Mind your language at Geno’s
By James Coomarasamy
BBC News, Philadelphia
The collapse of President Bush’s recent immigration reform was partly fuelled by fears that the English language was under threat from Spanish. But as one food stall owner in Philadelphia illustrates, English has some unlikely champions.
Joey Vento sounded pleased to hear from me. Well, fairly pleased.
“Sure I remember you,” his voice came down the phone. “You’re the guy who put me through the wringer last year.”
That is not quite how I remembered our previous encounter. I had certainly quizzed him about his views on immigration, but he had given as good as he had got and been more than happy to talk about the need to defend the English language in today’s America. With immigration back in the news, I asked him, could we have another chat?
“Sure,” he said. And with that I was on my way to Geno’s – the Philadelphia cheese steak stall he founded 41 years ago.It is hard to miss, on the apex of Ninth and Passyunk, in the heart of Little Italy.
It is just a takeaway stall really, but there is so much neon on the inside and outside that Joey affectionately calls it “the Las Vegas of Philadelphia”.
Which is appropriate, for a man who had just hit the publicity jackpot when I last met him.
Then, as now, immigration was the hot political topic of the day, and Joey had turned up the heat. He had been reported to the authorities for having a sticker on the sliding door of his stall, which featured a picture of an eagle and the phrase: “This is America. Please speak English when ordering.”
For some, he had struck a chord, struck a blow for ordinary Americans. For others, this was brazen discrimination.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6254560.stm