"urk!...Pork!!"
Posted on 07/07/2008 9:24:44 AM PDT by theothercheek
When The Stiletto was but a little penknife, a family member who was a young child during WWII recounted how easily the locals could pick out American spies: When an Americans eats, (s)he holds the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right hands while cutting food, then puts the knife down and switches the fork to the right hand and eats with the tines facing up. Europeans keep the fork in their left hands - with the tines facing down - and push food onto the fork with a knife that is kept in the right hand.
Not yet knowing what she wanted to be when she grew up - and not wanting to preclude herself from spycraft because of how she wielded her fork and knife - The Stiletto immediately began practicing the European style of utensil handling, and in the process discovered she is ambidextrous.
This blast from The Stiletto's past was provoked by an article in The Washington Post that notes an odd fact: Five of our seven most recent presidents - and both 2008 contenders – were born lefties.
But this section on how Obama eats was revealing, because while the candidate assiduously avoids discussing his upbringing in Indonesia it offers some evidence he was raised in accordance with the Hadith - the Prophet Mohammad's commentary on, and interpretation of, the Koran:
In Indonesia, where Obama spent four years as a child, travel guides warn visitors not to use their left hands (it's considered rude), particularly when touching food or drink. This might explain why the candidate uses his right hand to eat finger food but his left to eat with utensils.Um, not quite. The Hadith - as much a how-to manual for daily life as an exhortation to wage jihad against infidels until they convert - instructs the faithful that the left hand is to be reserved for "unclean" tasks such as cleansing after excretion, because Mohammad believed Satan to be left-handed. Thus, no Muslim would ever use the left hand both to wipe (or otherwise clean) his or her ass and to eat, especially as in many Muslim countries food is often eaten by hand - a lavash-style bread is used to scoop up a stew-like main dish set in the middle of the table for everyone to share.
While it may well be considered “rude” to contaminate a communal bowl or platter by using your left hand to eat from it, as Muslims Indonesians also consider it blasphemous because Mohammad instructs it is haram (forbidden).
This article was written by Melissa Roth, author of The Left Stuff: How the Left-Handed Have Survived and Thrived in a Right-Handed World - who presumably should know why Muslims never eat with their left hands. So either she deliberately omitted the information about it being haram, or the WaPo staffer who edited her piece excised it. Which is as revealing as which hand Obama uses when he eats finger food.
BTW: Muslims consider dogs “unclean” and profess to be “insulted” at the mere sight of one – even a photograph, if this account from the UK is to be believed. As it happens, the Obamas do not own a dog – the McCains own 24 pets, including four dogs - but the presumptive Dem nominee has let it be known that he promised daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, a dog after the election, explaining that they hadn’t had a dog before “because of allergies” (it is unclear which member of the Obama household has the hypersensitivity to canines). Hmmm. A suspicious person might wonder whether Obama’s sudden interest in dogs is kinda sorta like Gov. Charlie Christ’s (R-FL) sudden interest in getting married. Good thing The Stiletto is not a suspicious person.
Note: The Stiletto writes about politics and other stuff at The Stiletto Blog, chosen an Official Honoree in the Political Blogs category by the judges of the 12th Annual Webby Awards (the Oscars of the online universe) along with CNN Political Ticker, Swampland (Time magazine) and The Caucus (The New York Times).
Yup, it’s related to the religion thing about eating with the right hand only (Hindus do the same thing, not sure how many other religions in the world believe this as well?)—
It all boils down to not having toilet paper and having to clean yourself of poo and pee barehanded. Ewwww. [grosses out]
Interesting.
I guess I’m weird...I’m a righty, but I use the fork in the right hand and the knife in the left, always. If I have to switch hands to get enough leverage on the knife to cut something, chances are I’m not interested in eating it...
}:-)4
It is not only Muslims who don’t use the left hand to eat. All through Asia the left hand is considered unclean because that is the hand you are supposed to use when cleaning yourself after using the bathroom. You should never use the left hand to give or receive anything for the same reason. In Asia, it is considered common courtesy among all groups.
