Why eating food can be offensive

[Wolfbeckett]

You know whats trendy & annoying, being annoyed by BS & whining about it in clickbait.

One of the main reasons I haven't bothered to read the article the OP posted. If someone wants to provide an archive version of it so that I can read it without rewarding the website with additional clicks I might be persuaded to take a look at it.

 

[Vectors]

One of the main reasons I haven't bothered to read the article the OP posted. If someone wants to provide an archive version of it so that I can read it without rewarding the website with additional clicks I might be persuaded to take a look at it.

The actual article title isn't clickbait

 

[hobbsyoyo]

It should also be said that the food industry provides a lot of jobs for recent immigrants to the US (I assume the same is true in Canada).

Where does that fall on the cultural missapropriation scale or whatever they called it?

 

[Recon Rover]

I like Chinese food, the waiters never are rude.

 

[warpus]

I read the article and it reads to me like something written by someone with far too much time on their hands.

My guess is that the author's boss came into her office and said something like: "Hey Ruth, you're Asian or something, right? Want to write an article about the food of your people? Oh and make it slightly controversial in some way! That's what people want to read. That's what $ell$"

So Ruth went home and pulled this article out of her butt.

Good job culturally appropriating Roman culture by using the latin alphabet by the way, you hypocritical hack.

 

[Kyriakos]

[other stuff]
Good job culturally appropriating Roman culture by using the latin alphabet by the way, you hypocritical hack.

There is no such thing. It is the Euboean alphabet ^^

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaic_Greek_alphabets

As Perikles of Xanthippos would tell you.

 

[warpus]

So what you're saying is the Romans culturally appropriated an ancient Greek alphabet? That's a double whammy then, a cultural appropriation of something that's been culturally appropriated.

 

[Kyriakos]

Yes.

Although i think we should just sue Germany to stop letting it use greek terms in their language, and revert to the traditional ones

 

[Formaldehyde]

The actual article title isn't clickbait

No it's not.

I really don't understand how contentious this all seems to many people in this thread. It seems to has far more to how the OP was phrased instead of what is actually discussed in the article.

The simple truth of the matter is that some recipes create incredibly pungent odors that some who are not familiar with them might find offensive to their olfactory receptors.

After living in NYC for 13 years, I am all too aware of this phenomenon. Walking down the hallway of just about any apartment building can instantly transport you to a number of different cultures from distant lands. The vast majority of them aren't that odious. But occasionally you do stumble upon one that you have to wonder what exactly is it they are cooking? And does the final result smell like that?

 

[Wolfbeckett]

No it's not.

I really don't understand how contentious this all seems to many people in this thread. It seems to has far more to how the OP was phrased instead of what is actually discussed in the article.

The simple truth of the matter is that some recipes create incredibly pungent odors that some who are not familiar with them might find offensive to their olfactory receptors.

After living in NYC for 13 years, I am all too aware of this phenomenon. Walking down the hallway of just about any apartment building can instantly transport you to a number of different cultures from distant lands. The vast majority of them aren't that odious. But occasionally you do stumble upon one that you have to wonder what exactly is it they are cooking? And does the final result smell like that?

I mean, at some point, you just to confront it and ask... "Can I, in fact, smell what The Rock is cooking?"

 

[Synobun]

The simple truth of the matter is that some recipes create incredibly pungent odors that some who are not familiar with them might find offensive to their olfactory receptors.

After living in NYC for 13 years, I am all too aware of this phenomenon. Walking down the hallway of just about any apartment building can instantly transport you to a number of different cultures from distant lands. The vast majority of them aren't that odious. But occasionally you do stumble upon one that you have to wonder what exactly is it they are cooking? And does the final result smell like that?

I don't really think this is exclusive to foreign cuisine, though. I know for myself that the smell of Hamburger Helper cooking on the stove makes me retch and it permeates through an entire house. I don't think any immigrants are responsible for that. It's not exactly a crazy idea that people don't want to be overwhelmed by powerful smells in their home or just outside of it. American cuisine typically has a bland scent to it or it stays close to the source. This isn't the case with BBQ but these occasions are rare (once a week if you're feeling adventurous) while foreigners (or people who simply enjoy foreign food) may be making their "smelly" food on a daily basis.

Strong scents can make people ill so it doesn't seem absurd to want someone to make it so that the smell doesn't travel and isn't quite so pungent. There are of course people who simply go "I don't like this smell, make it go away" but there are legitimate reasons for why someone would speak out against such an environment.

 

[Formaldehyde]

I mean, at some point, you just to confront it and ask... "Can I, in fact, smell what The Rock is cooking?"

Try reading the article. I found it was actually quite good and well written.

