4 ms·

I never would have thought to make chili lime chips. I never would have even tried them until I spent time in the southwest. Now I'm floored they weren't a bi

I never would have thought to make chili lime chips. I never would have even tried them until I spent time in the southwest. Now I'm floored they weren't a bigger thing sooner. And tajin. You can get it in most of the country, but it was all over in the produce section down there. Confused the hell out of me until a coworker offered me some cucumber slices with tajin and lime juice. It's incredible. And tajin on green apples. I don't know how it isn't a bigger thing across the country. And according to this article, it wasn't white people that came up with the flaming hot idea in the first place. It came from black neighborhoods in Chicago.

oh_sigh 5y ago
Was it your race or ethnicity which prevented you from seeing that chili lime chips would be delicious? Or is it just the fact that you, regardless of your demographics, hadn't spent time in a region where the local fare involved chili lime chips? I didn't say that white people invented Flamin Hot cheetos - I said that it's common for diversity advocates to utilize stereotypes as long as they punch in the "right" direction. But the feeling I got from my diversity lecture at work was that "Management at Frito Lay couldn't think of Flamin hot cheetos because they were too white". Also, I'm not sure where you're getting that the idea came from black neighborhoods. No one has their demographics called out in the article from what I can tell, and it seems like Fred Lindsay, Sharon Owens, and Lynne Greenfeld helped develop the brand - maybe they're black, I don't know. The only place I can imagine you getting that is by guessing that the clientele in Chicago corner stores and gas stations is mostly black, and that clientele is the same clientele that would buy the pre-existing non-cheetos spicy products. Maybe that's the case, but then that isn't a particularly strong point for diversity advocates, which was the basis of my post, if your company can be completely, say, white, and all you have to do is look at what is selling well in "ethnic" neighborhoods and copy it.
- msrenee 5y ago
  It wasn't my race or ethnicity that kept me from seeing it. It was my upbringing. As soon as I started spending time with people who had different preferences than me, I realized what I was missing out on. I had the same thing with Indian food when I met my husband. My parents didn't like curry and told me I wouldn't either. My husband (boyfriend at the time) talked me into trying it and damn is it tasty. I got the idea that it came from black neighborhoods from another comment on here saying it came from black neighborhoods. I don't know anything about Chicago, so I assumed they knew what they were talking about when they said those neighborhoods were largely black. I don't understand what's so bad about realizing that other cultures have different tastes and they may very well know about a delicious combo that you don't see in the mostly white suburbs where I'm from. What's wrong with saying that instead of writing off curry and spicy chips as foreign, maybe we should try them? I hate this focus on race and ethnicity. Genetically, it's an incredibly hard thing to nail down, if it's even possible. Let's not be like my grandmother saying that n-words and illegals eat gross things and she only wants to try things that her gradually expanding definition of white says is OK. Differences in culture are a good thing. They make life richer and more varied. Why shouldn't we make it a point to listen to the voices that have been pushed into the background for the last couple centuries. There's obviously a lot to learn and a lot we're missing out on.

oh_sigh 5y ago

Was it your race or ethnicity which prevented you from seeing that chili lime chips would be delicious? Or is it just the fact that you, regardless of your demographics, hadn't spent time in a region where the local fare involved chili lime chips? I didn't say that white people invented Flamin Hot cheetos - I said that it's common for diversity advocates to utilize stereotypes as long as they punch in the "right" direction. But the feeling I got from my diversity lecture at work was that "Management at Frito Lay couldn't think of Flamin hot cheetos because they were too white". Also, I'm not sure where you're getting that the idea came from black neighborhoods. No one has their demographics called out in the article from what I can tell, and it seems like Fred Lindsay, Sharon Owens, and Lynne Greenfeld helped develop the brand - maybe they're black, I don't know. The only place I can imagine you getting that is by guessing that the clientele in Chicago corner stores and gas stations is mostly black, and that clientele is the same clientele that would buy the pre-existing non-cheetos spicy products. Maybe that's the case, but then that isn't a particularly strong point for diversity advocates, which was the basis of my post, if your company can be completely, say, white, and all you have to do is look at what is selling well in "ethnic" neighborhoods and copy it.

msrenee 5y ago
It wasn't my race or ethnicity that kept me from seeing it. It was my upbringing. As soon as I started spending time with people who had different preferences than me, I realized what I was missing out on. I had the same thing with Indian food when I met my husband. My parents didn't like curry and told me I wouldn't either. My husband (boyfriend at the time) talked me into trying it and damn is it tasty. I got the idea that it came from black neighborhoods from another comment on here saying it came from black neighborhoods. I don't know anything about Chicago, so I assumed they knew what they were talking about when they said those neighborhoods were largely black. I don't understand what's so bad about realizing that other cultures have different tastes and they may very well know about a delicious combo that you don't see in the mostly white suburbs where I'm from. What's wrong with saying that instead of writing off curry and spicy chips as foreign, maybe we should try them? I hate this focus on race and ethnicity. Genetically, it's an incredibly hard thing to nail down, if it's even possible. Let's not be like my grandmother saying that n-words and illegals eat gross things and she only wants to try things that her gradually expanding definition of white says is OK. Differences in culture are a good thing. They make life richer and more varied. Why shouldn't we make it a point to listen to the voices that have been pushed into the background for the last couple centuries. There's obviously a lot to learn and a lot we're missing out on.