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Oh boy did I have a night.

I had 5 well dressed Mexican men come in Saturday night that took seats right in front of the stage. They clapped for every singer and were very polite. It appeared that only one of them spoke English which was fine. He asked me about Spanish songs, so I gave him the book. (I keep all the Spanish songs in a seperate book with Christmas and Childrens songs etc... These songs are seldom sung, so I keep them seperate to keep the regular books slimmer.) I put them in the rotation. Two of them sang. One was a polka sounding song. The other was a slow song. They did a pretty good job singing.

The owner pulls me aside and tells me I have to tell them that they can't sing Spanish songs anymore. WHAT?! I asked why and he said people are complaining they don't want to hear them. I told him that was racist. There has never been a problem with people singing Spanish songs before, why now? He said people will leave if it continues. That he is the owner and that is it.

Now trust me on this: I know his personality very well. I've worked with him for 5 years or so. Normally I'd say if you want someone not to sing you have to deal with it, but knowing him as well as I do he'd make a mess of things. So I tell him I disagree with his decision, but will comply. So I take the one English speaking gentlemen outside on the porch where he can hear me and explain as nicely as I can that the owner doesn't want Spanish songs sung, but if they could pick English songs I'd be glad to put them in. I told him it was nothing against them that they have been nothing but a pleasure to have at my show. All the time my stomachs in knots ! I felt like I was going to throw up listening to myself. He didn't seemed to be upset by it all and tipped me ten bucks which I tried not to take. Okay now I feel like a super jerk.

Well one of the bartenders were outside smoking and over heard part of the discussion. She then takes it upon herself to tell the regulars because she also felt like me, that it was wrong. The bartender buys the guys a round of drinks. Which was super nice of her.

Next thing you know the regulars rebel. They tell the owner he is out of line that nobody cares if these guys sing spanish songs. The whole bar is buzzing with the gossip and no one agrees with the owners decision. It appears as if he is the only one who had a problem with it. He goes around trying to save face with everyone by making up some story that these guys were trouble makers and came in earlier and jammed the pool table. Whatever !

He takes me aside and tells me the same story. I told him it is his bar and if he has a problem with the patrons he should ask them to leave, not to put it on me. That from now on if for any reason he doesn't want someone to sing he has to tell them. Then he says I just don't want my bar turning into a Mexican Bar. Aha ! The truth comes out.

I hope he's learned his lesson. Racism will get you no where. Most of our clientel is evolved from such behaviour. We are a Chicago Suburb and are a melting pot of many ethnic backgrounds. Racism doesn't fly here.

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Boy that sounds like a mess to go through Babs. My home room is probably half white with a mix of Latinos, African Americans, American Indians, Asians, and Samoans comprising the rest.

And they all get along. America is changing.

I don't have any Spanish karaoke (other than La Bamba which gets done constantly) but Latinos often sing the words in Spanish anyway and there's no issues. With anyone... patrons or the owner. I guess I'm lucky.

Babs if you've found "Lean Like A Cholo" (Down AKA Kilo) anywhere let me know. That's something else I could put up in the other thread about things you'd like to see released.

Babs,

I've had an owner tell me "no" to a specific something. I said as far as I was concerned, it was fine, but if THEY wanted to tell the paying customers that, then they were the ones to do it. I've done that in the past, and it's a NO WIN situation all around. The owner is making you out to be the Bad Guy, rather than them doing it themselves. Anyway, the owner got in my face and said "I'm PAYING you to do this." I retaliated and said, "No, you're giving me money the customers GIVE YOU... and be very careful how you slice off their noses!"

That made the owner back off a bit. Eventually they realized I wouldn't be bullied. They had a FEW friends and thought that they would be the rulers of the world... my A$#!! !

The owner in your case, Babs, is a Chicken Sh*t! He didn't want to appear bad himself... he made the cuttie do his hard work for him.

F*n Baloney!

While I'm no United Nations Charter Member myself, I do know what's fair and what's right. If you let someone sing Opera, so what? If you let someone sing Children songs or TV Theme songs, so what? But suddenly a specific song for Spanish folks is wrong?? Heck no!

I think it's WONDERFUL you have a specific selection for that section of paying customers!

If the owner was so convinced these folks were in earlier and "jammed" the pool table, why didn't he just evict them in the first place? Gimmie a BREAK!

Matt

it amazes me the guy is still in business

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I suppose I could bring down all my Mexican co-workers down to your gig from the Milwaukee area.

[huh?] Page 1 of 5...

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The owner is an (@$%&#!) and thank you for sharing this story.

People who discriminate against other people based on race or ethnic group like that would surely not like it if the shoe was on the other foot and THEY were the one being discriminated against. Treat other people the way you would like to be treated and the world will be a better place. Prejudice and discrimination are an ugly thing. Anyone who has been discriminated against knows this.

I visited a Vietnamese bar once. They had a small English song book that I sang from. Everyone there was Vietnamese but me, so I know what it feels like to feel kind of (or more like really) out of place--you're really hoping someone there will show you a friendly face. The people there were actually appreciative of hearing a few English songs. Now if they had told me I could only sing Vietnamese songs, well I suspect after a song two they would have regretted that decision.

I like hearing Spanish songs, especially the slower Mexican ballads. Some owners don't realize that having a really diverse audience is good for the business of the bar (and it benefits the community as well). In my opinion, part of the business of the owner, bartender, and KJ, should be working together to host the event in such away that diverse groups of people can get a long and enjoy each others's singing. I think there is a real skill to this, but when you can end up with a great karaoke show. Too often, though, the bar will hire a KJ and expect the KJ to carry the business. Well, the business is hospitality, and it's a team effort.

