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Portland Burrito cart closed after owners accused of cultural appropriation

E

EMT0

Banned
smurfx said:
i'm trying to care but i just can't. how are these women in mexico being affected by these women making burritos in portland?
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Fat4all said:
if anything charge them with loitering/trespassing

their burrito shop in Portland isn't stealing business from Mexico
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I'm not saying charge them with anything. But their actions are shady and extremely questionable, and I won't be sad to see them go. Recipe theft is still recipe theft, and this is after the burrito shops apparently offered them some tips too. I agree that it's not gonna affect the Mexican burrito stands. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't see some karmic justice here.
 
B

Bobby Roberts

Banned
Obliterator said:
There has to be more to this story right?

Because if it's as presented then that is absolutely insane. I would have to think there was more going on
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Was wondering when this was gonna get here.

There was a passage in the original article (and the alt-weekly that ran it has gotten in a lot of recent trouble with the food & service industries for awhile now for their content) that featured the two women in question describing themselves as more or less shaking down the women in the small town they were visiting, and when they were denied more detailed recipes, they described peeking through the windows of these women as they made their tortillas to watch and take notes on what they were doing and how they were doing it.

That was the passage that had people essentially responding along the lines of "what the fuck you were peeping in these old women's fucking windows and you're bragging on it as a means to make your pop-up foodcart sound more authentic?"

From there the comments & facebooks started filling up with (mostly) peeved and miffed white men & women upset that people of color in the city thought that sort of behavior was suspect. (A senior editor at that alt-weekly was, at one point, all on his facebook page misunderstanding the term "drag" and trying to suggest that people were using it as a death threat by way of referencing Matthew Shepard)

Once the phrase "cultural appropriation" was broached and then dropped into the mix, it was more or less open season. The "fight" went from 0-to-"Yeah well my people invented the printing press so your being able to communicate in text is cultural appropriation" in a fuckin' hurry.

In the midst of all this, the women, who basically got hung out to dry by the writer/editor of the alt-weekly, decided this attention wasn't worth their fledgling pop-up (it wasn't even their own foodcart, they were just guesting at someone elses for a little while) and closed up shop.

After they had closed, A Fox News affiliate discovered an op-ed for the paper I work at, written by a black woman who went in hard on our very white city's weird attitudes about race, especially as it pertains to Portland's very well known food scene, and once Fox found it, the Blaze found it, and once the Blaze found it, shit was off to the fuckin' races.

The best piece I've seen on this whole thing since was actually a roundtable discussion at Uproxx.

It's very long, but also very well thought out.
 
S

Slayven

Member
“They wouldn’t tell us too much about technique, but we were peeking into the windows of every kitchen, totally fascinated by how easy they made it look,”
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This is where they fucked up
 
G

gforguava

Member
Good ol' cultural appropriation, I was hoping I was done hearing about this nonsense.

And them "stealing" recipes from Mexican women, lord have mercy.
 
Dude Abides

Dude Abides

Banned
a1yL9Pu.jpg
 
H

hydrophilic attack

Member
Bobby Roberts said:
Was wondering when this was gonna get here.

There was a passage in the original article (and the alt-weekly that ran it has gotten in a lot of recent trouble with the food & service industries for awhile now for their content) that featured the two women in question describing themselves as more or less shaking down the women in the small town they were visiting, and when they were denied more detailed recipes, they described peeking through the windows of these women as they made their tortillas to watch and take notes on what they were doing and how they were doing it.

That was the passage that had people essentially responding along the lines of "what the fuck you were peeping in these old women's fucking windows and you're bragging on it as a means to make your pop-up foodcart sound more authentic?"

From there the comments & facebooks started filling up with (mostly) peeved and miffed white men & women upset that people of color in the city thought that sort of behavior was suspect. (A senior editor at that alt-weekly was, at one point, all on his facebook page misunderstanding the term "drag" and trying to suggest that people were using it as a death threat by way of referencing Matthew Shepard)

Once the phrase "cultural appropriation" was broached and then dropped into the mix, it was more or less open season. The "fight" went from 0-to-"Yeah well my people invented the printing press so your being able to communicate in text is cultural appropriation" in a fuckin' hurry.

