Leave The Man Alone

The latest silly uproar being hyped by the media is over a small restaurant in Philadelphia. The owner of Geno's, a cheese steak joint, has a policy requiring that orders be given in English. That is his right. But a local politician has decided to object:

At a City Council meeting Thursday, Councilman Jim Kenney asked Geno's Steaks to take down its sign that says, "This Is AMERICA: WHEN ORDERING SPEAK ENGLISH."

That's just the latest example of how an English-only ordering policy has thrust one of Philadelphia's most famous cheesesteak joints into the national immigration debate.

The media continues to try to pump this non-story into a major controversy. They busily seek out comments from "activists" who are outraged, outraged I tell you, over the owner's policy.

"It's really upset a lot of a people," said Brad Baldia, director of development and outreach for Day Without An Immigrant, a coalition of immigrant groups. "For some people, I think we're just going to say 'Le gusta Pat's.'"

Juntos, a neighborhood organization that advocates for Latino communities, said it plans to send people to Geno's to try to order in Spanish. Depending on what happens, the group may pursue court action, said Peter Bloom, the group's director.

"His grandparents encountered the same racism and the same xenophobia," Bloom said. "Why would he begin that process over again?"

In asking for the sign's removal, Councilman Kenney noted that Geno's is "an iconic institution and business, one that is that visible for many of our residents, for the region and the world."

For his part, (Geno's owner Joseph) Vento said he's gotten plenty of criticism and threats: One person told him they hoped one his many neon signs flames out and burns the place down. But he said he plans to hold his ground, even if he loses business: "I'll take the gamble."

And the "activists" plan to use the tried and true "we know we'd lose at the polls so let's get the courts involved instead" tactic.

Leave him alone. He can decide that he will only accept orders from people wearing pink tutus if he wants to corner the pink tutu wearer's market. Neither the city councilman nor the activists have the right to force their opinions onto the how the man chooses to operate his business. Foreign language speakers are not a protected class – at least not yet.