Secrets of the City

I don’t think the ad is racist, just poor taste, but only having the sale at certain stores is pushing it because they are in the poorer areas with large black (and other non-white) populations. However, the Rainbow on East Lake Street isn’t included.

I live a half-mile or so away from the Richfield location so I’m going to get some peanut butter for cheap.

Maybe I’m just naive, but I don’t see anything wrong with the ad. I also wouldn’t fault a grocery store in an Asian part of town for advertising specials on rice or tofu. I don’t get the big deal.

On a related note, I found the way certain big box grocery stores like Cub & Rainbow stock “ethnic” foods to be odd.

I have to travel north to a particular Cub get the rice & red bean mix I use for jumbalaya. The diversity of that particular store location is seeming no different than Cubs closer to home.

While there, I noticed they stocked the “Glory” brand of canned soul/southern foods, including mixed greens, orcra, skillet corn, etc.

I am thankful that local Rainbow now stocks Mexican Cola-Cola, which sill uses the old sugar-based formula, not corn syrup like the gringo version.

Sandburg- the 2919 26th one is the East Lake one, so it is included.

I’d like to point out that the peanut butter is also on sale, next to the informative paragraph or two about George Washington Carver, the peanut guy.

Racism ain’t what it used to be.

Now that I see the ad, I’m going to say a big, hearty “well, not reallllly.” The ad highlights African Americans’ contribution to American cuisine: Peanut butter was thought to be invented by George Washington Carver (although it wasn’t; he invented peanut oil, and a million other wonderful uses for peanuts); collard greens are actually a super delicious staple of Cajun and Creole cuisine.

Growing up in St. Louis, where the majority (about 60 percent of the population) was black, I actually long for a good soul food place in town. In fact, on inauguration day, I searched high and low for a good soul food joint to celebrate the occasion. Did that make me racist? No. It made Minneapolis SUPER WHITE. Oh, I kid!

But I think the problem here is that there’s nothing stating that these are wonderful contributions to American cuisine. And when you just talk about it being only collard greens, it sounds like it’s promoting a stereotype instead of an extensive menu. Is that the case?

bob, I drank some of the real Coke last week when I was in Isla…god it’s good. SO much better than your corn based crap.

I’m trying to figure out where the Wisconsin Maid Polish Sausage comes into play.

Corn belongs in your fuel tank or your bourbon, CINF, not in your soft drinks.

Change back, Coca-Cola, or we’ll burn Atlanta.

Again.

“I’m trying to figure out where the Wisconsin Maid Polish Sausage comes into play.”

It’s clearly a swipe at Polish black people…

I agree with MollyP.

It seems that it may be more of an oversight than racism. They could have done a much better job of giving context. Doesn’t absolve them of the fact that it seems lazy not to think it through a bit more.

What is truly offensive is that they didn’t advertise any food specials for Chinese New Year. Now that’s racist.

It’s not even an oversight. They listed several black contributions to society on that ad. Because they didn’t assure us that collard greens are part of american cuisine, there is something wrong with it?

I should have read the right column before making the polish sausage comment. Turns out that Lloyd Augustus Hall “revolutionized the meatpacking industry with his development of curing salts for the processing and preserving of meats.” Which is why the ad features bologna, polish sausage and ham.

This ad isn’t racist, it’s educational!

Of course the ad isn’t racist. Barack Obama is president and racism hasn’t existed since early November.

On that point, he did declare February as ‘racism transition month’, so that meritless claims of racism don’t have to cease immediately. You’ve got 18 more days to adjust.

I just bought a passel of collard greens last night. (Also turnip and mustard greens)

The ad is not overtly racist. Sometimes stereotypes have a basis in reality. I can get the above greens at my Cub because people in the area enjoy them. If I travel 5 miles to the north to the Roseville Cub, greens are more difficult to find. It is a question of demographics.

I think it might have been racist if one of the deals was on watermelon. Watermelon is not a distinct element of soul food cooking, and the idea that black people are especially eager for it is a product of the racist imagination.

Besidesa, it never made sense to me. Of course a lot of black people like watermelon. Everybody likes watermelon, because it is delicious. It’s like white people going, hey, what’s up with those black people and their love for candy?

But then, antisemites seem to think Jews have a unique love for money, when almost everybody loves money. Money money money!

The ad is undoubtedly clumsy, but racist?

