4 ms·

The Los Angeles Breakfast Club Nearly Disappeared

46 points by samclemens 4y ago

throwaway290 4y ago
- stavros 4y ago
  Of course it would be a throwaway with the malicious assumption. Might as well say "I wonder if the reason why they have trouble finding new members is that they kill half of them".
  - throwaway290 4y ago
    I asked whether it is actually limited to whites or whether it is self-selecting this way, and you seem to think this question is illegitimate somehow. OK. Unlike reading clubs, yachting clubs, AA etc. there seems to be just nothing else that brings these people together. Maybe you know what it is? (I am not American myself but I recall there is a significant percentage of non-white people yet I saw zero on photos of the club in this article. There is clearly a nostalgic vibe throughout the text, the question is how far it goes.) PS. Feel free to explain what does using a throwaway have to do with it if you want. This acc is the one I'm logged in atm but also yes I don't want to implicate my main in controversial topics like this if tides turn and bringing up these questions is again prosecuted with something more than downvotes on HN. I have been following you for a while and didn't expect you to be pro real name policies.
    - stavros 4y ago
      I'm not pro real name policies, it just seems very unlikely that a group in this day and age would ban specific races from attending. Given that, and the fact that the account is a throwaway, it's a priori more likely that it's a troll trying to stir up a flame war than an actual question. Maybe the article photographers had a bias for white people, that would be more plausible, but I can't see how any group today (that isn't explicitly a racist/extremist group) would ban races from its members.
      - throwaway290 4y ago
        It could discourage them without explicit banning though. But then I guess it would be news if this was true, so fair enough. Addendum: To be clear I do not support forced racial equity / reverse racism, but considering the history I would expect article authors to make a bit of extra effort to show diversity on photos if there is any (and if there is none it just begs the question, no offense).
        stavros 4y ago
        Yeah, I guess they could. I hope not, but then again I don't know anything about this club...
    - sgt 4y ago
      You're being downvoted for just being unnecessary. Also, there's nothing wrong with a group of only-white people doing something. That doesn't mean that they don't welcome non-whites.
    - DiggyJohnson 4y ago
      Because the idea that they have a white-only policy is profoundly ridiculous.
      - tanseydavid 4y ago
        ...and because if it were the case, we would have likely already heard all about it.
- wizardforhire 4y ago
- cafard 4y ago
  In the picture of the buffet line, the woman reach for bacon appears to be of Asian descent, and a man at the back left appears to have dark skin. In the broader shot at the end of the story, a man sitting near the camera--blue shirt, broad in the back--has dark skin. So I don't think that the club can be enforcing a rule of exclusion. I would expect a club started by equestrian businessmen to reflect the better off chunk of the population.
- systemicdanna 4y ago
  What’s the value of bringing up race in such unrelated topics? It makes everyone suspicious about your motives. A group of people is having regular fun, eat food, exercise. Do you suspect they discriminate based on race?
- PhasmaFelis 4y ago
  It sounds like, due to the club's location, it largely appeals to wealthy people. Wealthy people in the US disproportionately skew white/Asian. That's a problem, for sure, but it's probably not the club's fault.
riffic 4y ago
ur-whale 4y ago
https://archive.ph/vjT8o https://archive.ph/vjT8o
jsrcout 4y ago
Sounds like a fun and welcoming group. The world needs some level of friendly silliness.
stavros 4y ago
It would be nice if the article explained what the club is :( It just assumes they everyone knows.
- thatguy0900 4y ago
  The article says everything they do, they eat breakfast together while networking and listining to interesting speakers
- js2 4y ago
  > ONCE A WEEK, A NEARLY century-old breakfast club in Los Angeles meets for a morning full of food, fun, and light exercise. Its members really, really love ham and eggs. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/los-angeles-breakfast-club https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/los-angeles-breakfast-cl...
pjc50 4y ago
The "FUNEM" cryptogram I've seen before .. in a British comedy sketch from the 1970s!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-mX9T2qyIQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-mX9T2qyIQ I wonder which came first.

