Politically Correct Ringtones

One of the joys of modern cellphones is the ability to download custom ringtones to add a little enjoyment to the process of receiving calls. For instance, when somebody from my family calls, my phone plays the "Simpsons" theme. If it's a call from the quartet, it plays the old "Tonight Show" theme (from the Jonny Carson days).

Cingular has hundreds of ringtones available, but there's one less today than there was yesterday:

Cingular Wireless LLC pulled a ringtone from its Web site Tuesday after learning that it carried a message the company called "blatantly offensive."

The cell phone company became aware of the ringtone, which uses mixed English and Spanish and threatens deportation, after an inquiry from a reporter for The Brownsville Herald.

The newspaper reported in its online edition Tuesday that the ringtone started with a siren, followed by a male voice saying in a Southern drawl, "This is la Migra," a slang term for the Border Patrol.

"Por favor, put the oranges down and step away from the cell phone. I repeat-o, put the oranges down and step away from the telephone-o. I'm deporting you back home-o," the voice continued.

Hispanic activists called the product racist.

I wonder how many of those they sold? If they hadn't pulled it right away, they would have sold a million of 'em as soon as the word got out. I bet some exec at Cingular is secretly mad that he had to pull it before they could cash in.

UPDATE: More Ringtone Troubles