BBTF's Newsblog Discussion :: Tigers TV guy: Latinos need ‘rice and beans’ for postgame meal

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Friday, July 22, 2011

Tigers TV guy: Latinos need ‘rice and beans’ for postgame meal

Detroit Tigers broadcaster Rod Allen made an unfunny and inappropriate attempt at a joke about Latinos during Fox Sports Detroit’s telecast Thursday night.

Allen, a color analyst since 2003, said the postgame meal in the Tigers clubhouse at Target Field should include rice and beans, because most of the team’s lineup against the Twins had Latino heritage.

You see, the Latinos just love them some rice and beans, as the stereotype goes.

Would Allen, who is African American, make a joke about a Tigers lineup that was mostly black requiring something stereotypical to eat? Would he stoop to make a watermelon joke? Maybe he would. Maybe he has. But that wouldn’t make it right, or funny.

Allen: “Tigers pretty much got a all-Latin squad out there tonight.”

Impemba: “Ordoñez, Cabrera, Martinez, Peralta, Guillen, Avila, Betemit. Jackson and Boesch don’t qualify.”

Allen: “They’re gonna have to get some rice and beans for the postgame spread tonight.”

Impemba: “[Nervous-sounding laugh]. Yes, they are. ... Two and two!”

Thanks to Bob Comehere.

Repoz Posted: July 22, 2011 at 07:31 PM | 99 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: announcers, game recaps, media, television, tigers

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1. Tulo's Fishy Mullet (mrams) Posted: July 22, 2011 at 08:02 PM (#3883404)

I think Mota used to talk about how he would eat rice and beans every day.

2. Jose is an Absurd Sultan Posted: July 22, 2011 at 08:03 PM (#3883407)

I'm usually the first guy to get on someone for an un-PC comment but this doesn't feel like a big deal. It has always seemed to me that the "watermelon and fried chicken" thing was intended to be derogatory, this doesn't feel anymore derogatory than saying someone from Louisiana would want some cajun food.

It may also be that I'm Cuban and the idea of beans and rice sounds pretty damned good right about now.

It is the kind of thing that a prudent announcer should probably try to avoid though.

3. NJ in NJ Posted: July 22, 2011 at 08:08 PM (#3883411)

All these years...I thought I liked chicken because it was delicious.

4. zack Posted: July 22, 2011 at 08:23 PM (#3883421)

The Official Racist Food Joke Continuum©.

Turkey-------sauerbraten---blood pudding--pasta---------------rice and beans-----potatoes---(cont.)
------various alcohols--------------------cabbage-----------soft cheese-----------------------(cont.
)------------------------------------------------------------------------------fried chicken---dog

5. zack Posted: July 22, 2011 at 08:24 PM (#3883422)

Phone-based Doppelpost.

The point is that, as a sworn officer of the PC Polizia, the comment was only bad in so much as it applied a stereotype to a group of individuals. The stereotype is not a negative one, not used to oppress anyone ever that I am aware of. It could only be construed as negative insomuch as rice and beans is a cheap meal. It is a positive one in-so-much as rice and beans is crazy delicious.

6. BWV 1129 Posted: July 22, 2011 at 08:28 PM (#3883426)

I wonder if Tommy Lasorda and Mike Scioscia ever used to eat pasta together.

7. .

Posted: July 22, 2011 at 08:28 PM (#3883427)

Would Allen, who is African American, make a joke about a Tigers lineup that was mostly black requiring something stereotypical to eat?

I sure hope so.

Would he stoop to make a watermelon joke?

Good question. YMMV and all, but watermelon's a cliche. He could probably do more with chitlins and okra.

But that wouldn’t make it right, or funny.

His partner laughed.

8. Flynn Posted: July 22, 2011 at 08:28 PM (#3883428)

This guy sounds more than a little over the top in his indignation. I haven't done a straw poll of my Latino friends, but I don't think they'd be terribly offended by somebody saying they like rice and beans.

9. phredbird

Posted: July 22, 2011 at 08:28 PM (#3883429)

this doesn't feel anymore derogatory than saying someone from Louisiana would want some cajun food.

you cuban ######## ######## ####### american league ##### #####. i'm a cajun and #### your ####.
america demeans cajuns. they just want us around for boudreau and thibodeau jokes and to blacken their chicken. you don't think so? have we ever had a cajun president?
i didn't think so.

