve in the Amurican flag and the Englash languige!
July 10th, 2006 at 3:25 pmBOGOTA, New Jersey? Hmmm….now from just what language/culture did the name BOGOTA originate? Trivial b@st@rds.
July 10th, 2006 at 3:25 pmAnother republican bigot ready to legislate discrimination for all those who are different than his white underside. Please continue, the Dems can use every vote that you want to scare our way.
July 10th, 2006 at 3:25 pmThis is a great issue. Really I think we should encourage guys like this to continue their efforts. It will only serve to show these diversity fearing conservatives for what they. People who have forgotten what this country was built upon.
July 10th, 2006 at 3:27 pmFeel the love!
July 10th, 2006 at 3:27 pmSo will the dear mayor campaign to change the name of his town, or is he alright with the fact that its name isn’t an English word?
July 10th, 2006 at 3:28 pmWhy do reichtwingnutjobs have to be so pathetically stupid when they get racist?
July 10th, 2006 at 3:28 pmslightly off topic:Cool Army Ghetto Cruiser! it reminds me of a dude in Philly 15 yrs ago who cruised around the streets and lured mentally unstable and retarded women to his van painted with Scooby Doo,the Jetsons, and other cartoon characters, then abducted them to his basement and well, you know. ……………… How low can the Armed forces go?
July 10th, 2006 at 3:30 pmBut isn’t boycotting a fellow Corporate pig anti-establishment? Don’t tell me that now that they’ve sucked us dry, they are going to start attacking one another?
July 10th, 2006 at 3:30 pmAnother fool republican heard from. Keep digging guys. You’re just about at 6 feet and the world is ready to bury the casket once and for all.
July 10th, 2006 at 3:30 pmThis guy is a moron of the first order. Luckily, he is so stupid and right wing that he didn’t get the Repub nomination to lose to Gov. Jon Corzine. Sheesh.
July 10th, 2006 at 3:32 pm…which came from England. He’d probably gag if he had to learn a true American tongue.
July 10th, 2006 at 3:34 pm#4
July 10th, 2006 at 3:36 pmexactly what I was thinking. Does this jackass realize that his town has the same name as the capital of Columbia…a spanish speaking country. He should decry his own town’s name and try and change it and see what happens. Moron.
I agree with you bbguniowa.
I’m from New Jersey and until he opened his mouth I was not aware that the Mayor of Bogota is an imbecile.
These bogus issues and the attempt to manufactured outrage shine a spotlight on the people that we most need to remove from Government.
July 10th, 2006 at 3:37 pm?Que?
Punto!!
RIP
SGT Stephen R Sherman
C CO 1-5 Inf (SBCT)
KIA 03 Feb 05
Mosul, Iraq
Or as Tony Snow and the Repuppetcan’s would say:
#1462
July 10th, 2006 at 3:39 pmI kill you for $10 - seeing you my friend I kill you for nothing
Thank god the UK has 1.8 million Muslims than Spanish cut-throats
July 10th, 2006 at 3:43 pmEl gringo es muy tonto.
July 10th, 2006 at 3:45 pmI’ll have a double cardiac arrest, and the mayor? Well, he can Bessa mye Koola!
July 10th, 2006 at 3:49 pmThis is another issue where Democrats fail to have a unified message. Quite frankly, I agree with the guy. Not because I have a problem with Mexicans, but this is a world where Republicans and Democrats only offer solutions treating the symtoms of problems.
There are Washington Mutual banks in Richardson, Texas that offer information in Vietnamese. Doesn’t bother me. But boy howdy the Mexican stuff sure does.
July 10th, 2006 at 3:50 pmMaybe he can get O’reilly on board, Billdo has a long history of effective boycotts.
July 10th, 2006 at 3:51 pmIs it pronounced BO-guh-tah or Buh-GO-tuh?
July 10th, 2006 at 3:56 pmC’mon #23 - are you sayin’ that this dodo want to invlove some whacko who had FALAFEL wet dreams in his campaign. Isn’t falafel a non UK/northern European dish? Wouldn’t that be hypocritical? Oh, yea…I forgot….Everything they do is hypocritical….
Oh well, never mind….
July 10th, 2006 at 4:01 pmBuh-GO-tuh.
This guy ran for Governor of NJ last year and couldn’t get past the primaries. I’m sure if you look hard enough, you’ll find plenty of other stupid things he’s said.
July 10th, 2006 at 4:03 pmI find it amusing that he’s the mayor of Bogota.
July 10th, 2006 at 4:07 pmDon’t Bogota that joint my friend, pass it over to me. My guess is that the GOP really stands for Gross Olde Pharts. The stupidity just never ends with these reich-wing jackasses.
July 10th, 2006 at 4:07 pmCheers, James.
P. S. I’ve finally given up reading the fascist S. F. Chronicle after a forty-year addiction. It started when I didn’t want to read some gushing story in the Sun Chron about the lying cheater Barry Bonds and another one of his “enhanced” long fly balls… some two months ago, and to my surprise, i’ve been fine. I just check out the comments on thinkprogress, huffingtonpost and leftcoaster most every day.
He should campaign to change the name of his town to Bog Otters. Thta would be nifty.