But as an American, I certainly can't respond to her complaints. People would think I was nuts if I complained about charcoal grills. Not to mention I smoke pork on a regular basis myself.

I don't really think this is exclusive to foreign cuisine, though. I know for myself that the smell of Hamburger Helper cooking on the stove makes me retch and it permeates through an entire house. I don't think any immigrants are responsible for that. It's not exactly a crazy idea that people don't want to be overwhelmed by powerful smells in their home or just outside of it. American cuisine typically has a bland scent to it or it stays close to the source. This isn't the case with BBQ but these occasions are rare (once a week if you're feeling adventurous) while foreigners (or people who simply enjoy foreign food) may be making their "smelly" food on a daily basis.

It has literally been ages since I have even been in any proximity to Hamburger Helper. But I certainly can't remember that it stank.

Strong scents can make people ill so it doesn't seem absurd to want someone to make it so that the smell doesn't travel and isn't quite so pungent. There are of course people who simply go "I don't like this smell, make it go away" but there are legitimate reasons for why someone would speak out against such an environment.

I certainly wouldn't unless it was some sort of a chronic problem that did literally make me "ill". But I can't say I've ever had such an experience, so I'm just guessing how I might respond.

Unless there is an actual health issue, it seems like a form of xenophobia to me. Close the windows and turn on the AC. Use air freshener.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

People would think I was nuts if I complained about charcoal grills.

Try doing it in an apartment building indoors. Actually, it would probably be the fire department that would lodge a complaint.

 

[BvBPL]

Cultural appropriation is mostly a load of BS fostered by people who think they are contributing to harmony by shaming others in one hundred and forty characters. It is largely a smoke screen that permits the offended party to experience indignation and feel like she's being socially responsible without effecting, or even attempting, material change.

The thesis presented in the top post is no different.

 

[warpus]

Using Narz's example, if for years you were really nerdy and viewed as an outsider because it, it's very likely you'll get angry if suddenly being nerdy is cool.

Understandable, I feel the same way about social media. In high school me and my friends were viewed as "geeks" because we spent a lot of time on the social media of the day. "Weirdos!", we'd be called. Now everyone is a weirdo and it's normal.

But to then bring "cultural appropriation" into this is stupid. I would say silly, but it is mostly stupid.

 

[VivienSm]

Eating is not offending, it is necessary a lot eating is offending.

 

[Snorrius]

Do you agree with her? If so, what are some ways we can eat food from other cultures without appropriating and commodifying those cultures? Is what she describes inevitable? Do you think any of this is necessarily bad?

I think if she is "offended" she should just get over it and move along. World can be a harsh place, there are way more horrendous thing out there.

 

[Kyriakos]

I am not seeing how using a native american headware is offensive either. People do not tend to know all there is to know about some object so as to adorn it on a few occasions. I am sure there are no non-religious clothes using the cross symbol either, or all using it are not appropriating and stuff.

Merican fraternities also echo knowledge by their use of simple greek letters, or (zeus forbit) even chitons

PS: if we find any kid in Afganistan wearing a Nirvana t-shirt, he must be lynched. Obviously never heard of Cobain

 

[NovaKart]

This is one of the weaker arguments on cultural appropriation that I've read, yes I did read the article. The article is about food which even most proponents of the cultural appropriation is a sin idea usually leave out.

Her talking about discount tourism makes herself looked privileged. Not everyone has the money to go to Thailand or China and learn about the culture. Some people just want to try something new and exotic and what's wrong with that? Even people who did spend time learning about Chinese or Thai culture would still get criticized by the more extreme voices in the cultural appropriation debate.

I read an article yesterday by an Indian American woman talking about appropriation of yoga and Indian clothing. This I could understand a little more with the Indian clothing argument because she mentioned how if a white woman wears a sari people might think its interesting but an Indian woman wearing it may be seen as an illiterate immigrant or someone who refuses to integrate.

However, I still can't really get behind the idea that a white woman wearing a sari is offensive. Even if she would be viewed differently as Indian women while wearing it, I don't see why her abstaining from wearing it actually helps anyone. It just further divides people.

I also reject the idea that people have ownership of a culture and can decide what people can and can't take from that culture. The only time I would agree with it were if people were taking something sacred from a culture and using it in an offensive way. In this case it's not really about race since people from that culture could equally be guilty of doing this.

Telling people they shouldn't adopt a fashion or practice from another culture is just racism. I think some people who propose this idea just want to have something exclusive to themselves or they feel validated by claiming victimization .

 

[bhavv]

Link to video.

A lot of people found this to be an offensive waste of food.

If you do, DONT LOOK UP HOW2BASIC.