Joey Vento doesn't like illegal immigrants.
"This is going to ruin America," Vento said, referring to policies he views as discouraging assimilation. "We'll be a third-world country. I think it's a bad, bad move. . I just don't understand this system in this country."
Vento is the owner of cheesesteak mecca Geno's Steaks and the grandson of Italian immigrants. Who cares about his personal views on immigration?
Apparently, the city of Philadelphia.
About a year ago, Vento posted small signs in his store, adorned with angry-looking bald eagles, which read: "This is America, When ordering Speak English."
Last June, the issue exploded onto the national scene when the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations filed a discrimination complaint against Geno's.
According to the complaint, the restaurant was in violation of the city's Fair Practices Ordinance, which prohibits discrimination in employment, public accommodation and housing. With Geno's thrust into the spotlight, Vento quickly gained celebrity status, much to the exasperation of his opponents.
"He went on his little act and hit the talk shows," said Philadelphia City Councilman James Kenney. "He's like a legend in his own mind. He's spun it so that he's a martyr in people's minds in order to gain financial benefit. He's a selfish individual."
The matter was left unresolved, but two weeks ago, the PCHR notified Vento that it had found probable cause that the sign is discriminatory, although the commission wouldn't divulge what that cause actually is.
Vento is now awaiting a public hearing, whose date has not been set. The issue will either be mediated to a resolution or appointed commissioners will decide whether infringement of the Fair Practices Ordinance has taken place.
"Our task is to open hearings so that people who may feel that they're unwelcome or discriminated against may present their case, and so that those who are being accused of infringement can also present their case," said Nick Taliaferro, executive director of the PCHR.
Taliaferro admitted, though, that the commission itself, as opposed to an individual or group, took the initiative to file the complaint - a move which the executive director conceded "doesn't happen with great regularity."
Oh, and the appointed commissioners for the hearing will be chosen by the chair of the PCHR. They will, of course, decide the case in an "unbiased and objective" manner.
Joey Vento doesn't like the PCHR either.
"I think they're idiots," Vento said. "I've got support from all over the country. They all agree on one thing - this country should be speaking English."
"If you don't like that statement, well, there are other places to buy cheesesteaks," Vento continued. "Had I been in Mexico in making this kind of statement, they would've taken me up on a hill and put a bullet in my head. Is that the kind of country you want?"
You may think Vento is patriotic. Or you may think Vento's rhetoric is crass and closed-minded. Frankly, I wouldn't blame you.
But whatever you think of Vento and his controversial signs, the city is making a colossal mistake by attempting to sanction him.
It is well documented that Vento has not actually refused service to anyone who fails to order in English. Putting up a sign with an overt, even offensive, political statement is well within Vento's rights as a private business owner. The perception of an over-sensitive organization seemingly intent on crucifying a man who is openly defying them has no bearing on what discrimination actually is.
Even Councilman Kenney conceded that the city doesn't have a viable legal recourse.
Vento is right when he says there are other cheesesteak joints in Philadelphia. If the "Speak English" signs infuriate the members of the PCHR, they should refrain from patronizing Geno's and encourage others to do the same. That would be a reasonable response.
But calling the sign discriminatory is more than simply legally suspect; it trivializes real discrimination, which is unfortunately rampant in Philadelphia.
Too often, a black man has a tougher time finding a job, a gay couple is told that an apartment is no longer for sale, a Hispanic woman gets fired without explanation.
These are cases of real discrimination. They're the cases which the PCHR, as their mission statement dictates, should be exposing, pursuing and rectifying.
That's admirable work. The Geno's controversy is political grandstanding. The sooner that the PCHR can figure out the difference the better.
Adam Goodman is a College sophomore from La Jolla, Calif. His e-mail address is goodman@dailypennsylvanian.com. A Damn Good Man appears on Fridays.
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