Oh, for... Offensive?

Some people amaze me. For instance, Mr Edgar Castro.

As reported in the Chicago Sun Times by a reporter named Duaa Eldeib, the army has put up some Arabic-language billboards to recruit translators (as we all know by know, there's a helluva shortage of those nowadays).

In the U.S. Army's latest campaign to recruit Arabic linguists as translators, two bright yellow billboards popped up in Oak Forest and Oak Lawn about two weeks ago. Both have identical Arabic text that reads "In a land full of opportunity (Fi Ard Amira bil furas), here's one that may not have crossed your mind. A job with the U.S. Army."

Underneath the words at Cicero Avenue and 167th Street, the only line in English says, "If you can read this, call Mohamed." The billboard at Harlem Avenue and 95th Street directs readers to Tarik.

...

The two billboards are the only ones of their kind in the Chicago region, said Tim Turpin, the Army's regional chief of advertising and public affairs. An estimated 30,000 Arab Americans live in Chicago's southwest suburbs.

"Predominately, we're looking for linguists to assist us in Iraq," Turpin said.

The billboard campaign isn't new. The military has used it on and off for about two years, Turpin said. Similar signs are on the streets of Dearborn, Mich., Los Angeles, New York, New Jersey and Florida. Last year, as many as 10 billboards were in Chicago area communities heavily populated by Arab speakers, said Ahmad, 35, of Chicago.

Oh, Mr Castro? Well, he's got a problem. It's not with the army trying to recruit Arabic speakers - at least, I suppose he doesn't mind. No, his problem is that his ignorance "offends" him. (It probably scares him, too, but I doubt he'd ever admit it.) The story concludes:

For Edgar Castro, who works in the area and lives in Richton Park, the first thought that crossed his mind when he saw the sign was that he couldn't read it.

"It's offensive," Castro said.

A billboard he can't read is "offensive"? What a scary little world he must live in.