FOT Forum
FOT Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: KickTheBobo on July 31, 2008, 04:51:33 PM
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Fellow Friends of Tom,
I am having a bit of a moral dilemma here. There's this deli near me (Jim's Deli in North Kingston, RI) that makes the most amazing sandwiches. There is such a variety, and every one that I have ever tried has been (as my girlfriend Rachael Ray would say): DELISH! My favorite would be the Manhattan, which is sliced turkey with cole slaw,melted mozzarella & russian dressing on a fresh torpedo roll. mmmmmmm.
Here's the thing: I was in there the other day, and there was a rotund man in his 40s behind the counter having an animated conversation with some young fellas about this and that. I ascertained that this was "Jim" himself. Somebody happened to mention Broad Street (which is where a significant population of black & latino folks make their home). Jim went on to make this comment:
"yeah, Broad Street...that's the real bottom rung of the gene pool there".
okay, first off that comment made no sense. second, why does he think that sort of thing is okay to just say in a deli full of people? third, this fucker must've been pushing 350lbs at maybe 5'8", so if you are going to use the whole "gene pool" dig, well take a look at the man in the mirror.
the sandwiches are so good though.
at first I thought that I would boycott this establishment due to this remark, but found myself placing an order. I went back last week as well. I'm trying to do the right thing, but hunger for those delicious sandwiches is trumping any kind of PC feelings I have on the matter.
Am I just overreacting? Would you continue to patronize such an establishment after the owner made a remark like that?
I need some guidance here, friends.
(http://www.kickthebobo.com/racistdeli.jpg)
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Ask 'em to put some brothers up on the wall (next to the picture of Hitler) and see what happens. If they refuse, throw a garbage can through the front window and set the place on fire.
I don't know, I would just keep going. A lot of people say kinda racist stuff. Especially old people that own stuff. If something happens again, or If they have actual discriminatory practices and policies, then boycott.
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Every deli I ever worked in had more than a few racists that worked there. (I've worked in 3)
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If there's a tip jar on the counter, steal from it.
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Is there any other possible interpretation of this remark?
And is being racist in itself bad enough to warrant a boycott? I don't think it is, unless he actually follows through on it somehow.
There must be some kind of complicated "test" you could set up to try to trick him into demonstrating his racism. Ideally, a real screwball plan that would quickly spin out of control, in a Curb Your Enthusiasm kinda way.
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I don't want to touch this one with a 10 foot sandwich.
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unfortunately, im going to be the one to break it to you that i would stop going there. not because i think it will change anything (i.e. his opinion), but merely because im not going to help this creep pay his bills when he's throwing people under the bus like that.
i stick by my own. trust me, youll find another killer deli.
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Seems like the "gene pool" comment was more of a thoughtless cliche than Jim's endorsement of eugenics. I'd keep going until I saw him treat someone badly. If I refused to buy anything from anyone with an idiotic opinion, I'd have to grow my own sandwiches.
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I myself am kinda ethnic so I'd be offended by that statement, but I think it entirely depends on how good the food is. From what you say it's obviously killer enough to crave and talk about here, so I think it may be worth braving the intolerance for.
In a perfect world you could just call up the Tyra show and let them do you up in a disguise for an expose segment, but then you probably could never go back there after that, so maybe not the best idea. Do what Junk Lee said.
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I worked in a deli in Oxford. Things started going south for the place when a fancy Marks & Spencer Food Store opened across the street. Basically they sold most everything that we'd sell, plus they had brand appeal.
Anyhow, one kindly old English lady assured the proprietor of our store that she'd "never shop in that Jew store across the street." I guess she was trying to be supportive, but the anti-semitism really undercut the gesture.
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If Broad Street is a poor neighborhood, he could just be a classist/Social Darwinist. I really doubt it, though. And it wouldn't make it any better.