10. Walks Clog Up the Bases Posted: July 22, 2011 at 08:30 PM (#3883431)

Rod Allen is one of the more underrated color commentators in baseball today. He's got homer tendencies, but keeps them in check enough to keep them ever from reaching Hawk territory. Plus, he knows the game well and brings some character to the booth without taking away from the proceedings on the field.

11. valuearbitrageur Posted: July 22, 2011 at 08:35 PM (#3883436)

What about beans and cornbread?

I like me some beans and cornbread.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Lu2TXTL9m8

12. dirk

Posted: July 22, 2011 at 08:36 PM (#3883438)

You see, the Latinos just love them some rice and beans, as the stereotype goes.

i fail to see the negative implication in this stereotype.

13. BWV 1129 Posted: July 22, 2011 at 08:43 PM (#3883442)

Also, it's not really a stereotype. Rice and beans are a staple of the cuisine in many (all?) Latin American countries. That strikes me as more of an observation than a stereotype.

14. Justin T's pasta pass was not revoked Posted: July 22, 2011 at 08:45 PM (#3883446)

I like how the guy who has it in his head that this was a violation of some sort helps us out by identifying Impemba's laugh as a nervous one. No way his bias led him to deduce that there was nervousness contained within it.

15. JRVJ Posted: July 22, 2011 at 08:49 PM (#3883450)

I don't think there's a Panamanian on the Tigers, but I can tell you that we're not that much into rice and beans.

Rice and lentils ("arroz con lentejas") is a little more popular and rice and chicken ("arroz con pollo") is really popular.

I, for one, suspect that Carlos "Calicho"/"Chooch" Ruiz probably has his share of "arroz con pollo" (*)

(*) Though I should point out that Ruiz is from a SW province of Panama named Chiriquí that does have a special type of bean which is called "Frijolito Chiricano", which is much liked by people from that part of Panama.

16. Fred Lynn Nolan Ryan Sweeney Agonistes Posted: July 22, 2011 at 08:58 PM (#3883456)

What about beans and cornbread?

I like me some beans and cornbread.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Lu2TXTL9m8

White people like beans and cornbread like this, but black people like beans and cornbread like this.

17. LionoftheSenate Posted: July 22, 2011 at 09:02 PM (#3883459)

I think the stereotype that all stereotypes are bad needs to end. Generalizations are just that, generalizing about groups. Big deal, its done productively every day, it's not an automatic sign evil is in our presence when someone shares one.

People that are unable to make the distinction between a million and a billion are the types that flip out when in the presence of someone that expresses a generalization.

18. LionoftheSenate Posted: July 22, 2011 at 09:08 PM (#3883462)

Would he stoop to make a watermelon joke? Maybe he would. Maybe he has.

Personally, I can't stand people that put chit in a guys pants. Rod Allen didn't say anything about watermelon. If Allen's comments are so bad, why does the writer have to make up stuff, shouldn't the nature of the comments be self evident?

19. Babe Adams Posted: July 22, 2011 at 09:21 PM (#3883468)

One can't discount the possibility that Allen's remarks were at least partly based on his experience with dining tables in professional baseball clubhouses.

20. UCCF Posted: July 22, 2011 at 09:22 PM (#3883469)

White people like beans and cornbread like this, but black people like beans and cornbread like this.

Any thread that leads linking to Louis Jordan is a good thread indeed.

21. Leroy Kincaid Posted: July 22, 2011 at 09:22 PM (#3883470)

#10 is da funny!

22. Shooty would run in but these bone spurs hurt!

Posted: July 22, 2011 at 09:25 PM (#3883472)

My girlfriend is from central Illinois and they enjoy gelatin based deserts. A lot. I make fun of her constantly for this and I don't care if it makes me racist. White people from American states without an ocean love them some Jello. (Which reminds me of David Foster Wallace. You all should read The Pale King. It's ####### brilliant.)

Also, yeah, I'm probably going to have some rice and beans with my enchiladas tonight. Which begs the question...who makes the best rice and beans? The best I've had are either Dominican or Costa Rican.

23. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) Posted: July 22, 2011 at 09:28 PM (#3883474)

By happenstance, I'm actually having rice and beans for dinner tonight.

Some collard greens, too. Mmm mmm good.

24. .

Posted: July 22, 2011 at 09:31 PM (#3883479)

Which begs the question...who makes the best rice and beans? The best I've had are either Dominican or Costa Rican.

My wife makes some pretty good ones. So does Cafe Frida.

