For decades we saw a man break down barriers, blow past racial awkwardness, and truly make us feel like we are all the same people. This man talked about how uncomfortable he was being in these situations and sometimes absolutely hated doing them, but what he didn't realize was that, with millions of people watching at home he was really connecting every race on the planet. I'm not saying that this man was a picture perfect saint by any means, but he took something so simple as food and made us all look at each other the same way.
What are things that we all do as a human race? We sleep, drink, breathe, think, and eat. Maybe there's some more but which one of those sounds like it could connect us on a deeper level? Eating. Yes. Whether we're talking about eating French fries out of a cardboard box from McKinney, Texas or eating rice that was just harvested from a field in Hanoi, Vietnam. We all have traditions and culture that surround food. I'm here trying to make a case to learn about someone''s culture through their food. What's the best way to break the ice? Did you put butter in this? Do you put salt on this or does the salt come within an ingredient? Who taught you how to make this? What are this dish's origins? Maybe it's this easy. Isn't is worth trying?
The man I'm referring to is Anthony Bourdain. When you read his book "A Cook's Tour" you are blown away by how much he despises TV because he wants to have a genuine experience with genuine people from a culture he knows nothing about. It's amazing. It's something we should all live by. Not seeing someone for what they look like but who they are, what they have to say, where they came from, and what they do. Not having racial prejudices, but maybe racial curiosity. Trying to learn about someones race and ancestral background rather than shooting them down for it. Gaining as much knowledge as humanly possible before saying anything and then just listening while you have dinner with them. I believe it's the most human thing we have and we ought to do it more often.
Isn't it crazy that we've been around for thousands of years and there are still people who are left behind. People who will never get the same opportunities just because they were born a different color. How can you mistreat someone because of their skin? If you're going to mistreat them do it because they're an asshole not because they were born a certain way. Anyways, I'm white, I'm privileged but I also think if there's a way that we can come together it's through food. We all have traditions, we all have cultures, we all have an upbringing that can define us, why don't we try to learn from each other instead of hearing something on the news and engraving it into your brain.
To go back to Anthony Bourdain, yes he's obsessed with finding the best food, but there's always a better story along the way. The connections he's making even though the world has told him that these will be uncomfortable, awkward, and difficult. He proves to the world that it doesn't matter what you look like it matters how you act and how you can effectively communicate with one another while taking their situations into account.
"I'm not afraid to look like a big, hairy, smelly, foreign devil in Tokyo, though I do my best not to, I really do. I'm not afraid to look like an idiot. Context and memory play powerful roles in all the truly great meals in one's life."
An important quote in the world right now, another one of his famous quotes talks about always eating in another's shoes. I think we have so much to learn about each other and even though he never wanted to be used as a community togetherness project, here we are. How about when we are allowed to do so, you invite one of your friends over for dinner who you think has been persecuted for nothing other than them being born and you listen to them, you learn from them, and you grow with them?
Let's put the guns, fire torch, rubber bullet, and mace down for a second, take a deep breath and trade them in for spoons, forks, and knives. Maybe, just maybe, we can take a step in the right direction and learn from one another and build a better future together. I also understand the need to protest right now and act aggressively, but you can do both. Be a good neighbor, stand up for what's right and let's make better communities united as one human race.
Tim Buell
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