Does "hable ingl�s" count as freedom of speech?
June 14, 2006 ~ 10:15 a.m.
�sta es Am�rica. Al ordenar, hable ingl�s.
For those of you who understandably do not comprehend this sentence, it means, �This is America. When ordering, speak English.�
Joey Vento, owner of Geno�s Steaks in South Philadelphia, says of this statement, written in English on a sign that is displayed in his restaurant, �If you don�t speak English, the sign means nothing.�
He has a point. Geno�s is located in a neighborhood that was once heavily Italian-American, but recently overtaken in population by Latino immigrants. Many of these said immigrants have taken exception to the sign.
Hence, all-too-predictably in this politically correct and hyper-sensitive society of ours, Mr. Vento faces a $300 fine if he refuses to do away with the sign.
�I don�t see why I have to. It�s freedom of speech,� Vento said of the case against him that was filed by the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations. The PCHR contends that Vento�s sign violates the city�s Fair Practices Ordinance.
How so? Are all the employees of Geno�s expected to cater in Spanish to customers who don�t speak English (or refuse to)? I�m not saying anything untoward about Mr. Vento when I say this, but I�m sure he doesn�t pay his employees enough for them to consider learning Spanish just to work in his restaurant. It�s not exactly career-move material.
But that�s not good enough for the bilingual advocates, of which one Roberto Santiago happens to be. Santiago, of Philadelphia�s Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations, opined, �I�m really saddened by these individuals who are upset by having to be tolerant.�
Santiago is perfectly correct with regard to Americans having to be tolerant. Because we face fines or even jail sentences if we are not. For a people that pride themselves on their alleged freedom of speech, Americans like Vento are not technically free. The case against him, supported by the likes of Santiago and the PCHR, is a case in point.
Latinos, by and large, are hard-working and have a strong moral fiber, due to their Catholic upbringing. As such, they normally make excellent immigrants. I have no problem with legal Hispanic immigrants. I believe they are the lifeblood of contemporary America, just as the Irish and Italians once were. And I am disgusted by hate-mails that Santiago has received alleging that he represents �filthy, illegal alien invaders.�
However � and please fill me in if I�ve missed something important � I don�t recall Americans ever voting in favor of their Anglo-based cultural landscape changing practically overnight or bilingual services. Most Americans I have ever known or spoken to bristle at dual language road signs or telephone recordings.
Every generation of immigrants in America, and there have been quite a few of them, have bothered learning English and keeping it the official language of the nation. Mr. Vento�s grandparents did not receive any public services in their native Italian. Hispanic immigrants should not expect to receive the native-language mollycoddling that Vento�s ancestors never knew.
I have no doubts that English will survive in America. It is not threatened, especially considering that the great majority of Latinos do successfully learn and speak English. And even if fresh immigrants never learn the language, their children do. However, having said that, I believe that English should be the de jure official language of the United States. I would even support a Constitutional amendment to that end.
After all, every liberal�s favorite nation, France, has a very strict French-only attitude. Yet, when do they ever get criticized for it? Even tolerant Holland recently passed a requirement that immigrants must speak at least passable if not fluent Dutch if they wish to remain in the Netherlands. So what�s so wrong with Americans insisting on their native language?
Even President Bush, who previously did not support English-only statutes and delivered radio addresses in Spanish, is finally beginning to see the light, though sometimes I wonder if he�s only trying to placate fed-up conservatives like me.
But no matter what your stand on bilingualism and the duality of American culture, this is, first and foremost, an issue of freedom of speech. Geno�s is a privately owned (as opposed to publicly owned) establishment; therefore, Mr. Vento should be free to establish whatever rules he wants. If Latinos are offended, they don�t have to eat there. I�m sure there are no shortages of bodegos they can frequent if Geno�s English-only policy offends them.
Joey Vento is yet another victim of the thought police. Though perhaps he should offer a fig-leaf to the easily offended who see racism and bigotry in every single statement that does not mesh with their idealism: Post the �speak English� sign in Spanish.
� M.E.M.
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Copyright � 2001-2007 by M.E. Manning. All material is written by me, unless explicitly stated otherwise by use of footnotes or bylines. Do not copy or redistribute without my permission.
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