Good post.

Because, you know, if anyone ever orders "queso," America will crumble to tiny bits and disappear.

Queso is great stuff. Far better than salsa.

"Because, you know, if anyone ever orders 'queso,' America will crumble to tiny bits and disappear."

God forbid local craftmen be allowed to keep their personal quirks in the 21st century.

I think this can be distinguished from a necessary service, where it may well be imperitave that there be service available for non-English speakers. A cheesesteak shop isn't a hospital - it's what gives you the heart attack that sends you to the hospital.

Let the guy be a jerk in his own private way, I say. He's only doing people a favor, anyway.

Fwiw: I don't think that the law should force him to change his sign (or, if he really has one in effect, his English-only policy).

I also think that the guy sounds like an unamerican, moronic, first-class a-hole, and I would personally refuse to buy a cheesesteak there. (I'm a "Provolone with" type of person myself.)

Unbelievable. Man in legal trouble for not knowing Spanish.

David, and asking for "queso" would get you what, exactly? Geno's choice?

I'm eagerly awaiting the Spanish translations for 'whiz, provolone, and American, by the way.

Post edited so that the links now work. Sorry about that.

It should be noted, according to the Philly Inquirer article linked above, that Joey Vento hasn't actually denied anyone a cheesesteak. He's in trouble because making people say "Whiz, with" is somehow a civil rights tragedy.

So... Did John K bring his own bag of Swiss and tomatoes or is someone arguing that since no one else orders those toppings you probably shouldn't use them since they have long since spoiled?

In a remarkable near-coincidence, I was thinking of heading to South Philly yesterday for a cheesesteak since my girlfriend's brother was visiting. I would have chosen Geno's--not so much to cheer his "ordering policy" but because it's ridiculous that the PC cops are trying to ride down on him for it. I hear that Pat's has offered a free cheesesteak to anyone who can order in a language other than English, but that may only be a rumor.

In other cheesesteak-related news, the co-creator of the cheesesteak died on Friday: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2220325

If we must have a big blog post about this moron, let's at least get the facts straight. He's not in trouble "because making people say "Whiz, with" is somehow a civil rights tragedy." (How hard would it be to understand, "El Juiz, con", anyhow?) It's not about civil rights at all, but as the commission is named, it's about civil relations: Philadelphia has a city ordinance aimed at promoting sound inter-ethnic relations, and forbids "denying service to someone because of his or her national origin, and having printed material making certain groups of people feel their patronage is unwelcome". I don't see how the former charge will hold up, if no one can document that they actually were refused service. But it's the spirit of the second one that's most relevant. The law is, basically: if you want to be a dick about race, etc., then you can't do so as part of your public business. And Mr. Vento's sign is a patent expression of willful dickishness -- and, again in terms of getting the facts straight, it's not "this is America, please order in English", but rather "This is AMERICA ... WHEN ORDERING SPEAK ENGLISH." It's pretty darn far from a polite request to conduct transactions in one language. It is, in fact, a big eff-you to a sizeable minority community.

So, let's not pretend that it's about people accusing a poor independent businessman of infringing their civil rights because he wants them to order in English. It's about a moron deciding to be a dick. That doesn't settle the legal questions -- I could see how one might argue that the law is constitutional -- but it should keep people from rising to a very silly level of dudgeon.

phil,

What part of Mr. Vento's policy and/or sign has anything to do with ethnicity or race? It has to do with language. His "English-only" policy applies to everyone. Presumably, an English-speaking Latino will be served, while a non-English-speaking Italian will not (though I've read that the staff at Geno's are willing to help teach customers the necessary phrases).

To say that this sign is not connected to any ethnicity is a bit disingenuous. Like claiming that a sign that said "no dark-skinned people served" isn't racial in nature, because it applies to some southern Italians with deep tans, and would not apply to some fairer-skinned African-Americans. Just because the sign literally does not mention a specific ethnic group, doesn't mean that it's intention isn't aimed at some such group, and that that intention isn't pretty clear on its face. (This is why it's important, if people want to write about this incident, to take the eff-you-ishness of the sign seriously.)

Moreover, the owner himself said it's about Mexicans! Which I'm sure is part of why his son doesn't let him make statements to the press anymore.

(iii) The

phil,

Your analogy to a ban on dark-skinned people is flawed, because skin color is an immutable characteristic. By comparison, anyone can learn to speak English. Heck, during the 8 days I was in China recently, I learned enough Chinese to order food at a restaurant.

It is true that the sign was "inspired" by an influx of Mexican immigrants, but it's also important to keep in mind the long-standing tradition of impatience by staff at both Pat's and Geno's--which has earned them comparisons to the Seinfeld soup Nazi. Even if you're a fluent English speaker, if you can't place your order quickly and succinctly, you may be sent to the back of the line. In other words, the eff-you-ishness of the sign is not specifically an affront to minority groups, but is completely in line with the overall "eff-you-siveness" of South Philly in general.

Another way of looking at it: if the sign is "directed at" Mexican immigrants, that's simply because they are the largest group of non-English speakers in Geno's neighborhood. If the largest group of non-English speakers were Russian immigrants, then presumably the sign would be "directed at" them. The only bias going on is bias against people who don't speak English.

The mutability/immutability of the characteristic isn't at all relevant, because (i) the law in question doesn't have anything to do with that, and much more importantly (ii) lots of protected categories in general are mutable, most in particular religion & creed.

As for the eff-you-ishness of that part of the country -- having spent some time in New Jersey once, I can see what you mean. :-) I do think that if one is a jerk to everyone, then of course one isn't being at all discriminatory if a fortiori one is a jerk to non-English speakers. I hope that his lawyers make that argument!

Quotes from "My Fair Lady" came to mind when I read the post and the comments above:

"But think what you're trying to accomplish. Think what you're dealing with. The majesty and grandeur of the English language, it's the greatest possession we have. The noblest thoughts that ever flowed through the hearts of men are contained in its extraordinary, imaginative, and musical mixtures of sounds."

And, with respect to Mr. Vento's policy: The question is not whether [he's] treated [any particular ethnic/racial group] rudely but whether [anyone has] ever heard [him] treat anyone else better.

:)