🚀 go-pugleaf

Agent_C <agent-c@nyc.rr.com> wrote in message news:<3D88566E.F5D3449A@nyc.rr.com>...
> Incidents such as this make me ashamed to be an American sometimes. The
> cab driver should be charged with a bios crime and his license revoked.
> 
> A_C
> 
> 
> Chuck Hearn wrote:
> > 
> > "Penal Blister" <penalblister@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<zmNh9.451035$me6.51380@sccrnsc01>...
> > > Sept. 17, 2002, 11:55AM
> > 
> > The cabbie should get a medal.
> > 
> > Chuck
> > >
> > > 'English only' lands cabbie in trouble
> > > Driver faces assault charge for trying to boot Spanish speaker
> > > By EDWARD HEGSTROM
> > > Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle
> > > The sign inside the taxi said "English Only," but Mauricio Camargo
> > > figured talking on his cell phone in Spanish during his ride in from
> > > Bush Intercontinental Airport Friday would be no problem.
> > >
> > > He was wrong.
> > >
> > > After Camargo answered two calls in Spanish en route to the Adams
> > > Mark Hotel, the driver pulled over, took his suitcase out of the
> > > trunk and tried to physically force the Colombian businessman out of
> > > the back seat. Harris County Sheriff's deputies have ticketed the
> > > driver, Tony Mitchell, on a charge of misdemeanor assault.
> > >
> > > Mitchell's English-only rule did not violate city codes, and it was
> > > unclear whether it would be a violation of federal civil rights
> > > legislation.
> > >
> > > But Camargo, who came to Houston for a business conference, said the
> > > experience left him with a bad impression of the city.
> > >
> > > "It's completely absurd that in a city like Houston, so close to
> > > Mexico, a person can't speak Spanish in a taxi," Camargo said. "If
> > > the city is trying to attract business, this seems like a serious
> > > disincentive."
> > >
> > > Mitchell could not be reached for comment. He was an independent
> > > contractor driving a cab affiliated with Liberty Cab Co., though the
> > > company terminated his contract after the incident, saying he had
> > > tried to violate a city ordinance that forbids a cabdriver from
> > > leaving a passenger along the side of the road.
> > >
> > > Even if Mitchell's English-only rule did not violate the law,
> > > observers were quick to note that it might not have been the best
> > > business practice in a city where a third of the residents speak a
> > > foreign language at home.
> > >
> > > "In this city, there are a lot of people who speak Spanish," said
> > > Daniel Romero, a driver with a competing company, Yellow Cab. "I
> > > don't care what language they speak, as long as they can tell me
> > > where they're going."
> > >
> > > Other cabbies said they worry that the incident could hurt the
> > > industry as a whole.
> > >
> > > "This guy should not have been in the fleet," said Pete Ivanus, a
> > > native of Romania who drives a cab and teaches elementary school in
> > > Pasadena.
> > >
> > > Camargo, who lives in Washington and works for a Colombian
> > > telecommunications company, said he arrived in Houston about 9:30
> > > a.m. Friday to attend a conference of the National Association of
> > > Colombian American Organizations at the Adams Mark. He got into a
> > > cab at the airport and showed a card with the address of the hotel.
> > >
> > > After the cab left the airport, Camargo's cell phone rang. It was
> > > his wife, a diplomat with the Colombian Embassy in Washington.
> > > Camargo spoke briefly in Spanish.
> > >
> > > He got a second call from his boss in Bogota. While he was still
> > > speaking, the cabdriver pulled over on Aldine Mail Road. The driver
> > > told him to get out of the cab, but Camargo was at first
> > > incredulous.
> > >
> > > "This is a country that respects freedoms, like the freedom to speak
> > > in one's native language," he said.
> > >
> > > The driver popped the trunk, took out Camargo's bag and then opened
> > > the car door and tried to force him out. Camargo said he wedged his
> > > feet to keep himself in the car, but his jacket was ripped.
> > >
> > > Both the driver and the passenger then used their cell phones to
> > > call police, according to Camargo. Three Harris County deputies
> > > arrived, then ticketed Mitchell on the assault charge.
> > >
> > > The driver "was talking all kinds of crap about terrorists,"
> > > according to Capt. M.H. Talton with the Harris County Sheriff's
> > > Department. "He did admit that he had forced the passenger out of
> > > the cab."
> > >
> > > Another Liberty Cab arrived to take Camargo to his hotel.
> > >
> > > Wini Brady, the general manager at Liberty Cab, said the company
> > > regrets the incident.
> > >
> > > "We feel very grateful to the international travelers who use our
> > > service," she said. She criticized Mitchell for trying to leave a
> > > passenger along the side of the road.
> > >
> > > Cab companies generally hire drivers as independent contractors to
> > > limit liability. This means the drivers are essentially self-
> > > employed, so the company has limited ability to establish rules.
> > >
> > > The city has no ordinance that would prohibit taxi drivers from
> > > insisting on the use of English in their cabs, according to Blanton
> > > Daniels, division manager of the city of Houston's transportation
> > > department.
> > >
> > > "It's just stupidity or prejudice, but it's really a matter for the
> > > company to take up," he said.
> > >
> > > Federal civil rights laws prohibit employers from forcing their
> > > workers to speak English on the job, and the laws also prevent a
> > > hotel from refusing service to guests based on their language. But
> > > it is not clear whether an English-only rule in a cab would violate
> > > federal laws, according to two separate civil rights lawyers.
> > >
> > > The attorneys agreed that it is rare in a state like Texas to have
> > > businesses turn away customers who speak Spanish. So the question
> > > rarely comes up in the courts.
> > >
> > > "It just doesn't happen that often," said David A. Kahne, local
> > > representative of the American Civil Liberties Union. "In fact, this
> > > is the first time I've heard of it. Most taxi drivers want a tip.
> > > They want to be nice to you."
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You should be ashamed of one thing - your spelling.  The word is bias not bios.