Why is "Black People Love Chicken" a bad thing?

[inactive user 79]

Sure, it's racist to say that any ethnic group in general likes/says/does something, but why would liking chicken be a BAD thing? Typically, people who make racist remarks intend to offend (Unless you're saying 'All Asians Are Smart' which is a compliment, but still racist), and black people were disliked in the olden days which is when they were associated with chicken for some reason. Why chicken? White people like chicken. Hell, I'm white and I LOVE chicken! Nandos is LIFE! But why is liking chicken seen as primitive (like other things racist people generalise)? You could say the same about any meat. It's not like they mean raw chicken, as if to imply black people are animals. They definitely mean cooked chicken, especially when it came to refer to KFC chicken in particular. Guess it goes to show how weird and ignorant racists were and are, huh? Blacks, whites and everyone else alike, go ahead and enjoy chicken without the ethnic quotas bothering you. RACIAL EQUALITY!!!!! Or something...

 

(Hope this didn't seem racist...I would say I have black friends but sadly there are barely any black people at my school and I don't do neighbourly friendship, Besides. I have no neighbours anyway. . I wish I DID have black friends, since seeing white people only wherever you go slightly worries me about whether civil rights laws are active in my town yet...)

[Nuke87654 1,849]

Two words, racial stereotype. 

[Not_active 732]

Well, it's a pretty pointless thing to say. Because it's already clear that EVERYONE likes chicken. No exceptions.

[Justin_Case001 4,889]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2ruPbpnUEY

 

Michael Scott, master of political incorrectness.

[Scootaloodle 1,622]

It’s not about chicken being a tasty thing to eat, the whole chicken & black people thing is seen as a racial stereotype hence why it’s considered offensive (simple as)

 

As for this thread and hoping it’s not racist, racism is discriminating against someone because of there ethnic background. Asking why something is racist because you don’t see why, is not.

Edited January 11, 2015 by Scootaloodle

[Moonlight 7,286]

It's a racial stereotype that's been overdone and isn't funny. 

[Hypn0ticD 1,213]

I'm black, and whilst I like chicken, I prefer other foods. What racists tend to believe is that's all we eat!

 

@Justin_Case001

 

Yes. Yes they do! I love Pizza Hut pizza!

[ThatOneComrade 1,091]

After some digging around, I found this: "...chickens had long been a part of Southern diets, but they had particular utility for slaves. They were cheap, easy to feed, and a good source of meat. But then came Birth of a Nation.

 

"D.W. Griffith's seminal and supremely racist 1915 silent movie about the supposedly heroic founding of the Ku Klux Klan was a huge sensation when it debuted. One scene in the three-hor features a group of actors portraying shiftless black elected officials acting rowdy and crudely in a legislative hall. (The message to the audience: These are the dangers of letting blacks vote.) Some of the legislators are shown drinking. Others had their feet kicked up on their desks. And one of them was very ostentatiously eating fried chicken."

 

When people say you like chicken because you're Black, they're reinforcing this belief ^ that you eat like an uncivilized barbarian. What are Blacks called when people want to call them uncivilized barbarians? Monkeys. Apes. Thus, it's an offensive stereotype. 

[Jora 164]

okay well this is a one sided thing on my part but i bare no ill will nor  any of the sort just my observation from Job Corps where i attended.

 

now i know and understand that not all black people follow there "stereotype's" BUT i have never seen all 120% of all them be true at Job corps, gangbangers, chicken lovers yelling GRAPE DRANK at the top of there lungs *kool aid* the SMOKE WEED ERRYY day the sagged jeans even in uniform that we did wear. gang rep'd  bloods vs cript's fights on campus drug use/ selling on campus oh and saying nigga every second in between words...it is a SLUR wither its variation of N***er or not so stop saying it.

 

i'm part black and hate that word

 

 

now bare in mind again this is just my part of observation and know this is a small part of it but come on...*facehoof* this is why they are seen the way they are...i hope things will turn out better

 

plus this is a good thing for black on black speak

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRVOOwFNp5U

 

 

Language warning 

Edited January 11, 2015 by Jora

[Mutemutt 773]

Simply a racial stereotype, and people don't like being stereotyped.

 

As a side note, I'm black and I absolutely hate watermelon and grape drink. Bleck! 

[Mesme Rize 15,683]

Like everyone else already said, it's racial stereotype.

 

Black people used to eat alot of chicken during slavery and that's where it all came from.

[Luna the Great of all the Russias 2,984]

If it tends to be true, is it really racist? I don't think saying something like Japanese people love sushi would be considered racist. Or are the two cases not the same? Is there a negative connotation associate with eating fried chicken?

 

Whether one considers it offensive or not, I still find it amusing when Africans play around with this stereotype even if it's overused. I remember seeing a picture of someone I know grocery shopping and he was holding fried chicken, grape juice and a hand-sized watermelon.

Edited January 11, 2015 by Krovavaya Luna

[Adachi 772]

It depends on intention and context. If you say it as a joke, and the person who you say it to knows you're joking, it is not racist. If you mean it as an insult, then it becomes racist. It's like how when a white has black friends, calls his friends "my n---as (assuming they have a good sense of humor and enough common sense to realize he means it the same way that they do), he's not doing it to be racist. But when someone uses any form of that word as an insult to blacks, then it is racist.

