# It's called an Arnold Palmer for a reason, douche. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 19, 2007, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-called-an-arnold-palmer-for-a-reason-douche/404707 "2007-05-19T08:33:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-called-an-arnold-palmer-for-a-reason-douche/404707/41 "2007-05-19T16:30:35Z")
[QUOTE=Gangster Octopus] Are you being serious? [/QUOTE] he must be, because it’s apparent he has no semse of humor or proportion. I think there’s a cream for that. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-called-an-arnold-palmer-for-a-reason-douche/404707/42 "2007-05-19T16:33:27Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] O.J. never iced anybody. It was some other guy. [/QUOTE] I think it was the one armed man who also killed Robert Blake’s wife. [QUOTE=Rigamarole] OK. Next time I go to a restaurant and the waiter is black, I will politely ask “May I have a glass of cranberry juice, dumb nigger?”. I’m sure he will just do his job and get it for me like he is supposed to, and everyone will be happy. [/QUOTE] You know, there are a lot of decaffinated brands on the market that are just as tasty as the real thing. And for what it’s worth, I worked in restaurants and bars for several years, and I didn’t know that an iced tea mixed with lemonade is called an “Arnold Palmer”; we always called it a “lemonade iced tea”. If you hadn’t been so crass as to “correct” a customer when you clearly understood what she was asking for, she wouldn’t have felt it necessary to play her own joke on you. I’d say she got her money’s worth, though; she’s no doubt forgotten all about you, and you’re still fuming over her speciously presumed racism. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-called-an-arnold-palmer-for-a-reason-douche/404707/43 "2007-05-19T16:35:24Z")
[QUOTE=Uvula Donor] I missed the part in your OP where that woman called you a “dumb cracker.” [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=tomndebb] And you cannot see the difference between deliberately insulting your server with the epithet “dumb nigger” and a little old lady responding to her server cortrecting her with a joke? Ed, we’re going to need a whole load of rolleye icons over here. [/QUOTE] Hi, it’s called using exaggeration (and sarcasm, to the guy who asked if I was serious) to prove a point. I realize that’s not on quite the same level, but the point is it made me feel slighted, and it was racially motivated. Not enough to throw a fit, but enough to be uncomfortable. And just because it’s “my job” doesn’t mean I _should_ have to be uncomfortable, and just shut up and do what I’m “supposed to do”, as **Contrapuntal** ’s post stated (which is also insulting). Believe me, I know the world we live in is less than ideal. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t point out the things that are making it that way. I’m not afraid to laugh at my circumstances, and I don’t hold onto anger long. But sometimes you just gotta vent, and that’s what this forum is for, right? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-called-an-arnold-palmer-for-a-reason-douche/404707/44 "2007-05-19T16:38:53Z")
Oh, and to the people who keep calling it a “joke”, it really didn’t have the tone of a joke. Nobody (not just me, but the party she was with) laughed or even cracked a smile. And like I said, I’ve encountered people calling it this before and they are quite serious. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-called-an-arnold-palmer-for-a-reason-douche/404707/45 "2007-05-19T16:44:40Z")
[QUOTE=Rigamarole] OK. Next time I go to a restaurant and the waiter is black, I will politely ask “May I have a glass of cranberry juice, dumb nigger?”. I’m sure he will just do his job and get it for me like he is supposed to, and everyone will be happy. [/QUOTE] Hmm. Probably not. “Nigger” is a pretty serious insult. Probably the worst one, generally speaking, in American English today. “Tiger Woods” is, as far as I can tell, not an insult at all. Oh, but she didn’t call you Tiger Woods, did she? She didn’t call you anything at all. She merely said that she had a stupid dumbass name for a drink that she preferred to your stupid dumbass name for a drink. Like “Sex on the Beach.” Or a “Fuzzy Navel.” You knew what she wanted. It was your job to get it for her. Must have been a slow day at the bar if you had time to wet your panties over this. ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-called-an-arnold-palmer-for-a-reason-douche/404707/46 "2007-05-19T16:47:18Z")