25. PreservedFish Posted: July 22, 2011 at 09:34 PM (#3883481)

Also, it's not really a stereotype. Rice and beans are a staple of the cuisine in many (all?) Latin American countries. That strikes me as more of an observation than a stereotype.

I think it is a stereotype, according to the dictionary definition. Not necessarily a bad one. Stereotypes can be useful.

26. jwb Posted: July 22, 2011 at 09:36 PM (#3883482)

I'll go with Cuban black beans.

27. PreservedFish Posted: July 22, 2011 at 09:36 PM (#3883483)

Also, I literally went out and ate a rice+beans based meal because of this thread. Chicken in a red mole sauce. Really good.

28. Dale Sams Posted: July 22, 2011 at 09:38 PM (#3883485)

I don't think eating fried chicken is a negative stereotype*, but if a white announcer, upon being informed that the line-up was nearly all African-American, suggested they have Colonel Sanders cater the post-game spread...he'd be looking for a new job.

Don't flame me. I don't care what Rod said...I'm jus sayin.

*After some research I see that people say it's negative by past association in media with demeaning stereotypes. So if Rod said 'fritos' instead of 'rice and beans' he'd be in deep ####, right?

29. Bob Tufts Posted: July 22, 2011 at 09:39 PM (#3883486)

I think the stereotype that all stereotypes are bad needs to end. Generalizations are just that, generalizing about groups

I think it's a generalization to say that all stereotypes are bad.

30. .

Posted: July 22, 2011 at 09:44 PM (#3883493)

In Soviet Russia, rice and beans joke made about you. At El Nuevo Caridad, rice and beans dish made about you.

The restaurant paid homade to baseball players, with signed posters of Puerto Rican and Dominican players plastering the walls, as well as photographs of the athletes themselves digging into whole rotisserie chickens and platters of rice and beans. So it was no surprise that all their meals were named after baseball stars themselves.

...

Stefanie ordered the Vladimir Guerrero: Dominican soup, a monstrous bowl of chicken pieces and yucca, accompanied with sliced avocado and white rice, as well as a plate of tostones.

Vikram ordered the Miguel Tejada: steak with onions, rice, beans, and maduros (sweet plaintains).

Rohit ordered the Magglio Ordonez, pork chops in a garlic sauce with yellow rice and beans.

And I got the Omar Minaya: fried red snapper, yellow rice with peas, tostones and avocado salad.

31. Swedish Chef Posted: July 22, 2011 at 09:51 PM (#3883499)

And I got the Omar Minaya: fried red snapper, yellow rice with peas, tostones and avocado salad.

Pity the fool who orders the Tony Bernazard.

32. Tricky Dick Posted: July 22, 2011 at 09:54 PM (#3883500)

Without hearing how the announcer said it, I can't reach too much of a judgement. But on the surface, I think it is an insensitive statement. That's the way it would come across to me. I think of the "beans and rice" phrase as an association with poverty or being poor. I live in Texas and I like beans and rice, but if that is the person's only meal, it's probably because they are poor. I know some good ol' boys types who would use a phrase like that as a derogatory reference. I doubt that it was intended that way by the broadcaster though.

33. phredbird

Posted: July 22, 2011 at 09:57 PM (#3883501)

fried red snapper

oh, now you've done it.

34. Shibal Posted: July 22, 2011 at 10:16 PM (#3883506)

I'm from Kansas City and travel a lot. Should I be offended every time someone asks me if I want some BBQ?

I'd like to know. It might be fun to walk around being offended all the time. I'd like to try it sometime.

35. rb's team is hopeful for the new year! Posted: July 22, 2011 at 10:23 PM (#3883511)

Definitely going to have rice and beans tonight after reading this thread.

36. rr

Posted: July 22, 2011 at 10:25 PM (#3883515)

The anti-PC keyboard cowboys on BTF are always a hoot.

37. Gonfalon Bubble Posted: July 22, 2011 at 10:29 PM (#3883516)

Would he stoop to make a watermelon joke? Maybe he would. Maybe he has. But that wouldn’t make it right, or funny.

Gallagher says screw you, pal.

38. SteveF Posted: July 22, 2011 at 10:31 PM (#3883519)

I'm from Kansas City and travel a lot. Should I be offended every time someone asks me if I want some BBQ?

Your stomach might be offended if you accept the offer, depending on which direction you're traveling.

It might be fun to walk around being offended all the time.

Think of all the things people say which you already automatically filter out as useless drivel. You'd have to actually start paying attention to all that stuff to identify potentially offensive statements. That just sounds like too much work.