I can’t find it now, but I remember a lovely photo and story from the January 20 Strib about a MLK Day celebration here in town. It was a big community meal. And collard greens were on the menu.

As for which grocery stores carried the discount, why not take demographics into account? I can get any Manischewitz product I want at the Byerly’s in SLP, but none at all at the Lund’s in St. Anthony Main.

Nobody’s saying “All African American people eat collard greens” any more than “All Jews eat fish balls in a jar.”

Of course the ad isn’t racist. Barack Obama is president and racism hasn’t existed since early November.

Case closed. I was watching the President on teevee the other night, wondering what was differnt about this guy from the last guy.

Then it hit me.

He can pronouce “nuclear” correctly.

“All Jews eat fish balls in a jar”

My new screenplay just got a working title.

The Cohen bros. own the rights already.

“All Jews eat fish balls in a jar.”

Tricia wins the internet for today.

I don’t eat fish balls. Yuck.

To parphrase bixby, “Fish balls don’t eat themselves,” max.

As for which grocery stores carried the discount, why not take demographics into account? I can get any Manischewitz product I want at the Byerly’s in SLP, but none at all at the Lund’s in St. Anthony Main.

This, right here, is wisdom.

Bob: Mexican coke is also made with Mexican water, with predictable results for me. I’ll just drink Jones Cola.

I love Jones cola. Mmmm.

THIS WAS FUNNY!!!!

The part that made it funny was that the folks who put this together thought it was a good idea. Was it Racist, Yes. It was racist because white folks thought that black folks would think it was a good idea. Was it meant as harm I must say I don’t think so. That is what happens when the people are not at the table. Kids get an education, become a director of marketing and FREE DUMB.

Don’t use a Web page as a signature, Andre Koen, it’s something that spammers do and I always clip it off. If you’d like a link to your site, when you register it will appear automatically next to your name when you comment.

Jason has updated his blog with Rainbow’s response: In two words: targeted ad.

I will say that a survey of black people in our newsroom resulted in a shrug and a question about how big the sale was. But I found much more nuanced views among random people on the street in North Minneapolis. Check for that on TV at ten. Also, a sociology professor at the U of M sent my question on to several academics: that update is on my blog.

no fist bumps? no guy hugs? no daps?

…it was racist because white people thought black people would like it….

I am willing to assume that many black people may have appreciated the sale on these items. I think you percieve it as racist because you want it to be.

Fact is, stereotypes have some basis in reality. That was the subtle genius behind The Flintstones. But, as with all generalizations, stereotypes aren’t applicable to all the same people at the same time … and that’s where the danger lay.

Now’s as good a time as any to, once again, reference this groundbreaking article on stereotypes.

I think we needs more words than “racist.” It’s kind of dumb to use the same word to describe klanners and food ads.

kurtis- how about “ignorant”?

It’s done good work but there’s still shades of gray between “didn’t consider all the repercussions but clearly didn’t mean any harm” and “genocidal.”

I posed this question on De’s page: How is this different than advertising hamburgers and weeners for July 4?

Hotdogs and hamburgers are associated with 4th of July, not a racial identity.

And 4th of July ads wouldn’t just target the inner city and first ring suburbs.

So it would go to a targeted audience of everybody and play on nationalistic identity.

Some random thoughts:

Hot dogs once played to stereotypes, back when they were called frankfurters. Hamburgers, too, were renamed during WWI because of an association with Germany.

What other food “prejudices” are there?

Norwegians are stereotyped as lutefisk eaters. The French are known as “Frogs” because of a perceived fondness for frog legs. The Irish love their whiskey and Guinness.

What “white” food do you think of when you think “Asian?” Rice? Just as many Asians eat potatoes, though. Is tempura native to Japan? No, it was a Portugese import. Even the name is derived from Latin.

Norwegians ARE lutefisk eaters.

They export a heckuva lot of it to Brazil, jane, but I’ve met Norwegians who turn their nose up at the stuff. And, as a Swede, I wholeheartedly agree!

Practically everything Rush Limbaugh says on his radio show is based on a stereotype.

Wait, during Black History Month don’t black people get a month off from determining and explaining why something is or is not racist? Whatever, I’m taking the month. I’ll catch y’all and racism next month, during Women’s History Month (which I’m taking off from determining/explaining sexism).