In the midst of all this, the women, who basically got hung out to dry by the writer/editor of the alt-weekly, decided this attention wasn't worth their fledgling pop-up (it wasn't even their own foodcart, they were just guesting at someone elses for a little while) and closed up shop.

A Fox News affiliate discovered an op-ed for the paper I work at, written by a black woman who went in hard on our very white city's weird attitudes about race, especially as it pertains to Portland's very well known food scene, and once Fox found it, the Blaze found it, and once the Blaze found it, shit was off to the fuckin' races.

The best piece I've seen on this whole thing since was actually a roundtable discussion at Uproxx.

It's very long, but also very well thought out.
Click to expand...

Well that sounds like a shit sandwich and a half.

I would have closed up shop if this happened too, especially when the alt-right showed up.

Thanks Lore Expert!
 
S

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
Slayven said:
This is where they fucked up
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I guarantee you that if they were literally spying through a kitchen window in a tiny Mexican village, somehow unnoticed, they were not watching the assembly of a BURRITO.

Like a closely guarded mole recipe would almost make sense?
 
BennyBlanco

BennyBlanco

aka IMurRIVAL69
Pancho said:
I think its more straight up stealing recipes than cultural appropriation. The article makes it clear that they didnt obtain those recipes with consent.
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Read the interview. They were making breakfast burritos. They just watched and learned how to make the tortillas.

That Portland Mercury article is laughable. I wouldn't doubt that they just stopped doing it because they got other jobs or something. It's not like they had a lease on a building and a bunch of employees and got railroaded out of town.
 
D

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
So I live in Portland. It's a bit of an overreaction, but the food business here is REALLY competitive, so this hardly surprises me. The plus side to this is there's really good food served here, like there's a lot of options and a lot of great places, both local eateries ad big chains that actually put in effort to compete with the food scene here.

The downside is stuff like this. There's some elitism to the food industry here, and people sometimes a bit too eager to smear out the competition. There's several burrito carts so I will bet this was insinuated to squash out competition. The food business is taken very seriously here in Portland, so this sort of news is hardly surprising to me. Sounds like the women backed out since they didn't want to deal with it though.
 
F

Fuchsdh

Member
Slayven said:
This is where they fucked up
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That's everyone assuming the worst because they want to. Reading some of the Yelp reviews people are acting like they broke into some poor Mexican's taco shop like it was some spy movie and stole notes.

More broadly, that this entire thing blew up is a credit to the nature of modern journalism, where you take a single line and try and turn that into the "gotcha" arbiter of good and evil.

I hope that the proprietors learned their lesson about talking off the cuff. Even if it's a damn pop-up burrito place, you'll be destroyed if someone wants to.
 
S

Slayven

Member
Stinkles said:
I guarantee you that if they were literally spying through a kitchen window in a tiny Mexican village, somehow unnoticed, they were not watching the assembly of a BURRITO.

Like a closely guarded mole recipe would almost make sense?
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Maybe they fucked up the recipe that bad?

Just the tone of the way they was gleefully describing the experience tells me a lot about them.

Fuchsdh said:
That's everyone assuming the worst because they want to. Reading some of the Yelp reviews people are acting like they broke into some poor Mexican's taco shop like it was some spy movie and stole notes.

More broadly, that this entire thing blew up is a credit to the nature of modern journalism, where you take a single line and try and turn that into the "gotcha" arbiter of good and evil.

I hope that the proprietors learned their lesson about talking off the cuff. Even if it's a damn pop-up burrito place, you'll be destroyed if someone wants to.
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Even in that passage makes them seem kinda of like assholes
 
B

Bobby Roberts

Banned
hydrophilic attack said:
Well that sounds like a shit sandwich and a half.

I would have closed up shop if this happened too, especially when the alt-right showed up.

Thanks Lore Expert!
Click to expand...

Our office has been getting clogged with waaaaay out of state emails and voicemails from an amazing number of diet- and flat-out-racists not only blaming our op-ed for closing the place down (they had already closed before Jagger's op-ed was written, much less posted) but just very, very upset at... well, a lot of shit. At Portland for being Portland (I get that), at people being pissed at little things (which I also get, but that's sort of an inherently counterproductive complaint in this case, considering), but largely at the notion that two poor white women can't just make burritos in peace without mean hypersensitive minorities and their liberal enablers making life hard for them.

