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If he didn’t realize how his comments would come off — in this climate — then he’s an idiot. And they both could’ve pretty easily cleared up any misunderstanding in their IG post. they didn’t. instead, they doubled-down on the “electric cars” story (as if it were 1998 and electric cars are some novel invention) and then — for no apparent reason — volunteered the “all viewpoints matter” dog-whistle.
they can say whatever they want to say, and vote however they want to vote. but don’t treat us like we’re stupid
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Yeah, I hear you. Nothing you wrote is incorrect. I’m just trying so hard in this time of polarization to not further polarize. Probably a losing battle…
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Filipinos vote dem at the highest rate among Asian American voters
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I did couch it with “according to my Filipino friends”. I did no research before saying that.
After some Googling, there appears to be an interesting bifurcation:
- Filipinos lean right
- Filipino-Americans lean left
What does it mean to cancel? The term is almost meaningless, and often a cudgel to defend bad behavior.
I get their comment is open to interpretation, but it’s not ‘canceling’ to stop patronizing a business for political reasons. Tbf maybe I’m missing nuance in your argument.
Btw that sub Reddit is now saying Night Market chef is MAGA…
*I don’t go to Prince St anymore bc of the owner’s racism. Wouldn’t judge those who do, but I don’t think this is unjustified canceling for example.
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Ouch, that’s quite the own-goal. Having done my fair share of internet community interaction through my job, I have some sympathy and perspective. It’s much easier than you think to say something that reads really poorly in print. You actually have to be quite careful when talking about anything adjacent to hot button topics within a community. Why do you think you get endlessly massaged corporate statements from people who speak to the media or public? It’s very easy to inadvertently say something that can be quoted out of context, misinterpreted, read differently in print without your spoken voice, or simply say the exact wrong thing. Even more so when you’re talking with a reporter who’s job it is to make you feel comfortable and build rapport (or confronted and angry) so they can break people out of defensive speech patterns. We all had to take internal training before talking to the community. We had to take more if we were going to talk to the media, because it’s even harder when you’re having a conversation in real time.
I doubt most chef/owners have the benefit of that. Which is to say, maybe don’t poke too hard with the pitchforks if you haven’t heard the full unedited conversation. All it takes is a joke taken out of context or without emotional cues to blow up a corner of the internet. I do not envy celebrities in the public eye who are constantly scrutinized.
Walter Manzke just hadn’t had a chance to learn the lessons that Dave Chang did before he said this:
“I wouldn’t imagine most of my friends saying yes to this,” said the chef David Chang, who lives in Los Angeles County. “But I couldn’t imagine them wanting to say that publicly, either, because of how polarizing both sides are.”
And no one would accuse David Chang of having a perfect media record either.
Talking with a reporter is not like a normal conversation, and it’s quite hard to speak naturally and authentically especially when you might be nervous or anxious about the subject matter. You can say smart, insightful, and uncontroversial things 99.9% of the time. But you better bet the 0.01% is gonna make it on the page. Even worse if the media outlet has an agenda (not saying that’s the case here). And unlike on some random internet forum, you don’t get to go back and remove or edit your mistakes.
Maybe the Manzke’s are actually what that quote implies, but I would just be cautious about assuming the worst right off the bat.
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Fair question. In this case I’m using cancel to mean stop patronizing. I’m not going to stop patronizing République because of a comment about Margarita wanting a Tesla. That to me is a plainly political statement - as in, expressing preference for a politician or political party, though it’s even one layer removed from that. People vote for politicians and parties for a myriad of reasons (in my view, ignorance is often a leading reason), and support for a politician or party does not mean support of all of the positions of that politician or party.
There are situations where generic support for a political party or politician would be enough for me to “cancel” someone. For example, if someone was a neo-Nazi, Proud Boy or Oath Keeper. But supporting one of the two main political parties in the US does not reach that threshold for me. Depending on what transpires over the upcoming months my opinion on that could change - I endeavor to frequently recalibrate my priors.
I think the Prince St. situation is completely different. In that case, the owner was being a flagrant racist towards individual people. I would stop patronizing an establishment under those circumstances.
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That’s why these discussion boards are important as people will react differently but it is important to get such information to be able to make a personal decision on how to react on it. For me for example, Republique isn’t any longer a place I am interested to visit.I don’t expect everybody to have the same political opinion like me but depending on the extremist view there are levels I am not interested to tolerate and the owner have clearly crossed that one, similar to not being interested to buying a Tesla
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You’re right! They’re not quite analogous, though it did help elucidate my point re: canceling.
