DEAR ABBY: I must respond to the letter from "Stamp Out Stereotyping," who asked why patrons of the parents' "ethnic" restaurant assume that he/she has no command of the English language.
The situation described is not unusual. It is an example of lack of sophistication. As Fernando Lamas said on the Johnny Carson show many years ago: Do not make fun of people who speak with an accent -- they know more languages than YOU do.
The other side of the coin is the Native American man (he called himself an Indian) I met in Santa Fe, N.M., a while ago. He was a graduate student at Harvard, educated and articulate.
During Fiesta, the town's big celebration, he would dress himself in his "Indian outfit," speak like Tonto from "The Lone Ranger," and sell cheap trinkets to the tourists at exorbitant prices. The customers were completely fooled, and my friend laughed all the way to the bank.
So, you never know! -- TOM H., ASHLAND, ORE.
DEAR TOM: I can say without reservation that the young man had a wicked sense of humor as well as an astute sense of business.