July 10th, 2006 at 4:10 pmIt is the ability of immigrants to become meshed with, and integrated into, society that has enabled our nation to become the melting pot we are celebrated to be. Speaking a common language, in our case English, has tradionally been the first and most important step for any immigrant to begin the intregration into American society. Without the basic ability to communicate, no one can succeed in our society. No one. Immigrants today are cheating themselves if they do not take the steps to be able to communicate effectively. Our government and our society should not enable immigrants to handicap themselves by encouraging the use of their native language, and thus making their integration in society that much more complicated and difficult. We must make English the official language of our country, for the immigrant’s own good. Call it, “tough love”.
July 10th, 2006 at 4:15 pmHow dare you attack this fine American. Do you not see what happens when you permit the country to be divided by language? It will lead to the destruction of our civilization. Soon we will have men mating with dogs, women marrying snakes, devil worship, the end to monogamy and the rise of Satan’s dominion on earth.
Have you been to any other country with such debased attitudes as to permit multi-lingual advertisements or instructions in products? Look at Canada and the demise of its culture because of the use of French along with English. It is certainly a country that will not last more than a decade with such a divided system.
July 10th, 2006 at 4:17 pmLonegan? Isn’t that the thug they stung in the Sting?
July 10th, 2006 at 4:19 pm#31-
Interesting you should mention Canada. They came with a hair of splitting up not too long ago (remember the Quebec referendum? It was barely voted down). Kind of makes you think, eh?
July 10th, 2006 at 4:22 pmIllegal immigration is so last month. Haven’t the wingnuts moved on to some other outrage?
July 10th, 2006 at 4:23 pmWell, we don’t share our language with deaf people so this is my plan…
We shall outlaw braille, and we shall not allow mute nor deaf people to eat.
That is what America truly stands for! *pushes weight around*
July 10th, 2006 at 4:27 pm#35-
You are truely an idiot.
July 10th, 2006 at 4:29 pmThese people (gophers) have way to much time on their hands.Isn’t there anything they can do to busy themselves with since they are in control of an entire Country and Iraq. Oh that’s right Iraq is now part of this Country isn’t it…
July 10th, 2006 at 4:35 pmDoes anyone from the kook fringe of my party have ANY kind of intelligent debate to put forth here? Anyone?
July 10th, 2006 at 4:37 pmI hope the mayor of NYC bans all signs in a foreign language. I mean come on why are they hanging signs in Hebrew, Italian, Polish, Russian, Hindu, Czech, Spanish, Portugese, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, etc. here anyway. I mean its just plain un-American.
July 10th, 2006 at 4:39 pmInteresting you should mention Canada. They came with a hair of splitting up not too long ago (remember the Quebec referendum? It was barely voted down). Kind of makes you think, eh?
Comment by Conservative Dem
Yeah, and the rest of Canada would have said “OK you can go now.” if they had gotten 51% votes for separation! Mayby you should try a little harder to think.
July 10th, 2006 at 4:40 pmI agree with the GOP Mayor on this one. I do think the immigrants need to learn English, and if they don’t learn English it will only worsen the discrimination that they receive everyday. But advertising in Spanish is HARDLY offensive, it’s just stupid. Advertising in Spanish pisses off racist Americans, so this could cause McDonalds to lose money.
Secondly the immigration process should not take years; it should take hours/days. These migrant works should get paid an American wage, not this slave labor crap. All the people who disagree will say “if we pay them more then Americans can expect to pay $5 for an orange.” This is the same bullshit slave owners from the mid 1800’s were saying about ending slavery. It would ruin the cotton market, they said. This didn’t happen; it only spurred a technological innovation called the cotton gin.
Boycott any farming company that employee’s people making less than $8 dollars an hour. Mexican Americans need a piece of the American pie also. Paying them minimum wage or less when the owner is making millions is criminal!!
July 10th, 2006 at 4:41 pmRepugnats, like the current example of this brainless mayor, remind of roaches. There everywhere. Stomp on one and another appears at nauseum.
July 10th, 2006 at 4:44 pm#40-
You just confused the hell of me, and probably yourself. Are you saying that a divided Canada would have been a good thing? And, do you realize that it was the people of Quebec that almost voted to seceed from the rest of Canada, and not the other way around? You’ll have to expand on your last statement. I have no idea what your point was.
July 10th, 2006 at 4:44 pm#42-
Thanks for keeping the dialog at such a high intellectual level.
July 10th, 2006 at 4:47 pmCon-Dem,
July 10th, 2006 at 4:48 pmThe Canada situation is totally different. There were two cultures and languages that colonized two different parts of the country around the same time period. The US has has waves of immigrants that enter and become part of the culture. The Quebecers would have put themselves in a bad situation(in my opinion) if they succeded in seccession. And for what? To preserve their “unique” heritage. Same thing this whole “discussion” on the new wave if immigrants that have come to the US is about. Trying to save our unique culture. Which by the way is bull. The culture we see today is a far cry from what it was 200, 100 or 50 years ago. It changes here because we are the US.
When you live in a land of freedom, you’re going to have serious complications - because what ONE person wants to be free, another wants to outlaw it for various reasons (or at least place huge restrictions on).
This is just another chapter in a book of freedom debates that has no ending.
I’d like to boycott McDonalds for the simple fact that they sell food that is so unhealthy, it’s killing Americans. But because we live in a “free” country, McDonalds is allowed to sell their products, and Americans are allowed to buy that product as much as they want.