I am certainly not the paragon of ethical or conscious consumption, and we all pick and choose and make compromises. So while I disagree on this specifically for reasons I’m sure you understand and I don’t need to explain, I don’t wanna judge others’ choices.
*Respectfully, in your edit I think there’s a tension between proud boys supporter and generic republican voter if someone is admiring Elon post “Roman” salute. Of course those two groups are really not coextensive but hard for me to cut her slack.
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How about somebody is doing a Nazi salute or somebody is openly supporting PB or OK people by pardoning them - or at what level do you condemn them ? Do they have to start to illegally deport people in torture prisons in other countries - oh wait….
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I’m going to respond to the reference to Elon’s alleged Nazi salute as it’s directly relevant to this thread and how we interpret Margarita’s presumed support of Elon.
I would genuinely like to continue the conversation on your other points, but I want to avoid derailing this thread too far off topic. Feel free to create a thread in the lounge or DM me if you want to keep discussing your other points.
First, before you crucify me for using the word alleged, let me be clear that I think Elon did a nazi salute. It’s plainly obvious to me. And I thought it would be plainly obvious to everyone. But that’s not the case. I have multiple Jewish friends (I am Jewish too fwiw) who are as adamant that Elon did not do a Nazi salute as I am that he did a Nazi salute. These are incredibly intelligent and highly educated people. They say they would certainly disavow anyone doing a Nazi salute. But where I (and you) see a Nazi salute, they see a clumsy gesture by an awkward (or self admittedly autistic) man. You can probably guess the news sources they consume, and after my at times very heated discussions with these individuals I did a deep dive on many of those sources to see how they framed the situation. If you solely get your news from those sources, you were repeatedly told it was not a Nazi salute. So as it pertains to the “alleged” Nazi salute, I have come to realize that it’s not as black and white as I initially thought it was. If someone does not think Elon did a Nazi salute, then in their mind they are not supporting a Nazi saluter.
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This is one the most fascinating convos EVER on FTC - so many subtleties I never considered (as this is the only chat board I frequent, or infrequent). Can see and feel points from both sides and the middle. And some truly beautiful thoughtful prose.
FWIW - I think it was a dumb (or, as @boourns points out, unwitting) statement - meant to be political and amusing, that did allude to HER politics (don’t know about HIS), not to her environmental “advocacy.” Then they double-down on dumb (or unwitting) with a patent, skin-job IG fib.
LA is blue, but there is certainly enough red here, that the posters who sentiments resonate the most with me are the ones trying to lower the rhetoric and divisiveness based on an individual’s beliefs. So, for me, it would not be worth avoiding Republique for her politics (price-to-quality ratio of the food, and the crowd(s), are more than enough for me to do THAT).
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I get it. Everyone would do well to chill. But at the same time, this stuff isn’t that hard. While Republique remains good, there are now lots of other places in LA with great brunch, baguettes, cakes, and pies. Why not just go somewhere else? As I noted in a comment above, their politics are one thing — another to treat their customers like they’re stupid with that IG post. Gjelina, take my money.
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Generally I aspire to my own better angels and don’t love my petty, vindictive reaction to Manzke’s comment.
That said, we all draw a line, and I’m not as magnanimous as in the first term. There’s no mystery about this political movement anymore. I don’t need to read Hillbilly Elegy again.
I fall back on a few distinctions: friends and family vs not and political vs apolitical. Growing up in the South, most had different political beliefs. I try to remember this with people who are either apolitical or not mandarin news obsessives. As @Loaxley mentioned, folks vote for a host of reasons, experiences, and beliefs, and voting ≠ enduring support. But if you’re commenting publicly or actively posting, it’s not simply about who you voted for. I’m out of grace.
I worry this is all impotent or lazy, easier to rage at a chef casually loving Elon or liking RFK jr posts (Night Market) than to protest or effect change, not that it’s a binary. But I can’t give empathy to public figures or even those commenting publicly or on socials as I do to friends or family. Expressing support for this political movement at the moment isn’t the same as having voted for it in November.
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This discussion is ultimately not only about Republique but an exchange about thoughts how much comments, posts etc influence different people in terms of their choices towards their engagement with other (public) people and commercial organizations. There is no right or wrong on that issue but it is interesting (and informative) to see different opinions often based on different backgrounds and experiences.
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An irrelevant one since the non Americans can’t vote 
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Boycotting or attacking a restaurant because the chef’s wife supports a democratically elected president is kooky. Moderates in this country are trying to decide who is more sane and reasonable: MAGA or the left. Unfortunately, MAGA is winning that battle.
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lol. What is the criteria for “winning” here?
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