“This is America. When ordering, speak English.”
So reads the now-infamous sign in the takeout window at Geno’s Steaks, where you used to be able to order a cheesesteak without a side of backwards politics. The sign — probably offensive and definitely stupid (after all: if you can read the sign, you can probably speak English) — led to a June 2006 civil rights complaint from the Philadelphia Human Relations Commission.
That’s all old news — or so I’d hope. Philly certainly doesn’t need anymore bad PR, especially when it doesn’t even represent the dominant attitude on the ground. But the Commission’s glacial pace has dragged this ordeal out for well over a year now, and — in lieu of either punishment or closure for Geno’s owner Joey Vento — they have provided instead a year of free publicity and a national spotlight. While the original sign was only seen by Geno’s patrons, images of it now appear all over the internet.
Xenophobic conservatives across the country have rallied behind Mr. Vento, labeling the City’s complaint as persecution and even going so far as to dub him a folk hero.
Yikes.
I’ll agree with plenty of the bad things people have to say about Philly — it’s violent, filthy, and corrupt — but it’s a diverse and welcoming place, and Joey Vento is the last person on earth who should be acting as our ambassador.
The sooner the complaint is resolved (and it almost certainly will be dismissed, since so far it hasn’t been proven that the restaurant has actually denied service to anyone), the sooner Philadelphia can start focusing on issues more important than our local immigrant-hating nutbag (who, for the record, happens to live in Jersey).
And besides, as Phillyist pointed out: since when is “wit whiz” English anyway?
Tags: cheesesteaks, geno's, immigration, joey vento
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January 18th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Cleverly written! My first and last encounter with Geno’s: the cooks threw raw meat onto the inside of the steamy window that allows legel and illegal customers to watch their steak on their flat grill. He then pealed it back off the window, put it back down on the flat grill, and stuffed it in my cheesesteak… I had it wit whiz…
January 18th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Great post! Just one question: why is “speak English” in quotations? Would some variation on this theme be acceptable? Perhaps singing Spanglish would suffice. Joey Vento should reevaluate his own command on the English language before demanding it from others.
January 18th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Why wouldn’t Joey Vento delight in sharing Philly’s pride and joy — the cheesesteak — with people of all nationalities and with all different immigration histories? What possible benefit does Joey Vento derive from this kind of regressive xenophobia? Thank you, Ms. Friedman, for writing about this truly repulsive civil rights violation. I look forward to your next posts.
January 18th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
I’m not a cheese whiz fan, but I am a big fan of this post, which really nails an important legal and political issue. Go tolerance! Go free speech! Looking forward to more from Lauren next week!
January 18th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
You know what’s a good, old, American name? Geno!
I wonder if they have similar signs posted elsewhere… like “when ordering meat and produce only buy from farms and factories that employ employ naturalized American citizens”? Do they prefer serving to any special dialects of English? Do people who are actually FROM England get special treatment? How about Native Americans? Is sign language okay?
I’m going avoid all possible pitfalls by going dressed in an American flag, an eagle perched on my shoulder, a copy of the US Constitution in hand. On second thought, maybe I’ll skip the constitution.
January 18th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Yeah this was a good post, or would have been a year ago.
By making a post like this, talking about this issue, you’re doing the exact thing you criticized the media for: bringing extra attention to a nitwit like Vento.
((And it’s “whiz wit” anyway, meaning “cheese whiz, with fried onions”. For those who haven’t tried, fried onions are a must, but for the love of all that’s good and holy don’t get a cheesesteak with cheese whiz. American cheese is better and doesn’t run the risk of killing you.))
January 18th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
While Mr. Vento’s sign may offend your hyper-liberal sensitivities, you yourself admit that he hasn’t broken any municipal laws. So I ask, what is your issue with Mr. Vento’s desire to take orders exclusively in our national tongue (likely the only language he understands)? Is Mr. Vento under some legal or moral obligation to take orders in Farsi or Cantonese? Or is your real issue with the sign its patriotic theme? (If the sign were printed in black and white and failed to remind patrons of their current geographic location, would there be a similar liberal outcry? I doubt it.) Geno’s isn’t a government institution providing fundamental services to all citizens; it’s a private business serving a cheesesteak. And if you can’t handle the complexities of the English language required to order such a gourmet food, go to McDonalds where all you need to know are your numbers (Hint: 1=Big Mac).
January 18th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Lindros888:
What kind of person reacts with such anger to criticism of overt intolerance? In your eagerness to attack the author, you have thoroughly mischaracterized her point– but I suppose that made your job easier. The argument is not that Vento has an affirmative obligation to take orders in languages he does not understand. (Did you really think that was the point? Really?) Rather, the point is that posting a sign like that (original version: “Speak American”) and handing out similarly-themed bumper stickers is a campaign against non-native speakers of English. If Vento doesn’t speak Spanish, then a friendly shrug would convey that message when someone tries to order in Spanish. If you can’t muster the common sense to understand this point, I recommend keeping your reactions private rather than trumpeting your ignorance.
January 20th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
yea… this post is way out of date… this issue has been cold for ages
January 21st, 2008 at 1:35 am
Lauren: I take offense to you calling me and others who support Mr. Vento “xenophobic conservatives.” I do consider myself conservative, but I am in no way xenophobic. Of the four years that I’ve spent at Penn, two were spent living with non-Americans. I had great experiences with both of my foreign roommates. Moreover, I fully support legal immigration to the United States. Like most Americans, I’m the product of immigrants who traveled here. And, like most Americans, I believe that immigrants should assimilate to our society by learning to speak the dominant (and soon-to-be official) language, English. My disagreement with you on this issue is purely based on my political beliefs, and has absolutely nothing to do with xenophobia.
January 21st, 2008 at 1:36 am
Another liberal dyke. Good thing this is a shitty blog with negligible traffic. Don’t label those with whom you disagree “xenophobic,” you anti-American piece of shit.