Please Be a Responsible Citizen, Cingular

I agree, your not in Mexico. Use English and Spanish in the subtitle.
Go figure!

Cingular is an ENTITY, not a citizen.

Or ENTIDAD en espaol...

Some folk'll never eat a skunk
But then again, some folk'll...
Like Cletus
The slack-jawed yokel.
...
Most folk'll never lose a toe
And then again, some folk'll...
Like Cletus
The slack-jawed yokel.


Hehe, The Simpsons are great :)

Since you interpreted this sign with "contextual clues", are you sure
you read it correctly? Just remember that in Spanish, Embarazada means
pregnant, not embarrassed, that if you ask where to buy a dag in
Israel, you'll be pointed to the nearest aquarium, and in French, anon
is a baby donkey, not an alcoholic at his five o'clock meeting.
I don't think I should have to give out my SSN to get a phone either,
but that's another story.

I think the OP is more concerned about the fact they're selling to
illegals than that the sign's in Spanish (although he doesn't seem
overly pleased about that, either).

I'm not familiar with American policy, but many people in Canada don't
get their SIN number (equivilent to the SS, I believe) until they're
in their teens in order to get a job. Some get them younger if they
have trust funds or savings bonds in their names.

Also, there is the chance that you completely mistranslated the sign.

The country that made you millions? They make plenty of other millions
in other countries.

We live in the USA, there is no official anything. Many people come
from different backgrounds and speak different languages.
Here's a detailed profile on Washington D.C from City-Data..

http://www.city-data.com/city/Washington-District-of-Columbia.html

And here's a profile for Hyattsville, MD which is one of the bigger
towns in Prince George's county..

http://www.city-data.com/city/Hyattsville-Maryland.html

Businesses are out there to make money and devote their services to
better serve their customers. From what was seen above, this area has
a big population of spanish speaking citizens and many of them have
been living there for years and are legal. If you don't like it, then
just walk away and shop somewhere else.

I live in a neighborhood where the primary language is Spanish. ALL
of the signs are in Spanish around here. Get used to it. It's not
going away.

My attitude towards stuff like this is the same as my attitude back in
the 90s when they wanted to teach Ebonics in California schools in
place of English. Fine, I don't care, but without English you aren't
going to go very far in this country. To me it is just common sense to
become fluent in the dominant language of the country where you are
living, but that doesn't mean all other languages should be ignored or
downgraded. When I see signs in Spanish, I am always pleased if I can
read it, since it means I haven't forgotten what I once knew.

I'm not really sure where I stand on this issue. I guess for me, it
doeen't really matter if illegals are able to obtain a cell phone.
They still have to pay for them to keep them active. They don't pay,
they don't have service. It's a different story w/ credit cards
however! As far as the signs in Spanish, I do not disagree w/ a sign
in Spanish, but I would hope they have one in English as well. It
does not hurt you if an illegal has a cell phone, so why make such a
big deal out of it?

Am I the only one that wishes that companies stop requiring SSN for
transactions or contracts? The way I understand it, SSN are for our
employers and government to know and use for our retirement. Why
should I need to provide Cingular with my SSN to get a cell phone?

I wish more companies followed Cingular's and BofA's steps and stop
asking for SSN, whether some people see it as catering to illegals or
not.

Every country has their own passport. (i worked at a bank that had a
ton of foreign currency exchanges, so I've seen many many different
passports)

I feel bad but I agree with some of this letter. To me a sign that is
written in a language OTHER than the one most of the population uses,
until recently, and it written in the same language as the majority of
illegal immigrants AND states they don't need a SSN just seems to be
appealing to illegal citizens.

But then again a SSN is NOT required to be a citizen of the United
States, not do you have to have one to work in this country or have a
cell phone or bank account.

So I agree with the jist of the OP's anger, but then again the anger
isn't really validated.

Hi Clete,

Just wondering out loud...

Can you do the same interpretive contextual clue interpretation with
Russian? I live in a city that has a lot of Russian immigrants, and
I'm pretty good at latin languages, but Russian is Greek to me. It's
on busses, in docor's offices, and all kinds of print advertising and
I think, maybe, they are talking about me. Any suggestions? ;O)

that the irony that your name is Cletus is overwhelming.

Welcome to the 21st century you dolt.

I attend a university with a large number of international students.
None of them speak English as their first language, and not being
American citizens, none of them has a social security number. Are
these people somehow not eligible for a cell phone by your logic? Or
is "enabling" people in this country for purposes of education or
lawful employment against your ethics? Keep in mind, I attend school
in the midwestern United States; I would imagine that the Washington,
D.C. area is far more multicultural than my town.

Furthermore, there IS NO OFFICIAL LANGUAGE in the United States of
America (http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_lang.html). I'm sick
of people claiming that there is. It's just not the case, and whether
it is your intention or not, suggesting otherwise makes you look like
a poorly informed xenophobe. In areas which contain large numbers of
Spanish speaking people (many of whom are citizens enjoying their
constitutional right not to be discriminated against on the basis of
nationality), it makes sense to put ads in Spanish, so the target
market of that area can easily read them.

Anyone who cannot deal with the idea of people from many cultures
speaking many languages should probably remain safely ensconced in his
or her home. Multiculturalism isn't likely to go anywhere, and
Cingular (one hopes) isn't likely to stop marketing to a major segment
of their target demographic because you must rely on context clues to
read certain signs.

Ugh. I just cant have this discussion anymore.

I'll just shorten it up a little bit.

English is not officially our national language. Seriously. USA
currently does not have an official language.

If you go to europe, there are signs in multiple languages. It doesnt
mean they cater to illegals, they just are considerate to people
visiting.

*unrelated sidenote* The sign you are reading about the SSN is most
likely for pre-pay, which does not require a SSN to activate, since no
credit is ran and no contract is signed. Of course to sign up for a 2
year agreement a SNN is most definitely require, but prepay has no
such stipulations. Therefor Cingular is in no way catering to illegal
immigrants, nor helping them circumvent the law.

Um, how were able to interpret the sign's meaning using "contextual
clues?" Or is this just your fancy way of saying, "I assume the sign
means this because my imagination says it's so"?

How do you know all the Hispanics are habitually violating the law and
refusing to answer court summonses? Not all Spanish speaking people
are illegals.
Maybe the same sign was posted in English also and you just failed to
see it.

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/24/24033.html

There are approximately 841,315 persons in Prince George's County,
Maryland.

10.7% are Hispanic.

15.9% speak a language other than English in their home.

By my basic math calculations, that means that there are approximately
90,000 Hispanics in PG County.

Do I understand why they would have signs up in Spanish in a
predominantly Hispanic enclave? Yep. Sure do. I think it's a good
business decision to post signs in a language your clients (or
potential clients) understand.

Stop being so xenophobic. This nation was built on the backs of many
different nationalities who spoke many different nations. Our
diversity should be admired, not criticized.

BTW, when you decide to next criticize people for their knowledge of
English, it's "kiosk".