This debate isn’t winnable. There will always be someone who isn’t happy about something.
July 10th, 2006 at 4:49 pmApparently, this guy hates freedom. :)
July 10th, 2006 at 4:49 pmI haven’t eaten in a McDonalds since I was a teenager because their food is garbage, so I guess that’s a boycott. I don’t give a shit if they seel their food in Spanish.
But now Bogota, NJ is off my tourist list forever because of good Mayor Lonegan, and I don’t care what language they speak there.
July 10th, 2006 at 4:50 pmWhat a chickenshit idiot.
#45-
You make several good points. Yes, the two cultures of Canada were very different from the beginning. That much is true. But the point is, we don’t want to be in a similiar situation 50-100 years from now, when we have half of the country speaking predominately Spanish, and the other half English. Our children could be facing a Quebec-like situation in which, hypothetically, the predominately spanish-speaking Arizona, New Mexico, and California deciede they want to split from the rest of the country. Stranger things have happened (like the American Civil War).
July 10th, 2006 at 4:54 pmIf someone knows good spanish they should send this story to the mayor of Bogata, Columbia. It would be interesting to see what they would choose to ban for having a sign in English. Maybe McDonalds?
July 10th, 2006 at 4:55 pmAnother example of a deep thinking conservative repugnacan.
July 10th, 2006 at 5:01 pm#49,
July 10th, 2006 at 5:01 pmMy whole point is that Quebec and the rest of Canada grew up as two different cultures. If immigrants come to the US they are not becoming a separate part of the US. The US changes because of the immigrants it takes in. The situations are drastically different. This whole scare tactic that the US will be Spanish speaking in 30 years most likely will not happen. Yes the spanish speaking immigrants may take more generations to speak completely in English but its nothing for this country to freak out about. Anyway if everyone in Arizona voted to leave the Union they couldn’t do it.
“The true things that bind us together as neighbors and community is our belief in the American flag and our common language,†Lonegan said.
Umm our belief in the flag? I thought we believed in the basic tenants of freedom grnated by the constitution including the freedom to speak whatever damned language we please as long as there is no national language. Heck this moron lives in New jersey. I would assume this moron has possibly visited New York, Philly or Baltimore at soem point in his live. I am also assuming he has see the various ethnic communities throughout each of these cities. These communities change over time, but one thing is consistent since day one and that is that these various ethnic communities have signage written in languages other than what I speak.
Question for those who want a national language (i don’t see a problem as statistically nearly 100% of every thing is transacted in English anyway even at those offensive foreign language places) But my question is this…if we adopt a national language (Ameircan English I presume) would we make all the native Americans use english for their language? Also you guys really need to admit that you don’t like accents either. You don;t really like heavily accented english either do you?
Face it this is a purely politcal move by the right plain and simple.
July 10th, 2006 at 5:04 pm#21: There are Washington Mutual banks in Richardson, Texas that offer information in Vietnamese. Doesn’t bother me. But boy howdy the Mexican stuff sure does.
July 10th, 2006 at 5:05 pmComment by Destroy the DLC — July 10, 2006 @ 3:50 pm
Boy are you ever showing off your ignorance! several other countries inthe world speak Spaniish. The Mexican stuff? But I’ll bet you like a taco now and then, right?
#36# “#35- You are truely an idiot.
Comment by Conservative Dem — July 10, 2006 @ 4:29 pm
Uh, no, #35 was being witty and sarcastic, you are the idiot for not getting the joke. Not surprising considering your views.
Tell the Bogata, N.J. Mayor what you think.
mayor@bogotaonline.org.
July 10th, 2006 at 5:07 pmIf you strip non-english words from english, words such as fabric, facility, factory, etc. THere be very little left. To speak with only words derived from the english lineage, such as anglo-saxon-jute, old english, middle english, is practically impossible for modern americans. Santa Claus, after all is not english either but dutch, is the mayor of Bogota, NJ going to ban him too? And lets not get started on the noah and moses. Without constant infusion of immigrant and other non main stream culture, a culture will only stagnant and die.
July 10th, 2006 at 5:12 pmHaHA Juan!
July 10th, 2006 at 5:21 pmDoes anyone from the kook fringe of my party have ANY kind of intelligent debate to put forth here? Anyone?
Comment by Conservative Dem — July 10, 2006 @ 4:37 pm
Shhhhhhh. Grown ups are talking.
July 10th, 2006 at 5:21 pmYou just confused the hell of me, and probably yourself. Are you saying that a divided Canada would have been a good thing? And, do you realize that it was the people of Quebec that almost voted to seceed from the rest of Canada, and not the other way around? You’ll have to expand on your last statement. I have no idea what your point was.
Comment by Conservative Dem
Look at what you wrote “They came with a hair of splitting up not too long ago”. That vote in Quebec came close to 50% so you are saying that if Quebec had voted 51% to split then it would have happened. You are thick! And then you say “Kind of makes you think, eh?” Well, I did and came to the conclusion that you believe Canada would have split if the vote was over 50%. So I came back with some sarcasm. Do you know what sarcasm is?
That little “eh?” at the end, was that a slight againts Canadian English? I suppose if your against allowing immigrants to use thier own language then I am not supprised by that slight.
