# Falafel: the gateway food to terrorism **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 23, 2013, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falafel-the-gateway-food-to-terrorism/666981 "2013-08-23T17:06:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falafel-the-gateway-food-to-terrorism/666981/1 "2013-08-23T17:06:28Z")
And before you think I’m being cheeky or satirical with the thread title, she really did say that. [Bachmann: ‘We Must Ban Falafel’ in School Lunches](http://dailycurrant.com/2012/09/28/bachmann-we-ban-falafel-school-lunches/). > [@](#): > > Startled by the parochial nature of her statements, KSTP anchor Chris Johnson felt obliged to challenge her reasoning: > > “I have to ask Ms. Bachmann, why is that a problem? I mean some children like the taste of falafel, what’s wrong with that?” > > “Chris, falafel is a gateway food,” responded Bachmann, "It starts with falafel, then the kids move on to shawarma. After a while they say ‘hey this tastes good, I wonder what else comes from Arabia?’ > > "Before you know it our children are listening to Muslim music, reading the Koran, and plotting attacks against the homeland. > > “We need to stop these terror cakes now, before they infiltrate any further.” I have to agree with one of the commenters below the story: if falafel is the gateway food to terrorism, then tacos must be the gateway food to joining a drug cartel. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falafel-the-gateway-food-to-terrorism/666981/2 "2013-08-23T17:08:39Z")
She…huh…wha??? She’s a cartoon character. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falafel-the-gateway-food-to-terrorism/666981/3 "2013-08-23T17:09:38Z")
The Daily Currant is a satire site, like The Onion. Woops. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falafel-the-gateway-food-to-terrorism/666981/4 "2013-08-23T17:10:02Z")
Google is turning up a lot of conservative news sites claiming that this article is satirical. While I’m no fan of Bachmann, I’m inclined to believe this is satire - it’s simply too absurd to be real. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falafel-the-gateway-food-to-terrorism/666981/5 "2013-08-23T17:11:01Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > And before you think I’m being cheeky or satirical with the thread title, she really did say that. And [evidence of God](http://dailycurrant.com/2013/07/01/nasa-finds-message-from-god-on-mars/) was really found on Mars? ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falafel-the-gateway-food-to-terrorism/666981/6 "2013-08-23T17:11:29Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > The Daily Currant is a satire site, like The Onion. > > Woops. Thank goodness. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falafel-the-gateway-food-to-terrorism/666981/7 "2013-08-23T17:11:56Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Google is turning up a lot of conservative news sites claiming that this article is satirical. While I’m no fan of Bachmann, I’m inclined to believe this is satire - it’s simply too absurd to be real. What, did you see the headlines on the right and you don’t believe that the pope came out as gay, or that Obama plans to forgive all student loans? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falafel-the-gateway-food-to-terrorism/666981/8 "2013-08-23T17:12:39Z")
Terror cakes? Comedy gold. ETA: Poe’s Law. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Doom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Dr\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falafel-the-gateway-food-to-terrorism/666981/9 "2013-08-23T17:52:23Z")
Aaahh, America… the only thing keeping Allah from destroying you all is your sense of humour. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falafel-the-gateway-food-to-terrorism/666981/10 "2013-08-23T18:12:00Z")
I don’t give a shit whether it’s true. She’s ridiculous enough in real-life that you can’t tell the difference between truth and satire anyway. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falafel-the-gateway-food-to-terrorism/666981/11 "2013-08-23T18:23:15Z")
Mother’s milk is the gateway to EVERYTHING! ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falafel-the-gateway-food-to-terrorism/666981/12 "2013-08-23T18:27:05Z")
In other completely true non-satirical news from the Daily Currant [Pope Benedict is Gay](http://dailycurrant.com/2013/02/28/pope-benedict-gay/) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falafel-the-gateway-food-to-terrorism/666981/13 "2013-08-23T18:29:07Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > The Daily Currant is a satire site, like The Onion. Yeah, I had bet with myself that on mouseover I was going to get a Daily Currant URL. Read like pretty clear satire to me. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falafel-the-gateway-food-to-terrorism/666981/14 "2013-08-23T18:44:27Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > I don’t give a shit whether it’s true. She’s ridiculous enough in real-life that you can’t tell the difference between truth and satire anyway. My thoughts also. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falafel-the-gateway-food-to-terrorism/666981/15 "2013-08-23T18:45:09Z")
Holy shit, that is something I would expect from The Onion :eek: More gateway drug for me then … 😛 Personally, I feel that food is a great way to sneak in education about other cultures in school - I used to have a little show and tell about medieval foods that I would help a teacher friend of mine with to show that our ancesters didn’t just eat brown glop. I would show up with a bunch of different stuff that was the medieval original version of modern stuff like [loseyns](https://sites.google.com/site/medievalcuisine/Euriol/recipe-index/loseyns)/mac and cheese, [gyngerbrede](http://www.godecookery.com/ginger/ginger.htm)/gingerbread, [Excellent Small Cakes](http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cariadoc/desserts.html#1)/current buns - really anything that we figured would appeal to kindergarteners. Anything that can start a discussion is good, it shows how everybody has their favorite foods just like we did. It works for older kids - with them you can actually do a cooking class they can participate in and have handouts with recipes to try at home. ---
**Author:** ![OtisCampbellWasRight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d78d45/32.png) [@OtisCampbellWasRight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtisCampbellWasRight)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falafel-the-gateway-food-to-terrorism/666981/16 "2013-08-23T18:45:45Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > I don’t give a shit whether it’s true. She’s ridiculous enough in real-life that you can’t tell the difference between truth and satire anyway. And this is the really sad part. Bachmann has said so many insane things that you could actually believe she would falafel-bash! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falafel-the-gateway-food-to-terrorism/666981/17 "2013-08-23T18:47:25Z")
The article about Will and Jada Smith adopting a white orphan from Eastern Europe was hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falafel-the-gateway-food-to-terrorism/666981/18 "2013-08-23T18:59:22Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Holy shit, that is something I would expect from The Onion :eek: > > More gateway drug for me then … 😛 > > Personally, I feel that food is a great way to sneak in education about other cultures in school . Like this restaurant that was briefly featured today on Yahoo news, but seems to have fallen off the front page quickly. [http://news.yahoo.com/restaurant-only-serves-cuisine-u-enemies-203440174.html;\_ylt=A2KLOzHBsBdSGAcA1BfQtDMD](http://news.yahoo.com/restaurant-only-serves-cuisine-u-enemies-203440174.html;_ylt=A2KLOzHBsBdSGAcA1BfQtDMD) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falafel-the-gateway-food-to-terrorism/666981/19 "2013-08-23T19:21:50Z")
> [@OtisCampbellWasRight](#): > > And this is the really sad part. Bachmann has said so many insane things that you could actually believe she would falafel-bash! Yeah, she’s a bit froot loops to say the least, but come now. Remember how we would poke fun at the conservative or fundie types who took the Onion seriously when it was clear satire (like remember the Harry Potter story?) This is the same thing. I mean, come on, does Bachman even know the word schawarma? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falafel-the-gateway-food-to-terrorism/666981/20 "2013-08-23T19:24:34Z")
There could be something to it. When I was a kid I remember going to a Chinese restaurant and today practically everything is made in China. Coincidence? Let’s not be naive. Schools should only serve food from areas we want to support, like Scotland. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falafel-the-gateway-food-to-terrorism/666981.md?page=2)