Opinion: Un... er, one cheesesteak, please
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Speaking of impolitic political opinions arising where they should be beside the point -- remember when a venerable Philadelphia cheesesteak shop got into the immigration debate? Back in 2005, Geno’s Steaks owner Joe Vento posted a sign that asked customers to speak English when they ordered, right around the time Wisconsin Republican Rep. James F. Sensenbrenner was readying the house bill that would turn Good Samaritans into criminals, and would mobilize a vast pro-immigration movement.
Many immigration bills have have died on the floor since then, but the matter of Vento’s sign was only put to rest yesterday, when a city panel ruled that the sign wasn’t discriminatory:
In a 2-1 vote, a Commission on Human Relations panel found that two signs at Geno’s Steaks telling customers, ‘This is America: WHEN ORDERING ‘PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH,’’ do not violate the city’s Fair Practices Ordinance. Shop owner Joe Vento has said he posted the signs in October 2005 because of concerns over immigration reform and an increasing number of people in the area who could not order in English. Vento has said he never refused service to anyone because they couldn’t speak English. But critics argued that the signs discourage customers of certain backgrounds from eating at the shop.
Cheesesteak joints have a habit of entering high-profile national political debates: During the 2004 election, candidate John F. Kerry suffered flak for ordering his sub with Swiss cheese at Geno’s rival Pat’s, located across the street. (How elitist! How European!) Kerry only narrowly won the state. (It should be noted that President Bush claimed to eat his with classic Cheese Whiz, but one reporter found that Bush actually orders American cheese -- a good cheese for the heartland, perhaps, but not for Philadelphia.)
Why can’t taco stands get this kind of action?
Note to Clinton and Obama: to win Pennsylvania, or at least Philadelphia, get the Cheese Whiz, and speak English.
*Photos courtesy Associated Press.