5 ms·

Sincere question: what is problematic about the word "bodega"?

Klockan 9y ago
Cultural appropriation of Mexican small shops. Note that I don't really see the issue, the name describes their business well.
- jeffdavis 9y ago
  That was my question... I have never heard the word "bodega" is a negative context. Nearly everything (especially having to do with food) is a cultural reference of some kind -- nothing bad about that. And a lot is not very authentic and may count as some kind of "appropriation". That's not really avoidable when cultures mix (as they do in the US).
- southphillyman 9y ago
  Bodegas traditionally are run by Puerto Ricans and Dominicians in the NE (Not Mexicans). Taken into a NY-centric context it's easier to understand the backlash in a rapidly gentrifying and appropriating atmosphere.
  - jeffdavis 9y ago
    I still don't get it. Cultural appropriation is everywhere, and the inevitable and obvious result of cultural mixing. What makes this different? Maybe it has more to do with economic competition than cultural sensitivities?
    - Apocryphon 9y ago
      It is a Xoogler-founded startup called Bodega offering a product that would compete with, and potentially replace, real-world working-class owned bodegas.
      - jeffdavis 9y ago
        I get that people would be worried about the economic impact, and who would feel it. I don't get how the name is a problem, other than it being a little too accurate.
        Apocryphon 9y ago
        There's a certain "startup style" that appeared in the marketing for tech in the Web 2.0 period, maybe kicking off when Google adopted "Don't be evil" as their corporate slogan. (I allude to it here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15436272 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15436272) The name being too accurate falls into the stereotypical Silicon Valley trap of cheerfully "disrupting" with negative consequences for "regular people." Not only does the product ostensibly challenge the economic security of bodega owners, they're using the name of their livelihood to brand their own company. So the name becomes an extra sore spot. It's insult to potential injury. It's banally Orwellian, in the Ministry of Peace sort of way.
        jeffdavis 9y ago
        I am starting to see it: the name is too cheerful -- almost boastful about a powerfully-backed business beating their less-powerful competitors. Markets are brutal sometimes. This still seems to rank pretty low on that scale. For a long time competition was looked at more like a non-violent form of warfare, and this wouldn't even register. Now, I guess we have a more cooperative view of business (or perhaps some people have just never been in business and don't know), so they should be sensitive to the plight of their competitors.
        Apocryphon 9y ago
        There's a colonization sort of dynamic emerging when sharp differences in tech are involved. A VC-backed state-of-the-art startup going against old-fashioned brick and mortar shops is like tanks against spearmen in a game of Civ. Or gentrification through other means.
notthemessiah 9y ago
It's not just the word Bodega, it's the insult to injury added to the death of the American dream. Bodega's were ways that people could people of a community could pool their resources together and make a living for themselves while serving their community. Now some ambitious VC-backed firm not only wants to decimate that road to the American dream, but they also have to steal the name too? That's like killing your neighbor and wearing his skin while fucking his wife.
- root_axis 9y ago
  > That's like killing your neighbor and wearing his skin while fucking his wife. Somewhat over the top, no? A bodega is not a religious shrine, it's just a business like any other. I agree that the naming is tacky (it's like "Walmart" rebranding as "Mom & Pop's"), but that's about the extent of it. Certainly, they are not guilty of "decimating the American dream" by starting a business.
  - notthemessiah 9y ago
    I'm not saying they've done it or are going to do it, just that they clearly want to. And I don't see the Walmart comparison as comparable because this issue is also compounded with the issue of gentrification, which is particularly emblematic of the things that people hate about Silicon Valley and to a lesser extent the Presidency (VC-baked out-of-touch privileged idiots colonizing the urban landscape).
    - root_axis 9y ago
      > this issue is also compounded with the issue of gentrification How is this a gentrification issue? They're distributing glorified vending machines with "bodega" products, it's not as if they're pricing the neighborhood out of paper towels and frosted flakes. This is really a huge overreaction for something very benign.