Grow up and think for yourself
July 10th, 2006 at 5:22 pmPinche Mayor, Pinche Town. I wooden eat that cheat nohow, man. That stuff make you fatten the ass.
July 10th, 2006 at 5:23 pmAll this nonsense about the ‘Mexicans taking over’ is a political gambit, pure and simple.
Anyone who;s at least 25 and younger will be able to tell you that Spanish is a REQUIRED class in schools, as it should be. Just because they’re moving here doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be trying to meet them half way. Americans are actually pretty spoiled that their native language is the lingua franca of most of the modern world. You’d think we’d do the neighborly thing and try to reciprocate by learning a little more than ‘git er done’ and ‘I’m Rick James, bytch!’.
Remember, somewhere back, you were an immigrant too. American is in constant flux, that’s how it stays alive after other countries have fallen. These facists are trying to freeze it in place as a safe haven for te christian white male. The only problem with that is that they are the running scared minority. So they’re bound to do and say stupid things, like this gentleman from the suspiciously un-American sounding city of Bagota.
Vote them out of office, and we won’t have to hear from them. Ignore than and they’ll die out. Then we can get on with the business of being America and not having people despise us becuase we’ve got loudmouth idiots on the bullhorn in the town square.
July 10th, 2006 at 5:24 pmBogata, hmmm. Reminds me of a story from Smyrna, GA (a suberb of Atlanta) a few years back. Seems the mayor and some in the city concil did not take too kindly to the non-English business advertisements and signs that were popping up all over town. They proposed a city ordinance to force all businesses to advertise in English only and for all city business to be conducted English as well - no foriegn words allowed! They may have gotten away with it if someone hadn’t have pointed out to them that the name ‘Smyrna’ is Greek! Smyrna was a Greek port city on the Agean that was overrun by the Turks and renamed ‘Izmir’.
July 10th, 2006 at 5:29 pmGood post Ronin
July 10th, 2006 at 5:30 pm#62-
Actually, Ronin, whites are the still the majority in this country, at least if you believe the census data. Of course, you sound like radical leftist, who probably thinks that even the census is altered by the “facist government”. Whatever. The point is, nobody is running scared. We don’t want English as the official language so that we can discriminate against immigrants. We want immigrants to learn the native language so that they can succeed in our society and contribute to American society. In fact, by immigrants refusing to learn English, it makes it that much more easy for racists to discriminate against them. For completely pragmatic purposes, immigrants really need to learn the language of business and commerce in this country - ENGLISH!
July 10th, 2006 at 5:43 pmI saw this moron on FOX News’ FOX & Friends this morning. He did come off as racist. At the end of his interview he said that he didn’t want this divise sign to turn his town into the Yugoslavia. Yes indeed, what a moron.
And Bogota? If he’s any kind of REAL American, he’ll see that the name of the town is changed straight away to something like Washington, Jefferson or Bushville.
July 10th, 2006 at 5:48 pm-snark-
this divise sign
should read divisive
July 10th, 2006 at 5:52 pmLonegan said the advertisement is “offensive†and “divisive†because it sends a message that Hispanic immigrants do not need to learn English.
==================
I continue to be saddened/amazed by the world-view of many right wingers.
I hope power can be taken from them–so they are left with only confused rants.
July 10th, 2006 at 5:59 pmYou cannot FORCE other people to feel welcome and at home.
However, I do blame Corporate America for marketing their products and services to people in other languages to make a buck. They don’t do it for assimilation reasons, but simply to have an advantage over their English-speaking only competition.
Companies like McDonald’s merely saw “Latin” America a marketing demographic they could exploit. Just as the Army sees it as one they are most definitely exploiting.
July 10th, 2006 at 6:03 pmYou are truely an idiot.
Comment by Conservative Dem — July 10, 2006 @ 4:29 pm
Says the guy who can’t spell ‘truly’…
July 10th, 2006 at 6:06 pmYep, its all fine when free market decisions outsource jobs from the US…. But by God have a Spanish commercial or call the Christmas sale a holiday sale and there’s hell to pay.
July 10th, 2006 at 6:08 pmThe GOP is made up of card-carrying members of the KKK.
July 10th, 2006 at 6:10 pmand the left wing is made up of card carrying communists like you ho
July 10th, 2006 at 6:12 pmracist : liberalspeak for anyone who dares not have the required amount of white guilt .
July 10th, 2006 at 6:15 pmHonestly, I’d take comunism over where we’re headed.
And Moonbat, I don’t think you’d know a thought free of talking points if it crapped in your Cheerios.
July 10th, 2006 at 6:19 pmMoonbat…Ever hear of David Duke, he ran for office on the GOP ticket in Louisiana and was also a member of the KKK. BTW; I am a card-carrying member… of the ACLU!
July 10th, 2006 at 6:19 pmTrent Lott; “If the country elected Stromm Thurmond president, we would not have these problems today”. Moonbat, don’t even try to say that was not a racist comment, Lott had to resign as majority leader for that one.
July 10th, 2006 at 6:38 pmYo Soy el revolution
Adios el neocons
Via Con Dios revolution
Via COn Dios peasants
Via Con Dios everyone
Go to hell neocons, rich bastards
July 10th, 2006 at 6:47 pmMoonbat, how about this one from Bill(the gambler)Bennett. “If you abort every black baby, the crime rate would go down” Now tell me again who the rascists are, conservative republicans or liberal democrats. Who is the party of ‘moral values”?
