To the city government of Philadelphia, what’s yours is theirs:

One of South Philadelphia’s biggest names in cheesesteaks is in a bit of a legal pickle for a lunch-line political statement against immigrants who don’t speak English. The city’s Commission on Human Relations yesterday filed a discrimination complaint against Geno’s Steaks over signs that read: “This is AMERICA … WHEN ORDERING SPEAK ENGLISH.” […]

According to the complaint, which was served on Geno’s yesterday afternoon, the restaurant is in violation of two sections of the city’s antidiscrimination laws: 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.

“Commission on human relations”. I’m assuming that’s in the building right next to the re-education camps…

Disregarding what you think about the sign itself — for the record I agree with the sentiment, IMO if you don’t know enough english to say “cheesesteak!” you don’t deserve one — the assumption that a private business cannot have their own rules as to accepted customer conduct is insane. Once you make that call, all other routines businesses operate around come into question: is it discriminatory to hillbillies to turn away customers that are barefoot & shirtless? If you kick someone out of a fancy resteraunt that smells like they haven’t bathed in a month, are you discriminating?

Here’s what we’ve lost sight of: even when not discriminating by the legal meaning of the term we’re discriminating by having any rules at all, & there is nothing wrong with that. Look at the definition:

1. a. To make a clear distinction; distinguish

Stores that don’t allow people to come in barefoot or powerful reeking discriminate between people who care about hygiene & people who don’t. Of course, that isn’t what is being talked about here. What the city government of Philadelphia means by discrimination is the more popular view: turning away people based on racial grounds. Is that what Geno’s is doing though?

Look at the sign again: “This is america, when ordering speak english”. There is no mention of a race at all. The rule applies equally to anyone who shows up, whether they’re mexican or japanese — or even “white” people from, say, germany. Try to order a cheesesteak & some fries in german and see what happens…