[QUOTE=Rigamarole] And like I said, I’ve encountered it people calling it this before and they are quite serious. [/QUOTE] Then, since it’s obvious you know exactly what they want, you should just bring them their drinks and shut the fuck up about it. See, what I think you’re missing here is that service people are there to _serve_. Not to chide, educate, lecture, correct grammar, or anything else. Just _serve_. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-called-an-arnold-palmer-for-a-reason-douche/404707/47 "2007-05-19T16:50:40Z")
[QUOTE=Rigamarole] As for the evidence that it was a racially motivated comment? When I said “Arnold Palmer”, it was obvious from her reaction that she had heard the name and knew what it meant, but just couldn’t bring herself to order a drink named after a white man, and a white golfer at that. :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] This does not logically follow. Maybe she first heard of it at one of those places where it’s on the menu as a “Tiger Woods,” so it’s just what she thinks it’s called. Anyway, I larfed at this [blog entry](http://msp.blogs.com/chowandagain/2006/04/index.html): > [@](#): > > If Tiger Woods ordered an iced tea mixed with lemonade, what would he call it? > > Nothing ticks me off more than cutesy nicknames. For the last four, almost five years, I have taken careful note that every time I order a half iced tea mixed with lemonade, the server always, without fail, smiles at me and says, “. . .an Arnie Palmer . . .” confirming my order with an insouciant nod of the head. It happens five times a week, all over the world. For some reason every restaurant training program from ten-seat mom-and-pops to ten-unit chains all feel compelled to have their servers call back your half-and-half order to you. They don’t do it when I order a burger, or a salad, just the iced tea-lemonade combo. Strange. > > Today the streak ended. At The Cheesecake Factory, a server actually took my order without feeling the need to editorialize any further. God bless him! My faith in humanity has been restored. Just thought you should know. Amen. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-called-an-arnold-palmer-for-a-reason-douche/404707/48 "2007-05-19T16:53:37Z")
[QUOTE=Rigamarole] And just because it’s “my job” doesn’t mean I _should_ have to be uncomfortable, and just shut up and do what I’m “supposed to do”, as **Contrapuntal** ’s post stated (which is also insulting). [/QUOTE] Hey, Doofus. I never told you to shut up. I told you to do your job. I’ve been a waiter, and a bartender. When I got tired of being at someone’s beck and call, I quit. Sounds like you should do the same. I’ve been yelled at, tugged on, lied to, threatened, assaulted, and more. It’s a suckass job. Find another one, or quit bitching. No one insulted you, no one was a fucking \*racist \*for Chris’s sake. What you should have done is remember her, and the next time she comes in say “A Tiger Woods, right?” Customers eat that shit up. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-called-an-arnold-palmer-for-a-reason-douche/404707/49 "2007-05-19T16:55:40Z")
[QUOTE=Uvula Donor] Then, since it’s obvious you know exactly what they want, you should just bring them their drinks and shut the fuck up about it. [/quote] Yeah, and in practice that’s what I _did_. When she said that, all I said was “Oh, OK.” and I got it for her. > [@Uvula Donor](#): > > See, what I think you’re missing here is that service people are there to _serve_. Not to chide, educate, lecture, correct grammar, or anything else. Just _serve_. Sure. Doesn’t mean I’m not a person with real fuzzy person-y feelings at the end of the day. I’m not your fucking robot slave (although I hear that [fucking robot slaves](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=421044) are gaining popularity in Japan). ---
**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:** [May 19, 2007, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-called-an-arnold-palmer-for-a-reason-douche/404707/50 "2007-05-19T17:02:04Z")
While the OP is certain the comment was racially motivated, those of us in the audience weren’t there, so we’re not just going to take the OP’s word for it. If it was racially motivated, then the woman was a douche. If it wasn’t, then it was a lame (or possibly innocent) joke. BTW, I’m amazed at how many times I order an Arnold Palmer at a restaurant and the server doesn’t know what it is. The drink is damn good, though! ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-called-an-arnold-palmer-for-a-reason-douche/404707/51 "2007-05-19T17:03:26Z")
