Thread: Philly cheese steak king wins battle over please speak english sign

Oh --so the lesson here is that we should be fearful of being taken over by hispanics, just like native americans were brutalized by the europeans? Nice point, if you're a fear-driven racist, Unbelieveable...

Originally Posted by billyjeff2

Oh --so the lesson here is that we should be fearful of being taken over by hispanics, just like native americans were brutalized by the europeans? Nice point, if you're a fear-driven racist, Unbelieveable...

You have officially become insulting in my book! Please refrain from such insults!

Concern is often mistaken for fear.

Nope. This is pure, nativist sentiment. Next thing you know, the coloreds will want the right to ride in the front of the bus.

Originally Posted by billyjeff2

Nope. This is pure, nativist sentiment. Next thing you know, the coloreds will want the right to ride in the front of the bus.

I will ask you kindly to no longer make any posts in this thread! To label the majority of us who agree with this man racists without truly examining or understanding the basis of our concerns is rather thoughtless, arrogant and insulting!
Please, no more!

A restaurant/ shop owner certainly has the right to post what he wants in his own business but if I was to walk up and see a sign like that (I don't care how many eagles and flags are on the sign), I'd tell the owner to roll that sandwich into a tight roll and stick it someplace convenient.
Ernest

Originally Posted by billyjeff2

Nope. This is pure, nativist sentiment. Next thing you know, the coloreds will want the right to ride in the front of the bus.

Some people would think its wise to pay attention to change, good or bad, so they would be better prepared for what might come next.

Some would find it easier to insult then to even consider another way of thinking.

Originally Posted by roughneck

The great place I am speaking of is the United States of America, not the resturant.

Ahhh , I misunderstood. I do think that immigrants need to learn the language of the adopted country, but that's the area of politics again, which is why I have a problem with the idea of that sign -- I'm there to eat first and foremost.

Originally Posted by Philadelph

You need to understand that this guy's "restaurant/business" is probably one of the most well-known and popular places to eat in all of Philly. By turning away however many customers he does with this sign, he has 20 more lined up around the corner at all hours of the day to take their place. No sweat off his back. I applaud him for building his business along the lines of his own beliefs and having the guts to back it up.

Sounds like he could go national with a chain. He has the client base, clearly. But with that attitude he'll fail to realise the full potential of what he could be making.

One point in this whole argument is the one that sums it all up- he isn't refusing service to anyone. He kindly and passively asks you to attempt English when ordering to keep things flowing. He knows that he may lose business that way and stands by his decision. Other restaurants do this in other ways, so why can't he?

Don't believe me? How about your local "nice" restaurant. They have dress codes and their prices are quite high. Their food may not be super fantastic, but by doing this keep certain people out of their establishments. The knowingly lose lower class business in favor of keeping a certain atmosphere. "Geno" doesn't even go to these lengths and actually require a person to be English speaking, yet there he was in court. God bless the guy!

i guess i may as well post in this thread too.

i don't see anything wrong with asking people to do things in certain way. the way he went about it though tells me that that's not what he wanted to do. clearly the only people who may benefit from the sign are those who (1) know enough english to read and understand it (2) choose not to use english when ordering.

as always there are million ways to say something and each would have different effect. if i want to show my appreciation for my customers my sign would be something along the lines 'we would highly appreciate if ordering in english'. he chose different language, which doesn't encourage cooperation, its main value is as a political statement and as any polarizing political statement you will pick up a lot of support from one side and a lot of negativity from the other.

when i go to the theater i see a sign about turning off my cell phone. and yet despite the signs there's always one person with ringing cellphone (at which point many others get reminded how annoying this can be). if these signs are phrased a bit differently i suspect you will see a whole lot of people making calls to each other few times just as a matter of protest.

in any case, i don't see it as a big deal either way. because the politics in us are the way they are, he went to court and the court ruled in his favor. this is america - happens everyday. looks like he's always been able to get plenty of clientele so now he can also rise his prices and keep the clientele too. i'm sure the moment he got the notice he must've thought he's won the lottery (at least if he's smart and knows how things work in america).