# oh the humanity - college serves culturally appropriated foods **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 22, 2015, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-the-humanity-college-serves-culturally-appropriated-foods/741059 "2015-12-22T02:17:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-the-humanity-college-serves-culturally-appropriated-foods/741059/41 "2015-12-23T15:16:36Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > little envelopes of desecrated vegetables and such truck Yes, they truly defile anything that’s good and holy about vegetables 😃 And now I want to watch _Tampopo_ again. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-the-humanity-college-serves-culturally-appropriated-foods/741059/42 "2015-12-23T15:30:47Z")
I was humorously referencing the [American Civil War.](http://www.history.com/news/hungry-history/desecrated-vegetables-the-hardships-of-civil-war-eating) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-the-humanity-college-serves-culturally-appropriated-foods/741059/43 "2015-12-23T15:40:51Z")
[Here](http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/12/oberlin-college-dining-hall-protest/421674/) is a piece about the Oberlin protests from The Atlantic Monthly. The author mentions that she learned about the role Chiquita Banana had in Latin America, including sponsoring a coup in Guatemala in 1954. So she and her friends wanted the school to buy Fair Trade bananas. She said, “Along with some other students, I formed a campaign to push the campus to stop buying and selling Chiquita bananas. This involved researching the history of the banana industry, creating educational pamphlets, organizing documentary screenings and panel discussions, coming to a consensus on our objectives, and presenting a clear argument to the head of campus dining services. She agreed with our request, and began buying only Fair Trade bananas.” In other words, they didn’t just protest, but did actual research and educated people on the issue. Are today’s students willing to put in that much effort? If they think the dining services should provide more authentic ethnic food, are they willing to spend time with the chefs to educate them? And they could provide their family recipes to the dining services, but they need to recognize that a recipe designed for a home dinner needs to be modified to be used to feed dozens or hundreds of people. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-the-humanity-college-serves-culturally-appropriated-foods/741059/44 "2015-12-23T16:00:17Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Maybe I’m way off base here, but there seems to be something very wrong, at least in terms of appearances, with a bunch of black kids staging a protest to demand more fried chicken. At least they didn’t demand it be served in a safe space so everybody else didn’t eat it all. Because find me an ethnic group who _doesn’t_ like fried chicken. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-the-humanity-college-serves-culturally-appropriated-foods/741059/45 "2015-12-23T16:03:54Z")
I hope somebody tells the students that those bananas are radioactive 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-the-humanity-college-serves-culturally-appropriated-foods/741059/46 "2015-12-23T16:12:39Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I hope somebody tells the students that those bananas are radioactive 🙂 Yes. They should demand potassium free food! ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-the-humanity-college-serves-culturally-appropriated-foods/741059/47 "2015-12-23T16:41:09Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > This is what you get from all that talk about building a wall and making Mexico pay for it. Hope you’re happy, Donald. Yes, no student ever had a problem with their college until Trump mentioned a wall. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-the-humanity-college-serves-culturally-appropriated-foods/741059/48 "2015-12-23T16:46:50Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > " a Chinese General Tso’s chicken dish made with steamed instead of fried poultry;" > > Uh, General Tso’s chicken is as Chinese as American cheese. The name “General Tso’s chicken” is totally militaristic and imperialistic and triggering to victims of colonialist violence. It should be changed to “Peacemaker Tso’s non-threatening chicken”. And a [safe space](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/22/opinion/sunday/judith-shulevitz-hiding-from-scary-ideas.html?_r=0) should be provided for anyone’s who traumatized by it. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-the-humanity-college-serves-culturally-appropriated-foods/741059/49 "2015-12-23T16:57:21Z")
College life must be rough these days. I can’t tell if this outrage is real or satire. The food is not authentic? The black student union is demanding segregation on campus? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-the-humanity-college-serves-culturally-appropriated-foods/741059/50 "2015-12-23T17:50:10Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > The instant shit that most Americans are familiar with, yes. Head for a good Japanese restaurant, and you’ll get the real deal. It’s like comparing Lipton’s instant Cup-O-Soup with the chicken noodle soup that your grandma might have made. Japanese people are a relatively affluent group and they don’t even eat at a “good Japanese restaurant” frequently. Nobody can afford that and they eat the same shit every other culture does, just less frequently. