Sunday, April 5, 2009

Another Event In The Outrage Olympics

Two New York City fried chicken restaurants in predominantly black neighborhoods are under fire for putting President Barack Obama's name on their signs.

"People from the community were calling me and saying they were outraged by this racist connection to Barack Obama and fried chicken," Barron said. "If you think that free speech gives you the right to insult and degrade us and stereotype us, then you've got a battle on your hands."
I understand how they feel.
All the fried chicken places in my nieghborhood are represented by an old white guy with a grey beard.

But I still don't see what is racist about it.
I mean, just who is buying all this fried chicken in the black nieghborhood. Are older white guys driving across town? Leaving the peace and safety of their own neighborhood, risking car jacking and riots, just to get a bucket and biscuits?

4 comments:

tully said...

It depends. Do they serve collard greens? Then that's just a risk I'll have to take...

Brian said...

Leaving the peace and safety of their own neighborhood, risking car jacking and riots, just to get a bucket and biscuits?

Well...how good are the biscuits?

I've gone to some pretty shady places for food...East Durham, South Tucson, Nogales, Cholon...

Gino said...

brian: i think you and are the only two here who know where Cholon is, although you alone have actually been there.

Brian said...

Who knows...there may be a Graham Greene fan or two around here...

I can honestly say Cholon was the only place in Vietnam that I did *not* feel completely safe. I made it a point to get out of there before the sun went down. It probably wasn't as dangerous as it felt, but after the general friendliness of the rest of Saigon, Cholon's intensity was pretty jarring.

Good noodles, though...