# Is this racist? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 8, 2015, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349 "2015-01-08T22:39:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/1 "2015-01-08T22:39:16Z")
Submitted without comment. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ixsNifCLYOA/maxresdefault.jpg "Americans Try Persian Food With Their Driver") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixsNifCLYOA) ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/2 "2015-01-08T22:46:44Z")
Okay, I only went three minutes in and I’m not even getting the slightest inkling why one would think it’s racist. Do they change tone later in the video or something? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/3 "2015-01-08T23:05:20Z")
It’s two guys that hire a cab or an uber and then ask them to take them to a restaurant in LA that best represents the food from their own culture. They then share a meal with the driver and discuss the food. They have multiple videos where they try various ethnic foods. In this particular video the first get a car with an El Salvadorian driver who says his dad could help them, but the dad isn’t available. They then get an Armenian uber driver who takes them to a Persian restaurant. Hardly racist. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/4 "2015-01-08T23:41:33Z")
If they did this with a Native American driver, I hope they made a reservation at the restaurant first! ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/5 "2015-01-08T23:43:54Z")
I didn’t see anything that I would call racist. But it was boring as hell… ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/6 "2015-01-08T23:58:51Z")
There’s nothing the slightest bit racist about it. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/7 "2015-01-09T00:21:14Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > If they did this with a Native American driver, I hope they made a reservation at the restaurant first! Boo. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/8 "2015-01-09T01:05:18Z")
It’s a bunch of people completely respectfully asking someone of a different culture to share their cuisine with them. The only worldview I can fathom where that’s racist is the uber stringent one where you posit that any acknowledgment of race or ethnicity is inherently bad. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/9 "2015-01-09T01:16:10Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > It’s two guys that hire a cab or an uber and then ask them to take them to a restaurant in LA that best represents the food from their own culture. They then share a meal with the driver and discuss the food. Why, that’s… a pretty cool idea! ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/10 "2015-01-09T01:36:44Z")
So I got in a big fight about this with a friend of mine. Another friend said that she’s embarrassed when her boyfriend asks cabbies about themselves. What they said, basically, is that it’s presumptuous and “culturally insensitive” to ask a driver about local restaurants just because they’re of a certain ethnicity. “Just because I’m Korean doesn’t mean I know anything about Korean restaurants” or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/11 "2015-01-09T01:43:27Z")
I mean, I understand where she’s coming from. One of the things you learn in training for teaching/leadership is to never force someone to be an ambassador for their race (or sex). If you’re dealing with a black or hispanic or female issue, don’t just call on a random person fitting that description and ask them what they think. **But** , at the same time, asking people to share, respectfully, is a great way to learn. More importantly, they weren’t singling him out in front of a crowd, but in private. I’m sure these guys wouldn’t bully him into accepting. If you don’t go to many restaurants or otherwise aren’t comfortable then, okay, don’t sign the disclosure waiver, we won’t put you on the show. No hard feelings. And the fact is, most immigrants **do** actively seek out communities and restaurants that remind them of home, so statistically it’s probably a good way to get that sort of info. I don’t see in it an implicit assumption that he must know where all the best Iranian food is, it’s a polite request that **if** he does have some place he likes, and he’s comfortable, to share it with others. There’s nothing wrong with that. Edit: It’s hairier when you’re only dealing with n-th generation people of an ethnicity where n\>1. I wouldn’t ask my 100% born and raised in America Vietnamese friends about good Vietnamese restaurants, and agree that may be a bit presumptuous/insensitive, but I might about a person **from** Vietnam. Note that the first guy they booked, they didn’t ask him about restaurants because he was from LA. They merely described their show to him and he offered that his dad was from El Salvador, they were explicitly looking for foreigners, not just ethnicity. ---
**Author:** ![chicagowhitesox1173](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@chicagowhitesox1173](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chicagowhitesox1173)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/12 "2015-01-09T01:49:50Z")
whoever thinks this is racist, is a very sensitive person. I guess i can see how asking a guy from Armania versus asking a guy from Korea, a good place to eat, could be insensitive, but still, is it really that big of a deal. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/13 "2015-01-09T01:52:51Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > So I got in a big fight about this with a friend of mine. Another friend said that she’s embarrassed when her boyfriend asks cabbies about themselves. > > What they said, basically, is that it’s presumptuous and “culturally insensitive” to ask a driver about local restaurants just because they’re of a certain ethnicity. “Just because I’m Korean doesn’t mean I know anything about Korean restaurants” or something like that. You could leave it open-ended. Just ask for something that’s good, authentic, represents their local community, etc. Let _them_ decide what that is. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/14 "2015-01-09T02:04:02Z")
I’m going to comment without reading any other responses: hell no! There’s a dude on CNN right now travelling around the world doing the exact same thing. How is this racist? WTF? ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/15 "2015-01-09T02:27:39Z")
Anybody else think of the Seinfeld bit where he asks the mailman where the Chinese restaurant is? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/DnAam9Hozwk/hqdefault.jpg "Seinfeld - Chinese mailman") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnAam9Hozwk) ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/16 "2015-01-09T02:31:05Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > You could leave it open-ended. Just ask for something that’s good, authentic, represents their local community, etc. Let _them_ decide what that is. Well, the sort of conversation that I’ve had and presented was like this: Me: Where are you from? Cabbie: Ethiopia. Me: How long have you been here? Cabbie: 4 years Me: Is the Ethiopian food here any good? Cabbie: Yeah, it’s not bad. Me: Are there any restaurants you particularly recommend? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/17 "2015-01-09T02:41:28Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Well, the sort of conversation that I’ve had and presented was like this: > > Me: Where are you from? > Cabbie: Ethiopia. > Me: How long have you been here? > Cabbie: 4 years > Me: Is the Ethiopian food here any good? > Cabbie: Yeah, it’s not bad. > Me: Are there any restaurants you particularly recommend? Sounds like a normal conversation to me. ---
**Author:** ![Apollon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47774/32.png) [@Apollon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollon)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/18 "2015-01-09T04:59:50Z")
It’s not racist, but it is annoying as hell. I’m a 50/50 Greek Austrian living in Austria, trying my best to be as Austrian as everyone else. And then some arsehole comes along and says something along the lines of “what do you Greeks say about such and such?” With one question, he invalidates my chosen national identity and casts me into another. They don’t mean it that way, of course, and I wouldn’t say that it’s offensive… but I still want to punch them when they do that. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/19 "2015-01-09T06:22:38Z")
How does being Greek “invalidate” being Austrian? ---
**Author:** ![Saturn\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2015, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349/20 "2015-01-09T08:40:30Z")
No, I didn’t find it racist but nowadays, somebody somewhere will find something wrong if it involves non-Caucasians, women, children, gays, physically-challenged, homeless, politicians, or religious people. I think the only non-controversial video that can be made is a group of white men talking about the weather. But they can’t say things like, “It’s hotter than Africa”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-racist/709349.md?page=2)