Cultural appropriation of Mexican small shops. Note that I don't really see the issue, the name describes their business well.

jeffdavis 9y ago
That was my question... I have never heard the word "bodega" is a negative context. Nearly everything (especially having to do with food) is a cultural reference of some kind -- nothing bad about that. And a lot is not very authentic and may count as some kind of "appropriation". That's not really avoidable when cultures mix (as they do in the US).
southphillyman 9y ago
Bodegas traditionally are run by Puerto Ricans and Dominicians in the NE (Not Mexicans). Taken into a NY-centric context it's easier to understand the backlash in a rapidly gentrifying and appropriating atmosphere.
- jeffdavis 9y ago
  I still don't get it. Cultural appropriation is everywhere, and the inevitable and obvious result of cultural mixing. What makes this different? Maybe it has more to do with economic competition than cultural sensitivities?
  - Apocryphon 9y ago
    It is a Xoogler-founded startup called Bodega offering a product that would compete with, and potentially replace, real-world working-class owned bodegas.
    - jeffdavis 9y ago
      I get that people would be worried about the economic impact, and who would feel it. I don't get how the name is a problem, other than it being a little too accurate.
      - Apocryphon 9y ago
        There's a certain "startup style" that appeared in the marketing for tech in the Web 2.0 period, maybe kicking off when Google adopted "Don't be evil" as their corporate slogan. (I allude to it here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15436272 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15436272) The name being too accurate falls into the stereotypical Silicon Valley trap of cheerfully "disrupting" with negative consequences for "regular people." Not only does the product ostensibly challenge the economic security of bodega owners, they're using the name of their livelihood to brand their own company. So the name becomes an extra sore spot. It's insult to potential injury. It's banally Orwellian, in the Ministry of Peace sort of way.
        jeffdavis 9y ago
        I am starting to see it: the name is too cheerful -- almost boastful about a powerfully-backed business beating their less-powerful competitors. Markets are brutal sometimes. This still seems to rank pretty low on that scale. For a long time competition was looked at more like a non-violent form of warfare, and this wouldn't even register. Now, I guess we have a more cooperative view of business (or perhaps some people have just never been in business and don't know), so they should be sensitive to the plight of their competitors.
        Apocryphon 9y ago
        There's a colonization sort of dynamic emerging when sharp differences in tech are involved. A VC-backed state-of-the-art startup going against old-fashioned brick and mortar shops is like tanks against spearmen in a game of Civ. Or gentrification through other means.

notthemessiah 9y ago

It's not just the word Bodega, it's the insult to injury added to the death of the American dream. Bodega's were ways that people could people of a community could pool their resources together and make a living for themselves while serving their community. Now some ambitious VC-backed firm not only wants to decimate that road to the American dream, but they also have to steal the name too? That's like killing your neighbor and wearing his skin while fucking his wife.

root_axis 9y ago
> That's like killing your neighbor and wearing his skin while fucking his wife. Somewhat over the top, no? A bodega is not a religious shrine, it's just a business like any other. I agree that the naming is tacky (it's like "Walmart" rebranding as "Mom & Pop's"), but that's about the extent of it. Certainly, they are not guilty of "decimating the American dream" by starting a business.
- notthemessiah 9y ago
  I'm not saying they've done it or are going to do it, just that they clearly want to. And I don't see the Walmart comparison as comparable because this issue is also compounded with the issue of gentrification, which is particularly emblematic of the things that people hate about Silicon Valley and to a lesser extent the Presidency (VC-baked out-of-touch privileged idiots colonizing the urban landscape).
  - root_axis 9y ago
    > this issue is also compounded with the issue of gentrification How is this a gentrification issue? They're distributing glorified vending machines with "bodega" products, it's not as if they're pricing the neighborhood out of paper towels and frosted flakes. This is really a huge overreaction for something very benign.