39. Pasta-diving Jeter (jmac66) Posted: July 22, 2011 at 10:34 PM (#3883522)

White people from American states without an ocean love them some Jello.

and don't forget the Wonder Bread

40. ERROR---Jolly Old St. Nick

Posted: July 22, 2011 at 10:36 PM (#3883523)

White people like beans and cornbread like this, but black people like beans and cornbread like this.

And Afro-Cubans sometimes take their Louis Jordan special and add a little hog maw and chitlins. Hanky-panky with Joe!

41. Random Transaction Generator Posted: July 22, 2011 at 10:52 PM (#3883527)

White guys like mayonnaise?

This was one "stereotype" that I had NO idea about, and was surprised to see presented.

42. Bruce Markusen Posted: July 22, 2011 at 11:01 PM (#3883530)

I'm half Puerto Rican on my mother's side, and I didn't find Allen's words offensive. The fact of the matter is that a lot of Latinos do like rice and beans. I don't really, but my mother did, and so did my grandmother, and a few other relatives that I can remember.

My goodness, when are we going to stop looking to be offended by everything that is said, no matter how mild? There's real racism and prejudice out there, but Rod Allen's words ain't it.

43. PreservedFish Posted: July 22, 2011 at 11:05 PM (#3883532)

I like mayonnaise AND hot sauce. Often together.

44. LionoftheSenate Posted: July 22, 2011 at 11:13 PM (#3883533)

I'm half Puerto Rican on my mother's side,

Former girlfriend was Puerto Rican (from NYC) and her mom made rice and beans every night. White people, specifically white liberals, are the only people offended by the comments.

Check out "Stuff White People Like". Excellent read and insight into the mind of (mostly) the white liberal.

45. rr

Posted: July 22, 2011 at 11:20 PM (#3883540)

Excellent read and insight into the mind of (mostly) the white liberal.

You have looked like a parody for awhile; this ices it. You are in the True Blue/Phenomenal Smith group.

46. rr

Posted: July 22, 2011 at 11:29 PM (#3883547)

http://soundcloud.com/davebrown-4/rod-allen-the-detroit-tigers

Here is the sound link; Impemba does not sound uncomfortable at all to me.

47. Captain Joe Bivens, Pointless and Wonderful Posted: July 22, 2011 at 11:33 PM (#3883548)

I make a good rice and beans dish. Sauteed onions and garlic and red bell pepper, cayenne pepper, thyme, vegetable stock. It takes 45 minutes or so from beginning to end. Yum!

48. spike Posted: July 22, 2011 at 11:39 PM (#3883553)

Condensed version of next 200 comments.

L.O.T.S.: I'm outraged over this PC world we live in!
Vast majority of posters: Well, it was a bit weird, but meh.
L.O.T.S: HOW DARE YOU NOT SHARE MY OUTRAGE!

49. Morty Causa Posted: July 22, 2011 at 11:42 PM (#3883555)

Black Comedian: Yo, check this out: black guys drive a car like this.
[Leans back, as though his elbow were on the windowsill]
Do, do, ch. Do-be-do, do-be-do-be-do.
Yeah, but white guys, see, they drive a car like this.
[Hunches forward, talks nasally]
Dee-da-dee, a-dee-da-dee-da-dee-da-dee.
[Audience howls with laughter]

Homer (laughing uproariously): Ah ha ha, it's true, it's true! We're so lame!

50. Captain Joe Bivens, Pointless and Wonderful Posted: July 22, 2011 at 11:44 PM (#3883558)

Homer meant to say "We're so gay!"

51. rr

Posted: July 22, 2011 at 11:44 PM (#3883559)

Gallagher says screw you, pal.

Ever seen the Chappelle "Black Gallagher" bit?

52. Bob Tufts Posted: July 22, 2011 at 11:51 PM (#3883564)

Homer: Hey! We owe this guy, and I don't want you calling him a sissy! This guy's a fruit! And a... no, wait, wait, wait... queer! Queer! (to John) That's what you like to be called, right?

John: Well, that or John

53. Flynn Posted: July 22, 2011 at 11:55 PM (#3883570)

That El Nuevo Caridad place is awesome. I am so going there the next time I'm in New York.

54. LionoftheSenate Posted: July 22, 2011 at 11:58 PM (#3883571)

You have looked like a parody for awhile; this ices it. You are in the True Blue/Phenomenal Smith group.

