Cultural Sensitivity or Racial Profiling in Snack Foods?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Or…why can’t I try the pork rinds?

Yesterday I attended the New School Expo at Soldier Field, basically an information gathering opportunity where parents and students can go to learn more about the specific Charter schools in the Chicago Public School system. As one might expect, it was a racially “diverse” group, if by “diverse” you mean 98% black, as CPS does.

On our way in, we registered and were given the requiste swag-bag, with map, a bottle of water and a snack. We see volunteers loading pork rinds into the bright yellow bags. My girlfriend and I giggle quietly to each other at the choice of snack food. I admit I’ve never tried pork rinds, but I’m game. My friend says she has and they’re disgusting. My son tries to die of embarrassment at being seen with us and fails.

About an hour later, after having the same conversation at two dozen tables, “Oh…you live on the North Side? Yeah…we’re pretty far…south…” (Which, again, seems to be code for “We’re racially “diverse”, meaning 98% black, and your son’s gleaming white ass could be seen from space, biotch. Move to Evanston, already!”), I see a man munching some granola. Mmm…I think…snack foods. “Hey, what the heck, let me try those pork rinds, kid.”

And my kid pulls a bag of *granola *out of the bag we got at registration.

Wait, what? Where are the pork rinds?

I look back at the guy with the granola. White. I look at the kids eating pork rinds at that table over there. Black. That woman feeding her toddler some granola? White. That guy snacking on pork rinds? Black.

Yes. They were handing out two differently packed bags at registration. Pork rinds to the black families and granola to the white.

I can’t figure out whether to laugh or cry.

2

You might as well laugh. I tried pork rinds once some time ago when I was on Atkins, and they are disgusting.

You didn’t see if you could trade a bite with someone else, so you could see for yourself?

Not that it would have made much difference. Pork rinds are disgusting.

– shantih, possessor of an ass positively nuclear in its whiteness

3

I briefly thought about asking for a bag of 'em at registration, but it seemed…douchey. I suppose if I’m really that curious I can pony up the 75 cents for them at Walgreens! It’s not like they’re hard to find in stores. :smiley:

Mostly I just wondered what the reaction would be if they had a table with mangoes and…I don’t, know… turkey breast? and another with watermelon and fried chicken and steered all the white folks to the mango table and the black folks to the watermelon table. At what point does being culturally sensitive turn into being racist? It’s not keeping me up at night, it just seemed odd.

4

I’m so white I damn near glow in the dark, but let me tell you, the hot pork rind – the ones that Southern black folk eat - effing RAWK. It’s an acquired taste, but dayum. Of course, I must admit that I am not a typical whitey :smiley: I don’t like mayonnaise, and I love hot sauce, hot curry, hot everything, really.
If I were in your shoes and wanted the pork rinds, I would have gone back and asked – “hey, I see a bunch of people eating pork rinds, and I got granola. Could I trade for some pork rinds?” That does crack me up that they would do that, but it makes sense.

5

I vote racial profiling–cultural sensitivity would be giving everyone a choice of pork rinds or granola–which seems like a really odd choice, . . . but whatever.

6

It gives me a disappointing message about the local school system.
Presumably depressing attitudes like this are repeated throughout the pupils’ time in these schools. :frowning:

7

Undoubtedly.

Speaking of which, if anyone has an “in” at ACE Tech Charteror DeVry’s high school program, PM me! Gotta get this poor kid out of Sullivan, STAT! :frowning:

8

WhyNot , since you strike me as someone who makes up their own mind, don’t give up on pork rinds ‘til you have tried several versions- the ones out of the bag often suck. Best are made at home.
I don’t think it’s racial as much as cultural, with po’ folk connotations. Check out boudin 'n gratton.

9

Wait, pork rinds are black snacks? I thought they were Hispanic snack foods (or at least from the Caribbean)… White skin as I have, I grew up eating that. It is an acquired taste, but they’re yummy… and some crumbled and mixed in mashed plantains… mmm

10

I would have grabbed both because I’m greedy like that.

11

Are these people insane? You can’t get any whiter than George Bush the father, who once said that pork rinds were his favorite snack.

12

I can’t even wrap my brain around serving pork rinds to black people and granola to white but, on the topic of pork rinds… The puffy ones you buy in the bag are boring and if you’re gonna eat them, they need some kind of flavoring. You have to get the cracklin’s… they still have some grease left in them, are chewier and crispier and total coronary enemies but in the right mood, they are pretty tasty.

Just FTR, I live with a Black man… He doesn’t eat them! Go figure!

13

Just before the election, I was inadvertently following a politician from booth to booth at an art fair (we happened to be going the same pace). To the white people, he said, “I’m running for X. Please vote for me.” I thought, “what party, dude?” then I heard him say to a black person, “I’m on the ticket with Obama.”

Serious rolleyes.

He lost.

14

Not Tennessee typical, maybe, but … pork crackling and curry? You could be English.

15

I concur. Slice the skin off a good pork roast, cut them into strips, and fry those bad boys up.

Now I want pork rinds and fried green tomatoes. I think I’ll satisfy my craving with my Sunday brunch…a bacon and cheese sandwich. Mmmmmmm…

16

Pork rinds are also very popular in Scandinavia, especially in Denmark where it’s practically the national snack (a.k.a. flæskesvær). So, ya know. Refer to any Viking roots you might have.

17

I would find the “racial profiling” on snack foods kind of weird too, if only because it would make people needlessly self-conscious about the issue.
Aren’t there any snacks that cross cultural boundaries? From what I found out in a thread about evil people’s favorite food, maybe Doritos would qualify.

18

Pork rinds are delicious (I have cracklins in the fridge right now), and I had no idea they were supposed to be a black food. Of course, I also like soul food, which I grew up eating. For the most part, soul food is the exact same thing lower class whites eat in the South.

19

I also think of them as a Hispanic snack food (chicharrones). At the Mexican markets here, they sell huge, HUGE, like one foot wide and three feet long slabs of pork rinds.

By the way, my dad is Jewish and pork rinds are his favorite snack. :smiley:

20

I suppose the problem I have is that pork rinds are like pure fat, fried. The White families got 'nutritious" granola (granted, it probably had sugared fruit and chocolate chips) and the Black families got fat.

That being said, at the elementary school I work, when they serve “fried” chicken for lunch the lunch ladies put out a packets of hot sauce. The Black students are represented at a lower number than the general population, but to a number they take a hot sauce packet or two. It is a rare and adventurous white student who gets the hot sauce-- and often on a dare.