This takes us back to the days of outrage at Oberlin College, where students made the news by accusing the school’s cafeteria of serving culturally “disrespectful” food. The school’s food service company came under fire from foreign students: “This uninformed representation of cultural dishes has been noted by a multitude of students, many of who have expressed concern over the gross manipulation of traditional recipes.”
Don’t even get Diep Nguyen of Vietnam started on the traditional Banh Mi Vietnamese sandwich, which was served on ciabatta bread instead of a crispy baguette.
Now the Washington Post is letting us know that we should stop calling dishes “exotic,” as it reinforces xenophobia and racism.
The problem, in a nutshell:
“By exoticizing a food even though it’s actually accessible, you’re assigning it a value that’s lower than the status quo." I would love to see a poll on this. I'd bet the vast majority of people don't associate "exotic" with "lower value."
— cstalt (@colinstalter1) July 7, 2021
Yea they’re falsely associating exotic to mean “less than” but nowhere other than maybe among British royalty, is exotic meant to be condescending
— Dakota Williams (@DakotaWillKnow) July 7, 2021
To me, the word “exotic” connotates something positive as in the opposite of bland. I’d rather have exotic foods, clothing, friends, etc. but now exotic is supposed to be off the menu? I just don’t get it. 🤷♀️
— Savannah Comey (@SavannahComey) July 7, 2021
"originating in or characteristic of a distant foreign country" is what exotic means…that's why Americans don't think a vacation to Lowell, Mass is "exotic"
— Gladys and Brandy (@gladysandbrandy) July 7, 2021
Your point is taken that “exotic” is in the eye of the beholder, but that doesn’t mean the word should be discouraged. I think it’s okay for people to authentically express how something seems to them. The important thing is to be aware that there are other points of view.
— David Stranahan (@stranman2751) July 7, 2021
This is peak wokeness.
— Ryan Howe (@HoweRjhowe) July 7, 2021
— Dexsfave (@Dexsfave) July 7, 2021
And doing not so would be cultural appropriation, right? You just can't satisfy certian people.
— Daniel Drews 🇩🇪 (@Alpdaumn) July 7, 2021
Really, WaPo? Are we really doing this? pic.twitter.com/MFHGFZZn4j
— Andrew Orillion (@AndrewOrillion) July 7, 2021
"Tell me you don't have any real problems without telling me you don't have any real problems"
— RJ (@TrumbleRobo) July 7, 2021
Who are these silly articles written for? There must be a market for this kind of fare. But I have never met them in my day-to-day life.
— Isidro Prince (@IsidroPrince4) July 7, 2021
Oh good grief pic.twitter.com/2dOhhc98es
— Meg Bailey ⚡️ (@seaghost78) July 7, 2021
We tread in a rhetorical minefield these days.
— Rick Lundstrom (@ricklundl) July 7, 2021
This is another exotic yet pedestrian wokeness exercise
— OG McRibb (@OGMcRibb) July 7, 2021
Stop, just stop
— ja1904 (@ja1904ca) July 7, 2021
Stop using words correctly?
— Corey Snow (@vox_man) July 7, 2021
Will there ever be a point where you're actually embarrassed by the drivel you publish?
— Rusty Weiss 🇺🇸 (@rustyweiss74) July 7, 2021
Let’s dream up stuff to get mad about.
— Snowflake Ninja (@EBludd) July 7, 2021
Man someone's thinking too much.
— JNlee (@nlee_j) July 7, 2021
— The Mannylorian 🇺🇸🇲🇽🎙 (@TheMannylorian) July 7, 2021
Man I am really progressive
But give me a break
— For Mom and Dad (@LovetheZone) July 7, 2021
The intersection of mental masturbation, navel gazing, techno-age narcissism, and armchair social justice. Complete disconnect. Am I being uncharitable? Maybe.
— Synthia (@sfagen08) July 7, 2021
@gdanielagalarza I'll pretty much continue to call food whatever I feel like calling it.
If you want to write about serious stuff, get reassigned out of the food section.— Bill Brown, PhD, CPA 🇺🇲🗽🌈🎗️ (@_Bill_) July 7, 2021
Don’t click on the article, articles like this will disappear when they start losing money and have to print real news
— Blackuma (@AkumaButBlack) July 7, 2021
Democracy dies in crap like this.
Related:
'Self-parody': Oberlin College cafeteria accused of serving culturally 'disrespectful' food https://t.co/971OKYikiX
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) December 19, 2015
