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'Speak English' Signs at Philly Shop Not Discriminatory
rawstory.com — The owner of a famous cheesesteak shop did not discriminate when he posted signs asking customers to speak English, a city panel ruled Wednesday.
oboy- 130 diggs
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- hawk0168, on 03/20/2008, -4/+11I wouldn't move to China without knowing Mandarin (or the regional language). End of story.
- vmeeno, on 03/21/2008, -0/+2Most of the American people in China can't speak Mandarin or any other regional language. When local people make fun of them, they don't know nothing and just smile.
- DroogInPhoenix, on 03/20/2008, -10/+3I think that is *****. I understand he did it because of mexicans.. But what if a tourist is visiting from another country? I wouldn't support his shop cuz he sounds like an *****.
- JimmySpaza, on 03/21/2008, -5/+1Then stay at home, you liberal. And your post makes YOU sound like an a&#$^@.
See? I can do it too. :-)- DroogInPhoenix, on 03/22/2008, -0/+1No I am not a liberal, you could call me more libertarian, or middle of the road... He has the absolute right to deny service to anyone, just as I have the power to deny patronizing his establishment. The US is a melting pot, a mix of cultures. I enjoy meeting people from different races.... He doesn't like mexicans... ***** him.
- platypibri, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1If you're not there, that's just one more reason to go.
- JimmySpaza, on 03/21/2008, -5/+1Then stay at home, you liberal. And your post makes YOU sound like an a&#$^@.
- Lyk4n, on 03/20/2008, -0/+8A person working at McD's shouldn't be expected to know every language in the world just so that anyone can come in and order a burger. It's the job of the customer to speak the same language as the business or take their money elsewhere.
- OBDriftwood, on 03/20/2008, -2/+6i can has cheeze stake?
- platypibri, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1ur doin it wrong (if u don orderz in Enlish)
- Mytthew, on 03/20/2008, -0/+3wit whiz - counts as English at Genos
- bitterg, on 03/20/2008, -1/+10Hard to see how this would have been discriminatory. The dude doesn't have to serve people he can't understand.
- atdigg, on 03/20/2008, -4/+2People can point, can't they? What about people who can't speak at all?
- Lyk4n, on 03/21/2008, -1/+4You're going to point from 10 feet away and expect the person to understand you want the hamburger with extra pickles and a Dr. Pepper with no ice? Even a mute could write it out in English.
- atdigg, on 03/20/2008, -4/+2People can point, can't they? What about people who can't speak at all?
- lickmylovepump, on 03/20/2008, -4/+4So this dude should learn the hispanic language or hire someone who is bilingual, just so the people who can't speak english or don't want to learn it can order his food?
- JimmySpaza, on 03/21/2008, -2/+1Why should the owner be forced to make changes? It is HIS business, not anyone else's. It is his perogative to do as he pleases...unless you don't like property rights.
- platypibri, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1I think the parents tone is meant to be incredulous. I don't think he's suggesting geno's hire a translator.
- gypsi, on 03/21/2008, -3/+3fair enough. next time you visit a foreign country - learn the local language or stay home.
- platypibri, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1You can bet I'll have an english to whatever dictionary, and I'm not going to get in to a fast moving line before I know what I'm going to say.
- dinobot, on 03/21/2008, -1/+4Hey, I am of Spaniard descent, but when my parents came to the US, they decided to learn the language, if they did it to adapt to the new country where they decided to start a new life, why can't other people?
- JimmySpaza, on 03/21/2008, -4/+2The bottom line is that Geno's is private property and the owner should be free to run his business ANY way that he wants.
I wish that liberals would stop telling others what to do and how to do it. The country would be better off if the leftists just stayed home and watched Oprah.- scottpigeon, on 03/21/2008, -0/+4Your biased partisan rant ruined an otherwise good point in the first sentence.