July 10th, 2006 at 6:50 pmracist : liberalspeak for anyone who dares not have the required amount of white guilt .
Comment by moonbat patrol
July 10th, 2006 at 7:14 pm==============
One of the sillier posts I’ve seen.
Bad idea that could have some positive consequences :)
July 10th, 2006 at 7:14 pmI assumed that it would appear illogical to a liberal. One of the requirements of liberal thinking is the total abandonment of common sense and reasoning.
July 10th, 2006 at 7:32 pmlaugh all you want but it’s true. Just like politcal correctness is the language of white guilt ,liberalism is the party of spreading and preaching white guilt. Look at yourself and see if it’s true. you are either a white person who feels guilty for being white or a non white who is exploiting white guilt to get ahead.
Jeez Ho you sound like CNN! Hey tell me why the head of teh Democratic party Mr. Dean from Vermont never had one black person on his staff ever… racist?
July 10th, 2006 at 8:30 pmand mr ho I don’t do bongs or whatever, I don’t do drugs, maybe it is you that needs a little break from the Sativa!
you can always tell when a liberal or (ahem) prgressive loses an argument ;they cry either racist or nazi. such sore losers.
Ho you are straying way to far from your little rice paddy!
Moonbat, parting shot for the night. Do you deny that Lott, Bennett, Stromm, Duke, and other Republicans are racists? yes or no. Don’t wait for the translation. Have you no sense of decency? Have you no sense of shame? Sleep on that (if you can). With that, I bid you g’night.
July 10th, 2006 at 8:44 pmIt is a bit ironic that this guy is the mayor of Bogota…
July 10th, 2006 at 9:20 pmIf this boycott results in people eating healthy food rather than going to McDonald’s, that might not be such a terrible thing. It’d be a shame if they did it for all the wrong reasons, though.
July 10th, 2006 at 9:27 pmGood catch but you missed most of the epidemic of severely irony deficient xenophobic mayors not noting that
The mayor of Paris Texas told the local Vie de France franchise to change their name to “Life of Texas” or get out of town by sunset
The Mayor of St Petersburg florida told the local supermarkets to stock Waterlette not Vodka
The Mayor of Memphis Tennesee told the local franchise of (Series of hieroglyphics) to learn how to spel
and the Major of Athens Georgia told the fraternities in U Georgia in Athens to stop putting those weird satanic symbols on their frat houses.
July 10th, 2006 at 11:04 pm[…] Lonegan’s remarks must come as quite a surprise to the U.S. Army, which launched a major Spanish-language ad campaign in 2001. The tagline is “Yo Soy El Army†(I Am The Army): More @ http://thinkprogress.org En: ashamed, asides, Xenophic Republicans, xenophobic republicans, Racism — July 10, 2006 […]
July 10th, 2006 at 11:25 pmConservative Dem:
You hypothesize that Arizona, New Mexico, and California could become predominantly Spanish-speaking. I can’t deny that possibility; anything has some possibility in the future.
I live in Tucson and have for 35 years. Tucson is 60 miles from the border. Yes, many of our establishments, both business and governmental, have signage in both Spanish and English. This is more to accommodate the Mexicans coming here to shop, largely from Sonora, the state just south of Arizona. If Tucson were to lose their business, we’d have serious economic problems.
I also know many Americans of Hispanic descent and have had the opportunity to observe countless interactions. People say, 70 or older, who have Mexican heritage, speak more Spanish than English, even if born here. People between say, 40 and 70 speak both and their English is somewhat accented, but they speak it well. People under 40 speak mostly English and with little or no accent. They will speak some Spanish when talking amongst themselves, but if they have to discuss complex subjects they switch to English, since the Spanish they know is pretty much at the preschool level, and they learned more complex subjects in English at school.
Immigrants know perfectly well that they have to learn English. Classes for ESL have HUGE waiting lists and they are plentiful.
And if schoolkids are studying Spanish along with English, GOOD! I speak some Spanish and am enriched by it. And culture here in Tucson would be greatly impoverished if we did not recognize and celebrate our rich Hispanic heritage. You are inventing problems where there are none.
July 10th, 2006 at 11:59 pmYeah, good luck with that boycott. Might as well try to pass a law demanding that McDonalds refuse service to anyone who isn’t white. I believe a return to segregation is the cure for whatever problem this Mayor thinks is a problem.
I somehow bet NJ has easily 100 actual problems that the Mayor could address if not worried obsessively about making his own racism into the problem of every resident of the state.
July 11th, 2006 at 1:22 amI support this boycott, not because I agree with the racist pig who suggested it, but because MacDonald’s is not food. I don’t quite know what it qualifies as, maybe just frigging disgusting, but it is not food. It is a culinary cancer on the world, and thus anything weakening its grip is a good thing.
That said, is the Republican party now trying to lose votes?
July 11th, 2006 at 6:00 ammy family has been in New Mexico since 1603–we speak Spanish. The 14th generation grandfather of mine spoke very lttle English and couldn’t read or write a lick of it. Yet his family has been here since 1603. He needs to learn English. hahaha, Many of us Land Grant Heirs whose families founded the Southwest take this stance that this mayor of “Bogata” makes as an offront to those of us who settled the southwest long before that Mayflower hit the shores of New England. Long before that–the King of Spain granted us lands here. We were here first! Conservative you would do well to read up on the history of the Southwest where those damn Hispanics of European descent, made the place, Take Santa Fe the oldest government city in America. But of course it was Neevo Espana then.
