Jun 18th, 2020 | In the News

AUNT JEMIMA TO VANISH; UNCLE BEN SOON TO FOLLOW The death of George Floyd will now result in the death of longtime fictional product spokesperson Aunt Jemima and, soon possibly, Uncle Ben of "converted rice" fame as well. So many of us are justifiably sad about the deaths of George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks, but will the demise of Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, and Sambo's Restaurants make any difference? 

From The New York Times: Uncle Ben, Board Chairman


Fictional character Aunt Jemima in her prime

Uncle Ben upon his "promotion" to "CEO of Uncle Ben's" in 2006

 

Are you happy to see Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben hit the road? Tell Tom now: tom@blowmeuptom.com.

HOUR 1

Comments

Submitted by TallTim on

I've never used Aunt Jemima's syrup. Maybe Ms Butterworths or Log Cabin. I prefer real maple syrup though. In any event, its not surprising that social standards were much different back when Aunt Jemima (1937 - 83 years ago) and Uncle Ben's (1943 - 77 years ago) were first marketed.

What does concern me is the push to memory-hole events in history because they offend. That's right out of the playbook of Mao and other communist/marxist dictators, delete the past, bring down institutions so your own can replace them, some truly effed up 1984-esque kind of shit.

You can see this in the "Defund the police" movement. It isn't just about redirecting money, its the push to truly disband police. Police officers across the country are now pulling back, only answering when called to respond, and generally not doing the proactive policing they used to do. Atlanta is now struggling to have police officers respond, as a majority either called in "sick" or just outright quit.

You're going to see a massive rise in crime due to these trends. Its already happening in Chicago, since the Mayor doesn't have their backs and they know it.

As for BLM, it started out as a genuine movement, but now its been co-opted by Antifa and Anarchists, and it isn't going well. CHAZ/CHOP for example, 6 blocks of lawless chaos where the police won't even tread since the Seattle mayor doesn't have their backs. Apparently black lives only matter when its a white cop taking it. BLM is silent on the daily shootings in Chicago and NYC, of young black men killing other young black men. That is crazy to me.

Its all coming to a head. Cities are going become rather dangerous, even more so than they are now. That is where its heading. So no, I don't care about a corporation changing or retiring logos from the ancient past. I'm more concerned about the living hell that is going to sweep over our cities.

Submitted by mjillson on

What about "Cracker" Jack's, isn't that racist and derogatory?

Submitted by AnaheimDog on

But it did become that way. In pop culture it is used and referenced with racial undertones and most people today just looking at the label aunt jemima appears as a second class citizen, a maid, a servant. and having heard aunt jemima in films and media would probably conclude it to be offensive.
Uncle ben is portrayed more respectfully and is not referenced in pop culture to the extent that it is synonymous with segregation.

Submitted by TomLeykisNNN on

...you haven't read the history of Aunt Jemima, a person who never existed in reality. A person whose name came from a song sung by white men in blackface at minstrel shows. There was never any doubt how this persona was created. The last straw is to hear "Aunt Jemima's" radio show, which is excerpted in this episode. Did you even listen to this episode?

Submitted by AnaheimDog on

It An odd way to sell a shitty product though, but you are right it was 100 percent racist bullshit from its inception

Submitted by masterautotech on

This is a great subject I'm glad you brought it up Tom. This is a long time coming. When these products came out as food for people to eat. Everyone in America saw this, in fact everyone in the world saw this. the way blacks were treated in America and around the world was Wrong. I truly hope they keep their word and remove these products from the shelves in the store. This was one of your best Podcasts. I'm super P1 and have enjoyed listening and agree with all of your points. I learned a lot Keep up the great work.