It's their restaurant and they should be able to have whatever sign they want. It will either positively or negatively effect their business. Personally, I feel that people in the US should learn and speak english but I feel that the owner is going about voicing that opinion in the wrong way. He is doing it in a condescending and perhaps even racist way. I feel that you can have an opinion about it and not be a jack ass.
Why does this remind me of a Simpson's episode? I just imagine Mayor Quimby standing outside of Geno's with the rest of Springfield watching.
I wouldn't go this far. Would you think it would be OK to have a sign that says "blacks aren't welcome here"? I believe that is the basic law that's being used to try to dissuade him ("having printed material making certain groups of people feel their patronage is unwelcome"). I agree with you that this is being blown out of proportion and that there's nothing illegal about what he's doing, but I do think there are limits on what kind of signs they should be able to have.
I think it falls closer to a business having a sign "No shirt, no shoes, no service". Some business openly advertise that they "Habla espanol". Geno's should simply post a sign "No habla espanol", basically declaring that they do not have any employees who speak Spanish to assist any Spanish only speaking customers.
I understand what you are saying and I agree that a sign saying "blacks aren't welcome here" would be over the line. The sign isn't saying, "No foreigners allowed" or "English only, no exceptions". It says "When ordering, speak english". After that, people can speak whatever they want. I think the proceeding line, "This is America" is what makes it sound so harsh. If there was a problem with too many people coming in and odering in a different language, perhaps put up a sign saying, "When ordering, please speak english" and I doubt it would get that type of reaction. Most likely, there isn't a problem with people ordering in a different language, the guy is just trying to be a prick. For business purposes, you would think that the dude would want to cater to as many customers as possible. If I had a restuarant that was successful and many of my customers didn't speak english, I'd learn to speak whatever the hell they wanted so that I made as much money as possible.
this sign is kind of implicating that no other languages are welcome in america besides english. even if he's just trying to put a point across that he wants people to order in english, there are other less offensive ways to do so.
It's Pat versus Ginos, of course, across the street from each other. You go with Pats if you think bread / cheese are important, Ginos if it is the meat that you are interested in. Apparently. I'm veggie, so I just went for the water ice nearvy. Philly is hilarious. South Philly especially. If they think this is in the top 550 racial problems in that city, they would be wrong.
The sign doesn't say "no Spanish". Maybe they only speak English so it's an effort to keep the line moving. I have no problem with this. I order an "enchilada” (and I don't speak Spanish) not a tortilla with cheese in side with a red sauce. Say Philly cheese steak, how hard is that.
I say he should be allowed to post whatever sign he wants. There is no need to try to use the law to get him to remove the sign. Anyone who doesn't like what he is doing can vote with their pocketbook.
i wish idiots like this would recognize that in the past there have been times where a third of the people in the country spoke german. this is our history and tradition. we should embrace it and celebrate it.
Why does so many people in this country think everyone NEEDS to learn English. Last time I check, we have no national language just like we have no national religion. Thats what make this country truly free.
And then most forced themselves to learn English during WW1 did stuff like renaming sauerkraut to victory cabbage. How's that different than recent reports of older Hispanic immigrants learning English in droves?
I totally agree but part of freedom is to allow a private business owner to have some control over his business. While I feel this guys sign is totally bigotted and rude there is a certain amount of control that he should be able to exercise on his clientele. Its true that there's a fine line regarding what counts as discriminatory. Obviously a sign saying "no blacks allowed" is clearly illegal but language is a trickier issue. On this issue I'm going to have to lean with allowing him to keep his policy and sign. Demanding people speak in English isn't discrimanatory in terms of something intrinsic and unchangeable about the person like color of skin but something having more to do with behavior. A business owner is certainly free to kick someone out for behavior that they find offensive so while this seems extreme and un-PC they are banning a behavior and not a person.