You are obviously (overly sensitive) not familiar with the author of "Stuff White People Like". He is a liberal and himself admits that most of the stuff in the two books (and website) captured the white liberal. That's most, not all. This is a real book, with a real author and he really does pin the white liberal.

55. rr

Posted: July 23, 2011 at 12:08 AM (#3883584)

You are obviously (overly sensitive) not familiar with the author of "Stuff White People Like". He is a liberal and himself admits that most of the stuff in the two books (and website) captured the white liberal. That's most, not all. This is a real book, with a real author and he really does pin the white liberal.

You're making too many assumptions. One of the reasons you come off like a parody.

I know about the book; some of the parts I am familiar with are pretty funny.

56. This is going to be state of the art wall Posted: July 23, 2011 at 12:13 AM (#3883587)

This white dude, for one, would die for some rice, beans and pollo al horno. Really any "comida tipica" place would work. I moved to Seattle after many years in New York. Needless to say I'm a bit underwhelmed with my options.

I don't see anything wrong with the comment.

57. Morty Causa Posted: July 23, 2011 at 12:14 AM (#3883589)

You know me, Marge. I like my beer cold, my TV loud and my homosexuals fa-laming.

Same with ethnic/racial/sex stereotypes.

Homer: That John is the greatest guy in the world. We've gotta have him
and his wife over for drinks sometime.
Marge: Hmm, I don't think he's married, Homer.
Homer: Oh, a swinging bachelor, eh? Well, there's lots of foxy ladies
out there.
Marge: Homer, didn't John seem a little... festive to you?
Homer: Couldn't agree more. Happy as a clam.
Marge: [insisting] He prefers the company of men!
Homer: Who doesn't?

58. Bob Tufts Posted: July 23, 2011 at 12:20 AM (#3883596)

I blame the decline of the steel industry in Detroit.

Moe: "Where you been, Homer? The whole steel industry's gay."

59. Morty Causa Posted: July 23, 2011 at 12:22 AM (#3883603)

If you guys don't know what Cajuns and Creoles do with rice, you don't #### about eating with rice. Rice, like potatoes, is nothing--it's what you put on it or in it. Cajuns have about a million sauces, gumbos, etouffees, creoles, fricassees, stews, soups, bouillons, courtbouillons, bouilles, and just plain gravies made naturally from reducing braising meat drippings. And that's not even getting into the New Orleans haute cuisine French stuff. I'm just talking ethnic provincial.

60. rr

Posted: July 23, 2011 at 12:27 AM (#3883608)

What is an "etouffee?" I have heard of all those other ones (even "soup.")

61. Morty Causa Posted: July 23, 2011 at 12:33 AM (#3883613)

Etouffee

62. LionoftheSenate Posted: July 23, 2011 at 12:35 AM (#3883617)

You're making too many assumptions.

Such as? You make too many claims.

63. McCoy Posted: July 23, 2011 at 12:51 AM (#3883637)

I'm eating rice right now but it is with orange chicken.

64. Leroy Kincaid Posted: July 23, 2011 at 12:53 AM (#3883641)

My wife is from P.R. but she does not make rice & beans because I don't like beans, dammit.

65. .

Posted: July 23, 2011 at 01:11 AM (#3883655)

I'm eating rice right now but it is with orange chicken.

Racist bastard.

That Joe Cuba song rules.

66. BWV 1129 Posted: July 23, 2011 at 01:33 AM (#3883671)

47. Joe Bivens, Always Wrong, About Everything! Posted: July 22, 2011 at 07:33 PM (#3883548)
I make a good rice and beans dish. Sauteed onions and garlic and red bell pepper, cayenne pepper, thyme, vegetable stock. It takes 45 minutes or so from beginning to end. Yum!

That's some curious food combining there. Your cooking sounds as appealing as your scrotum.

67. Joe Kehoskie Posted: July 23, 2011 at 01:36 AM (#3883672)

Just in the past month, we've had threads on Ray Knight, Bobby Valentine, and Rod Allen. It's getting harder and harder to tell if the authors of these types of articles are genuinely offended by comments like Allen's or if they just know such controversies, as trumped up as they might be, are a guaranteed source of easy clicks and page views.

