By An Old Friend
Thu, Aug 6, 2020 7:32 p.m.Trader Joe's Stands Up to Cancel Culture
AOF: This contains welcome news. But author Jacoby wrote one notably silly sentence -- I won't mark it -- in the middle of the piece as if he's missing his own point. Several of the online comments remark on this, too.
A defeat for 'cancel culture'
By Jeff Jacoby
Published August 6, 2020
In the ethnic food aisles at Trader Joe's last week, the cancel culture hit a speed bump.
The popular grocery chain, famous for its organic, gourmet, and imported foods, came in for some unwelcome notice recently when the New York Times, CNN, and other news outlets called attention to a petition condemning Trader Joe's for its "racist branding and packaging."
The petition, launched on Change.org by a California high school student, declared that the company "perpetuates harmful stereotypes" by labeling some of its international foods with international names, such as Trader Jose's for its Mexican beer, Trader Jacques' for its ham-and-cheese croissants, Arabian Joe's for its Middle Eastern flatbread, and Trader Ming's for its Kung Pao chicken. The use of these familiar ethnic names amounts to racism, scolded 17-year-old Briones Bedell, "because they exoticize other cultures."
In reality, they do just the opposite: They familiarize other cultures. They present international [sic] foods as accessible and appealing. Far from portraying foreign peoples and their foods as weirdly exotic, the lighthearted branding helps make them as welcome and appetizing as traditional "American" foods.
Trader Joe's ethnic packaging exemplifies the melting pot at its most engaging, lowering the barriers between consumers of different backgrounds and encouraging Americans to explore the variety and joys of other cuisines.
On social media, where Bedell tried to promote her petition (she tweeted that Trader Joe's "romanticizes imperialism, fetishizes native cultures, and casually misappropriates"), the reaction was overwhelmingly negative. The gusher of media attention she attracted didn't translate into many signatures — fewer than 6,000 as of Tuesday. And a counter-petition — "Salvemos a Trader Jose! / Let's save Trader Jose" — was started by another Californian, Mexican-American writer Carlos Allende.
The company's initial response to reports of the petition was to surrender without a protest. A spokesman said Trader Joe's was "in the process of updating older labels." It allowed as how its ethnic brand names may have had the "opposite effect" from the lighthearted inclusiveness they were designed to convey.
Then something splendid happened: Trader Joe's got an earful from its customers — and reversed course.
"We want to be clear: we disagree that any of these labels are racist," the company announced on its website. "We do not make decisions based on petitions." Trader Joe's shoppers, it turned out, liked the playful "Trader Jose" and "Arabian Joe" names, and were unwilling to see them gratuitously smeared as racist or rushed down the memory hole because of one teenager's complaint.
"Recently we have heard from many customers reaffirming that these name variations are largely viewed in exactly the way they were intended — as an attempt to have fun with our product marketing," Trader Joe's noted. "Those products that resonate with our customers and sell well will remain on our shelves."
The cancel culture has been on a roll, toppling brand names and logos (to say nothing of statues and people) on the grounds of racial or social unacceptability. Some of the vanished trademarks, like the Aunt Jemima "mammy" emblem and the name of the Washington Redskins, were plainly overdue for retirement. But other names and products — like the Dixie Chicks, "Paw Patrol," and even the Coco Pops cereal emblem — have been assailed for no good reason at all.
These name-and-shame campaigns haven't encountered much corporate resistance lately. Businesses focused on their bottom lines may figure it's best to minimize any controversy and move on as quickly as possible.
But there are dangers in letting groundswells of outrage proceed unimpeded, or in going along with the pretense that a random online petition is a legitimate news story because a reporter decides to play it up.
It is probably too much to hope that the unsuccessful assault on "Trader Jose's" and "Trader Ming's" represents some kind of turning point. There will be further examples of "woke" intolerance, and more efforts to denounce bigotry where none exists.
All the same, Trader Joe's and its customers have provided a welcome reminder that the cancel crowd can be resisted, and common sense can prevail in the face of ludicrous demands. Here's hoping that the power of that good example resonates widely, and that unwarranted charges of racism stop getting attention they don't deserve.
1 comment:
TERMINATION CULTURE:WHITE CITY COMMISSIONER IN LEELANAU COUNTY,WHO TOLD THE TRUTH CONCERNING BLACKS,ABOUT TO EXPERIENCE IT TO THE MAX
SUTTONS BAY, Mich. (AP) — A northern Michigan county official was heard using a racial slur prior to a pubic meeting to describe African Americans in Detroit whom he blamed for spreading the coronavirus in the state.
When asked by a colleague why he wasn’t wearing a mask before the meeting on Tuesday, Leelanau County road commissioner Tom Eckerle said “well this whole thing is because of them (racial slur) down in Detroit,” according to the Petoskey News-Review.
The Leelanau Enterprise, which first reported the story, said on its website that the meeting could be attended by the public via phone and that anyone listening could have heard the comments. Since it was made before the meeting started, the comment was not officially recorded.
Road Commission Chair Bob Joyce told Eckerle that he couldn’t say that, to which Eckerle responded: “I can say anything I want. Black Lives Matter has everything to do with taking the country away from us.”
Joyce later rebuked Eckerle a second time.
“There’s just no room for that kind of language here,” Joyce told the Leelanau newspaper. “I won’t tolerate any kind of racism in our meeting room or in our organization. Around here, it’s all about the content of people’s character – not the color of their skin.”
(GRA:But the content,of most of the people's character that commit crimes,has black skin. Figure that one out Joyce).
The Leelanau Enterprise said two commission members confirmed the comment was made.
State Rep. Jack O’Malley said the county must take action against Eckerle.
“This type of racial slur is flat-out unacceptable and ignorant. I asked Mr. Eckerle to resign his position as road commissioner in light of these comments and shall he refuse, the citizens of Leelanau County have every right to recall him from office,” O’Malley said in a statement. “It saddens me to have to even make this statement.”
Eckerle, a Republican, was elected in 2018 to a six-year term on the road commission.
The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations also called for Eckerle to resign.
“Dropping the N-word, along with falsely claiming that police accountability activists who are American citizens are taking the country away, is discourse that that must be repudiated by all public officials,” the organization’s Executive Director Dawud Walid said in a statement.
(GRA:Ve vill incinerate any whites who speak out like this.Heil Oprah).
The Associated Press was unable Thursday to find a telephone number to reach Eckerle at home, and emails to his address bounced back. Records show Eckerle lives in Suttons Bay, about to 283 miles northwest of Detroit.
GRA:He doesn't look like the kind of guy who's going to resign--and recalling a small town commissioner could backfire--maybe more people agree than disagree.I'll try to keep tabs on it.
--GR Anonymous--I'm a White survivalist.
Post a Comment