Check out the Letters to the Editor today in the Camera regarding the Blue Parrot's wopburger. Three letters out of seven; they must have gotten even more to print that many. And all are appalled at the P-C transplant who took offense.
Big arguments over this one. Friends have told me offense is in the eye of the beholder and removing offensive language from society is a good thing. Just because nobody called them on it before doesn't make the wopburger acceptable.
I say that the general standard needs to be an emphasis on intent, and if the person wasn't trying to offend, you have no case. If there is a gray area of determining intent, then I side with those who felt offended because it wasn't clear. In this case, the lack of insulting intent appears clear to me. The guy should have complained, stormed out, and eaten somewhere else.
Also: With Out Papers - is this reference credible?
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You can put the burden on an audience to discern intent, but I'm not sure that's any better than putting the burden on the speaker to self-censor anything remotely offensive.
If you ask me, the question is usage. I'm not a proponent of perpetuating racial epithets, but this one was unfamiliar to me.
Whatever the intent of Italian-Americans may have been attaching this word to their burger 80-plus years ago, has it really been the source of real offense to anyone that wasn't looking to be offended?
Dreamer, help me understand this - were you really aware of the term "wop" before this thing erupted? "Yankees" was a derogatory term in some circles in ancient history. The question is when we stop identifying with conflicts that have long faded into irrelevance as part of our cultural identity.
I'd be surprised if 1 person in 100 who has dined at the Blue Parrot in the last 30 years was even aware of the potentially offensive usage of the term. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Are you serious Alex? You have never heard the term WOP? It's a common term that was used to insult Italian Americans. You don't hear it anymore because it is such an ignorant thing to say and fortunately most people don't hurl racial insults at others in this day and age. But it is not new. It was reserved for Italians, I have never heard of any other ethic group being called WOP. There were plenty of other derogatory terms in use back then.
I am serious. Guilty of the sin of not paying attention to racial epithets, as charged.
Perhaps my ignorance is even worse because I am aloof to the problems caused by having wopburgers on the menu at an Italian restaurant. But if I had been witness to the exchange when this offense was taken at the Blue Parrot, I probably wouldn't apologize for finding it a little bit silly. If we truly live in a more enlightened day and age, it is not because such words are banished from the language, but because their usage changes and new contexts are created by people who find a way to rise above the shackles put on them by such words.
Doesn't it occur to anyone that this might be exactly why the Blue Parrot, owned by Italian-Americans, put this on the menu in 1918, back when the term did have a usage that could be turned on its head? I'm no anthropologist, but I recall watching a documentary recently on New Orleans and the Zulu parade, where stereotypes of the "blackface" were used to subvert racism and were seen as empowering to African-Americans in the City. It's a tragedy when the literalism and reactionary politics of this day and age squash out all such perspective on the struggles of the past.
I had my ***burger today. $6 with potato chips and a few bites of dry salad. Fries are $1 extra. It's not really a burger either.
The burger list is in small low cap print so it is not easy to find.
The Blue Parrot sauce is provided in a small pitcher They sell quarts of it bottled at the store.
I chatted with one of the owners for awhile. There has been a media frenzy around this across the country. She has even been invited to NY to be on TV. Now Mr. Gambino is upset at all the publicity.
She told me they have tried to find a record of her grandfather's immigration papers in NY. But he may have entered through Boston.
When Mr. Gambino complained as is his right and asked it to be taken off the menu, she refused as is her right. He could have chosen never to return. Eventually he went to BVSD who threatened to refuse to buy the Blue Parrot sauce for their cafeterias, which is their right.
To make it more confusing, the #1 mafia crime family in the U.S. was the Gambino family. Before the Italian Mafia, there was the Irish mafia and before that the Jewish mafia. There have been serious complaints about "The Sopranos". And now the motion picture rating agency is being asked to rate any existing old or new movie to come as "R" that has cigarette smoking in it. Maybe Gone with the Wind should be banned and Showboat (Old Man River) too.
The term Pioneer is offensive to Indian-Americans so lets change the name (the town had a naming problem with "Old Cherokee Park". Our founding fathers revolted against the King so let's change King Soopers. Doodle dandy was a term for a drunk. And the Star Spangle Banner is a rendition of a drinking song.
Get's kind of crazy doesn't it? So now I have to boycott Crackerjacks too.
People just look to be irritated. As if there isn't enough truly disturbing things to be bothered by. Contrived offense is a waste of time yet so frequently indulged.
To know that an Italian-American family chose to use the word should have ended his complaint with no more than a head-shaking befuddlement at how another Italian-American could be so clueless. But that's Alex's point. They weren't clueless, it had been an intentioanl word on their menu for decades. hence, where's the intent to offend?
Meanwhile, BVSD is being lambasted for the past two days for allowing a group from the Conference On World Affairs to speak to an auditorium full of students promoting sex and drug use.
Dan, you still don't want to post the tasteless article from the DC about the Boulser woman who found a d**** on her windshield. Did we really have to know that?
I don't plan to order the ***burger again. It is more of an insult to claim it as a burger than *** is to us humans.
DELI ZONE in Lafayette & Boulder Beware! Your Godfather, Gotti sandwich et al will be next......
There you go...less sales tax plus higher gas price will make us happier.
James Gambino, you will be requested to have a sit down to reconsider your opinion. Please let us know your schedule
You are probably just joking Anonymous, but Godfather is not a derogatory term and Gotti is a surname. I guess I am the only person here who thinks the use of WOP, or as Kerry says "***" is not a good choice.
Did anyone ever see that episode about the South Park flag? It's offensive AND it's our history...
All I'm saying is that a little appreciation of context goes a long way.
Amen Alex - context tends to water down a lot of controversies, unless someone enjoys the contrived outrage and spotlight of the controversy. In this case the spotlight appears to be favorable on the Blue Parrot, much to Mr. Gambino's dismay.
"My opinion matters more than 90 years worth of other customers" - whatever.
Spending your tax dollars in Louisville? Shame on you Mr. Bensman!
wonder if they have kraut dogs on the menu.
Anon and Tony,
Yes, its true. I ventured into Louisville to do some investigation. Lowes told the council it proposed its store on the east side of Lafayette because it wanted residents of the west side to continue shopping in Louisville. Then they spent $150,000 attempting to convince voters the proposed store would keep tax dollars in Lafayette. I shop at ACE.
"Kraut" is German for herb. The slang came from a German specialty "sauerkraut". So is a boycott of that in order? (I've never liked eating that stuff.)
P.S. At the Erie Town Fair, DAVECO was handing out $5 discount coupons. DAVECO is the big discount liquor store at the Larkridge Shopping Center in Thorton. Will they show up at the Peach Festival? Oh, that's right. No one from Lafayette will ever go out there.
Da WOP burger stays on the menu!
KHOW - Peter Boyles @ 6:45AM Tuesday
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