There's a ton of that. It usually gets signed off with "Well my culture invented X, so I guess now you can't eat it/do it."

I've seen some chicken & watermelon shit tossed Jagger's way, too.

BennyBlanco said:
That Portland Mercury article is laughable. I wouldn't doubt that they just stopped doing it because they got other jobs or something. It's not like they had a lease on a building and a bunch of employees and got railroaded out of town.
Click to expand...

They stopped doing it because the Willy Week article made them sound like peeping toms thieving secrets from poor old women. They got hung out to dry by the writer/editor and when the backlash came quick, they said fuck it.
 
I

Imm0rt4l

Member
*shrugs


I hope their closing shop helps undervalued/underrepresented Mexican restaurants get a leg up in an increasingly difficukt and racist political climate. Bragging about stealing from a marginalized culture for your own material gain is messed up.
 
B

BreezyLimbo

Banned
I want some Dorado Tacos de Carne right now

Oh my god that sounds so delicious. Mhmmmm. Oh god. I'm drooling. Sorry, I'll excuse myself.
 
H

hydrophilic attack

Member
Dusk Golem said:
So I live in Portland. It's a bit of an overreaction, but the food business here is REALLY competitive, so this hardly surprises me. The plus side to this is there's really good food served here, like there's a lot of options and a lot of great places, both local eateries ad big chains that actually put in effort to compete with the food scene here.

The downside is stuff like this. There's some elitism to the food industry here, and people sometimes a bit too eager to smear out the competition. There's several burrito carts so I will bet this was insinuated to squash out competition. The food business is taken very seriously here in Portland, so this sort of news is hardly surprising to me. Sounds like the women backed out since they didn't want to deal with it though.
Click to expand...

no honor, no shame
 
S

Slayven

Member
Bobby Roberts said:
Our office has been getting clogged with waaaaay out of state emails and voicemails from an amazing number of diet- and flat-out-racists not only blaming our op-ed for closing the place down (they had already closed before Jagger's op-ed was written, much less posted) but just very, very upset at... well, a lot of shit. At Portland for being Portland (I get that), at people being pissed at little things (which I also get, but that's sort of an inherently counterproductive complaint in this case, considering), but largely at the notion that two poor white women can't just make burritos in peace without mean hypersensitive minorities and their liberal enablers making life hard for them.

There's a ton of that. It usually gets signed off with "Well my culture invented X, so I guess now you can't eat it/do it."

I've seen some chicken & watermelon shit tossed Jagger's way, too.
Click to expand...
My letter is the one written in crayon and covered in cheerio dust
 
S

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
Bobby Roberts said:
Our office has been getting clogged with waaaaay out of state emails and voicemails from an amazing number of diet- and flat-out-racists not only blaming our op-ed for closing the place down (they had already closed before Jagger's op-ed was written, much less posted) but just very, very upset at... well, a lot of shit. At Portland for being Portland (I get that), at people being pissed at little things (which I also get, but that's sort of an inherently counterproductive complaint in this case, considering), but largely at the notion that two poor white women can't just make burritos in peace without mean hypersensitive minorities and their liberal enablers making life hard for them.

There's a ton of that. It usually gets signed off with "Well my culture invented X, so I guess now you can't eat it/do it."

I've seen some chicken & watermelon shit tossed Jagger's way, too.
Click to expand...

I KNEW IT WAS YOU BOBBY OR SHOULD I SAY ROBERTO
 
A

A Fish Aficionado

I am going to make it through this year if it kills me
Bobby Roberts said:
Our office has been getting clogged with waaaaay out of state emails and voicemails from an amazing number of diet- and flat-out-racists not only blaming our op-ed for closing the place down (they had already closed before Jagger's op-ed was written, much less posted) but just very, very upset at... well, a lot of shit. At Portland for being Portland (I get that), at people being pissed at little things (which I also get, but that's sort of an inherently counterproductive complaint in this case, considering), but largely at the notion that two poor white women can't just make burritos in peace without mean hypersensitive minorities and their liberal enablers making life hard for them.

