I’ve complained before, on this blog, about some common misspellings that get to me like fingernails on a chalkboard.

Yesterday Megan tipped me off to 11 Gorgeously Ironic Misspellings In Protest Signs on 11Points.com, by Sam Greenspan. Misspelling is bad, yes, but it’s got to be worse, or at the very least more ironic, when people butcher the language while complaining about language.  The post includes pictures showing the following exact quotes taken from protest signs defending the English language:

• Get a brain, morans
• Respect Are Country, Speak English
• This is America and our only lanaguage is English

You tell me: is that a great argument for basic spelling? It reminds me of Harvard math professor Tom Lehrer’s song Be Prepared, that included the following line:

Be prepared to hold your liquor pretty well
Don’t write naughty words on walls that you can’t spell

Useful sentiment. And, along the same lines, if you’re going to brandish your politics for all to see, in your yard … well, do you think this illustration is purposeful parody?

Finally, back to the xenophobic politics of the English-only crowd, just one last picture:

The photos shown here are just two of the 11 on the original post. Definitely worth a look: 11 Gorgeously Ironic Misspellings In Protest Signs on 11Points.com.

(Photo credit: both of those photos are taken directly from the post on 11Points.com, 11 Gorgeously Ironic Misspellings In Protest Signs)