After reading a column by Leonard Pitts about being offended by a store putting fried chicken on sale to celebrate Black History Month, I am curious what food the store could have put on sale to celebrate black heritage without offending people. I have Italian blood, and I would not be offended if pasta were put on sale to celebrate my heritage. I do associate soul food with African Americans. Is this wrong? I am proud of the food my ancestors created and that others now enjoy. African Amercians have brought wonderful foods to our society, and I enjoy them all quite often. I feel this politically correct crap is getting so out of hand that it is pulling us all further apart rather than closer together.
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Name : Steve G., Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 35, City : Lawrence, State : KS Country : United States, Occupation : self-employed, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, I read that article this morning and was ALSO wondering WHY blacks would be 'insulted and offended' at a store offering fried chicken as a special during 'black history' month. I was raised in the south and feel fried chicken is NOT a racist food. Most white families enjoy fried chicken as a SOUTHERN specialty....and do NOT consider it a 'black' ethnic food! I thing blacks are WAY too sensitive to take offense at anything like FRIED CHICKEN, for heaven's sake! They, as a race, would be far better served by being offended and upset by the crime statistics, unwed black teen mothers, third generation welfare, and absconding black fathers than with FRIED CHICKEN! Until they can wake up to the REAL WORLD, and make a decision to try and correct the REAL propblems that are keeping them down, black people will continue to be diverted by silly things like being offended by FRIED CHICKEN! I also am wondering....what foods might elicit the same feeling of insult among WHITE people? Can some black person please tell me what they feel would be appropriate?
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Name : joann30567, City : Anchorage, State : AK Country : United States, Since my field of work is in teaching English to speakers of other languages, I have been exposed to some of the same ideas that Leonard Pitts discusses from time to time in his column. It is difficult to get my head around some of them, yet I have heard them before from those who have had first hand experience, who are t he same people I admire for many, many reasons. I think that Leornard Pitts has my great respect, because as I read his column regularly, I see he is quite well balanced in his challenging of whites and blacks as well. But, particularly, if there was one p erson who ever made me think, it was a professor I had at Rutgers University who had a perspective that would have to make me and others like me listen and contemplate; she was a highly educated white woman who spoke several languages fluently and did so much humanitarian work that she had to qualify as my heroine. What made her so worthy of listening to on this subject was that she had been married to a black African male and by him had three children. So, she with the tender heart of a mother and as an educated data-gatherer, had to suffer the nuances of racism through her own children's experience. Listen to everyone with an opinion, for it is data for you to examine. But in your quest, perhaps you could seek out people like my professor who, is white like you, but who has felt the sting of stereotyping and racism in the most poignant of ways...through the children she loves. Then you may have to contemplate and work over the arguments for a very long time to, like me, only get a snippet of understanding for someone else's reality. This message box doesn't seem to let me reread what I've written for continuity. I am almost scared to let it go, but just know, I am trying to understand, like you. Keep reading Pitts, and I think that while your respect for him is growing, every once in a while you may catch on to a corner of what he is saying. One more thing...While doing a crossword puzzle one day, I ran across the definition 'to think' and discovered that the word was 'opine.' It seems to me that must be the root word of 'opinion'. Opinions are about thinking! But... I think we are very dangerous when we have an opinion that we think is fact. It is imperative to keep adding data at all times to refine an opinion; an opinion should be supported or altered by a lifetime's stream of new information from varied perspectives. So, listen and contemplate.
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Name : Susan Harrison, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 49, City : Washington, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : teacher of ESL, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, I agree completely here with Steve and thought too of pasta in regard to Italians. Soul food is not Black food, it is Southern food enjoyed by all races. We all have to get beyond these incredibly simple issues and stop considering even the most innocuous actions or words as somehow offensive. Does anyone seriously think a store manager would by intent offend his customers? Those that take advantage of this are the real problem.
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Name : Fred21717, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 50, City : Buffalo, State : NY Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I think the primary gripe Mr. Pitts addresses in his article is that fried chicken doesn't really have a place in the 'heritage' of most African Americans. The stereotype of blacks eating fried chicken is one perpetuated by non-blacks, and it's usually done in a negative way. I'd be curious to hear from other black americans about this too.
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Name : Brian23009, City : Spokane, State : WA Country : United States, I don't know the answer to this question, but I agree about political correctness being out of hand. I'm of Irish descent and I'm not offended when the store puts corned beef and cabbage on sale for St. Patrick's Day. I read Pitts' column today, and all I can say is blacks (and the rest of the world) have better things to worry about than this. If you go through life always looking for something to take offense at, you won't be disappointed.
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Name : Vicki W., Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 49, City : Birmingham, State : AL Country : United States, Occupation : banking, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class, I worked for a while at a university hospital at which the staff was, I would guess, about half African-American. The employee cafeteria did ethnic 'theme' menus every Friday, and during February they specialized in Soul Food (Is it still called that?) I loved it. There was macaroni and cheese, collard greens, cornbread, dirty rice, sweet potato pie... but the centerpiece was the best fried chicken I've ever tasted. Now I teach high school, in an ethnically-mixed urban setting. The other day, a conversation with my ninth graders turned to ethnic foods, and each of three of my Black students asserted proudly that *no one* makes fried chicken like his mom. ...so I guess I don't get it. I've heard of watermelon as being kind of a stereotyped thing about Black people. I have some vague recollection of reading about it being connected with slaves allegedly stealing watermelons. And I can't remember watermelon ever being on the actual table in any situation in which Black people have shared 'home cooking.' So I'm thinking that that is a real stereotype. But the chicken... I dunno... seems like that's just a traditional food. Still, Leonard Pitts is Black and I'm not... so I guess he knows... Anyway, I was glad to see this site mentioned in his column -- for the second time, I think. He noted it a few years ago, too.