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I knew a few people in a church I used to attend that made it a point to only frequent Christian owned businesses. That's a little different but I think it's kind of ridiculous to make a conscious effort to go to like-minded businesses. Maybe write a letter saying that you really like the place and will continue to eat there but that you wish you wouldn't have to hear that kind of garbage.
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Maybe write a letter saying that you really like the place and will continue to eat there but that you wish you wouldn't have to hear that kind of garbage.
Yes, there's no way that this will elicit contempt from the guys working at the deli.
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Maybe write a letter saying that you really like the place and will continue to eat there but that you wish you wouldn't have to hear that kind of garbage.
Yes, there's no way that this will elicit contempt from the guys working at the deli.
One hopes he wouldn't attach a photo or anything.
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Man, that's tough. If you can find another awesome sandwich in your neighborhood I'd say go for that, but it takes a hell of a lot to tear me away from a really great sandwich. And I have bought many sandwiches from creaps in my life.
In the interests of full disclosure, there are no really good sandwich places in my current neighborhood (while there are many in my ancestral homeland of Jersey) so I could just be longing for that turkey sandwich right now.
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Maybe write a letter saying that you really like the place and will continue to eat there but that you wish you wouldn't have to hear that kind of garbage.
Yes, there's no way that this will elicit contempt from the guys working at the deli.
One hopes he wouldn't attach a photo or anything.
How dare you call me out. What are you 40?
only kidding.
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Maybe there's some way you could sic Weev on the deli, and have them just destroy each other, leaving only sandwiches.
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at first, I was thinking of composing an vitriolic diatribe to post on the local Craiglist "Rants & Raves" (Ideally, this would be in all caps), but ultimately decided that it wasn't worth my time.
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Maybe there's some way you could sic Weev on the deli, and have them just destroy each other, leaving only sandwiches.
I think Weev would be far more likely to come down on the side of the racist deli. He'd probably become such a loyal customer they'd name a special in his honour.
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What Would James Do?
Prank them. But funny-like.
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I'm not sure you can infer racism from that statement, anyway. It seems like he was making a lazy comment about a neighborhood.
I mean, the kind of person that makes comments like that is probably racist, but I like to give people the benefit of the doubt until I have something concrete. Especially if there are sandwiches on the line.
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How dare you call me out. What are you 40?
only kidding.
Oh man. Once I unleash the full force of my 40-year-old snark upon you you'll wish you were "kidding."
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I'm not sure you can infer racism from that statement, anyway. It seems like he was making a lazy comment about a neighborhood.
I mean, the kind of person that makes comments like that is probably racist, but I like to give people the benefit of the doubt until I have something concrete. Especially if there are sandwiches on the line.
I agree 100%. The only racial aspect of this dilemna is that you yourself identify that area as a particular race.
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Right, so the real question is, should we stop patronizing you? Aw, that would upset you, wouldn't it? Don't worry, little buddy. I won't stop.
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unfortunately, im going to be the one to break it to you that i would stop going there. not because i think it will change anything (i.e. his opinion), but merely because im not going to help this creep pay his bills when he's throwing people under the bus like that.
i stick by my own. trust me, youll find another killer deli.
I tend to vote with my dollars this way as well.
Whatever you do don't piss off the crepes that make your food for you.
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i stick by my own.
Racist.
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How do you piss off crepes?
The answer to this dilemma is yes, you should patronize them, but patronize them in the way you would a small, dull child. "Oh, Racist Deli. What are we ever going to do with you?"
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I don't think there's a single retail/food/cinema/sporting goods/haberdashery I frequent where some employee don't have a couple offensive opinions. This is demonstrably all over the planet, in every culture.
There's no racism or classism on the Moon, to my knowledge......yet.
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I'm not sure you can infer racism from that statement, anyway. It seems like he was making a lazy comment about a neighborhood.
I mean, the kind of person that makes comments like that is probably racist, but I like to give people the benefit of the doubt until I have something concrete. Especially if there are sandwiches on the line.
I agree 100%. The only racial aspect of this dilemna is that you yourself identify that area as a particular race.