46 points by samclemens 4y ago

throwaway290 4y ago

stavros 4y ago
Of course it would be a throwaway with the malicious assumption. Might as well say "I wonder if the reason why they have trouble finding new members is that they kill half of them".
- throwaway290 4y ago
  I asked whether it is actually limited to whites or whether it is self-selecting this way, and you seem to think this question is illegitimate somehow. OK. Unlike reading clubs, yachting clubs, AA etc. there seems to be just nothing else that brings these people together. Maybe you know what it is? (I am not American myself but I recall there is a significant percentage of non-white people yet I saw zero on photos of the club in this article. There is clearly a nostalgic vibe throughout the text, the question is how far it goes.) PS. Feel free to explain what does using a throwaway have to do with it if you want. This acc is the one I'm logged in atm but also yes I don't want to implicate my main in controversial topics like this if tides turn and bringing up these questions is again prosecuted with something more than downvotes on HN. I have been following you for a while and didn't expect you to be pro real name policies.
  - stavros 4y ago
    I'm not pro real name policies, it just seems very unlikely that a group in this day and age would ban specific races from attending. Given that, and the fact that the account is a throwaway, it's a priori more likely that it's a troll trying to stir up a flame war than an actual question. Maybe the article photographers had a bias for white people, that would be more plausible, but I can't see how any group today (that isn't explicitly a racist/extremist group) would ban races from its members.
    - throwaway290 4y ago
      It could discourage them without explicit banning though. But then I guess it would be news if this was true, so fair enough. Addendum: To be clear I do not support forced racial equity / reverse racism, but considering the history I would expect article authors to make a bit of extra effort to show diversity on photos if there is any (and if there is none it just begs the question, no offense).
      - stavros 4y ago
        Yeah, I guess they could. I hope not, but then again I don't know anything about this club...
  - sgt 4y ago
    You're being downvoted for just being unnecessary. Also, there's nothing wrong with a group of only-white people doing something. That doesn't mean that they don't welcome non-whites.
  - DiggyJohnson 4y ago
    Because the idea that they have a white-only policy is profoundly ridiculous.
    - tanseydavid 4y ago
      ...and because if it were the case, we would have likely already heard all about it.
wizardforhire 4y ago
cafard 4y ago
In the picture of the buffet line, the woman reach for bacon appears to be of Asian descent, and a man at the back left appears to have dark skin. In the broader shot at the end of the story, a man sitting near the camera--blue shirt, broad in the back--has dark skin. So I don't think that the club can be enforcing a rule of exclusion. I would expect a club started by equestrian businessmen to reflect the better off chunk of the population.
systemicdanna 4y ago
What’s the value of bringing up race in such unrelated topics? It makes everyone suspicious about your motives. A group of people is having regular fun, eat food, exercise. Do you suspect they discriminate based on race?
PhasmaFelis 4y ago
It sounds like, due to the club's location, it largely appeals to wealthy people. Wealthy people in the US disproportionately skew white/Asian. That's a problem, for sure, but it's probably not the club's fault.

riffic 4y ago

ur-whale 4y ago

https://archive.ph/vjT8o https://archive.ph/vjT8o

jsrcout 4y ago

Sounds like a fun and welcoming group. The world needs some level of friendly silliness.

stavros 4y ago

It would be nice if the article explained what the club is :( It just assumes they everyone knows.

thatguy0900 4y ago
The article says everything they do, they eat breakfast together while networking and listining to interesting speakers
js2 4y ago
> ONCE A WEEK, A NEARLY century-old breakfast club in Los Angeles meets for a morning full of food, fun, and light exercise. Its members really, really love ham and eggs. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/los-angeles-breakfast-club https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/los-angeles-breakfast-cl...

pjc50 4y ago

The "FUNEM" cryptogram I've seen before .. in a British comedy sketch from the 1970s!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-mX9T2qyIQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-mX9T2qyIQ I wonder which came first.