Intiendo dos idiomas porque puedo, y no voy a dejar mi idioma querido por que unos pendejos no se pueden intender nada. Que se vayan mucho a la ……
July 11th, 2006 at 9:00 amMan, I wish my life was so simple that I found spanish to be offensive. What a douchebag.
July 11th, 2006 at 9:55 amWhat about the “Viva Bush!” mariachi band?
July 11th, 2006 at 10:23 amUgh…I hate it when this crap hits so close to home. I think Im about 10 miles from Bogota. THis Mayor obviously knows absolutely nothing. I hope all the Puerto Ricans in his town storm his office and say “hey, sh*thead. We were born US citizens you dumb a-hole. Stop your dumba$$ pandering to the anglo xenophobes.”
BTW….its bo-GO-tah
July 11th, 2006 at 10:50 amThis idiot would lose his mind in Oakland, California. Within five blocks of where I sit, I can see a huge billboard in Spanish, and street signs in Chinese. Get over it, douchebag.
July 11th, 2006 at 11:38 amim sorry, but none of us in this country speak “ENGLISH” only peeps in the UK do.
July 11th, 2006 at 12:25 pmFascism(common language)???????????????? America, the land of assimilation, and also freedom!!!!
July 11th, 2006 at 12:25 pmI’ll repeat just how amusing it is that he’s from BOGOTA, New Jersey. I think he should petition to boycott his own hometown unless they change the name. Might give all immigrants the wrong impression that they’re in Columbia…and it’s alright to speak Spanish.
July 11th, 2006 at 12:29 pmAnd with the Bogota name, let’s rename each and every geographic name in spanish the USA.
That would include Nevada (Snowy), Los Angeles (The Angels), Arizona (AridZone), Colorado (Red), Las Vegas (The Creeks), Texas (Tiles), Santa Fe (Sainted Faith), El Paso (The Passage), Montana (Mountain), and a zillion more.
July 11th, 2006 at 12:58 pmFor all open-border advocates along with George Bush, please answer the following question:
Is there a specific number, or is the number infinite as to how many immigrants we should allow into our country? There are roughly six billion people on planet Earth. Most of them excepting the French would love to come and live here. Can we accommodate all of them? Why can’t they all come? If not all, how many? How do we choose who can come and who cannot? Currently it is estimated that 10% of Mexico’s population is living in the United States. Shouldn’t we allow 10% of China, 10% of India, 10% of Somalia, 10% of Russia, etc. to join them?
If each of the 12 to 20 million current illegal aliens obtain legal status and each of them bring in three relatives within in a year, will our social services (schools, hospital, law enforcement, etc.) be able to accommodate 48 to 80 million new non-English speaking additions to our population? Where will the funds come from to increase our social services?
If we give legal status to the current 10-20 million illegal aliens now in our country, it would be cruel not allow their elderly parents to join them here in the U. S. Is our social system ready to care for the elderly population that will arrive once they are allowed to join their now legal relatives in the U. S.? Essentially we will have elderly who have never paid into our system collecting benefits from us the taxpayers. Baby Boomers are headed for retirement in alarming numbers. When we combine them with incoming elderly immigrants, will Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. go bankrupt? Can we afford all of this? Where is the money going to come from to fund all the programs needed? Will our social safety net hold? Have any of our vote-pandering politicians thought about all of the unintended consequences of adding millions of non-assimilating newcomers to our society?
When did Americans decide that jobs such as painting, drywall installation, roofing, etc. are now undesirable? President Bush and our politicians tell us these are jobs Americans won’t do. Weren’t these considered decent paying jobs in the recent past? What happened?
Why should an American citizen have to pay for health insurance when an illegal alien can go to any hospital, get treated and walk away leaving the American taxpayer to foot the bill? Is Universal Health Care only available for illegal aliens? Shouldn’t we make those who hire illegal aliens assume the costs of the illegal alien’s medical bills?
Congress seems concerned about the lack of funding for veteran’s medical care. They also are worried about medical care for the elderly. Why don’t we just designate both veterans and the elderly as illegal aliens. That way they can get unlimited medical care at our hospitals and just like the illegal aliens not have to worry about paying for it.
Is there a correlation between the increase in tuberculosis, hepatitis and other communicable diseases and the fact that illegal aliens enter our country without being checked for these diseases? If illegal aliens are responsible for the increase in these diseases, should we be concerned and what should we do about it?
Some advocate legal status for those who have been here for sometime. All they would have to do is pay a fine and back taxes. How are we going to prove how long anyone has been here? How are we going to collect this fine? How do we calculate the taxes owed? Remember we are talking about illegal aliens who have already broken our immigration laws. Many are using forged documents as well. What makes anyone think they will step forward to pay a fine and back taxes? Why should they?
Why are illegal aliens employed in the rebuilding of New Orleans? Why are not the citizens of New Orleans doing these jobs? Does New Orleans have a 0% unemployment rate? Could it be that our welfare system is a little too generous?