68. Cooper Nielson Posted: July 23, 2011 at 02:43 AM (#3883697)

Whether you find Rod Allen's comment "racist" or not seems to say more about you than it does about him. I think it's pretty clear that he had zero malicious intent. I mean, Allen has been in professional baseball for 35 years, so he's obviously spent a lot of time around Latinos. He spent two years in the Mexican League (and three in Japan), so it's not like he's some ignorant 'Murica-First yokel. And his public persona, what we glimpse of him through broadcasts, is definitely of the "nice guy, likes everyone" type.

I guarantee Rod Allen was not thinking, "Latinos — they're so poor they have to eat rice and beans all the time! Ha ha!" He was probably thinking, "I've met a lot of Latinos and I've spent time in Latin America, and boy they sure like to eat rice and beans." It's a stereotype, but I don't see what's negative about it.

If the Tigers had a bunch of Korean players and Allen said, "They’re gonna have to get some kimchi for the postgame spread tonight," would that be offensive? I wouldn't think so. I mean, if he said "They're gonna have to get some dog for the postgame spread tonight," that would be, at least in America, where dog-eating is an unforgivable sin.

But when you're talking about a food that is popular in pretty much all the countries these guys are from, and isn't something that is widely considered "disgusting" or "immoral," I don't see the problem.

69. rr

Posted: July 23, 2011 at 02:58 AM (#3883701)

Such as?

That no one is offended except "white liberals"; that I had never heard of the "white people" books/website, for starters. And a few more.

Whether you find Rod Allen's comment "racist" or not seems to say more about you than it does about him

Perhaps. I don't think it was racist, but making generalizations/jokes based on race/ethnicity in public settings isn't a very good idea. As noted in most of these threads, these issues are context-dependent. That's why the anologies ("But what about if he said????") people always make generally don't work.

Spike up in 48 pretty much nailed it.

70. tshipman

Posted: July 23, 2011 at 03:07 AM (#3883704)

Just in the past month, we've had threads on Ray Knight, Bobby Valentine, and Rod Allen. It's getting harder and harder to tell if the authors of these types of articles are genuinely offended by comments like Allen's or if they just know such controversies, as trumped up as they might be, are a guaranteed source of easy clicks and page views.

Probably just page views. I mean, Repoz posted it. I will join the chorus of posters who don't see what's so bad about rice and beans. I could really go for some rice and beans right now, actually.

71. Joe Kehoskie Posted: July 23, 2011 at 03:18 AM (#3883713)

Probably just page views. I mean, Repoz posted it.

Ha ha. I was talking about the actual authors, but Repoz is indeed an evil genius when it comes to topic selection.

72. Morty Causa Posted: July 23, 2011 at 03:52 AM (#3883723)

The problem with "PC" is there are casualties. People have to pay, and sometimes pay severely, for not (often unintentionally) playing to requisite perfection "Mother, May I" and "Simon Says" as dictated by the lords who dictate what should pass for chic. If you're fine with that, okay. If you think it just a joke to stigmatize and punish people (that's what it is), okay. But, to me, that sort of thing is just as offensive and as dangerous as the thing it sanctimoniously pretends to be correcting.

Moreover, it inhibits social discourse big time (which is, of course, its intent). It's a rank power-play camouflaged in oleaginous hypocrisy. If rape is not about sex, but about violence (which I think is stupid half-ass assessment, but anyway), this is not about tolerance and rapprochement; it's just one more shoddy brutish way of getting your way in a way that is unjustified and, really, unexplained, of controlling the "other" by acting in the same manner as that which supposedly outrages your precious sensibilities. It exonerates those repressive mentalities ahead of time and gives that same puny mindset permission to act and think just like that which it pretends to deplore.

Anyway, whatever you think, one thing is certain; one thing is a fact: it suppresses, and conduces to suppress, expression and speech on the basis of that most tenuous of pretexts--offensiveness, what I would term, for the most part, phony and candy-ass sensitivities. Make no mistake, there are those who profit by drawing a line where it’s drawn and by seeking to keep edging forward. We should find that some work so really hard to justify and excuse such kneejerk overreactions and promote such repressive efforts a little frightening. At the very least.

73. IronChef Chris Wok Posted: July 23, 2011 at 04:25 AM (#3883727)

I love Rice and beans, apparently I'm now Latino

Edit:

White people like Mayonnaise

Here's what happened a couple of months ago: I was at the local "hot-fry" outdoor restaurant in Taipei with two of my buddies drinking beer, and they have these scantily-dressed ladies promoting different beer brands. We had this thing of Fried Shrimp (and for some reason it had Mayonaise on it), and I kept trying to get off the Mayo off the shrimp.

