Don't Speak English? Hang Up.

The VFW post in Montrose, PA has the right idea when it comes to their telephone answering machine:

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5642 in Montrose, Pa., has a message for the many telemarketers that call its answering machine: speak English.

Those who call the post when no one's around to answer the telephone will be greeted by a pleasant, female voice on the answering machine saying, "Hi, you've reached the Montrose VFW, Post 5642. We are an English-speaking, American establishment. If you do not speak English or believe in America, please hang up."

The one-story, white VFW post is a popular gathering point for veterans along Pennsylvania's Route 706, according to a WNEP-TV report. According to its post commander, the VFW's phone number is also a popular target of telemarketers, many of whom speak in broken English.

"We are living in America," Post Commander John Miner told WNEP. "We should be able to speak English."

Some in the community have called that message racist and unconstitutional.

Miner, however, says the post has used the message for several months without complaint. He has no intention of changing it.

"So you're sticking to your guns?" a WNEP reporter asked him.

Miner answered, "We're veterans."

Unconstitutional? Since when was there a constitutional guarantee of the right to telemarket? This is a typical attitude of those who confuse the right to free speech with the non-existent right to be heard. Nobody has the right to make other people listen to them, regardless of the language.

I had an issue with my domain name host that I had to handle last week. My call was answered by a guy who spoke perfect English and he and I communicated with no problem whatsoever. I had to make another call to follow-up and got some guy who sounded like he was just off the oxcart from who knows where. It was obvious within moments that he wasn't understanding what I was trying to tell him. I finally gave up. He may be a hard worker and a good guy, but he had no business as a call center operator.

I ended up sending an email to the first guy and had him handle the issue for me. I also let him know that the second contact wasn't ready for prime time and was going to hurt their business. I hope the message got through.