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-the-humanity-college-serves-culturally-appropriated-foods/741059/51 "2015-12-23T23:04:36Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > College life must be rough these days. I can’t tell if this outrage is real or satire. The food is not authentic? The black student union is demanding segregation on campus? And more fried chicken, but I think we can all get behind that. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-the-humanity-college-serves-culturally-appropriated-foods/741059/52 "2015-12-24T02:07:17Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > The name “General Tso’s chicken” is totally militaristic and imperialistic and triggering to victims of colonialist violence. It should be changed to “Peacemaker Tso’s non-threatening chicken”. And a [safe space](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/22/opinion/sunday/judith-shulevitz-hiding-from-scary-ideas.html?_r=0) should be provided for anyone’s who traumatized by it. Whaaaaa!!! _Hyperventilates and reaches for paper bag_ [Peacemaker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_B-36_Peacemaker)!, that triggers the fear of a nuclear Armageddon, you hurt my fweelings! I demand a couloring book NOW!!! ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-the-humanity-college-serves-culturally-appropriated-foods/741059/53 "2015-12-24T02:59:37Z")
These kids strike me as being so open-minded that their brains have fallen out. I mean, I know it’s Oberlin and all, but c’mon. This is just silly. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-the-humanity-college-serves-culturally-appropriated-foods/741059/54 "2015-12-24T04:24:33Z")
My wife’s parents wanted her to go to Oberlin. On one hand she’d have not met me (40 years later the jury’s still out on that), but OTOH, she’d have been in troll heaven with loads of stories to tell. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-the-humanity-college-serves-culturally-appropriated-foods/741059/55 "2015-12-24T04:35:20Z")
Apropos of nothing (but we’re in MPSIMS so. . . ), when I see or hear the phrase “oh, the humanity” the only thing I can think of is my favorite _Friends_ episode when this phrase is Chandler’s follow up to Ross telling the pizza girl that “lots of gas smells”. Sorry, OP; no disrespect intended.(and yes, I do know the origin). ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-the-humanity-college-serves-culturally-appropriated-foods/741059/56 "2015-12-24T06:42:54Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Apropos of nothing (but we’re in MPSIMS so. . . ), when I see or hear the phrase “oh, the humanity” the only thing I can think of is my favorite _Friends_ episode when this phrase is Chandler’s follow up to Ross telling the pizza girl that “lots of gas smells”. Sorry, OP; no disrespect intended.(and yes, I do know the origin). No disrespect taken, and I’ve never watched _Friends_. ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-the-humanity-college-serves-culturally-appropriated-foods/741059/57 "2015-12-24T10:35:35Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > College life must be rough these days. I can’t tell if this outrage is real or satire. The food is not authentic? The black student union is demanding segregation on campus? On second reading I’m starting to think this whole thing is a troll that’s fallen victim to Poe’s Law. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-the-humanity-college-serves-culturally-appropriated-foods/741059/58 "2015-12-24T20:19:54Z")
> [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](#): > > On second reading I’m starting to think this whole thing is a troll that’s fallen victim to Poe’s Law. It would be cool if this turned out to be some kind of social experiment to test peoples’ reactions. Unfortunately I think the students are serious. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-the-humanity-college-serves-culturally-appropriated-foods/741059/59 "2015-12-24T20:29:30Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > The name “General Tso’s chicken” is totally militaristic and imperialistic and triggering to victims of colonialist violence. It should be changed to “Peacemaker Tso’s non-threatening chicken”. And a [safe space](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/22/opinion/sunday/judith-shulevitz-hiding-from-scary-ideas.html?_r=0) should be provided for anyone’s who traumatized by it. I’m not sure how cookies and a coloring book create a safe space. Instead of giving people a place to hide, why not teach them some self defense. I knew a woman who worked with women who were victims of domestic violence. She taught them both belly dancing and karate. Belly dancing to help them feel beautiful again, karate so they could kick the shit out of any man who tried to hurt them again. ---
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2015, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-the-humanity-college-serves-culturally-appropriated-foods/741059/60 "2015-12-25T05:10:36Z")
I was talking to one of my college age daughters today, and this topic came up. Interestingly enough, I know one of the complainers in the original college article from Oberlin, I knew him in Vietnam. Decent guy, supposedly his point was don’t call food Vietnamese if it isn’t, and don’t conflate his opinion about food with whatever the afrikan list of demands are. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-the-humanity-college-serves-culturally-appropriated-foods/741059.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-the-humanity-college-serves-culturally-appropriated-foods/741059.md?page=4)