Edited January 11, 2015 by Overlord Valvatorez

[Gernia 691]

Like some people have said, it's considered a racial stereotype for blacks to like fried chicken, not so much chicken in general. I've heard that apparently when blacks were enslaved, they ate things fried chicken and watermelons, which is the reason why some see it as offensive. I'm not sure if it's completely true, anyone can feel free to validate or disprove that claim.

Edited January 11, 2015 by Gernia

[CC_Maud_Pie 6,431]

Because you're expecting a racial group to like something. This will offend black people who don't like fried chicken.

[VitalSpark 1,830]

why would liking chicken be a BAD thing?

 

Why not try asking a chicken that question?

Edited January 11, 2015 by Vital Spark

[Steel Accord 6,660]

Yeah this is one I didn't get either. Granted, I put almost no energy into understanding racist stereotypes to begin with but this one just made me go "huh?"

 

Like I would be eating some KFC and my brother would mention something to the effect of this stereotype.

 

"How does that begin to make even warped racist sense?! What, it's bad to like chicken?!"

 

"Pinkie Pie, I eat hay. You eat hay!"

 

~Twilight Sparkle

 

Kind of eerie isn't it how well those scenarios match each other isn't it?

 

[Screw Loose 156]

I know right?

Who doesn't love chicken?

I'm not black but I sure do love fried chicken.

[Kankuro 233]

Racial Stereotype. As simple as that.

 

 

I know right?

Who doesn't love chicken?

I'm not black but I sure do love fried chicken.

who doesn't love chicken.

[VitalSpark 1,830]

Black people used to eat alot of chicken during slavery and that's where it all came from.

 

Chicken was until comparatively recently, quite an expensive meat. Chicken was primarily farmed for eggs. Eating a young, healthy chicken that could have years of egg laying ahead of it was seen as fairly wasteful.

 

It would not have made much economic sense to feed your slaves on such an expensive meat as chicken. As a slave owner, you would have wanted your slaves to be fed well to give them energy to work, and to stave off disease, but you would want to do that as cheaply as possible.

 

Most sources seem to indicate that slaves in the American slave system were fed mostly pork, fish, corn, and okra. See for example, this article, this article, and these quotes.

 

Pork and fish were easy to preserve in salt. (Remember: no refrigeration.)

Edited January 11, 2015 by Vital Spark

[inactive user 79]

After some digging around, I found this: "...chickens had long been a part of Southern diets, but they had particular utility for slaves. They were cheap, easy to feed, and a good source of meat. But then came Birth of a Nation.

 

"D.W. Griffith's seminal and supremely racist 1915 silent movie about the supposedly heroic founding of the Ku Klux Klan was a huge sensation when it debuted. One scene in the three-hor features a group of actors portraying shiftless black elected officials acting rowdy and crudely in a legislative hall. (The message to the audience: These are the dangers of letting blacks vote.) Some of the legislators are shown drinking. Others had their feet kicked up on their desks. And one of them was very ostentatiously eating fried chicken."

 

When people say you like chicken because you're Black, they're reinforcing this belief ^ that you eat like an uncivilized barbarian. What are Blacks called when people want to call them uncivilized barbarians? Monkeys. Apes. Thus, it's an offensive stereotype. 

Thanks for that. I hate racial stereotypes, and this one just totally blew my mind because it made no sense before. I guess it's like, you don't enter Rome with a sausage because it's barbaric food.

 

[Mand'alor Dash 2,224]

It's mostly a discredited trope since everybody loves chicken. But the roots aren't as long dead as some would think, since fried chicken remained a staple of soul food well through the end of segregation in the 60s. It's a hearty, cheap, abundant meat that's easy to cook, so there's no reason why it wouldn't remain beloved by rich and poor alike.

 

As for the modern context?

 

 

There's still a bit of life left in the humor.

[NotoriousSMALL 1,984]

Because the way they use it is to hurt someone.

[spits 71]

I don't like stereotyping either.  I haven't found a non-vegetarian who doesn't like chicken yet. 

[SilverStarApple 849]

After some digging around, I found this: "...chickens had long been a part of Southern diets, but they had particular utility for slaves. They were cheap, easy to feed, and a good source of meat. But then came Birth of a Nation.

 

"D.W. Griffith's seminal and supremely racist 1915 silent movie about the supposedly heroic founding of the Ku Klux Klan was a huge sensation when it debuted. One scene in the three-hor features a group of actors portraying shiftless black elected officials acting rowdy and crudely in a legislative hall. (The message to the audience: These are the dangers of letting blacks vote.) Some of the legislators are shown drinking. Others had their feet kicked up on their desks. And one of them was very ostentatiously eating fried chicken."

 

When people say you like chicken because you're Black, they're reinforcing this belief ^ that you eat like an uncivilized barbarian. What are Blacks called when people want to call them uncivilized barbarians? Monkeys. Apes. Thus, it's an offensive stereotype. 

No.

 

The movie reference, you're right there. That's what happened in that film. By the way, that film sucked.

 

But "Apes" as an insult has been going on for years, just like "Dogs" and "Pussies". No one race is more apelike than the other.