Agency OKs cheese steak shop's English-only signs

Am I dumb? How are the people who can't speak English supposed to read the sign?

He probably doesn't want anyone with an accent in his shop either. Fuck, he probably doesn't want anyone who's not white with a shaved head and a swastika tattoo in his shop either.

Faisent, I think you're confusing "publicly accessible" with "privately owned/operated and open to the public by (revocable) invitation".

It's a trap!

Not really, the sidewalk to my front door is considered "public" even though I own the land - barring things like no Tresspassing signs it is assumed that any member of the public is allowed to go there for its intended purpose; that is to come to my front door and announce themselves (or drop off a package or leave a flyer or whatnot).

The restuarant is open to the public in order to serve them food, it like my sidewalk, are available for the public to use. I get a little concerned when someone tries to define "the public" as anything other than an American citizen.

Fais has Eminent Domain wrong - hell, completely reversed. In the UK all property is held by the state, technically the monarch. In the US people are allowed private property, and while the government has the right to buy it for specific state needs, it has to pay the market price.

And of course, as there is no 'official' language, Mr. Vento can speak any language he wishes. Its completely unreasonable to expect private businesses to provide translation services for every possible language.

And by all accounts Mr. Vento's business has become more successful, not less, from his tapping into the cultural zeitgeist that is tired of political correctness in these matters. Encouraging people not to integrate is the opposite of the 'Melting Pot' concept and increases the chance of balkanization.

Bah, I can't fake it enough to play devil's advocate without sounding like a complete loony and you guys know I'm not a complete looney.

The good thing about this country is that we have concepts of private ownership and similar which protect the individual from other individuals and reward those that do their best to improve their own lives - even if many of these concepts have been tarnished and abused time and time again through our nation's history. The concepts endure; and certainly will endure even if we decend into some sort of true police state - regardless of the hyperbole threads indicating that we're already there that pop up with regularity.

These concepts are what make this nation great and personally I could care less what language you spoke as long as you held them to be important. I think the subject of this thread is an asshole; but he's got every right to be one on his own land.

What good is going into an establishment and ordering in a language none of the service people understand?

Do people actually believe that service people should only be hired if they can speak every language on earth?

It seems to me, in the spirit of efficiency and expedience, it is the person who is in need of something and seeking service who should be required to make themselves understood, not the other way around.

Ojibway?

I'm not a looney but occasionally I play one on Wordforge?

None, obviously - though mutes get by as do the blind and other people similarly impaired. Poor communication is a barrier to business, certainly.

I believe service people should "have a clue" - most people can communicate even without a shared language if willing. I've had to deal with mutes, the French, and the dreaded boarder-hoppers in my past, not to mention drunks, and most recently Indian developers. You can't expect everyone in this world to have perfect English, can you?

Not to be snarky, but it seems to me you shouldn't go into any sort of service-based business. This is exactly the wrong mindset - both sides need to do their best to communicate effectively regardless of other factors - how often do you have to send back a meal that was prepared wrong when both parties spoke the same language? That this restaurant this thread is about is frequented by individuals of a like mindset to the proprietor is the only reason he's still in business; he'd go broke in some place like Herndon, Virginia.

Did they have a flag prior to Whitey showing up?

No, but they did have a constitution.

I'm going to assume this guy put that sign up not to be a bigot so much as to make a political statement.

If he *is* a bigot who only wants certain people...well, I'm sure he'll switch teams if and when he losses enough money. Money speaks louder than words, after all.

It pisses me off to no end when I get behind a bunch of Mexicans at the local convenience store and none of them can speak English or count American currency. It takes forever for the clerks to conduct business with them and they wind up losing business because the English speaking customers get tired of the long wait and walk out.

I saw the guy on tv today, and he said that he served people who didn't speak English. He just took their money and gave them the next sandwich off the line bc he couldn't understand specifically what they ordered.

That is one of the things that I am impressed with in my city. No business will receive a business license unless their signage is in English. Some of the surrounding cities do not do this and as a result, some of the stores and restaurants are 100% Korean printing with absolutely no English printing.

Part of the problem with that is a safety issue. If there are problems at these stores and restaurants, police literally cannot read the signage to find their way to the property.

Exactly! Plus especially in CA, if there were any problems that arose from EMS being unable to accurately locate the shop and etc. that was in need of their services, they would be sued up the yin yang over it.

I'm sure the police could see the address number on the building, no?

Still, I know what you're talking about. I've seen that a few times around Sacramento. I'm not all engaged about it, but it would be smart toi have English up there to get more money from customers, no.

They most assuradely could. But, let's say that they are given an address. Let's say that the 911 operator is having difficulty understanding the individual making the call. Maybe there is a unit number, space number, or etc. That creates delays and additional difficulties for the police and etc.

I would think so. Apparently though not everyone thinks so.

As far as I'm concerned from a personal point of view. This is the United States of America. We are still primarily an English speaking society. English is ultimately the language for international business. If business owners are going to be printing their signage in a foreign language, my opinion is they are not interested in my business. I am visiting another country, I don't expect to see signage in English, but out here, I do.

Not to troll or cause a row, but if they have two languages (English and whatever language they have), is that okay?

There are still neighborhoods that are heavily influenced with foreign languages. You got plenty of Chinatowns and Japantowns and a few places on the East Coast where the language is predominantly German and Italian. One business owner can't change that, so the best he can do is cater to the neighborhood, and if it means putting up signs not in English along side ones that are for everyone else, so be it.

That would be better. But, unfortunately some of the surrounding areas that I live in are not doing that. I can snap some pics with the cell phone the next time I'm in those areas.

I'm not taking issue with that. I am taking issue with those that insist upon posting signage that is only in a foreign language.

I am also happy that in the city where I live it is against city code to have signs printed in foreign languages.

You know, it has always annoyed me, living in San Diego, and seeing signs in English and again in Spanish. Or in Hawaii, where the secondary language is Japanese as often as not. GODDAMNIT! If you're in OUR country, you should understand OUR language!

Then I went to Korea for two weeks.

I'd just like to take the moment to point out:

MMMMMMMMmmmmmm...... Cheesesteak gooood.

That is all.

Let's stop and think about this bit. An agency had to okay a restaurant having English only signs. Signs basically stating that the restaurant employees only speak English.

Should restaurants be required to employ translators for every language a customer might speak?

It's straight up bullshit that this was even a issue.

Esperanto should be mandatory for the entire planet!

The moon too.