One of the scantily-clad ladies kept asking me why I wouldn't eat the Mayo. First, I told her I didn't like it. She didn't get it. Then I gave her this a minute monologue about how Mayo is food for socioeconomically disadvantaged Caucasian North Americans, and she still didn't get it. Finally, I just ####### gave up and told her "I don't know how I can help you", which in psychiatrist-speak means "YOU HOPELESS ##### #### OFF"

74. Lars6788 Posted: July 23, 2011 at 04:33 AM (#3883728)

The blog was attempting to show that white guys aren't the only ones guilty of perpetuating a stereotype or saying something that can be perceived as ignorant.

I think it fails because I don't think what Allen said was offensive to begin with - I think if the comments were 'opened up' for this entry at Big League Stew, people would be telling David Brown to get a life.

75. This is going to be state of the art wall Posted: July 23, 2011 at 04:45 AM (#3883732)

@ 72, you're not a Foucauldian paragraph generator are you?

Goodness, read "Invisible Man" and then get back to me on what it's like to have your entire life stigmatized, organized and bent against you. White men can't be the other, don't you get it? We are the ####### subject. No PC police gonna change that. You're worrying about a shingle falling off the roof when the whole damn thing is on fire!

76. Dale Sams Posted: July 23, 2011 at 04:58 AM (#3883737)

Chief Wahoo.
Tomahawk Chop*

My work here is done.

*According to Wiki, Deion Sanders started the Tomahawk Chop in Atlanta. I did not know that.

77. Mr. Hotfoot Jackson (gef, talking mongoose) Posted: July 23, 2011 at 05:02 AM (#3883739)

Of all the ####### threads for me to read on a night in which an afternoon of abdominal pain left me too damned sore to eat anything except a couple of bananas ... *siiiiiigh*

78. rr

Posted: July 23, 2011 at 05:04 AM (#3883740)

Wasn't FSU doing that before the Braves?

Get well, gef. The Mekons need you to help keep their memory alive for future generations.

79. Morty Causa Posted: July 23, 2011 at 05:18 AM (#3883744)

and for some reason it had Mayonaise on it

You sure that wasn't tartar sauce?

"Let the fools have their tar-tar sauce."

Or: "ketchup.....catsup......ketchup.....catsup......I'm in way over my head here."

80. Dale Sams Posted: July 23, 2011 at 05:59 AM (#3883752)

Says Deion got it from FSU.

81. Robert in Manhattan Beach Posted: July 23, 2011 at 07:26 AM (#3883761)

Says Deion got it from FSU.

Right. Braves fans started doing it for Deion, then it took on a life of it's own. It's fair to say that the Braves stole it from Florida State and Deion Sanders was the conduit.

Anyway, I'm white, my wife is Latino. When we go to her family's house for Thanksgiving we have turkey with rice and beans, at my family's house we have turkey with mashed potatoes. It's not racist or a sign of economic status, it's a sign that white folks grew up eating potatoes and latinos grew up eating rice and beans. Who cares. I'd take the rice and beans every time frankly.

Oh and the correct answer to the question of what's the best rice and beans is Belizian style. Just go easy on the coconut milk.

82. Voros McCracken of Pinkus Posted: July 23, 2011 at 07:44 AM (#3883763)

I'm Irish and Hungarian and I don't like cabbage very much.

I'm not sure how to explain that. Maybe if I put some mayonnaise on it...

83. jwb Posted: July 23, 2011 at 07:54 AM (#3883765)

the best rice and beans is Belizian style.

Right. I said Cuban black beans earlier, but I actually ate them in Belize.

84. Greg K Posted: July 23, 2011 at 08:07 AM (#3883768)

There's a Belizian restaurant in Regina, Saskatchewan, sadly for all six years I lived there there was a piece of paper with "Closed, in Belize" written on it. I really wanted to try that stuff.

A friend of mine runs a speciality dairy factory in Ontario and one of the perks of going on delivery with him is you get to sample the wares of a bunch of mom and pop style restaurants and shops in Toronto. There's one El Salvadorian place in Scarborough beside a porn shop in a strip mall that has pupusas to die for. I don't know how El Salvadorians aren't all 300 pounds.

85. Fancy Pants Handle struck out swinging Posted: July 23, 2011 at 08:58 AM (#3883770)

If the Tigers had a bunch of Korean players and Allen said, "They’re gonna have to get some kimchi for the postgame spread tonight," would that be offensive?

