I have long balked at paying exorbitant prices for high-priced “gourmet” hamburgers and “gourmet” pizza. I have similar feelings about high-priced tacos, but never considered that the latter feelings are grounded in racism:
Urbanites may have the advantage of living in places where regional cuisines from far-flung countries are readily available, but we need to collectively rethink our attitudes toward the prices we’re willing to pay for those foods. You wouldn’t balk at paying 15 bucks or more for some rarefied plate of Sicilian pasta—so why complain about the rise in price of dishes from countries that are far easier to deem “other”?
Does this mean that if I prefer to buy cheap tacos from the taco truck instead of paying a lot more at an upscale hipster restaurant, I should feel guilty? Hmmm…
Perhaps whether I should feel guilty isn’t really the issue here, so much as whether guilt is a good marketing tool. I suspect it is, at least in certain markets.
Comments
5 responses to “Racist food guilt”
“Demolition man” fortold the future!
Oh, well, you shouldn’t be eating them anyway because “cultural appropriation”…
Idiots. I won’t buy “gourmet” anything – it’s just a code word for “high-priced” and usually isn’t any better.
Totally and completely OT I believe in Father Christmas
May he rest in peace.
2016 has been a terrible year for music.
I grew up knowing good italian, good mexican and good polish food.
and I LOVE! DEL Taco.
Taco trucks are fine, but there are enough cafes and restaurants near me that also have low-priced tacos. From my experience, there are plenty of Hispanics that also purchase low-priced tacos. Are they racist for purchasing the inexpensive versions?