On 9/1/05, Ian Lynch <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Yes, it is stereotyping, but I think there are two things that are being missed here.
#1, China is a communist country, and tofu is not abnormal in that country. (That based upon seeing Tofu in Chinese resturants here in the States, I've never been to China, so I can't say 1st hand what is eaten there. Of course, I can't first hand say they are communist either, but I've heard it from enough sources to believe that it is true.)
#2, In the United States, during the Cold War primarily, but still remenants remain, the term "Communist" was a bad thing. It was an insult, or a threat. In this country at that time, tofu was seen as a non-masulcine food. Real men, according to the philosophy, eat steak, bacon, and grease - anything as long as it bled when it died. Wimps ate tofu. (Again, not me saying this - just explaining the phrase.) Tofu was very popular in California, as was the "liberal, communist, pinko, etc." center of the time. (Try to think back to the MacArthur era times, trials in Hollywood about actors being Communist Sympathizers.) Therefore, much like tree-hugging, tofu-eating was looked down upon as something a communist (or, more correctly, anti-American) type person would do.
I'm not saying that this is my opinion. In fact, it's not, I like tofu. I eat it everytime I see it at a buffet. I even like Soy Milk better than cow milk. But I also eat steak, so it's balanced out. And I don't really have anything against Communists. I don't agree with the philosophy, but it's okay if you do. I'm just trying to clarify the meaning of the phrase.
By the way, the "insult" of "tofu-eating Communist" has taken a much less serious tone in the decades following the end of the Cold War. And since the Internet didn't take off until several years after that end, I suspect that most of the uses of that phrase online are meant to be tongue-in-cheek.
-Chad Smith
On Thu, 2005-09-01 at 13:34 +0200, Cyrille Moureaux wrote:
> I don't believe the original _expression_ was a specific reference to a
> person supporting the application of Marx economic theories while
> enjoying a dish based on tofu ;-)
Just a good old bit of old fashioned stereotyping, then.
Yes, it is stereotyping, but I think there are two things that are being missed here.
#1, China is a communist country, and tofu is not abnormal in that country. (That based upon seeing Tofu in Chinese resturants here in the States, I've never been to China, so I can't say 1st hand what is eaten there. Of course, I can't first hand say they are communist either, but I've heard it from enough sources to believe that it is true.)
#2, In the United States, during the Cold War primarily, but still remenants remain, the term "Communist" was a bad thing. It was an insult, or a threat. In this country at that time, tofu was seen as a non-masulcine food. Real men, according to the philosophy, eat steak, bacon, and grease - anything as long as it bled when it died. Wimps ate tofu. (Again, not me saying this - just explaining the phrase.) Tofu was very popular in California, as was the "liberal, communist, pinko, etc." center of the time. (Try to think back to the MacArthur era times, trials in Hollywood about actors being Communist Sympathizers.) Therefore, much like tree-hugging, tofu-eating was looked down upon as something a communist (or, more correctly, anti-American) type person would do.
I'm not saying that this is my opinion. In fact, it's not, I like tofu. I eat it everytime I see it at a buffet. I even like Soy Milk better than cow milk. But I also eat steak, so it's balanced out. And I don't really have anything against Communists. I don't agree with the philosophy, but it's okay if you do. I'm just trying to clarify the meaning of the phrase.
By the way, the "insult" of "tofu-eating Communist" has taken a much less serious tone in the decades following the end of the Cold War. And since the Internet didn't take off until several years after that end, I suspect that most of the uses of that phrase online are meant to be tongue-in-cheek.
-Chad Smith