Does bilingual education delay or enhance the assimilation of immigrants? Would the costs to taxpayers be reduced if we had English emersion as opposed to bilingual education? Did immigrants before the era of bilingual education assimilate quicker or slower through English emersion? Does multiculturalism delay the assimilation of immigrants or enhance it?
Why do we have to punch 1 for English? Why is Spanish given as the only other option? Why shouldn’t we have to punch 2 for Chinese, 3 for Japanese, 4 for German, 5 for French, etc.?
Why did we sign the NAFTA agreement? Wasn’t it supposed to create jobs for Mexicans? Why are so many Mexicans coming here looking for employment if NAFTA is such a success?
Why does Congress need to add more laws concerning immigration when we already have laws that are not being enforced? What makes any thinking citizen believe new laws will be enforced?
Our politicians have demonstrated through their inaction that enforcing the law is a matter of personal choice. If you disagree with the current immigration laws, just ignore them. By our politicians’ example, shouldn’t we Americans be able to pick and choose which laws we want to obey and which ones we don’t want to obey? If a sizeable number of us, say 11 million demonstrate, wave flags and refuse to pay taxes will Ted Kennedy join us and speak on our behalf?
Have our politicians made illegal aliens a privileged class?
When did the term immigrant become synonymous with illegal alien?
July 11th, 2006 at 2:24 pmThis country gets dumber every day.
July 11th, 2006 at 3:00 pmFor the guy who asked where the name Bogota came from in comment 4, it comes from the hybrid of two adjacent land owners whose name started with “Bo”. It has no Spanish connections, the first Europeans in the area were Dutch and the town’s name is not pronounced the same as the Columbia, South America city. I live in the mile square town of Bogota and I’m not sure where this sign is.
July 11th, 2006 at 7:25 pmFor the guy who asked where the name Bogota came from in comment 4, it comes from the hybrid of two adjacent land owners whose name started with “Bo”. It has no Spanish connections, the first Europeans in the area were Dutch and the town’s name is not pronounced the same as the Columbia, South America city. I live in the mile square town of Bogota and I’m not sure where this sign is.
July 11th, 2006 at 7:25 pmNo one in Bogota will decry the ethnicity of NYC only a couple miles away. Bogota has been one of the most peaceful and tolerant citys in NJ, and it’s quite small. The problem is McDonald’s and CBS do not wish to reponds to the needs of the community and a democratically elected government. If you want race riots you’d have to go to Hackensack in the 80’s. There is no hate in Bogota, never has been, never will be for all the ethnic people there.
What McD’s has done is throw political issue of the day down the throats of people more worried about thier jobs and families than language and race and divided the people. In the whole of illegal immigration, rights, and the whole can of issues today, had McDonald’s been responsible, you would have never heard of Bogota NJ and everyone there would have gotten along just as fine as they ever did before. It’s not NY, San Fran, or anywhere else, and why do you want to force it to be? If you knew Bogota you would know people of all ethnicities raise families with diverse harmony. You want to single out one ethnicity, and bring people to the public eye that don’t care to eat at McD’s anyway - that’s just trouble making.
BOGOTA RESIDENTS ARE ALL LAW ABIDING TOLERANT CITIZENS THAT DIDN’T NEED THIS SLAP IN THE FACE BY A CORPORATION THAT DOESN’T EVEN DO BUSINESS IN BOGOTA!! NO ONE HATED ANYONE AND NO ONE WENT OUT OF THEIR WAY TO START TROUBLE LIKE MCDONALD’S DID.
Everyone gets along - and McDonald’s comes along and declares itself the communities standards leader. The community said no, and that included a good part of the Latino community, and McDonald’s told them to go shove it.
Eat your Big Macs. Today it’s the language, tommorrow come to your town and they can dictate to your community how to live too well beyond language. Ask them how overseas they decided to make a policy that if languages like Russian or Arabic are spoken it’s cause for termination. Ask them how many stores english speaking kids can’t get jobs because they don’t speak Spanish.
Ask them how is it in parts of the Middle East and other countries that hate America and want to kill Americans, they are able to convince them they are their friends and should buy thier hamburgers. Of course the ones they weren’t bombed out of. That answer I would love to hear from them, because the ones I read in the press are so horrifying I wouldn’t repeat it.
In some circles McD’s is the litmus test of globalization. After closing hundreds of stores everywhere - it doesn’t work. Now they want to bring multiculturalism it to NJ where everyone got along just fine - now we can move forward and not interact with each other like they do in Texas with the brand that McDonald’s brings. Oh that’s right, they have ‘neighborhoods’ in the big cities with those non-english signs. Thanks for promoting that in a city that by majority of all ethnic groups doesn’t want it but to continue to live in peace in a very small town.
What they did is create discourse where their was none. What they did was make neighbor suspicious of neighbor when we all trusted each other.
Thanks McD’s. If your food doesn’t hurt our communities your bias, policies, and advertising will.
July 14th, 2006 at 5:04 pmAnd I don’t know what the confusion is, their is no relationship whatsoever with Bogota in south america and NJ.
Bogota was named after the Bogert family from the Netherlands who settled their and there family goes back to about the 5th Century.
Bogota Columbia is a language modernization of ‘Santa Fé de Bacatá’.
No relation whatsoever no matter how you try.
July 14th, 2006 at 5:18 pm“The rich stay healthy, the sick stay poor”.