It _was_ a case of reverse racism, and had a customer asked for a premium burger… you know, made from that special kind of cow… “a Black Angus burger?” “That’s right. White Angus.” we’d all be clicking and mm-hmming and patting the OP on the back. However, it was a case of _reverse_ racism, so we’re all obliged to not care. No, world ain’t fair. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-called-an-arnold-palmer-for-a-reason-douche/404707/52 "2007-05-19T17:06:24Z")
[QUOTE=Rigamarole] As for the evidence that it was a racially motivated comment? When I said “Arnold Palmer”, it was obvious from her reaction that she had heard the name and knew what it meant, but just couldn’t bring herself to order a drink named after a white man, and a white golfer at that. :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] Was she black or white? (Although I don’t see what difference it would make) Dude, you seriously need to get the fuck over it. I would have just raised an eyebrow and moved on. ---
**Author:** ![Cattitude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@Cattitude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cattitude)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-called-an-arnold-palmer-for-a-reason-douche/404707/53 "2007-05-19T17:06:41Z")
[QUOTE=Rigamarole] Hi, it’s called using exaggeration (and sarcasm, to the guy who asked if I was serious) to prove a point. I realize that’s not on quite the same level, but the point is it made me feel slighted, and it was racially motivated. Not enough to throw a fit, but enough to be uncomfortable. And just because it’s “my job” doesn’t mean I _should_ have to be uncomfortable, and just shut up and do what I’m “supposed to do”, as **Contrapuntal** ’s post stated (which is also insulting). Believe me, I know the world we live in is less than ideal. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t point out the things that are making it that way. I’m not afraid to laugh at my circumstances, and I don’t hold onto anger long. But sometimes you just gotta vent, and that’s what this forum is for, right? [/QUOTE] Your whole “vent” is amazing to me. In my second job I deal with customers as well. Your scenario would barely register a blip on my radar for annoyances. I too have never heard of the drink named Arnold Palmer. I doubt the woman was trying to insult you. But. people can be jerks and you were there and we were not. Still, it;s NOT on the same level as calling someone a highly charged racial epithet. Go ahead and vent and be prepared for the backlash 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-called-an-arnold-palmer-for-a-reason-douche/404707/54 "2007-05-19T17:07:20Z")
[QUOTE=Sattua] It _was_ a case of reverse racism, and had a customer asked for a premium burger… you know, made from that special kind of cow… “a Black Angus burger?” “That’s right. White Angus.” we’d all be clicking and mm-hmming and patting the OP on the back. However, it was a case of _reverse_ racism, so we’re all obliged to not care. No, world ain’t fair. [/QUOTE] Ah ha, the dreaded “reverse” racism! No wonder no one cares. I forgot that because our ancestors dicked black people over for so long (although I’m only third-generation here, so it’s not like I have slave-owner ancestors) they’ve _earned_ the right to be racist! As I see it, racism is racism. But I just think crazy like that. ---
**Author:** ![Blunt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Blunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blunt)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-called-an-arnold-palmer-for-a-reason-douche/404707/55 "2007-05-19T17:10:30Z")
I just did a quick [Google](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=tiger+woods+lemonade+iced+tea) search, and it looks like (at least at first glance) there is a variation of the Arnold Palmer drink, which includes cranberry juice and is called a Tiger Woods. I haven’t checked the links, so I’m not sure how valid they are, but there were enough of them to make me think the Tiger Woods name is not uncommon. I’m not necessarily implying that this drink is what the woman was looking for, and I do think she was either trying to make a dumb joke, look witty, or MAYBE being racist when she changed the name. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-called-an-arnold-palmer-for-a-reason-douche/404707/56 "2007-05-19T17:11:04Z")
