Posted on 07/04/2015 12:41:50 PM PDT by rightistight
To celebrate July 4, the Guardian published an article to tell the people of America that one of their favorite ways of cooking, barbecue, was stolen from enslaved Africans and Native Americans.
The article is titled, "Barbecue is an American tradition – of enslaved Africans and Native Americans" and was written by Michael Twitty, who calls himself a culinary historian.
"The traditional holiday cookout has its roots in the cooperation between black and indigenous peoples struggling to get or keep their freedom from colonialists," Twitty's secondary headline reads.
"If America is about people creating new worlds based on rebellion against oppression and slavery," he writes, "then barbecue is the ideal dish: it was made by enslaved Africans with inspiration and contributions from Native Americans struggling to maintain their independence."
However, according to Twitty, Europeans took the credit from Africans: "The common cultural narrative of barbecue, however, exclusively assigns its origins to Native Americans and Europeans... Some American barbecue masters have taken to attributing the innovation of barbecue to their German and Czech ancestors."
The truth is, however, "Enslaved Africans and Native Americans had a lot in common, culinarily-speaking: they had been cooking and eating in similar ways. despite [sic] an ocean between their civilizations. It only makes sense that, when their foodways, crops, cooking methods and systems of preservation, hunting, fishing and food storage collided, that there would be deep similarities and convergences of technique, method and skill."
That led to barbecue. And in the Americans, "enslaved men became barbecue’s master chefs." If indeed whites added anything to barbecue, they just "added to a base created by black hands forged in the crucible of slavery."
Twitty concludes, "Barbecue is laced with the aspiration of freedom, but it was seasoned and flavored by the people who could not enjoy any freedom on Independence Day for almost a century."
Well, I assume if they were the first to BBQ “the other white meat,” then he perhaps has a point.
No. Apparently, we can’t. We must go out to purchase rug dye and make ourselves more pure and wonderful.
According to the Smithsonian Institute, Columbus observed Natives in the Caribbean slow-cooking meat (such as they had meat). He named the process barbecue. The Spanish introduced pigs to barbecue, and spread the idea around. English, Germans and French contributed binger-based and mustard sauces; and local cooks, free and slave, added according to their imagination. I think it is fair to say that barbecue is an authentic collaborate of the diverse peoples of the Americas. Barbecue on the 4th of July is as American and Turkey and corn on the cob on Thanksgiving.
[eyeroll] Even if this were true, is imitation not the sincerest form of flattery? Guess I better get about forgetting all the Al-gebra I “stole” from the Arabs and the Cal-coolus I ripped the Germans off for.
Indeed! And kind of a white man's burden, for Tarzan to save the natives from the white men who were crooked.
Yep, they will rerun no more, the old movies with beautiful manners (to paraphrase Ezra Pound).
Fixed.
So....you’re saying I actually stole BBQ from the Jews?
You just can't stop with the appropriation, can you? ;)
Thanks! That was fascinating.
Is that you, Sandiz?
See link at post #16
Lol, it’s just the first recorded one that I know off the top of my head.
I’m pretty certain that various village celebrations all over the ancient world from one side of earth to the other included something like a BBQ.
Genesis 27:4 sounds a lot like barbecue to me.
The Russians can have the borscht back. The rest of the stuff I’m keeping. If the original “owners” want it back, they can come and get it.
Well, the American Indians stole smallpox to make up for it.
Does this mean I have to quit using Arabic numerals?
Yes. Because no one ever thought to burn meat over fire before. White Devils!!!!
Quite a neat trick by that dastardly Edison since Goebel never patented his “invention.” Of course the courts later ruled Goebel in fact didn’t produce working light bulbs prior to Edison, but what the heck.
English, Germans and French contributed binger-based and mustard sauces;
Freepers contributed Beeber-based saucys for
Moose BBQ.
We also stole pizza from the Italians, Octoberfest from the Germans, Tacos from the Mexicans, sushi from the Japanese, boomerangs from the Australians, ballet and half the words of our language from the French, caviar from the Russians, the alphabet from the Arabs, gun powder from the Chinese...
We're a bunch of thieves.
Get over it, moron.
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