You ought to refer your owner to this thread and then he can READ about what a spineless, weak, uncouragous, bigoted WUSSSSY he REALLY IS!!

And If he has any questions he can call me direct.

I have NO PATIENCE for that kind of crapp---especially since the place I KJ at has a Latin salsa dance club downstairs!!! In fact I will be DJ'ing salsa this Sunday night for a benefit show at the club were having.

Have him give me a call. Ill be glad to explain it to him!!

For cryin out loud! I even have a song I sing in espanol---PITBULL's "KULO"---and I introduce it like this----"and now for the Latin segment of our program"---with my song followed up directly for dancing(since Kulo ALWAYS fills the floor) with Daddy Yankee's "GASOLINA".

Your owner----------------------WHAT A MAROON!!!

Oh and BABS---DONT EVER LET THIS KNUCKLEHEAD MANIPULATE YOU like this again. UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE OR SCENARIO.

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

WOW! Just seriously wow! They sounded like very pleasant guests, and he treated them like this?

I thought America - the land of the free, liberty and all that - was a country that had been through the racist years and come out stronger!

It is NOT your deal to push his racist agenda, and I would make it very clear that I wasn't comfortable doing business in such an environment.

Am still REALLY shocked.

Moreover, he has his petty little racist mind, but not the balls to back it up.

WOW, does the owner of a business have the right to decide what goes on in his /her business or not.

It sounds like the owner has an issue but I wouldn't say he's a biggot,because a biggot would not even served the men.

If the owner dosen't want spanish or russian or japense karaoke then he should have informed babs of that beforehand and his chicken (@$%&#!) way of handling it was wrong, he needs to grow a pair.

No differnt than a venue that has no swearing,don't we have the freedom of speech.

Don't get to high on your soapboxes and loose sight of the future,you start telling this owner what he can and can't do in his house.Won't belong before you start getting told what you can and can't do in your house.

Case in point-look at the thread dangerous dan has about training and reulations for kj.Haven't seen one post saying (good idea).No kj wants to be told how to run his/her business and neither should the owner of this bar.

If he is a biggot and it is so discusting to his employees and customers,find another job, and for the customers, spend your money somewhere else.

An experience I had--Lived next to a jose' and gloria for 10yrs(spanish couple).We got along great jose' was into collecting antique toys and we would go to auctions and flea markets together just killing a saturday.One saturday it was early evening when we got done at an auction decided to hit a bar(latino) for something to eat,ended up haveing more to drink than we ate.It was getting about midnight when things went bad a guy came up and started talking to jose' (in spanish) I couln't tell what they were saying but knowing jose' for as long as i had the reflection in his voice was not good.The guy was pissed that jose' had brought me in there and made it very clear that I was not welcome.

Do i think the guy was a biggot,not really or he would have started his sh1t earlier does he have issues YES.More than anything it was the alcohol talking.

People tend to use the race card to quick .

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Actually, you can tell an owner what to do within their business. Racial discrimination is illegal.

Thanks for sharing this story.
It's cool that everyone supported you in disagreeing with that @#$%^& of a narrow minded bar owner.

Thank you everyone for your comments !

The whole incident that night had me in a bit of shock. How does something like this happen now-a days. I was glad the patrons responded like they did. Of course the bar owner blaimed everyone else instead of taking responsibility for a bad decision, but I think he'll think twice before pulling a move like that again.

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You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. The difference between your story and this story is that the guy saying you weren't welcome in the bar wasn't the bar owner.

As an individual you can be as racist as you want. As a business owner you have anti discriminatory laws that you have to follow, and saying you won't allow a patron to sing Spanish songs at karaoke because you don't want it turning into a Spanish bar is HUGE lawsuit bait.

It's not using the race card when race is brought up as the specific reason for doing something. Using the race card would be if the owner didn't want him to sing because he was too drunk and was worried about equipment being damaged, and the guy complained that he couldn't sing because he was Mexican, ie when one has nothing to do with the other.

He sounds more like a weasal than a man, to put you in such an uncomfortable position because of HIS bias. Hopefuuly his patrons taught him something...

Oh it still happens, but people just try to disguise it more now as the bar owner did. I am Mexican American and in my lifetime I have been in several incidents that were solely based on race, it usually involved being out with a Caucasian woman. I could go on and on but I will stop here and finish by saying things are better but we have a long way to go. Rodolfo.

Hasn't hurt our business, actually the high end majority that support the bar nightly are all for it.

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Hopefully now that the owner sees that the patrons don’t care, there’ll be no problem now. If it continues, at least what I’d do is

tell the owner (respectfully) that I can’t tell them; I just don’t have the gut for it, and he’d have to do it himself… or

Just leave the Spanish music at home.

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I remember when I was DJing (human-jukebox style) at a local bar for about a year, the owner had the same attitude. Funny thing is, the patrons there didn’t care either. Spanish music is about the most danceable music there is.

Fortunately, he wasn’t there all the time. When he was, it was a nightmare for me; he just wanted to hear oldies, no rock/rap/spanish… just oldies.

There were about 10% Spanish clientele, and there was no issue whatsoever with the patrons.

I think these older owners are just kinda old-school.

Seeing as it’s their living, they can get paranoid; I suppose it’s understandable. Inexcusable, yes, but understandable.

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