I thought this video was just an amusing way to look at the absurdity of you “discovered” an item, be it a restaurant, TV show or something else. I’ve been there, I’ve done it in my more naive days, but I didn’t think it was more than a joke. I was wrong.
According to NPR, “Columbusing” is a thing that people do. I don’t know if they do it intentionally or it is just a side effect of our attention deficit culture, but it exists. From NPR:
Buzzfeed Food published an article asking, “Have you heard about that’s all the rage lately?” It’s a hand pie, a little foldover pie that you can fit in your hand. They have flaky crusts and can be sweet or savory. You know, exactly like an empanada, a Latin American culinary staple.
On face value, it seems stupid to get worked up over an empanada. I mean, it’s just a pastry, right? But “discovering” empanadas on Pinterest and calling them “hand pies” strips empanadas of their cultural context. To all the people who grew up eating empanadas, it can feel like theft.
Without even bringing up empanadas, have they never heard of Hostess? Hell, the school cafeteria used to sell them on the good days of the week. They were cheap and delicious. Hand pie just sounds like someone sh*t in your hand and sprinkled sugar on top.
The article also mentions the appropriation of the Hindu festival Holi by the Shout Color folks in LA, but they’re only a few examples you could throw out. They all boil down to loving the traditions and forgetting about the people. History is full of it and American history is nothing but, which isn’t always a bad thing.
But that’s a debate for another time, in another forum. I just didn’t know people were so annoying about it. The guy in the video should eat his pea coat and then walk home in shame. And if I ever write an article about “hand pies,” I’d deserve the shame too.
(Via College Humor / NPR)