On BOTH shows where I saw it...she interrupted the flow of conversation...to add the "bacon" bit.
Is it TURKEY bacon??? We have it in our store.
I am right with you.
The real question is which hand does he use to “fist bump”?
Having lived in Europe, I can assure you the different styles of using silverware are very noticeable.
I looked into it once out of curiousity and learned there was a reason Americans went through this elaborate rearrangement of silverware with every bite.
From what I read, most public eating took place in taverns that were also inns. Almost everyone eating together in the tavern would be a stranger to the others. Many diners would use the equivalent of a bootknife to cut their meat.
To demonstrate that the diner had no intention of using the knife in a threatening way, and probably because tavern owners developed this protocol as a way to keep angry, drunk men from gesticulating with a big knife in their (usually) dominant hand, diners would use their knife and then put it down and pick up their fork.
Same thing with the American military salute. It came from way back as a way to show a superior officer that one’s sword hand was free. IOW, that one came in peace. That’s also why the subordinate holds his salute (his “fighting hand” in a non-usable position) until the superior salutes him back. This allowed the superior to assure himself that the subordinate was indeed coming in peace, or at least was not at the ready to pull a weapon on him.
I eat like a European. Sheesh. My wife calls it “continental,” but I think I’m just lazy to switch the fork to the other hand. Time to make a change. :P
He also claims to dislike ice cream because he worked at an ice cream parlor as a youth.
But he has held dozens of photo ops at ice cream parlors and gets a scoop. He must like his waffle cones.
I’m left-handed but I do many many things with my right hand. It’s a right-handed world. The more a leftie can adapt, the easier it is.
Incidentally, I never switch the fork. It stays in the left hand. No thought went into it. It just seems natural.
What is interesting about Obama is he eats with his left hand - as you would expect from a leftie - when he is using a fork and knife BUT he eats with his right hand - as you would expect of a Muslim - when he is eating with his hands. Muslims don’t care whether you are left handed or right handed. Haram is haram. They are as inflexible on this point as with everything else.
Since boxers or briefs was considered an acceptable question of a president, how about a human interest question...
How do you like your pork chops? Breaded, grilled, or stuffed?
Is it soccer or football?
Gas or Petrol?
Allegedly this is how a lot of the “Greifers” (German saboteurs) were caught during the Battle of the Bulge.
I tried that turkey bacon because I’m watching my cholesterol. It is Terrible, couldn’t eat it and it smelled bad when cooking, not the good bacon smell we’re used to.
"urk!...Pork!!"
Of course it seems natural - you are a leftie. Why would you switch hands?
By the way, have you ever been to someone’s house during an important holiday or a restaurant where there were so many people at the table that you were glad to be a leftie because everyone else is a rightie and without having to switch your utensils back and forth you had more “room” to eat?
In that situation I cut up all my food the usual way and then just keep the fork in my left hand for the duration of the meal. I had to practice for a bit to make sure the forkful didn’t head towards my ear instead of my mouth but I got the hang of it.
It could be beef, or chicken or even veggie. There is a weird fast food joint in NYC near Bloomingdale’s (it’s a European concept)that even has salmon “hot dogs.” So I guess a hot dog can be made of anything.
It is not only Muslims who don’t use the left hand to eat. All through Asia the left hand is considered unclean because that is the hand you are supposed to use when cleaning yourself after using the bathroom. You should never use the left hand to give or receive anything for the same reason. In Asia, it is considered common courtesy among all groups.....
That’s because all these turd world countries don’t have forks, knifes, running water and soap....
I’m glad I’m left handed then because I could never become a Muslim and starve.....
What’s wrong with Canadian bacon? Unless I am mistaken it’s all meat and extremely little fat around the edges that can be trimmed off (holding your knife in the right hand, of course!)
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