# MLK FRIED CHICKEN PARTY! Oh, wait... so that's not ok? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 25, 2007, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-fried-chicken-party-oh-wait-so-thats-not-ok/389412 "2007-01-25T15:22:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-fried-chicken-party-oh-wait-so-thats-not-ok/389412/61 "2007-01-25T18:37:14Z")
I think its healthy. Repulsive, but healthy. I want the very young to revel in irreverence. I want them to toss aside any unexamined admiration for anyone, at any time. Unexamined reverence isn’t worth a glass of warm pee. Let them toss all such aside, and start from scratch. MLK’s life and works will withstand the most skeptical scrutiny, and many they have been indoctrinated to revere will not. That’s a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-fried-chicken-party-oh-wait-so-thats-not-ok/389412/62 "2007-01-25T18:41:42Z")
[QUOTE=Weirddave] Excuse me YWTF, but how exactly do you know this? :dubious: [/QUOTE] That’s right you know you need white folks to tell you when people are being racist. You know how oversensitive we get. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-fried-chicken-party-oh-wait-so-thats-not-ok/389412/63 "2007-01-25T18:42:15Z")
[QUOTE=Weirddave] Excuse me YWTF, but how exactly do you know this? :dubious: [/QUOTE] I’m sure she doesn’t know it FOR A FACT, but come on - it’s pretty obvious. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-fried-chicken-party-oh-wait-so-thats-not-ok/389412/64 "2007-01-25T18:42:39Z")
[QUOTE=Weirddave] Excuse me YWTF, but how exactly do you know this? :dubious: [/QUOTE] It took long enough, but I figured eventually someone would intimate that the fried chicken + malt liquor + “ghetto” clothing + event held on Martin Luther King day might all just be a big coincidence. (Even Aunt Jemima showed up—jeez, what are the odds?) Congratulations, **Weirddave**. Incidentally, my mention of “blackface” in the OP was not referring to this party specifically. I recall similar stories in recent years, though, where students did break out the shoe polish. And yeah, now that I see the photos, it sure looks like there was a dearth of fun being had. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-fried-chicken-party-oh-wait-so-thats-not-ok/389412/65 "2007-01-25T18:43:27Z")
[QUOTE=Weirddave] Excuse me YWTF, but how exactly do you know this? :dubious: [/QUOTE] What does Aunt Jemima, T-shirts that read “I love chicken”, MLK, gangsta paraphenlia, and 40’s all have in common? ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-fried-chicken-party-oh-wait-so-thats-not-ok/389412/66 "2007-01-25T18:44:25Z")
[QUOTE=mhendo] I must say, i’m a little perplexed by the notion that it’s **only** racism if it’s accompanied by violence, or discriminatory hiring practices. [/QUOTE] emphasis mine Who’s said that? Certainly not me. To remind you, I never said that “discriminatory hiring practices” was an exclusive list-of-one racist behavoir. I offered it as an example of true racism. So now, why would you try to suggest that I said racism only manifests in discriminatory hiring practices? [QUOTE=mhendo] Racism is an attitude, it’s a set of beliefs and ideas. It can sometimes manifest itself as violence or discriminatory hiring practices, but it need not do so. I don’t think we should be trying to criminalize racist thought or speech, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not racist [/QUOTE] That’s fine. I think there is a 99% chance that these kids hold some racist attitudes, and I think those attitudes will manifest in true racist conduct – the punishable/fireable/sanctionable kind – at some point in their lives. Punishing them for a “gangsta” themed forty party, even one thrown on MLK Day, trivializes their racism, because a white kid could easily do any of the things that they did and still not hold racist attitudes. Are you saying that if you had a teenage son and you found him in his room with some friends listening to a rap cd, top buttons buttoned rest undone, bandana on Tu-Pac style, pants sagging, rapping along, you would think he’s a racist? What if he did this on MLK Day? What if he said, “Dad, just like Ludacris, I like _chicken-n-beer_.”? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-fried-chicken-party-oh-wait-so-thats-not-ok/389412/67 "2007-01-25T18:44:40Z")
[QUOTE=Hippy Hollow] Now with digital cameras and websites, it’s pretty easy to make a regrettable mistake live on forever. [/QUOTE] Politics is going to get much more entertaining when the current crop of young-and-stupid college kids is old enough to run for major office. (The effect is already starting to kick in for the not-so-young-and-stupid; just ask former senator George “Macaca” Allen.) ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-fried-chicken-party-oh-wait-so-thats-not-ok/389412/68 "2007-01-25T18:46:03Z")
[QUOTE=Stuffy] Now we get to have another umpteen page thread on whether this was racist or not. Totally predictable. [/QUOTE] I was hoping your prediction would be wrong, damn you. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-fried-chicken-party-oh-wait-so-thats-not-ok/389412/69 "2007-01-25T18:55:24Z")
