Geno’s Update: Welcome to the Club, Joey Vento — Philly Human Relations Commission Has Filed a “Discrimination” Complaint

JUNE 12: This post will stay at the top through Monday evening, now that the discrimination complaint is official. June 13: Actually it’s TWO complaints — “The suit claims that the restaurant is guilty of ‘denying service to someone because of his or her national origin, and having printed material making certain groups of people feel their patronage is unwelcome’ …..”

More from Reuters on June 12:

The sign may violate the city’s Fair Practices Ordinance, which bans businesses from discriminating on the basis of nationality or ethnicity, (Human Relations Commission Acting Director Rachel) Lawton said.

“The complaint will say that the sign discourages patronage by non-English speakers because of their national origin and/or ancestry,” Lawton, whose agency enforces the city’s anti-discrimination laws, said before the official filing.

Geno’s will be given up to two weeks to respond and, if the agency determines the sign has violated the city ordinance, will be ordered to take the sign down. If the restaurant refuses, it will be subject to a $300 fine, Lawton said.

_______________________

UPDATE and CORRECTION, June 11: The report in the original body of this post from WCAU-TV says that a complaint has already been filed. The Philly Inquirer is saying that it hasn’t been filed yet, but that it will be filed Monday (bold is mine):

A city agency charged with investigating discrimination plans to file a complaint Monday that questions the legality of the signs, which Vento has said are directed at the Mexican immigrants in Geno’s South Philadelphia neighborhood.

“We’re alleging that the sign itself is enough of an unwelcoming message that it may violate the Fair Practices Act,” said Rachel Lawton, acting executive director of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations.

Mary Catherine Roper, a spokeswoman for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the signs straddle a line between free speech and discrimination.

Geno’s “has a right to express its opinion, however offensive,” she said. “But there are specific limitations on places of public accommodation, because they are supposed to be available to everyone.”

The original post from Saturday, June 10 follows, along with an update and references to prior posts about a local (Mason, OH) situation that has been taken further already.
___________________________________

Like I said in the previous post: It was too good to last.

The formal wrath of the PC police has indeed descended on Geno’s and Joey Vento in Philadelphia, as this incredibly sloppy WCAU-TV article carried by MSNBC.com reports:

English-Only Policy Heats Up Cheesesteak Controversy
9:37 p.m. EDT June 9, 2006

PHILADELPHIA – Order in English only. That’s the new rule (NOT true; see below — Ed.) at one of south Philly’s most famous cheesesteak places, and it is cooking up a lot of controversy.

Geno’s Steak owner Joey Vento has really touched a nerve with a little sign on his cheesesteak stand that says, “This is America. When Ordering Speak English.” Vento has been getting calls from all over the country.

“We got troops (that are) getting blown up, and here we’ve got this big, bad Joey Vento who’s got the audacity to try to teach people to speak English in America where the language is English and if you don’t know it, you’re not going anywhere,” Vento told NBC 10 News.

So, what happens to a customer who cannot or will not speak English?

“The bottom line is no one has ever been refused,” Vento said.

Vento said his workers are happy to help non-native speakers and haven’t turned anyone away.

NBC 10’s Bill Baldini went to the Liberty Bell to see how foreign visitors felt about Vento’s sign. He talked to men from France, South Africa and the Philippines. None of them had a problem with the sign.

Baldini also spoke to some of Geno’s customers.

“I do feel it probably should be the primary language,” one woman said.

“If I had a problem with the sign, I wouldn’t be in line (to order a cheesesteak),” said a man.

“You know what gets me? The papers, you’re all against Joey Vento because, you know, ‘Spanish, he’s against these Spanish people.’ Well, Daily News and Inquirer, say this. What part of the paper is in Spanish?” Vento asked.

Whether you agree or disagree, you know exactly where Vento stands. He has been on four national news shows talking about the controversy.

In Philadelphia, the Human Relations Commission has filed a complaint against Vento. His response? “I really don’t care.” (Correction above: The Philly Enquirer reports that the complaint will be filed on Monday. — Ed.)

I say the report is “incredibly sloppy” because the Philly Inquirer report Michelle Malkin used as the original basis for her first post on the topic said (about halfway through) that Vento “put up the signs when the immigration debate seized national headlines six months ago.” Not exactly “new” as WCAU claims — Zheesh.

As to the complaint filed by Philadelphia’s Human Relations Commission, all I can say is “Joey Vento and Geno’s, meet Tom Ullum and The Pleasure Inn.”
___________________________

UPDATE: This might be a sneak preview of what Joey Vento has to look forward to — vandalism, as experienced by The Pleasure Inn in Mason, Ohio a couple of weeks ago. Tom Ullum, The Pleasure Inn’s owner, who has been in an eight-month battle with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission over his “For Service Speak English” sign, has temporarily replaced his other sign (”For Service You Must Be Legal”) with the one you see in the second picture:

If you look closely, you’ll see the area where the window is broken to the right of the “For Service Speak English” sign.

Mr. Ullum’s humor in the situation is admirable. The same can’t be said for the creeps who did the damage, who, though no one can prove linkage between the language controversy and the vandalism, could possibly be seen in the circumstances as having committed a hate crime if linkage exists.

UPDATE 2: Professor Bainbridge reacts:

In a truly free country, we’d leave this sort of thing to the market. Geno’s would have the right to associate with those customers it chooses and those who are offended would have the right to stay away. We may have to give up that freedom so as to prevent some forms of invidious discrimination, but insisting on English hardly strikes me as all that invidious.

UPDATE 3: A June 14 Philly Daily News piece describes the early stages of the crucifixion procedure for Geno’s as follows:

The Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations has filed a complaint, citing Geno’s for discrimination. Vento has 15 days to respond. If he refuses to remove the signs, the commission will negotiate, and then, possibly, hold a public hearing that could be followed by an order to remove the signs. Vento could appeal to Common Pleas Court.

___________________________

Previous Posts:

• June 10 — As in Greater Cincy, “For Service Speak English” Place in Philly Is Catching Flak
• May 31 — The Pleasure Inn Has “For Service Speak English” Company
• May 13, 2006 — Why Won’t the Ohio Civil Rights Commission Get Off Tom Ullum’s Back?
• Dec. 19, 2005 — Update: Thought Police 1, Bar Owner 0; Bar Owners Showing Solidarity–1
• Dec. 16 — Thought Police 1, Bar Owner 0
• Oct. 9 — Questions for the Thought Police at the Ohio Civil Rights Commission and The Cincinnati Enquirer

__________________________

Wizbang Weekend Carnival Participant.