I watched the whole thing, wondering when the racism would occur. It never did.
Nope, that’s not racist. That’s a way to find an awesome dinner.
I haven’t watched the video (I’m at work) but if this is a good description of it, then definitely not racist. Asking about someones culture does not equal racism.
It actually sounds pretty awesome, I might watch it later!
I call bullshit on that…
If they are recent immigrants, or any part of the immigrant community, they will be very proud to share the authentic restaurants with you.
And based on my own experience - the immigrant community can show you the BEST ethnic food that locals won’t even have an inkling of
It is a little bit annoying to be cast in the aspect of your color and only your color. That is to say, if someone looked at me and guessed I was E Indian and immediately started asking me about restaurants, it is ever so mildly perturbing. But, I would certainly tell them about restaurants and let it go.
Get to know me a little and then ask me? That’s a little different.
I don’t know. It’s a tough one. For one thing, I am American. I wasn’t born here but dammit, I am a citizen and went to school here and probably speak English better than lots of Americans. But the fact is also that I love Indian food, so I probably do know which restaurants are good.
Can’t we feel a little of both? Must we always feel exactly one way? Is it ok if we feel a little torn?
It’s not always about colour, because the moment I open my mouth, I identify myself as a non-British person in the UK and end up having the standard ‘I’m from New Zealand’ ‘Oh, my husband’s sister’s twice-removed cousin went there ten years ago and said it was lovely’ conversation. 
Is it racist when a person from New York while visiting South Carolina, asks a local about where the best barbecue can be found?
Or someone visiting Philadelphia inquires about the best cheese steak?
It’s a Seinfeld reference, in case you missed it. Jerry was dating a woman w/ Native American ancestry and was having trouble avoiding language and situations that he thought would offend her.
It’s not racist to think a cabdriver might be familiar with local restaurants that serve his home country’s food. It’s racist to think he must be.
I dunno. I can clearly see how it would be annoying to be suddenly treated like a foodie tour guide based on the presumption that you’re a foreigner (and who else would drive a taxi for a living except a foreigner, amiright?).
Cultural voyeurism has its time and place. If I were a taxi driver and a customer asked me to do anything other than take them to a destination in exchange for payment, I’d feel uncomfortable. But I’d feel especially uncomfortable if they were expecting me to take them to my favorite soul food restaurant so we could bond over a plate of ribs and mac 'n cheese. Like, what the hell?
The presumptuous of such a request speaks of a certain self-centered mindset. As if the idea that the taxi cab driver should be so honored that an outsider is interested enough in his favorite little hole in the wall that he’ll put aside all his normal inhibitions and agree to do this very unusual thing for the entertainment of perfect strangers.
This doesn’t sound obnoxious or offensive to me.
Hopping into a cab on the pretense of needing a ride, but then using this as an opportunity to explore the exotic splendor of Little Ethiopia or whatever is when it becomes rolleye territory.
Why is that roll-eye territory? Cabbies usually know where everything is in a given city. Why not ask?
I was just booing a very bad joke (the ‘reservation’ pun), though I didn’t know it came from Seinfeld.
It was a good-natured boo… the kind of boo I like to make. Please make more bad puns so I can boo them.
You can ask, but it’s eye rolley if you’re using a cab driver’s ethnicity to create a video-taped adventure for yourself. I don’t know how else to get this across except to suggest putting yourselves in their shoes. They don’t exist to entertain you or teach you things about another culture, and asking them to perform in that capacity is a bit presumptuous.
How do we know they didn’t enter into a paid contract for that position?
I have been interviewed on video a couple times, for the entertainment or teaching of others, about groups I was taken to represent. They asked permission before starting to record, and I didn’t feel that I was “performing.” I did wish I’d been a better representative in one case, thinking afterwards of things I should have said, but it was basically a nice experience, to feel that people were interested in what I had to offer. Nobody exists to do that, but in the right context, with the right tone, I think many people enjoy making such exchanges. Doesn’t it just come down to respect, for both the cultures involved, and the individual people you deal with?
Is that what was shown in the video, or is the viewer supposed to assume this all happened organically?
Of course. Cultural sensitivity is a tricky thing, though.
In some cultures, people feel obliged to honor another person’s request whenever there is a perceived difference in status between them and the person doing the asking. Most Americans might naturally assume “a question is just a question, and they are always free to say no”. But someone from another culture may feel like that saying no could cause offense or cost them a good tip. And so they might feel pressured to indulge the curious little gringo in the backseat when the truth is they would rather just focus on driving and thinking their own thoughts.
This isn’t limited to foreigners in the slightest. Anyone who works in the service sector can testify to the awkwardness of dealing with customers who get extra personal or overly familiar (like using their first name gratuitously) as a way to manipulate the interaction to their liking.
A person can be insensitive and annoying without being intentionally jerkish.
You don’t think reality TV is edited in any way?
I guess that’s just a European thing. From what I understand about American culture, you can be considered a perfectly 100% American, even if you harp on all day about how Irish you are. But here in Europe, nationality is what sets us apart from our neighbours. You can be either one of us, or one of them, but if you claim to be both, you’ll be met with suspicion at worst, and with the question “yes, but do you feel more Greek or more Austrian?” And when they start suspecting that you’re not one of them, they’ll start assuming that you need to be educated about their culture, and that you long to return to where you came from.
The funny part is: the more tolerant they are, the more they do it. The true racists at least shut up about the matter.