[QUOTE=whole bean] Who’s said that? Certainly not me. To remind you, I never said that “discriminatory hiring practices” was an exclusive list-of-one racist behavoir. I offered it as an example of true racism. So now, why would you try to suggest that I said racism only manifests in discriminatory hiring practices? [/quote] Because your post suggested that it’s only _really_ racism if there’s some accompanying overt act. I merely noted that one can be a racist without actually doing anything specific like that. Racism exists in a variety of forms, some of which are just speech or party attire, some of which are merely racist thoughts. A racist thought is still racist, even if you don’t express it to anyone else. [QUOTE=whole bean] That’s fine. I think there is a 99% chance that these kids hold some racist attitudes, and I think those attitudes will manifest in true racist conduct – the punishable/fireable/sanctionable kind – at some point in their lives. [/quote] This sentence merely confirms that you only really think racism is “true” racism when it results in some “punishable/fireable/sanctionable” action. I’m telling you that this is not the case. Period. You are wrong. [QUOTE=whole bean] Punishing them for a “gangsta” themed forty party, even one thrown on MLK Day, trivializes their racism, because a white kid could easily do any of the things that they did and still not hold racist attitudes. [/quote] I never said they should be punished. In fact, i distinctly recall noting that banning or criminalizing this sort of thing is not the answer. But that doesn’t mean they’re not racists. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-fried-chicken-party-oh-wait-so-thats-not-ok/389412/70 "2007-01-25T18:58:31Z")
[QUOTE=Vinyl Turnip] It took long enough, but I figured eventually someone would intimate that the fried chicken + malt liquor + “ghetto” clothing + event held on Martin Luther King day might all just be a big coincidence. (Even Aunt Jemima showed up—jeez, what are the odds?) Congratulations, **Weirddave**. [/QUOTE] Nope, not what I was intimating at all. Nice try though. [QUOTE=you with the face] What does Aunt Jemima, T-shirts that read “I love chicken”, MLK, gangsta paraphenlia, and 40’s all have in common? [/QUOTE] They are all stereotypes? You make the statement “The intent was to mock black people on MLK day”. How do you know their intent? Hell, it looks to me like it might just as easily be a theme party. But it isn’t. Nope, you know that the intent was to “mock black people”. Ok, fair enough, all I’m asking is how do you know this? ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-fried-chicken-party-oh-wait-so-thats-not-ok/389412/71 "2007-01-25T18:59:10Z")
[QUOTE=jsgoddess] I was hoping your prediction would be wrong, damn you. [/QUOTE] I would have loved to be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-fried-chicken-party-oh-wait-so-thats-not-ok/389412/72 "2007-01-25T19:01:19Z")
Such is the fate of the pessimist: you hope to be wrong, but seldom are. The upside is: its a heckuva nice surprise! ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-fried-chicken-party-oh-wait-so-thats-not-ok/389412/73 "2007-01-25T19:05:03Z")
But… but… _shouldn’t_ a person first determine whether something is racist _before_ reacting to it? ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-fried-chicken-party-oh-wait-so-thats-not-ok/389412/74 "2007-01-25T19:08:03Z")
[QUOTE=Weirddave] They are all stereotypes? [/quote] Not just stereotypes. Black stereotypes. > [@](#): > > How do you know their intent? Hell, it looks to me like it might just as easily be a theme party. And what would that theme be, exactly? ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-fried-chicken-party-oh-wait-so-thats-not-ok/389412/75 "2007-01-25T19:10:53Z")
[QUOTE=you with the face] Not just stereotypes. Black stereotypes. And what would that theme be, exactly? [/QUOTE] Gangsta culture? Rap videos? Hell, the theme could be “Black stereotypes”. I don’t know, I wasn’t there, I don’t know anyone there, I’ve never heard of that school. You, OTOH, obviously have because you made the definitive statement that the intent was to “mock black people”. So I’m asking: How do you know this? ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-fried-chicken-party-oh-wait-so-thats-not-ok/389412/76 "2007-01-25T19:14:32Z")
[QUOTE=Weirddave] So I’m asking: How do you know this? [/QUOTE] Because I’m an intelligent person. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-fried-chicken-party-oh-wait-so-thats-not-ok/389412/77 "2007-01-25T19:16:37Z")
[QUOTE=Weirddave] you made the definitive statement that the intent was to “mock black people”. So I’m asking: How do you know this? [/QUOTE] Because it said so on the invitations, of course. Because otherwise how on _earth_ could we ever guess? You really are fucking stupid, aren’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-fried-chicken-party-oh-wait-so-thats-not-ok/389412/78 "2007-01-25T19:16:54Z")
[QUOTE=you with the face] Because I’m an intelligent person. [/QUOTE] So, you just pulled it out of your ass, huh? You don’t know didley squat, you’re assuming. Got it. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-fried-chicken-party-oh-wait-so-thats-not-ok/389412/79 "2007-01-25T19:18:59Z")
[QUOTE=Vinyl Turnip] Because it said so on the invitations, of course. Because otherwise how on _earth_ could we ever guess? You really are fucking stupid, aren’t you? [/QUOTE] I have read several articles on this and also The Smoking Gun report. Nowhere did I see a link to or a text of the invitations. Do you have that link? ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-fried-chicken-party-oh-wait-so-thats-not-ok/389412/80 "2007-01-25T19:19:03Z")
[QUOTE=Biggirl] Whoa, HIV pits are a black stereotype? OK, I don’t know exactly what an HIV pit is, but gangstas all have HIV now? I’m falling seriously behind in keeping up with this stuff. [/QUOTE] Can’t really say about gangstas in particular, but most new AIDS diagnoses in males were black, non-hispanic. Here’s a [PDF](http://www.thebody.com/cdc/pdfs/2005SurveillanceReport.pdf) from the CDC. [PDF Warning, in case ya missed it]. So maybe their humor wasn’t directed at gangstas, but at the fact that blacks have become the fastest-growing demographic for AIDS. That’s some sense of humor. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-fried-chicken-party-oh-wait-so-thats-not-ok/389412.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlk-fried-chicken-party-oh-wait-so-thats-not-ok/389412.md?page=5)