Political Correctness at the Milk Bar

[FauxPas]

Part of me reacts to this little joke and asks "What's the big deal?" but another part says if we deconstruct this type of humour, we are not only laughing about the idea of the food being addictive, we are also laughing about the stereotypes of the people who were/are using crack. And hey, that's not most of us, right, so it's perfectly safe to laugh at them. 

 

If it's called Opiod Pie or Oxy Pie or maybe we make up some Fentanyl Fudge, doesn't the meaning seem to shift a bit, maybe a bit less funny? But if so, what's the difference? 

[Steve R.]

1 minute ago, FauxPas said:

Part of me reacts to this little joke and asks "What's the big deal?" but another part says if we deconstruct this type of humour, we are not only laughing about the idea of the food being addictive, we are also laughing about the stereotypes of the people who were/are using crack. And hey, that's not most of us, right, so it's perfectly safe to laugh at them. 

 

If it's called Opiod Pie or Oxy Pie or maybe we make up some Fentanyl Fudge, doesn't the meaning seem to shift a bit, maybe a bit less funny? But if so, what's the difference? 

 

Its all "gray area" & no one should pretend to know exactly where the "correct" answer lies.  We're people and contexts change (hopefully evolve).  But, if anyone thinks that the best answer to anything can be gotten by dismissing the question (or the questioner)... well, that's just plain wrong 😉.

[Tri2Cook]

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Edited April 23, 2019 by Tri2Cook
Got more political than I intended, not what I'm here for. (log)

[pastrygirl]

18 minutes ago, Tri2Cook said:

If that fits within your boundaries of insensitive and wrong in the context you're using it in, my mileage most definitely varies. I'm not saying you're silly for feeling that way about it, of course you should do what you feel is right, but I would think it a bit silly to expect everybody to feel that way about it. I don't even want to imagine we've reached a point where people really see no difference between a person saying that while handing out chocolate samples and a person saying that while handing out meth samples near a schoolyard.

 

Sure, it's just that one never knows who they're talking to. In retail, better safe than sorry.

 

 

[Tri2Cook]

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Edited April 23, 2019 by Tri2Cook
Got more political than I intended, not what I'm here for. (log)

[Steve R.]

"It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired".

 

I just noticed the above signature line.  Its better than the one I generally quote ("I don't have to outrun the gorilla, I just have to outrun you") & I'm stealing it for the future.  Hope that's not politically incorrect ("appropriation" sensibility) -- let me know if you're insulted. 

 

Edited April 21, 2019 by Steve R. (log)

[pastrygirl]

4 minutes ago, Tri2Cook said:

Part of my problem with some aspects of political correctness is that we've begun assuming offense on behalf of others and then taking action to beat it into submission without even knowing if anybody was actually offended in the first place.

 

But we know that people were actually offended.  Tosi got plenty of complaints over the years.  Crack cocaine addiction isn't a hypothetical situation, people died or were jailed, families were torn apart, babies were born addicted and face lifelong struggles ...

 

 

[Tri2Cook]

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Edited April 23, 2019 by Tri2Cook
Got more political than I intended, not what I'm here for. (log)

[Tri2Cook]

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Edited April 23, 2019 by Tri2Cook
Got more political than I intended, not what I'm here for. (log)

[kayb]

I just want a piece of pie.

 

[pastrygirl]

@Tri2Cook you’ve been totally civil and made some good points. 

 

Not 100% sure what you meant about human nature, but if you mean that nobody likes to be told what to do and people get overwhelmed by bring expected to care about every last unique group, I think you’re right and that does explain the backlash. 

 

[Tri2Cook]

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Edited April 23, 2019 by Tri2Cook
Got more political than I intended, not what I'm here for. (log)

[JeanneCake]

That's the rub, isn't it?  As @pastrygirl  mentions the pie has been around forever, people have mentioned it to Tosi before.  It seems it's the Target deal that's forcing the issue, not some sudden realization that the name is now socially awkward or inappropriate. The fact that they are publicizing the name change as a "come to Jesus" moment makes me roll my eyes and wonder about the real motivation behind the name revision.They didn't have to change the name;  it was just prudent to do so NOW given the circumstances of a new marketing arrangement with Target (and the fact that someone in Cambridge is making enough of a fuss about it); had Tosi not opened up in Harvard Square and not had a Target deal, would the name change have happened at all? 

 

 

[nonblonde007]

No one is forcing anyone to buy Tosi's product.  If you are personally offended, don't buy.  Simple.  No need to make a huge fuss over it.  Last time I checked, it was ok to be individuals with personal opinions on things and no one could sue the cement for falling on it and scraping their knees. Life is just too sweet to live it that way. 

[MetsFan5]

My brother died due to an accidental opioid OD. 

   If a week later, I was grocery shopping and say “Percocet Pie” or Heroin Hash”, I would have LOST it. 

 

  Now I’d be fine. 

 

 But why even skirt the line here? 

[FauxPas]

I'm never sure about the 'nature' side of humans, we do seem to be able to be nurtured and taught. So I hope we don't hide behind some kind of belief of natural cruelty or insensitivity, especially when it only suits our own interests. I was taught to think before speaking and to walk a mile before criticizing. 

 

I made a joke a few years back about The Golf Channel. I was speaking to a bunch of mostly white male and middle-aged golfers and said something about how golf must make you impotent because of all the Erectile Dysfunction ads on that station. I thought it was a bit of simple humour, but many of the men who heard me say it were extremely angry and defensive. They didn't like it at all. 

 

But I don't think they ever connected it to their comments about women and their hormones and all those tired jokes.  

[FauxPas]

Deleted 🙂

 

Edited April 22, 2019 by FauxPas (log)

[btbyrd]

We've made it. We also got almost "one of everything" to go at Milk Bar Vegas as dessert after our meal at Momofuku. I think we also got crack pie soft serve, but it might have just been two servings of cereal milk soft serve. At any rate...

It's a sugar pie. It tastes like a sugar pie. It's good. I was actually pleasantly surprised with how balanced it was, since Christina has a reputation for being a sugar freak and I have reputation for never ordering dessert. My favorite dessert is a proper cheese course with a glass of port. And if not that, then a fruit pie with some cheese and maybe some iced cream. And if not that, then an acid-forward berry sorbet. I'm not the kind of person who wants to mow down on a sugar and flour and corn anything. But I'm a fan of Tosi and a fan of the Momo crew. When in Rome...

I don't think "Milk Bar Pie" is a very good name for the product, for multiple reasons. And I cannot imagine taking offense to "Crack Pie," even tough anyone with a brain can acknowledge how horrifically destructive that drug has been (and especially so in the African American community, in part because of garbage and prejudicial sentencing laws that treat crack differently from powdered cocaine). Crack Pie is okay in my book. Just okay. It's nothing to write home about. I don't think I'd make it again, or order it again. And maybe I'd try to come up with a different name, but maybe not. But I'm not a sugar head, even if I did once order (basically) one of everything at Milk Bar Vegas on our way back home from the Grand Canyon.

 

Needs acid. But then again, I acid adjust my juice. So....