Casual racism. In food and cultures

This is a food post, of sorts. It’s also so much more. I won’t be reviewing food per se in this one, but instead discussing food, food perceptions and “acceptable racism”. 
To start with, there is absolutely no such thing as “Acceptable Racism”. This pertains to people, culture, food, food cultures, etc. Time and again, I’ve had racial slurs slung at food. The fucked up part is, I was the one making the food. I’ve had everything from “Why are you making that “Chinky Shit”, to “How was the cat?”. I mean Really. It’s two thousand fucking thirteen. Are we Really this ass backwards?

I spent 18 months serving in Korea. While there, I went just about everywhere an American soldier is allowed to go, and a few places that American soldiers don’t often go. I experimented with foods, both buying, cooking, eating, not eating and just plain being curious about. This is ats it should be. I did not however proceed as this one dumb motherfucker when he went in to a tailor shop to try to buy something and state “Why can’t you people just learn English?”. This blew my mind. Motherfucker’s in Korea, and he expects Them to learn His language? Dumbshit says what?
There was a lot of racism even in Korea. I happened to be a cook, and Always a food head, so I was always out trying new and odd things. The first thing folks asked me upon my return to the states was “How was the dog?” Okay, here’s a fact. Yes, dog meat is eaten in Korea. no, I didn’t try it. That shit is Waaaaaay outside my price range. Now, any “average American” will be Why are they eating my dog, dogs are pets, not food, blah blah blah. Okay, now, step back and look at “America” and it’s “Burger Joints” monstrously slaughtering cow after cow from a Hindu point of view. Oh, wait, that doesn’t count because they’re “Non-Christian heathens and don’t know any better”. Bullshit. So anyway, there was always a whispered rumor of eating “kagogi”. I have honestly never tried it. Partially because my brain is dumb American, and partially because to have it as it’s intended, it was Expensive. It’s an “occasion food”, celebratory and stuff like that. Even though I personally never tried it does not mean I condemn an entire nation just because they do.
I did make one major mistake in my food travels in Korea. I broke the unwritten rule of world travel. Never go to a foreign country, enter a restaurant of a different country and order a dish from yet a third country. I was in Seoul and I found a German restaurant. This blew my mind so I went in. At this point, I didn’t know much about German food, or how Koreans would prepare it, so I stuck to what I knew, the spaghetti and meat sauce. Yeah, don’t do that. I was presented with a plate of perfectly cooked pasta, however, it was covered in ketchup instead of marinara and dressed with tuna sashimi and carrot slices. That was it. It was also one of the most expensive meals that I had coming in at around $22 American, in 1992 Korea.
If you’re thinking that “casual, or acceptable racism” just applies to undereducated people, that’s also not true. I had occasion to visit a friend who lived in a large metroplex. Getting up to his floor I was so pleasantly assaulted with the smells of about 5 different cultures. Unfortunately, my friend didn’t agree and proceeded to apologize for all of the towel heads and other racist terms that I won’t list, because if it “makes him sick, it must be really bad for me”.

Now, here goes the biggest “downside of the post”. I have eaten a non-standard food consumption animal. I’ve honestly eaten cat meat, in the U.S. but not as so many food bigots would assume.The initial thought of most anyone would be “oh, haha herp derp he ate cat at some Chinese buffet”. Sorry, no, it was Actually a small barbeque shack in Oklahoma, right outside of Fort Sill.
Yep, American people, served me cat. in BBQ sauce. They were eventually shut down by food safety inspectors, but I unfortunately ate there all too often.