There's a ton of that. It usually gets signed off with "Well my culture invented X, so I guess now you can't eat it/do it."

I've seen some chicken & watermelon shit tossed Jagger's way, too.



They stopped doing it because the Willy Week article made them sound like peeping toms thieving secrets from poor old women. They got hung out to dry by the writer/editor and when the backlash came quick, they said fuck it.
Click to expand...

Goddam. I approve of removing comment sections for all press.
 
I

Infinite

Member
Bobby Roberts said:
Our office has been getting clogged with waaaaay out of state emails and voicemails from an amazing number of diet- and flat-out-racists not only blaming our op-ed for closing the place down (they had already closed before Jagger's op-ed was written, much less posted) but just very, very upset at... well, a lot of shit. At Portland for being Portland (I get that), at people being pissed at little things (which I also get, but that's sort of an inherently counterproductive complaint in this case, considering), but largely at the notion that two poor white women can't just make burritos in peace without mean hypersensitive minorities and their liberal enablers making life hard for them.

There's a ton of that. It usually gets signed off with "Well my culture invented X, so I guess now you can't eat it/do it."

I've seen some chicken & watermelon shit tossed Jagger's way, too.



They stopped doing it because the Willy Week article made them sound like peeping toms thieving secrets from poor old women. They got hung out to dry by the writer/editor and when the backlash came quick, they said fuck it.
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Holy fucking shit
 
G

Gentleman Jack

Member
The characterization of how they obtained the recipes matters a lot, and unfortunately I don't trust that alt-weekly or the cart owners themselves to be entirely forthcoming here. It does not look like they went the expected route when it comes to taking recipes from another chef. You know, the part where you work for them and they voluntarily give you the information you need to copy the recipe. If it went down via skullduggery and they felt like bragging about it then yeah that ain't cool.
 
B

Bobby Roberts

Banned
I would imagine also seeing that as the controvery grew, half of their defense force began seriously showing themselves in their spirited defense to be diet racists was a little demoralizing as well.
 
Q

Quixzlizx

Member
To me, cultural appropriation of food would be something like westerners buying up so much quinoa from Bolivia that the locals can't afford it anymore.

When it comes to cooking, I have to be honest, I'm not going to care unless it's at the level of serving macaroni and cheese wrapped around a fish filet to the Japanese prime minister and calling it sushi.
 
H

hydrophilic attack

Member
Bobby Roberts said:
Our office has been getting clogged with waaaaay out of state emails and voicemails from an amazing number of diet- and flat-out-racists not only blaming our op-ed for closing the place down (they had already closed before Jagger's op-ed was written, much less posted) but just very, very upset at... well, a lot of shit. At Portland for being Portland (I get that), at people being pissed at little things (which I also get, but that's sort of an inherently counterproductive complaint in this case, considering), but largely at the notion that two poor white women can't just make burritos in peace without mean hypersensitive minorities and their liberal enablers making life hard for them.

There's a ton of that. It usually gets signed off with "Well my culture invented X, so I guess now you can't eat it/do it."

I've seen some chicken & watermelon shit tossed Jagger's way, too.
Click to expand...

lol

I pity the person who has to read all that shit

Oh, and as someone who is not an American, what does the bolded mean?
 
B

Bobby Roberts

Banned
hydrophilic attack said:
lol

I pity the person who has to read all that shit

Oh, and as someone who is not an American, what does the bolded mean?
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We got an email midway through today that told editors that if the deluge of horseshit was starting to become a serious distraction, to just forward it to higher ups and let them filter through to see if/when something cogent & worthwhile was worth hearing/addressing.

The bolded is just a tautology meant to poke fun at the preciousness of our faux-"weird" little city. Portland is a very insular small city that's blown up in the last 20 years, and only recently managed to grow itself a personality that wasn't "Not-Seattle" or "Not-San Francisco." That personality is largely sampled from Austin, Texas, and run through a self-righteousness filter that a lot of this very, very white city adopts as a means to not focus too much on how inhospitable our city has historically been to minorities, and especially black people.

Basically, we're SJW-central up here, and that does not play well in some corners of the internet.
 
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