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Thursday 24 September 2009
They don't call it, 'Cracker Barrel' for nothing

Beyond this, there is something more that is troubling about this as well. It’s that the restaurant where this happened was a Cracker Barrel. In this case the restaurant clearly bears no responsibility for Mr. West’s actions although the people who failed to intervene were presumably customers on their way in or out. But Cracker Barrel does have a disturbing recent history of racism. Even into the twenty-first century they have practiced de facto segregation such as forcing black customers to sit in the smoking section (including those black customers who don’t smoke.) Even Chris Rock’s mother has experienced racist treatment at a Cracker Barrel, only three years ago.

So it may well be that there is an undercurrent to this attack: Troy West represents exactly the demographic that Cracker Barrel seeks to attract. Keep in mind that even the name is vaguely racist. “Crackers” (derived from ‘whip-crackers,’ a term that hearkens back to the worst memories of slavery) were the young southern men who during the worst of the Jim Crow days would keep blacks ‘in their place.’

Notes

  1. purpleprimate reblogged this from think4yourself and added:
    (Bolding by purpleprimate) There are many possible origins of the term “cracker”, including the one mentioned above....
  2. strawberrytwin reblogged this from think4yourself and added:
    ugh god damn it. I love their food so much :(
  3. think4yourself reblogged this from azspot
  4. abcsoupdot reblogged this from azspot
  5. rosasparks reblogged this from azspot and added:
    Cracker Barrel sucks. The idea of patronizing a restaurant that is named after white men who kept the slaves in check...
  6. azspot posted this

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