[QUOTE=Rigamarole] As I see it, racism is racism. But I just think crazy like that. [/QUOTE] Crazy, yes. Think? I’m not so convinced. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-called-an-arnold-palmer-for-a-reason-douche/404707/57 "2007-05-19T17:20:17Z")
Outback Steakhouse has a menu full of cutesy names. Sometimes I forget the cutesy name and just say, “Ribeye, medium rare.” The fact that The Outback calls it the “Croc Dundee Delight” is not really important; I’ve clearly communicated to the waiter what I want. A good waiter will carry on with his job without taking time out of both of our days to educate me on Outback-isms. The only person being cumbersome here was Rigamarole. FTR, I’ve never heard of an Arnold Palmer before. As far as her comment being racist, that’s quite a stretch. It probably just means that Tiger Woods is her favorite golfer. BFD. The fact that you conclude that her comment was racist based on nothing more than the fact that she was also an African-American is the pot calling the kettle, er, black. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-called-an-arnold-palmer-for-a-reason-douche/404707/58 "2007-05-19T17:34:21Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa] Outback Steakhouse has a menu full of cutesy names. Sometimes I forget the cutesy name and just say, “Ribeye, medium rare.” The fact that The Outback calls it the “Croc Dundee Delight” is not really important; I’ve clearly communicated to the waiter what I want. A good waiter will carry on with his job without taking time out of both of our days to educate me on Outback-isms. The only person being cumbersome here was Rigamarole. FTR, I’ve never heard of an Arnold Palmer before. As far as her comment being racist, that’s quite a stretch. It probably just means that Tiger Woods is her favorite golfer. BFD. The fact that you conclude that her comment was racist based on nothing more than the fact that she was also an African-American is the pot calling the kettle, er, black. [/QUOTE] How much more clear do I have to make it? This isn’t an issue of not just wanting to use a cutesy name. I agree with you, as long as I understand clearly what you are ordering I don’t care what you call it. But when I was introduced to the term it was explained that it is specifically used because Tiger Woods is black, and Arnold Palmer is white. Arnold Palmer invented the Arnold Palmer. Tiger Woods did not, and in fact wasn’t even born yet. And this lady was clearly familiar with the name Arnold Palmer, but just _could not bring herself to say it_. She even had to wag her finger at me when I said it, can you believe it? _She wagged her finger at me_\*. When I finally heard her (and as mentioned in the OP, it is actually loud in the restaurant and hard to hear customers), I repeated her order back to her using the name I know it by to make sure I had it right. It wasn’t “correcting” her, but I’m not going to repeat back “OK, so that’s a lemonade mixed with iced tea for you, right?” when we call that drink an Arnold Palmer 500 times a day. \*note: this is me making fun of myself, for those of you who don’t get my kind of humor ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-called-an-arnold-palmer-for-a-reason-douche/404707/59 "2007-05-19T17:37:12Z")
[QUOTE=Rigamarole] But when I was introduced to the term it was explained that it is specifically used because Tiger Woods is black, and Arnold Palmer is white. [/QUOTE] How do you know this lady was using the same reasoning behind her name for the drink that was used by the person who introduced you to the term? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-called-an-arnold-palmer-for-a-reason-douche/404707/60 "2007-05-19T17:40:25Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] How do you know this lady was using the same reasoning behind her name for the drink that was used by the person who introduced you to the term? [/QUOTE] Because there really is no other reasoning for it? **PunditLisa** said “it probably just means Tiger Woods is her favorite golfer” - WTF? So do you just call anything you like by the names of your favorite sports stars? “Hi, I’d like a LeBron James.” “Err, I’m not familiar with that…” “Oh, it’s a cheeseburger. I just call it a LeBron James because LeBron James is my favorite basketball player.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-called-an-arnold-palmer-for-a-reason-douche/404707.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-called-an-arnold-palmer-for-a-reason-douche/404707.md?page=4)