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Name : Jane, Religion : Unitarian, City : Anchorage, State : AK Country : United States, Well, if the store would have decided to put on sale plantains or gourds I doubt it would have been a problem. Those are actually a part of African heritage. Blacks didn't bring fried chicken to our culture and most people just think so because of the purposely offensive portrayal of blacks in the media (in the past). It's akin to me putting those undershirts (commonly referred to as 'wife-beaters) on sale for Italiano Week at home. It's not about political correctness; it's about accurate portrayal and attribution of cultural contributions.
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Name : C. Phillips, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Disability : lupus, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 25, City : New Orleans, State : LA Country : United States, Occupation : university student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Didn't you read the whole column? I thought he explained himself pretty well. Would you also be unoffended if, during Italian History Month, a book store offered a discount on a Mussolini biography to people with Italian surnames wearing black shirts? Blacks eating fried chicken is part of a caricature. No doubt, many love to eat chicken (as do people of all racists), but the reason we associate the two together is rooted in racism. Someone who thinks all blacks love chicken probably got the idea from someone who also thinks all blacks are [fill in denigrating comment here]. When the store manager catered to one stereotype, the implication was that he subscribed to them all. What food could he have put on sale to avoid the flap? I don't know the answer to that one. Maybe he could have highlighted peanut products (in honor of G.W.Carver). Maybe he could have just picked any random assortment--the main point is to do it in honor if BHM, right? I'll leave it to others to suggest appropriate choices. I just have to express my surprise that this problem is hard to understand. K
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Name : Keith Babberney, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Taoist, Age : 34, City : Austin, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : arborist, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I basically agree with Steve here, there is a thing called oversensitivity. However, context is extremely important. For years the image of blacks portrayed in America was as bumbling, docile, happy-go-lucky buffoons--always eating watermelon or fried chicken and without a care in the world. (amusing how the standard image portrayed of us now is as overly aggressive, wild hostile people). So to put fried chicken on sale in 'honor' of black history month could very well have been meant as a slight. Why was fried chicken chosen? Soul food consists of a lot more than fried chicken. Was there nothing else the store could have done to commemorate black history month?? All the contributions that blacks have made to this country (that most people are completely unaware of, because our education system generally doesn't teach any of it) and the best thing that they could come up with to commemorate black history month is to revive an old stereotype of blacks by putting fried chicken on sale???
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Name : Gregory H., Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, Age : 24, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, I have long enjoyed the delights of ethnic culinary dishes and believe food is one of the more delicious ways to share our backgrounds. I would rather Leonard had been able to celebrate the chicken sale, but I have never had to suffer humiliation because of chicken, nor live with a haze of fear because of my color. Fish on Friday was the tool used to poke at my being Catholic. The Klu Klux Klan burned a cross on my Mother's front lawn when she was a child...for being Catholic in a rural community. But in no way could I equate any bias I have experienced with the constant barrage felt by the Black community. I judged Leonard and the shopper were having a gut reaction which deserves respect.
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Name : Jill Menter, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 56, City : Troy, State : MI Country : United States, Occupation : Homemaker, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, I love fried chicken, and watermelon, too! And I'm not black. Until a few years ago, I never even knew there was any connection between these foods and blacks. Colonel Sanders and Popeye are both white last time I saw them. I read that article, too. It's what introduced me to the Y? Forum. Fascinating. I don't think Pitts was offended so much as bemused by the 'idiocy' of the grocer risking potential offensiveness. I don't see how a good old American Southern food like fried chicken has anything to do with race/ethnicity/PC-ness at all. I don't see what pasta (invented by my people, the Chinese, and introduced to Italy by Marco Polo) has to do with Italy. I don't understand why a grocer needs to celebrate Black History Month. What the hell do groceries have to do with black history? OK, maybe peanuts and George Washington Carver? I thought the whole thing was mildly amusing, not for PC-ness, but for its incongruity.
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Name : Ken Lim, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Age : 43, City : Cupertino, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, No so much a response as a further question. I would have made the same mistake as the grocery store. A black women I knew (elderly if that matters) took particular pride in her fried chicken. I've considered it as a 'near soul food', never thinking this to be offensive. I note that one fast food chicken chain seems black-oriented in its advertising. I would not be offended, as a Jew, if the grocery store had pushed bagels or brisket as part of a Jewish celebration. Is Pitts too sensitive, or am I out of touch?
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Name : Martin N, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 55, City : Atlanta, State : GA Country : United States, Occupation : Accoountant, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, What makes you think fried chicken is 'soul food'? It's not, it's a stereotype of what blacks like to eat, just like watermelon. You thinking it is, that in of itself is a stereotype you've fallen for. What offended people is that they used such an offensive stereotype to try to sell. Your analogy of pasta is a false one. What if they had a sale on white bread for a hypothetical white people's holiday, or sold meatballs on Columbus Day? Or how about a sale on penis enlargements for whites? Hair grease or chihuahua dogs for sale on Cinco de Mayo? Yellow bananas or yellow dye on Chinese New Year? Buying booze in bulk for St. Patrick's Day, along with sales on boxing gloves? How about a Hannukah sale that talked about 'pinching pennies'? Do you see what I'm getting at? If you want to have a sale for Black Heritage, choose items that stimulate pride and not more prejudice.
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Name : John-J, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, Age : 32, City : Houston, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Barber, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
kcParticipant
Amen, brother. Is that OK to say? Have I offended anyone? I found this site because I read and respect Leonard Pitts. I think, and hope, he just had a bad day.
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Name : kc, City : novi, State : MI Country : United States, 
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