A new sign at an Old Philadelphia Bar in the City of Brotherly Love has some of the neighborhood’s newcomers outraged.
A former firefighter, Victor Fiorillo, decided to go out for a drink, all he wanted are some beer and good company but when he saw the sign etched on the window, it gave him pause.
Victor, who said he was a Mexican, which he then said was “just a joke”, walked up to the jukebox, put his money inside, and played the 1984 Lee Greenwood hit “God Bless the USA.”
Nevertheless, he went inside and voted with his dollars by buying a beer, and that’s when a man spoke up so the whole bar could hear him.
As the song started up and the chorus roared through the bar’s speakers, every patron in the place started to sing along:
And I’m proud to be an American
Where at least I know I’m free
And I won’t forget the men who died
Who gave that right to me
And I’d gladly stand up next to you
And defend Her still today
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt
I love this land
God Bless the USA
Here’s what the sign on the front door which Victor first noticed as he first walked in, reads: “IF YOU’RE NOT PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN, DO NOT BOTHER TO COME IN.”
The bar which has been around for more than 40 years has been a staple in its Philadelphia neighborhood. The sign is a new addition to the classic bar.
There are American flag pennants, “USA” signs, and red and blue stars all over the walls. It’s the type of bar where you’re more likely to find construction workers and toothless men than the hipsters and yuppies who have taken over parts of the neighborhood around the bar.
They just want people to know that they’re about to be greeted with patriotic good cheer when they step inside.
More details of this story from AWM:
The bar has even kept other classic elements from the Good Old Days – including cheap $1.50 pints of domestic beers. If it is a televised sporting event, you can land a beer for just a $1 – talk about a steal.
One Google review put it succinctly, “Not overrun with hipster douchebags. And even if you do see some hipster douche McDouchebags, they know to keep their abject stupidity to themselves.”
When a passerby noticed the sign on the door, they snapped a photo and posted it to a local Philly Facebook group. Outraged followed. People could not believe this bar was espousing such values.
Locals are even afraid of the bar if they are not white men. A woman from Fairmount knows about the bar nicknamed “Old Philly” and said she would not go because she has an Indian boyfriend with a beard.
“I would avoid going there,” she told Victor Fiorillo. “It’s usually fine. Sometimes, some places, it’s not fine. As is obvious from that sign.”
The bar manager doesn’t seem to get what all the fuss is about. As a bartender told Fiorillo, “If you’re in this county, you should be proud to be an American.”
Source: OpposingViews
