Geno's steak shop in Philly - Page 2

Flint · 03-20-2008, 09:21 AM

Give me a break. Step up and order your sandwich, then step aside for the next customer in line. It's like the Soup Nazi - don't disrupt the flow, just order your damn sandwich. This isn't a cultural sensitivity parade, it's a sandwich shop.

Sorry, they don't speak Swahili or Mandarin Chinese, they work at a freakin' sandwich shop. What's next, the government requires all food service workers to be fluent in every language that exists? They don't have all day to sort you out, just order your sandwich and move it along.

piercehawkeye45 · 03-20-2008, 09:27 AM

If the owner doesn't want to non-English speakers there, fine he loses business. As long as this store isn't a necessity for survival, the owner has every right to do this.

I personally think the "This is America" part is elitist nationalistic bullshit though.

Flint · 03-20-2008, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

If the owner doesn't want to non-English speakers there, fine he loses business.

I'm pretty sure people choose a sandwich shop based on the ability to make tasty sandwiches. And, he didn't say he "doesn't want (them) there," he just wants people to place a sandwich order which can be understood and processed in a timely manner. I'm not hopping on the "he hates all non-whites and is a member of the KKK" bandwagon. No thanks.

Radar · 03-20-2008, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flint

I'm pretty sure people choose a sandwich shop based on the ability to make tasty sandwiches. And, he didn't say he "doesn't want (them) there," he just wants people to place a sandwich order which can be understood and processed in a timely manner. I'm not hopping on the "he hates all non-whites and is a member of the KKK" bandwagon. No thanks.

He could have the best sandwich on the planet earth. Every bite could give me an orgasm and I wouldn't buy it from him because he's a xenophobic asshole and a moron. I'm not saying the people at the sandwich shop have to know every language, but putting up an idiotic sign like that is a dickhead move, and I hope it costs him so much business he closes down.

I've been to Jim's Steaks and they were pretty damned good. I made the mistake of ordering with Provolone though. Next time I'm getting the Wiz. I heard the best cheesesteak in Philly is Steve's Prince of Steaks

lookout123 · 03-20-2008, 04:53 PM

His business, his freedom of speech, his freedom to risk running customers off. This is a non-story.

piercehawkeye45 · 03-20-2008, 10:16 AM

Hates all non-whites and is a member of the KKK? Bit of a slippery slope there....

When someone says "This is AMERICA: WHEN ORDERING 'PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH.", that tends to show xenophobia whether it is intended or not. He says he never denied customers and by the way Classicman described the place, I don't doubt that it was made with the best of intentions but the wording is very misleading.

If you say "This is AMERICA", that strongly implies nationalism, which directly leads to xenophobia so make that connection is not invalid. If the sign said "For the convenience of the store/workers/whatever, please speak in English", then to see xenophobia would the slippery slope in this situation.

jinx · 03-20-2008, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

When someone says "This is AMERICA: WHEN ORDERING 'PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH.", that tends to show xenophobia whether it is intended or not.

What about the people who say "I'm gonna speak my native language wherever I go and people better try to understand me or I'll consider it xenophobia"?

piercehawkeye45 · 03-20-2008, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jinx

What about the people who say "I'm gonna speak my native language wherever I go and people better try to understand me or I'll consider it xenophobia"?

Strawman? I don't see how this fits in with our argument since you are now suggesting that the customers are making an ultimatum.

If a customer that does not speak English comes into the store expecting everyone to bow down to his or her wishes and calls everyone that does not xenophobic, that would obviously be logically flawed but that is irrelevant to this discussion.

As I said before, if the sign said "for the convenience of our store/workers/etc, please speak English", there would be no rational reason for controversy. That wording directly implies that the store has had problems with customers ordering in languages other than English in the past, which has caused problems so in order to solve this problem, the store asks customers to order in English. But because the wording is "This is AMERICA, PLEASE SPEAK IN ENGLISH", it is implied that the store asks customers to order in English because of nationalistic ties to the English language. And, you cannot have xenophobia without nationalism so even though it is invalid to conclude that the owner is xenophobic because the nationalistic-xenophobic relationship is just a stereotype, the generalization will happen because most xenophobes use nationalism as their justification for their English-only stance.

TheMercenary · 03-22-2008, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

If a customer that does not speak English comes into the store expecting everyone to bow down to his or her wishes and calls everyone that does not xenophobic, that would obviously be logically flawed but that is irrelevant to this discussion.

Incorrect IMHO, it happens daily in many parts of the US. As others have said if people don't like they can take their money elsewhere. I have a feeling this guy is not going to go bust when they do.

piercehawkeye45 · 03-22-2008, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Incorrect IMHO, it happens daily in many parts of the US. As others have said if people don't like they can take their money elsewhere. I have a feeling this guy is not going to go bust when they do.

