Uncle Ben's

[Cheese]

About the planned change of packaging.

Can someone calmly try and explain me why this age-old symbol is supposed to go. Whilst I can sort of understand it with Aunt Jemima, I struggle to understand what is so bad in the face of that black man who looks like a rather successful farmer, and conveys a (well, I think) definitely positive image of the African-American man. The positive effects for the average man living at the arse of the world will be nil, but why not.

I wonder where the order came from - was it the CEO or some marketing guy ?

It's not that much of a catastrophe, as long as Uncle Ben's will be able to keep their sales at the usual level. But should sales go down following this move, with loss of jobs, the guys responsible will have a hard time justifying it.

 

[Bart]

Maybe they think it’s too close to Uncle Tom.

 

[Vinny]

Flack avoidance, no matter how minute and ill-aimed the flack.

 

[SteveT]

Check out Tracey Ullman's Woke Support Group on You Tube and Twitter and it will all make sense........

 

[Wilson]

Maybe they think it’s too close to Uncle Tom.

Not Uncle Fester, though.

 

[Vinny]

All very constructive stuff, making the word a better place. Absolutely astonishing what mindless tokenism can and can't achieve.

 

[Joe Hutch]

It's a packet of sodding, over-priced rice. Get a grip FFS.

 

[AndyU]

About the planned change of packaging.

Can someone calmly try and explain me why this age-old symbol is supposed to go. Whilst I can sort of understand it with Aunt Jemima, I struggle to understand what is so bad in the face of that black man who looks like a rather successful farmer, and conveys a (well, I think) definitely positive image of the African-American man. The positive effects for the average man living at the arse of the world will be nil, but why not.

I wonder where the order came from - was it the CEO or some marketing guy ?

It's not that much of a catastrophe, as long as Uncle Ben's will be able to keep their sales at the usual level. But should sales go down following this move, with loss of jobs, the guys responsible will have a hard time justifying it.

Because the connotations are unacceptable.

“According to the Uncle Ben's website, the name was first used in 1946 in reference to a black farmer known as Uncle Ben who excelled in rice-growing. The man depicted in the logo is a "a beloved Chicago chef and waiter named Frank Brown."
However, the imagery evokes a servant and uses a title that reflects how white Southerners "once used 'uncle' and 'aunt' as honorifics for older blacks because they refused to say 'Mr.' and 'Mrs.,'" according to a 2007 New York Times article.“

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/17/business/uncle-bens-rice-racist/index.html

 

[Vinny]

the imagery evokes a servant and uses a title that reflects how white Southerners "once used 'uncle' and 'aunt' as honorifics for older blacks

Precisely the same as in S Asian communities - except that they are used as signs of affection/respect. Brother, sister, uncle, they all work that way.

 

[Joe P]

This reminds me of those threads where people are more upset about statues in rivers than people being knelt on to death by the fuzz.

Joe

 

[wacko]

Only white people who don't know much about rice buy Uncle Ben's.

 

[monkfish]

Only white people who don't know much about rice buy Uncle Ben's.

That's ricist.

 

[Wilson]

The rice itself appears to be white.

 

[MikeMA]

What about Aunt Bessie's dumplings? Not that I eat them, but asking for a friend.

 

[Seeker_UK]

What about Aunt Bessie's dumplings? Not that I eat them, but asking for a friend.

 

[twotone]

South Carolina plantation owners/rice farmers paid more money for slaves from rice growing regions such as Sierra Leone.

"It is estimated that approximately 24 percent of slaves brought into the area came from Sierra Leone, prized by buyers in Charleston specifically for their skills as rice farmers."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leonean_Americans

 

[droodzilla]

Welcome back.

 

[Cheese]

Because the connotations are unacceptable.

“According to the Uncle Ben's website, the name was first used in 1946 in reference to a black farmer known as Uncle Ben who excelled in rice-growing. The man depicted in the logo is a "a beloved Chicago chef and waiter named Frank Brown."
However, the imagery evokes a servant and uses a title that reflects how white Southerners "once used 'uncle' and 'aunt' as honorifics for older blacks because they refused to say 'Mr.' and 'Mrs.,'" according to a 2007 New York Times article.“

Congratulations to AndyU who, after 17 posts, has been the only contributor answering my question. Thank you Andy. The rest is just noise from contributors who, in part, don't even know themselves why the Uncle-Ben portrait should be replaced. I still like @wacko 's post

This reminds me of those threads where people are more upset about statues in rivers than people being knelt on to death by the fuzz.

Okay Joe, then could you please enlighten me about the correlation of the Uncle-Ben portrait with the people being knelt on to death by the fuzz ?

Like you, I wish the problem could be solved by removing a face from a pack of rice.

 

[vuk]

Okay Joe, then could you please enlighten me about the correlation of the Uncle-Ben portrait with the people being knelt on to death by the fuzz?

correlation is not the right concept here, causality is, but in terms of 2 different propositions. you are correct that the uncle ben packaging is trivial in terms of direct causal impact on black people, as assessed by measures of economic outcomes or outright racial prejudice. as far as offensive symbolism, that's another matter.

Like you, I wish the problem could be solved by removing a face from a pack of rice.

joe and i actually lived in the same mid-sized city back in the 1990s. during that time, i recall getting groceries in one of the big supermarkets close by and wondering how uncle ben's rice was still a thing, especially considering the rise of PC culture. no moral outrage back then, just mild amusement and curiosity.

my current view: a decent society should not be OK with symbols like that on staple foods in essential places like big grocery stores (they are fundamentally a type of public utility). it's morally problematic, easy to fix, with almost no downside, so what's the issue? it's definitely not anything critical and it doesn't solve the problem of the fuzz, but does it have to? BTW, as i have explained elsewhere, the fuzz problem is also a very secondary issue, albeit very dramatic and highly symbolic. a symptom at the end of a long causal chain stretching back to slavery.

 

[Tarzan]

That's ricist.

Mammy two shoes from Tom and Jerry is being edited out as we speak.