Comments on: Pat Robertson seemingly baffled by someone else’s Thanksgiving food tradition

By: David Wachter

David Wachter — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:57:15 +0000

My parents and the rest of my family came from semi-rural Wisconsin, but I was born in Tucson. I guess I imprinted on Mexican food, because comfort food for me is Sonoran-style Mexican food. If I don’t keep at least trying to expand my cultural palette (not everything sticks; some things just don’t work for me), I’m the one who loses out.

By: Priya Lynn

Priya Lynn — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:12:28 +0000

“Our hostess was from Bolivia, but the house was full of people from over 14 different countries. Most of whom brought dishes that were a part of their national or ethnic culture.”.

Now that sounds like a treat!

By: Regan DuCasse

Regan DuCasse — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 05:24:29 +0000

One of THE best Thanksgivings ever, was at the home of an immigrant friend of mine. Our hostess was from Bolivia, but the house was full of people from over 14 different countries. Most of whom brought dishes that were a part of their national or ethnic culture.
There is nothing like the most memorable meals of your lifetime and regardless that Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday, that dinner was the ‘of many one’ cultural ideal that this country stands for.
And being in a beautiful house, with all kinds of people thankful for living in America, THAT sure put things into perspective in a big way.

By: Aeval

Aeval — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 04:42:38 +0000

Thanksgiving reminds me of when I was an exchange student in Minnesota. During a history class and couple weeks before Thanksgiving the teacher explained why “we” celebrate thanksgiving.

At the end of the class she turns to me and asks how we in our country celebrate thanksgiving, “We don’t”, I said to her, “we celebrate the day they left Europe, we call it the Good Riddance Day”.

It was during the same class I learned how sensitive some Americans can be.

By: Regan DuCasse

Regan DuCasse — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 19:26:32 +0000

Oh and…for girls between the ages of 18-25 not having a clue is more understandable and forgivable.
Pat Robertson is an old cooter whose base of operations is closer to the South than the rest of the country.
He might have black guests on his show, but popular black entertainers were on television shows during the Jim Crow years who couldn’t get shows of their own, nor the same kinds of sponsors or upper level jobs their white counterparts could get.
Pat Robertson earned getting slammed.
He wasn’t much of a civil rights supporter back in the day either.

By: Regan DuCasse

Regan DuCasse — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 19:22:35 +0000

When I was on the road with RBBB, one of the few black girls in our show found a market that had collard greens. Fortunately she knew how to cook them and they take a while. As some of the rest of the girls started coming back to our dorm car for the evening a few of them said some, shall we say racially insensitive remarks about it.

One of the other white girls in the show was a VERY popular Southern belle to the bone.
She comes home, smells what’s in the pot and shouts so happily “who got COLLARD greens, I want some! Could I have some?!!!
None of the other girls thought white people ate them and said as much to our Southern belle. Who promptly told them it’s a SOUTHERN thang, not a BLACK thang, without actually finishing her admonishment with ‘stupid’!
They’d never heard of pot liquor either.

But hey, it DOES help to know the difference between what’s Southern, what’s poor people’s food and that’s what’s influenced the Black American diet.
Oh and the rest of the girls missed a wonderful down home supper.

By: TwirlyGirly

TwirlyGirly — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 12:54:37 +0000

(Ray Harwick wrote): “This year we’re eating a gay night club around noon..”

Things that make you go “H-m-m-m-m…!” Don’t forget the Pepto. Lots of it!!!(Next year, perhaps some turkey instead?) LOL!!! Thanks for making me giggle!

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 08:41:17 +0000

I don’t have a problem with this clip of Robertson. I had no idea this was a tradition in anyone’s family. His reaction wasn’t hostile, it was curious and baffled – and I can see that. For many people TG is a day when you bring out your most “refined” recipes, and M&C for many is a comfort food rather than a holiday food. I’m disappointed to see this labeled as some kind of evidence of horribleness — and certainly not unique to “the Right Wing”. What a waste of space on their site.

Interestingly, he’s clearly comfortable with the young (black) hostess and at ease. That’s not really what I associate with a racist mode of thinking. If anything, the clip almost humanizes the man.

By: Priya Lynn

Priya Lynn — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:36:23 +0000

ZRAinSWVA I’ve actually never had home made macaroni and cheese. If I recall correctly it was only served at a meal once in my life and I didn’t eat it, it struck me as weird that someone would make macaroni and cheese themselves rather than buying a box of it at the store. To me homemade macaroni and cheese was an oddity, kind of like home made ketchup or butter and I wasn’t feeling that adventurous.

Timothy said “But “mac and cheese” is part of the black holiday tradition -or so I’ve been told. So yeah, it’s a “black thing”. And it is perfectly fine that Pat not know that. I’ll bet many readers didn’t know it as well.”.

I had never heard of it until this post either. I also agree, Pat is stupid and a bigot, but finding thanksgiving macaroni and cheese strange is not one of the things that makes him stupid and a bigot.

By: Timothy Kincaid

Timothy Kincaid — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 08:18:37 +0000

Ya know, I’m not finding pat to be offensive or nuts on this one.

We all have a culture. Some of us more than one. We have language or dialect or idiom that is distinctive and shared by those with a common background or community. Can I get an amen?

We have clothing styles that speak to how we see ourselves. Today I watched the philadelphia Kennel Club and let’s just say that ‘dog people’ have a very distinct sense of style.

Celebrations are also important cultural markers. They are common heritage, even when they aren’t exactly related to our history.

But a HUGE part of culture, especially ethnic culture, is food. And holiday food takes on both the element of celebration and the almost primal food identity association.

And let me assure you that the conservative Christian middle-class white American culture does not share the tradition of serving the dish that they call “macaroni and cheese” on the holidays. No, we have the dreadful “green bean casserole”, a tradition I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

But “mac and cheese” is part of the black holiday tradition -or so I’ve been told. So yeah, it’s a “black thing”. And it is perfectly fine that Pat not know that. I’ll bet many readers didn’t know it as well.

It’s funny how we get about culture. Possessive, defensive, apologetic, and all sorts of confused. But culture is cool and interesting and adaptive and – if we let it be – often very inclusive.

One of my favorite food culture moments was when I was shopping at my local Vons grocery store some years back. I lived at that time in a predominantly black neighborhood and I was the only white person in the store one day when the guy behind me struck up a conversation. He was buying greens of some sort (collard, mustard, I don’t recall) and when I knew what they were (nasty things, ugh, but my dad likes them) he turned and told the shoppers in a surprised voice “the white boy knows about greens!”. I could I guess have been offended that he made assumptions about me based on my skin, but what he really was doing at that moment was finding a commonality, a cross-cultural meeting point. It was funny, but it was also a very cool thing.

We can rub Pat a bit for not knowing mac and cheese. But to me he didn’t sound any more offensive or stupidly misinformed than the nice guy who was delighted to learn that greens are a part of the northern California culture as well.