Some blacks say "kill all white people" daily, but that isn't something that can legitimately be used in a race relation argument without trying to pull fear into the equation.

I honestly don't care what this guy does, I personally believe if he made the sign with no intentions of being nationalistic, he worded the sign badly, but other than that this has no meaning to me. Unless there is a big campaign about it, I agree that this will probably neither help nor hurt the store.

lumberjim · 03-20-2008, 10:42 AM

look what walked into my office a few minutes ago.

elSicomoro · 03-20-2008, 10:43 AM

I dunno...I think the signs are asinine, but I don't think they're necessarily discriminatory.

Besides...only tourists and retarded South Philadelphians would eat at Geno's or Pat's anyway. They both suck...if you want a real cheesesteak, you go to Philip's on Passyunk or to Roxborough, where Chubby's and D'alessandro's are right across the street from each other on Henry Ave.

HungLikeJesus · 03-20-2008, 10:54 AM

You guys are making me hungry.

BrianR · 03-20-2008, 01:30 PM

Damn you Syc! You restarted the cheesesteak "My place is better" fight thread.

To whomever asked what "2 large, wiz, wit" will get you, it means two large steak sandwiches with Cheez Wiz and onions. The same goes for Pat's, across the street. Pat's even has a sign explaining the ordering process, IIRC.

And my personal fave place to go to for a cheesesteak or any other hoagie is Pudge's in Blue Bell. They're the best!

Brian

lumberjim · 03-20-2008, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianR

And my personal fave place to go to for a cheesesteak or any other hoagie is Pudge's in Blue Bell. They're the best!

Brian

amen

03-20-2008, 09:21 AM	#1
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	Give me a break. Step up and order your sandwich, then step aside for the next customer in line. It's like the Soup Nazi - don't disrupt the flow, just order your damn sandwich. This isn't a cultural sensitivity parade, it's a sandwich shop. Sorry, they don't speak Swahili or Mandarin Chinese, they work at a freakin' sandwich shop. What's next, the government requires all food service workers to be fluent in every language that exists? They don't have all day to sort you out, just order your sandwich and move it along. __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

03-20-2008, 09:27 AM	#2
piercehawkeye45 Franklin Pierce Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 3,695	If the owner doesn't want to non-English speakers there, fine he loses business. As long as this store isn't a necessity for survival, the owner has every right to do this. I personally think the "This is America" part is elitist nationalistic bullshit though. __________________ I like my perspectives like I like my baseball caps: one size fits all.

03-20-2008, 04:53 PM	#5
lookout123 changed his status to single Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Right behind you. No, the other side. Posts: 10,308	His business, his freedom of speech, his freedom to risk running customers off. This is a non-story. __________________ Getting knocked down is no sin, it's not getting back up that's the sin

03-20-2008, 10:16 AM	#6
piercehawkeye45 Franklin Pierce Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 3,695	Hates all non-whites and is a member of the KKK? Bit of a slippery slope there.... When someone says "This is AMERICA: WHEN ORDERING 'PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH.", that tends to show xenophobia whether it is intended or not. He says he never denied customers and by the way Classicman described the place, I don't doubt that it was made with the best of intentions but the wording is very misleading. If you say "This is AMERICA", that strongly implies nationalism, which directly leads to xenophobia so make that connection is not invalid. If the sign said "For the convenience of the store/workers/whatever, please speak in English", then to see xenophobia would the slippery slope in this situation. __________________ I like my perspectives like I like my baseball caps: one size fits all.

03-20-2008, 10:42 AM	#11
lumberjim I can hear my ears Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 25,571	look what walked into my office a few minutes ago. Attached Images __________________ This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment, remember We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion ~MJKeenan

03-20-2008, 10:43 AM	#12
elSicomoro Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12,486	I dunno...I think the signs are asinine, but I don't think they're necessarily discriminatory. Besides...only tourists and retarded South Philadelphians would eat at Geno's or Pat's anyway. They both suck...if you want a real cheesesteak, you go to Philip's on Passyunk or to Roxborough, where Chubby's and D'alessandro's are right across the street from each other on Henry Ave.

03-20-2008, 10:54 AM	#13
HungLikeJesus Only looks like a disaster tourist Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: above 7,000 feet Posts: 7,208	You guys are making me hungry. __________________ Keep Your Bodies Off My Lawn SteveDallas's Random Thread Picker.

03-20-2008, 01:30 PM	#14
BrianR Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 3,338	Damn you Syc! You restarted the cheesesteak "My place is better" fight thread. To whomever asked what "2 large, wiz, wit" will get you, it means two large steak sandwiches with Cheez Wiz and onions. The same goes for Pat's, across the street. Pat's even has a sign explaining the ordering process, IIRC. And my personal fave place to go to for a cheesesteak or any other hoagie is Pudge's in Blue Bell. They're the best! Brian __________________ Never be afraid to tell the world who you are. -- Anonymous

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