Coconuts and Oreos: How Can Food be Racist?

This time I wanted to talk about how Larson decided to skim across the racial comments directed towards Bonilla. It's interesting that Larson decided to highlight the comments of Victor Morales by putting in Morales quotaion "coconut" and then making sure we. the readers, knew what he meant by that. She went on to clarify "(meaning brown on the outside, white on the inside)." As if that was not enouh, Lasrson continued this trend by exapand Morales' quote and giving its context on the next page. Personally I would have been content with the extended justification on the next page or even the limited introduction she gave the quote, but she is giving this instance a lot of attention. This brings me to my next issue. Why is Larson, and us as the rhetorical audience if you didn't think about what I am going to point out, using this example to illustrate how race is used in political races and why are we not questioning the acceptability of racism within the races which is another form of racism or colorism. Shouldn't we be more critical at the fact that Bonilla's authenticity of Mexican American heritage is being questioned because his personality is condusive to the Republican party, he's a "model minority", or a "sell out" rather than accepting this peice of new as being coded for "good news"/ "bad news" that can be used to cout his visability or popularity, especially in a book who's purpose is to bring to light the unbalenced social structures of the hegemony and minorieties? Larson didn't mention that type of discrimination when she was describing any of the black politictions. You can be sure that in the African American communities those racially discriminatory words exsist. Even I've been called them. The favoriet among those who use them is "oreo" (black on the outside, whit on the inside). This name is used for anyone who can speak Standard English and can carry themselve proper in civilized society (i.e. not be loud in small groups or inside spaces, use limited to no profane words, no attitude like head, neck or eye rolling/ neck or finger snapping and finger pointing the usual stereotypical "ghetto" talk). Do you see how these terms seem like they are innocent? However, when you define the boundaries of the terms, they are racsist. Subtle racism is still racism.