From the January 2007 Idaho Observer:

An American adventure in a Denny’s Restaurant

By Harold Raymond

As if things couldn’t get any worse in the former land of the free, be advised that it is now a misdemeanor in the state of Utah to complain to the manager of Denny’s restaurants if the employees can’t speak English.

I am a long-haul trucker from Omaha and was en route to Fresno. Sunday morning, January 7, 2007, I was at a truck stop in Salina, Utah and walked over to the Denny’s for breakfast. I was waited on by a nice young lady and, having placed my order, I looked around for a newspaper but found only the sports section. Another woman I thought was a waitress came out, so I asked her where the remaining paper was but she said she didn’t speak English. Then I asked her how she got her job if she couldn’t speak English, she said something I couldn’t understand, shrugged her shoulders and walked away.

Rather taken aback by such rude treatment, I went outside to the machine, bought a paper, and went back in to wait for my meal. When my original waitress brought breakfast, I asked her how someone who could not speak English could get a job as a waitress at a Denny’s. She said she didn’t know. So I asked her what she thought about it. Though my waitress wouldn’t offer a comment, she did invite me to speak with the manager.

When the extremely overweight, Caucasian female manager came out she had the look on her face of: "How DARE you make such an issue regarding one of MY employees!!" I asked her how she could hire someone in such a store that couldn’t speak English. She claimed that the Mexican girl was only a dishwasher and she wished she could have 10 more just like her. I said that was fine and I’m glad she had a good employee but in an American restaurant here in America, shouldn’t customers be able to communicate with the employees? She didn’t answer directly, but said Spanish-speaking employees communicate just fine. Assuming that the "dishwasher" was an illegal, working illegally in the U.S. for lower wages, I asked, "Don’t you think it’s wrong to hire such people?"

The manager then went into a tirade about how people come here from all over the world. I then mentioned what the Feds had done in Nebraska regarding the INS raids on the meat packers and maybe they should take a closer look at Denny’s hiring practices. That comment really made the manager mad.

Then the manager loudly told me in rather profane terms that she wanted me to leave, (which I couldn’t do because her fat butt was in the way and I couldn’t get out of my seat). I told her that I wanted her name and the phone number of the Operations Manager and District Manager so I could make a complaint and that I intended to report the incident to the Feds. She said that all she would give me was her business card and, as she turned to walk away from me she insulted me further by chiding me for such "racist" remarks. Seeing that it was time to leave, I stood up and asked her how she could call me such a name when our nation is being overrun with illegal aliens.

I was then confronted by three local guys who had been eating there. They told me to leave under threat of bodily harm. Rather than fight three guys to make a point that was obviously lost on these people, I didn’t say another word and walked out to my truck, completely amazed and saddened by what had just happened. As I was leaving the parking lot, the manager and one of the employees stood outside the restaurant and watched me drive off. Little did I know what was about to happen.

Roughly 10 minutes and nine miles down the interstate later, I was pulled over by what I assumed to be a Utah State Patrolman. It turned out to be a Salina city cop and I thought to myself, "My God, what’s up with this?"

I was ordered out of my truck and into his patrol car because he wanted to know what had happened at the Denny’s. He stated that I was not under arrest but wanted to read me my Miranda rights first. I began to wonder. "For what, exactly, wasn’t I under arrest?" Actually, I didn’t mind explaining what had happened and, during the conversation, I really did believe the cop was on my side. But, by the time our little meeting was over, I had received a citation for misdemeanor "Disorderly Conduct" because the argument with the manager had disturbed Denny’s patrons—probably the three guys who threatened to beat me up.

At this point, all I could do was hang my head in disbelief that this so-called "officer of the law" would give me a citation over an argument with another human. Later I found out my little disagreement with the Denny’s manager would cost me $142.

I am really disgusted. Not so much by the Denny’s employee who doesn’t speak English, but the Americans—restaurant managers, restaurant patrons and cops (in this case)—who are absolutely clueless as to what is happening to their country. But, Americans get the kind of government they can tolerate and, at this time, it seems they would not only tolerate, but defend whatever form of government keeps the beer flowing and the electricity on so they don’t miss their football games and TV shows, because they sure don’t seem to care about their rights—or have any concept of history.

Harold L. Raymond III, Omaha, NebraskaA sobering sign of the times