experience at Geno's steaks in Philadelphia. One can learn much by simply reading a sign or 3...

So if you live in Philly, apparently the "big" thing to do is to eat at Geno's Steaks on South Street (I think). Yeah the big cheesesteak place with the bright lights, that's it. My brother and I walked up to their establishment a couple weeks ago and the first thing I noticed was a memorial plaque dedicated to a cop, who, according to Geno's listing, was murdered by Mumia Abu Jamal. Then I saw a sign by the window that said "Speak English when you order. The owner has the right to not serve you. This is America." or something to that effect.

So there we were, my brother, decked out in our letters from our great, longstanding BGLOs, wondering if we were truly representing our founders by spending our money at that establishment. On the one hand, I was desperate to taste a philly cheesesteak, since everybody talks about them so darn much. On the other, I was giving my money to a visibly racist establishment, and they were glad to take it. We bought the cheesesteak and I resentfully bit my tongue as my brother whipped out his $15 to pay for cheesesteaks. Mind you, Geno and his staff are all Italian immigrants, so how dare he make a statement like "speak English" as if speaking English is a marker of anything. What if a tourist had heard about his establishment and wanted to roll on by to support his business? Geno is a jerk, simple. I was pissed and I vowed to never return and I will certainly urge others to never return to this racist establishment.I wanted to say something to them, I really wanted to scream and tell others on the line to pay close attention to the signs (people were just either drunk or simply walking past the signs. My brother had gone there a couple times before even realizing they were there).

In America, people say whatever they want at the expense of others and nobody can stop them. In that moment, I wanted to do like Etana and give them back their freedom of speech, for crying out loud (crying, we want to be free!). We have the right to say what we want at anyone's expense. I'm not criticizing the great Constitution of the U.S.A. but I'm wondering if that license to hurt with the two-edged sword, coupled with the license to kill (bearing arms) was really what the forefathers envisioned for Americans. .02