Posted on 12/17/2007 12:07:41 PM PST by Kid Shelleen
THEY SAY YOU can't fight City Hall, but last Friday Joey Vento stood tall (at 5-foot-5) in the center ring of the circus to answer a discrimination complaint filed against him by the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations. Vento's been a handy punching bag for the press. Local editorial writers and columnists have vilified him as a racist, a nativist, a know-nothing, a do-badder, because of his (now world-famous) 4-by-9-inch sign at the window of his Geno's Steaks that reads: "This is America. When Ordering, Please Speak English." Some believe that is hate speech.
For some reason (hate, perhaps?) the 6 1/2 -hour hearing was conducted entirely in English, a clear slap in the face to the Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander and Esperanto communities.
(Excerpt) Read more at philly.com ...
‘Ey! Geno and Joey learna to speaka da english!
Yoose can too!
The natives do not speak English in South Philly......
“... a nativist ...”
That is the scary one. Making being proud or protective of being an American illegal, unethical or immoral.
This inquisition against Joey is offensive to me.
My human rights are being violated.
Shut it down immediately or I’ll sue.
If someone doesn’t like Geno’s sign its just about 30 paces to the order window at Pat’s. Just be careful not to get hit by any stray bullets along the way. It is Philly, after all.
I’m glad I dont liven there.
Allen signed the complaint because the commission - which enforces laws against discrimination - could find no one to testify being denied service for linguistic impropriety at Geno’s, which served 780,000 people last year. Both sides agreed no one has ever been denied service because they no speaka da English.
Geno’s actions aren’t on trial, it’s the wording of the sign, which commission attorney Paul M. Hummer said was (constitutionally protected) political speech when used at a rally, but discriminatory when glued to Geno’s window. Because it is near a sign giving management the right to refuse service to anyone, it’s an “implied threat,” Hummer said.
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So I guess the signs that say, “No shoes, No shirt, No service” are implied threats also.
Outside of Center City, Philly might as well be Camden.
He was on the radio this morning doing interviews. He says he will close it down before he gets rid of the sign.
Good for him! Stand your ground Joey!
It would have been great if he’d hired an attorney who refused to speak anything except, let’s just say, Swahili to the commission. I mean, that’s assuming Joey himself doesn’t speak a foreign language. It should have been turned right around on them like that.
Now see, this is how you throw the entire train off the tracks!
Geno makes a great cheesesteak. Not only that, he’s right about this. Libs go to Pat’s.
What does he win if he closes down? I wouldn’t encourage that particular course of action if I were you.
No, sorry. You only get Huperson rights. (Or is it Huwoman rights?)
He also has a sign that says “we reserve the right to refuse service”. Will they force him to take down that common sign too?
Is this the same govt organization\individual giving the boy scouts in filthydelphia all the grief?
If the city claims that they only do business in English, locate a phone line with a “press 2 for Spanish” menu or a foreign language ballot.
Sir, I resent your peni-centric spellings.
It’s Womyn, dammit.
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