Yes, yes I do.
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Right, so the real question is, should we stop patronizing you? Aw, that would upset you, wouldn't it? Don't worry, little buddy. I won't stop.
Please do.
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I think it's more reasonably to stop frequenting an establishment if the owner or staff decides to publicize their beliefs to you. An example would be a place like Geno's in Philly with the "This is America so speak English" signs. Or even worse is that Casa D'Ice place in North Versailles, PA. They're the crappy restaurant that has controversial signs they update on the side of the road.
http://www.casadice.com/signs/index.htm#1 (http://www.casadice.com/signs/index.htm#1)
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I think it's more reasonably to stop frequenting an establishment if the owner or staff decides to publicize their beliefs to you. An example would be a place like Geno's in Philly with the "This is America so speak English" signs. Or even worse is that Casa D'Ice place in North Versailles, PA. They're the crappy restaurant that has controversial signs they update on the side of the road.
http://www.casadice.com/signs/index.htm#1 (http://www.casadice.com/signs/index.htm#1)
How has Casa D'Ice not been relentlessly fucked-with? Every church or business in my hometown with signs like that lived in constant fear that roustabouts would change the sign to say "Dan is Gay!" overnight.
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Weird that a place called Casa D'Ice should have this sign up
(http://www.casadice.com/signs/images/outside_sign002.jpg)
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Weird that a place called Casa D'Ice should have this sign up
(http://www.casadice.com/signs/images/outside_sign002.jpg)
I laughed my ass off when I saw that, too.
"What does Casa D' Ice mean?
"Casa" means house in Italian. "D'" means "of". "Ice" is self-explanatory. So our name means "House of Ice" or "The Ice House". This is because the building that Casa D' Ice is located in, is an expanded version of a building that used to house North Versailles Ice, one of the tri-state area's largest producers of cubed and block ice."
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toilet mouth
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toilet mouth
That's my question. Haven't they been cited for obscenity?
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I kind of love how some of the Casa D'Ice signs are weirdly obscure, calling for bringing back the rotary phone or railing against seatbelt laws. It reminds me of those fake right-wing editorial cartoons in The Onion. And also, I like how they gradually go from being pro- to anti-war, while still being every bit as ugly and jingoistic.
Should we get a FOT to apply for the sign-changing job? It sounds like Bill isn't long for this world.
EDIT: This guy REALLY hates pushing "one" on his touchtone keypad.
EDIT 2: Charo, scourge of the 21st Century!
(http://www.casadice.com/signs/images/outside_sign039.jpg)
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Bill Balsamico weighs in on the Presidential candidates:
Cha-Ching!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfcnB6kSdWU[/youtube]
Portrait of Bill
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPNTjn6lL_g[/youtube]
of interest: Wikipedia gives these demographics for North Versailles, Pennsylvania:
The racial makeup of the township was 87.81% White, 9.77% African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.76% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 1.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.49% of the population.
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I'm just surprised how many different ways he has to post his "English-only" beliefs. Going through the gallery, I feel like 90% of his signs are just about high gas prices and "Pressing 1 for English."
Here are a few signs that just plain out confused me:
(http://www.casadice.com/signs/images/outside_sign003.jpg)
For somebody who dedicates many of his messages to talking about how ineffective the war in Iraq is, did this sign here mean that he believed Bush found the WMDs that the UN denied existed. If so, you think he'd take this down now since it shows he did support the war initially.
http://www.casadice.com/signs/images/outside_sign080.jpg (http://www.casadice.com/signs/images/outside_sign080.jpg)
How embarassing. It's now on public record (well... in billboard sign history) that he endorsed Fred Thompson.
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jesus.. i'm shocked.
this monster makes that loudmouthed prick from geno's look like mother theresa.
anyone who eats as this place is an asshole (sorry, i hate blanket statements like that - but c'mon.)
edit: this guy REALLY has it in for charo.