There is rising wars in the Middle East. Thousands of people are dying each year from AIDS. Poverty and Oppression continue to escalate in Third World countries.
July 14th, 2006 at 7:06 pmBack home we have inflating gas prices and deflating income and wages. We are in a constant shroud of fear and trickery with “The War on Terror”. Drugs, disease, poverty, crime…blah blah blah….and what is this guy’s concern????
A FREAKIN SIGN THAT IS IN SPANISH???!?!?!?!? Why do people like this exist?
See, there is this thing our forefathers came up with…He should go back to First Grade and read it again. It is the First Amendment. Yes, As much right as he has to gripe about it…we have every right to make the signs and read them in whatever language we see fit. Have him come down here to Miami. He will HAVE to learn Spanish to get around. There are signs everywhere!
[…] Right-Wing Mayor Calls for McDonald s Boycott Over Spanish …Think Progress, DC - Jul 10, 2006Mayor Steve Lonegan (R) of Bogota, New Jersey is calling for a McDonald s boycott if the fast-food chain does not take down a Spanish-language billboard … […]
July 16th, 2006 at 2:12 pmThis guy is right on!!!!
July 25th, 2006 at 3:23 pmThis is in response to comment number 34. You wrote about deaf people using the language of Braille. I have some interesting news for you. The language that deaf people use is called American Sign Language and it isn’t named Braille. Braille is the language that blind people use to read information. Deaf people don’t learn Braille unless they are also blind and/or related to blind people. If they have blind friends, then they might learn Braille in addition to learning American Sign Language.
The mayor of this town in New Jersey is showing his ignorance and he should find something else to do. He is wasting his time being angry about the business signs being written in Spanish. More Americans should quit being bigoted language snobs and start learning foreign languages because there are many benefits from doing this. As a matter of fact, I’m studying both Spanish and Esperanto right now. I’m going to study these languages even more because doing this annoys these stupid rednecks.
August 3rd, 2006 at 2:41 pmfunny… the boycott has always been used as a defense by people oppressed by those in power…
Now we are using it to stifle free speech.
Plus, the flag has nothing to do with what I love about this country. Neither does my language nor apple pie…
Why do these people find it so necessary to wear their stupidity like a badge of honor.
August 11th, 2006 at 8:23 pmMaking English our Official Language is NOT racist or divisive; on the contrary, having ONE language UNIFIES Americans, who are of many different nationalities. Those who do not make an effort to learn, or to have their children learn, will remain in lower income brackets; as for claims from one blogger about Bilingual Education not costing money - the statement itself proves the lie. The worst part of bilungual education is that too many bilingual teachers keep their students dependent on Spanish, rather than introducing them to English. This is irresponsible because it hampers the children in question. Bilingual Education should serve to ease children into speaking/reading/writing English, which will only benefit them in the future. They can still speak their native tongue at home, and thus will not “forget” that language or their heritage, which is another lie opponents of Official English like to disseminate.
August 17th, 2006 at 11:05 pmDoesn’t this guy’s argument rest on the premise that having signs and information available in other languages makes it unecessary or harder to learn English? Is there any evidence that is true? No? I didn’t think so.
On the other hand, link
Statistics about English Language learners
Oh, yes and Switzerland has had three official languages for hundreds of years and they seem to do all right.
August 24th, 2006 at 6:11 pmWhat kind of Nonesence is this dude comming up with??? I dont know why hes even in Office. SERIOUSLY!!!..for example if you go to France..come ON man..or Espana..(Spain) Would he want English sign’s so he could now what’s going on??? What an AIR HEAD!
February 2nd, 2007 at 4:40 pmAfter reading all the responses in this forum I can only come to one conclusion, the exception of a few posters, the rest of you need to leave this country and go elsewhere because it’s idiotic thinking by clowns like you who have made this country a laughing stock of the entire world. I’ve been to alot of foreign countries that didn’t speak English (France, Germany etc) and do these countries make special compensation by writing signs in English? No, they do not, except the obvious tourist traps but go outside these trap areas and you would be lucky to find anything in English. This country has a language, it’s English, learn it! When all of you Liberal forfathers came over on a boat, raft, surf board whatever they LEARNED the language and didn’t expect special treatment. Now you Liberal idiots give these people the reason to have instructions for anything written in every concievable language imagineable! I personally am tired of buying a product and have to spend 20 minutes to find the English part of the instructions. Mr. Lonegan, has my vote anytime anywhere. You people have forgotten what America is not what it should be. You also will be the first to complain that a foreign person got the job ahead of you just because they are in a minority, it’s your own fault!
February 8th, 2007 at 10:06 amHey, #108, if learning other languages is beneficial why can’t the people who can’t read English learn that language? Solves the problem of having to spend DOUBLE the money to write billboards in two languages. By the way who do you think pays for these signs? I’ll bet it isn’t the guy who doesn’t understand English!
February 8th, 2007 at 10:12 amAnd I quote bbgunowa (#6)
“This is a great issue. Really I think we should encourage guys like this to continue their efforts. It will only serve to show these diversity fearing conservatives for what they. People who have forgotten what this country was built upon.”
The country was built on the English language you frigging moron! Last I heard in the history books was the Pilgrams were from England, I believe English is the laguage there NOT Spanish or any other language.
February 8th, 2007 at 11:59 am