- kinseyincanada, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
This is the description on the statue of Liberty, America used to be a beacon of hope for immigrents the entire population is descendants from people you cam to America looking for a better life. What happened to that America? You used to be a country for everyone, a melting pot of various cultures and bubbling together to create a powerfully and upstanding country full of hope and passion. Now it seems that you are unwilling to accept people from entering your country, these people are trying to escape a life of poverty to enter America in hops of a better life, you should be accepting these people and helping them become upstanding members of society, now you want to literally build wall to keep people out from a once great nation. You seem to think that it is easy to legally immigrate to your country but there are many barriers to go through and the system is not right, you need to fix it. America used to be a beacon of hope, but now that light is flickering into darkness.- platypibri, on 03/21/2008, -0/+2Oh shut it! My Mother AND Father in law are both immigrants (mom from Peru and dad from the Netherlands). They came here on legal visas. They learned English. They studied hard, passed the exam and became American citizens. Same thing with my friend from China. Speaks the language as well as I do.
I know dozens of people who came here legally, Who spent a lot of time and money to be here legally, struggled and learned the language, and became either permanent residents or outright naturalized citizens. From Mexico, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Peru, Germany, Poland, Japan, The United Arab Emirates, Israel, Iran and Iraq.
And what you are saying is we should kick them all in the nuts for all their hard work, and let any criminal (yes criminal, their very presence on this soil is a crime) who can manage violate our sovereign borders enjoy equal standing with them, rendering their effort and accomplishment that I AM HONORED to witness a useless waste of time.
I say NO! I will not dishonor these fine people who I am proud to call Americans by condoning blanket amnesty and defacto citizenship for those carpet baggers who want all of Americas milk and honey, but none of it's blood and sweat. Learning the language is the LEAST YOU CAN DO for America bringing you into her bosom.
- platypibri, on 03/21/2008, -0/+2Oh shut it! My Mother AND Father in law are both immigrants (mom from Peru and dad from the Netherlands). They came here on legal visas. They learned English. They studied hard, passed the exam and became American citizens. Same thing with my friend from China. Speaks the language as well as I do.
- vmeeno, on 03/21/2008, -0/+3It's not the content of the sign bothers most of the people I think, it's the tune. The way (the wording) it delivers the message makes its target group very uncomfortable. I'm not saying it's discrimination. It's just bad business move.
- platypibri, on 03/21/2008, -1/+3No it isn't. He runs a very busy shop and doesn't have time waste on people who can't order off the menu. If you can't at least say "Steak with wiz and onions", you should eat ramen noodles with one hand with an english dictionary in the other until you can. I certainly couldn't go to France, order escargot, and be pissed when they hand me snails.
- AManWithNoName, on 03/21/2008, -1/+1Back when I worked at Quizno's, I remember one customer came trying to speak what turned out to be some arabic language (Not sure of the official name) to me. I simply told him repeatedly that I could not understand him, and tried to mime it out as best I could. I'm not sure if he was just frustrated by the language barrier or if I made some gesture that's considered rude in their culture, but he started flipping out. Eventually, we had to call the building security to get the guy out. Luckily for me, the manager was on my side.
Point here is, it's insane to consider it discriminatory to only speak one language. I don't believe we need an official language for our country, but each individual store owner has the right to choose who can and cannot come in there store. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone. - platypibri, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1There are literally hundreds of restaurants in Southern California I can't eat in because I don't speak enough Spanish to order. I don't see any lawyers lining up to take MY discrimination law suit. This was whole thing was crap from the word go. If you DO speak English, but go to Geno's and don't know what "wiz" is, your likely gonna get the same "discrimination" as a non English speaker, which is something like "Get outta line till you know how to order".
Besides, if you don't know how to order a Philly Cheese Steak, how do you know you really want one? I see signs in the local mexican restaurants for things like "lingua", "mariscos" and "cabeza". I don't know what it is, but I sure as hell ain't eatin it till I find out! - Yamoth, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1What the big deal, it not like the owner are telling his customer to speak perfect English. More likely he just want his operation to go smoother by not having his line backing up because the his clerk and his customer can't understand each other. Furthermore, he didn't say that you "have" to use English in his store.
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