Yes, yes it is. Kimchi is offensive. If you don't believe me, try using the bathroom, after somebody whp had previously consumed kimchi has been in it...

86. Captain Joe Bivens, Pointless and Wonderful Posted: July 23, 2011 at 09:52 AM (#3883772)

Your cooking sounds as appealing as your scrotum.

Why, thank you, kind sir!

87. Infinite Yost (Voxter)

Posted: July 23, 2011 at 10:57 AM (#3883776)

As a bona fide white person, I can attest that mayonnaise is ####### disgusting.

88. Edmundo got dem ol' Kozma blues again mama

Posted: July 23, 2011 at 11:50 AM (#3883781)

beside a porn shop in a strip mall

An entire mall? You'd better bring a LOT of dollar bills!

89. Greg K Posted: July 23, 2011 at 12:21 PM (#3883782)

An entire mall? You'd better bring a LOT of dollar bills!

Unfortunately it's in Canada, so the lowest bill available is a 5.

Actually now that I think about it how does that effect strippers? Or is the old "One Dollar Bill" line just a gag. It doesn't seem too classy to hand a young lady a twoonie for her hard work.

90. rfloh Posted: July 23, 2011 at 12:34 PM (#3883784)

"Just go easy on the coconut milk. "

Why? Coconut milk (including rice cooked with it) is delicious.

91. Weekly Journalist_ Posted: July 23, 2011 at 01:14 PM (#3883788)

Actually now that I think about it how does that effect strippers? Or is the old "One Dollar Bill" line just a gag. It doesn't seem too classy to hand a young lady a twoonie for her hard work.

I went to a strip club in Montreal once. Full contact lap dances were $10 Canadian for one song, and this was back when the dollar was strong against the Canadian dollar. I'm not a strip club guy...at all...but I was 22 at the time, single, with no financial responsibilities and plenty of spare cash...I have to admit it was totally awesome.

92. Edmundo got dem ol' Kozma blues again mama

Posted: July 23, 2011 at 01:19 PM (#3883789)

I'm not a strip club guy...at all...but

Ranks right up there with buying Playboy for the articles. :)

93. Weekly Journalist_ Posted: July 23, 2011 at 01:22 PM (#3883790)

Yes I admit it does ring rather hollow.

94. Der-K's tired of these fruits from poisoned trees Posted: July 23, 2011 at 01:35 PM (#3883792)

I'm eating leftovers for breakfast as I'm reading this - coincidentally, it's coconut rice with black beans, with some chili lime chicken tossed in for good measure - and it tastes tremendous.

95. Shooty would run in but these bone spurs hurt!

Posted: July 23, 2011 at 01:54 PM (#3883797)

We are a nothing if not flatulent around here...

96. Mr. Hotfoot Jackson (gef, talking mongoose) Posted: July 23, 2011 at 03:02 PM (#3883815)

Get well, gef. The Mekons need you to help keep their memory alive for future generations.

Thanks, rr. I should've known better than to have the audacity to eat food with a bit of heft, as it were, earlier in the week (cookout fare at work Wednesday at a going-away event, followed by some coleslaw left over the next day). These days, I can see why my mother, who wound up dying of colon cancer when she was about 5 years older than I am now (a fate, as I've whined before, that I'm pretty much resigned to as well, given all my stupid midsection-oriented issues), had to subsist on baby food during college.

Jesus.

In a complete change of subject, I think I saw a mention recently of something upcoming from the Mekes. Must follow up on that. Can't say I've been blown away by their last couple of outings, but Journey to the End of Night -- one of whose songs I see you cited on the U2 thread -- was absolutely breathtaking. (Shamefully, I'm at least one album behind for both the Wacos & Langford solo ...)

97. ecwcat Posted: July 23, 2011 at 04:01 PM (#3883824)

Are there any non-pale faces that are offended by the quote or is this just a pale face thang?

98. Leroy Kincaid Posted: July 23, 2011 at 05:41 PM (#3883860)

Are there any non-pale faces that are offended by the quote or is this just a pale face thang?

There are a lot of pale-faces in Puerto Rico.

99. Biscuit_pants Posted: July 23, 2011 at 06:36 PM (#3883890)

Are there any non-pale faces that are offended by the quote or is this just a pale face thang?

There are a lot of pale-faces in Puerto Rico.

Is this an answer, or is it more like "my cats breath smells like cat food"?

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Tigers TV guy: Latinos need ‘rice and beans’ for postgame meal

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