Coffee shop racism!

billymeehan

Hey there lads,

Noticed this the other day and wondered if anyone else thought it strange -

There was a cafe sol delivery van outside Harcourt street with the words Sambo Run on the side.

I'm probably showing my age here but isn't Sambo sometimes used as a derogitory term for a black person.

Anyway - I know thats not what they meant, but given the area that its in (the so called village quarter) with a higher than average number of ethnic minorities living there, it might cause offence.

I remember working with a French guy a few years ago who was utterly horrified when he saw the old O'Briens ad ("for a sambo built like rambo")




Anywho!

therecklessone

A mate of mine's parents visited New York a few years ago for the first time. Peckish as they were they went into a sandwich shop, and asked the black shop assistant for a sambo...understandably not impressed he was

JohnK

Originally posted by billymeehan
...I'm probably showing my age here but isn't Sambo sometimes used as a derogitory term for a black person.
...

Never knew that. I always thought it only meant a sandwich...

BuffyBot

It was/is a racist term especially big in the 50's/60's/70's, but to be honest in Ireland people were saying Sambo as short for sandwich long before that

Lukin Black

Originally posted by BuffyBot
in Ireland people were saying Sambo as short for sandwich long before that

There was me thinking it was an exclusively Dublin term. Learn something new every day.

super_furry

Can't say I knew it was a rascist term, anyone know where it comes from?

Sundy

Sambo is an irish term for a sandwich in ireland and if people want to live in our country they can get used to our slang!

SkepticOne

Originally posted by super_furry
Can't say I knew it was a rascist term, anyone know where it comes from?

A first name used in a derogatory sense like Paddy or Mick. More a British thing, I think.

Edit: it's origin is probably due to a children's book "Little Black Sambo" from 1899 according to google.

Anyone remember the Swastika Laundry in Dublin? Long closed, but the chimney with the Swastika symbol remained into the 80s.

pete

SAMBO -- A black person having buffoon-ish qualities. Taken from the story, "Little Black Sambo."

http://feastofhateandfear.com/articles/from_aye.html

SAMBO
the colour between brown and black; someone who is a cross between a mullatto (brown) and a black.

http://www.carigem.org/Patois.htm

As with the Golliwog, originated as a relatively benign though mildly offensive characterization and was adapted by other writers to embody many black stereotypes of the time. Currently embodies stereotypes of docility, laziness, stupidity, and disloyalty.

http://www.angelfire.com/geek/APRACE/glossary.html

Just ask the former owners of the now-defunct Sambo's restaurant chain. Opened in the '50s, the chain of home-style diners developed a marketing campaign around the then-popular book "Little Black Sambo." By the '70s, of course, the name "Sambo" had come to be viewed as an insult by African-Americans nationwide. Columnist William Raspberry inveighed against the chain in newspaper columns; new franchises were greeted by pickets and protests. The distraught owners took out a series of plaintive ads in Ebony, explaining that back when they founded the company, they never envisioned that "Sambo" would become synonymous with anything but rollicking good fun. But to no avail; the protests continued unabated, and Sambo's restaurants disappeared forever.

http://www.salon.com/media/col/shal/1999/07/20/chisholm/index1.html

Turnip

I remember being little and everyone finding the word 'sandwich' sort of hard to pronounce. It usually came out as 'samwich.'

sanvean

It would be kind of ironic if Cafe Sol were racist, as it seems like 95% of their staff aren't Irish.

I've never heard of Sambo as a racist term. It would be kind of funny if you thought it a racist term and you saw it on a van going around Dublin. Maybe 'funny' isn't the word I'd use, but well kind of.

Cabaal

Originally posted by JohnK
Never knew that. I always thought it only meant a sandwich...

Same here, its all news to me
Must try to remember it in future

Though I don't really use the term often when asking for a sandwich

Cabaal

Originally posted by SkepticOne
Anyone remember the Swastika Laundry in Dublin? Long closed, but the chimney with the Swastika symbol remained into the 80s.

Can't say I ever heard of them, but interesting none the less..

Havelock

I knew it was a rasist term in the southern states, never european term.

As it being a word for sandwhich, you'd feel an awful prat asking for a sambo in a shop, well I would.

Miguel_Sanchez

This isn't racist but slightly related.

Isn't there a Chairman Mao's in Dublin (or is it just called Mao's?)

Nobody seems to complain, but I wonder how long you could get away with calling a place Hitler's, Stalin's or Pol Pot's?

Victor

Originally posted by Jeff_Lebowski
Isn't there a Chairman Mao's in Dublin (or is it just called Mao's?) Nobody seems to complain, but I wonder how long you could get away with calling a place Hitler's, Stalin's or Pol Pot's?

It's just "Mao's" I believe. And while no saint, he is no Pol Pot either.

quaalude

Originally posted by SkepticOne

Anyone remember the Swastika Laundry in Dublin? Long closed, but the chimney with the Swastika symbol remained into the 80s.

The Swastika Laundry chimney is 1 minute away from my house, and you can still just about make out some of the letters on the side.
I'll take a pic and post it sometime, if I remember.