Post #657852 by Hale Tiki on Mon, Nov 5, 2012 10:02 AM

That's it!

I'm tired of the debates over racism dominating topics on TC. It's annoying. I come here for tiki, not mindless bickering. Tiki=escapism. I will say my peace, and challenge anyone to argue with it. Pop Tiki Culture is, by it's very nature, racist. White Americans (Vic, Don) co-opted non-white cultures for their own profit, creating their own spin, which, at times, could be racist. No, it's not all racist, and most tiki purists have the utmost respect for the original cultures, HOWEVER, there are quite a few racist instances in Tiki Culture. I won't go into all of them, but I will list a few. Back to my original point, please read the following, then leave the political debates and personal attacks off TC. Please.

1. There is nothing racist about the sculpt. Not even big ears. Political cartoonists often give him big ears and big lips. Nothing. It's not spot on, but it's a pretty damn good likeness.
   1a. The Politiki mugs weren't exactly flattering. Carter had giant teeth and Reagan has a ball chin.
2. Making a black person into a shrunken head isn't racist. The Jivaro weren't black. They were/are South American. And unless you want to debate the validity of the theory of continental drift, then there's no connection between the Jivaro and Africa. The style of the sculpt is distinctly Jivaro. Though many other cultures did make shrunken heads.
3. Jungle Juice. Favorite drink of college fraternities for a very long time. Also, using a different recipe, a drink enjoyed by the Zen Tiki Lounge. (ZTL 260) What's that? I guess that must make ZTL racists. Or, or, perhaps Jungle Juice is a common drink, served by many bars, with a long history. I'm told Vic had a version, but I don't have any of my books in front of me to point to an exact page. And there's a Vegas tiki bar that still serves it! (Turned up in google, I don't feel like finding it again, but can, if someone wants to see which one it is.) And traditionally, Jungle Juice is made with bottom shelf ingredients. (Which may be racist in the origin of the drink/punch. I have no idea, to be honest.) And guess what, peoples of all colors live in jungles.
4. Fu Manchu (drink and mug), Trader Vic's Kona Grog Mug (I have one, the lips are large), Trader Vic's paper placemats, logos, cartoons, illustrations, drink names...there are a lot of examples.
5. Sven: "A fascination with the exotic is part of the western European temperament, and tiki style, when it was happening, was an example of a white middle-class fad."
6. The "racist" bird in the Enchanted Tiki Room.
7. Shall I go on?

The point is, please let it drop. Things are racist if you want them to be. And if you're that sensitive to race, then complain about the other tenants if tiki culture that are racist, or not at all.