Last night at dinner we were taking a break between the meal and the chocolate cake when conversation turned to Trader Joe's. There was much excitement about a new addition to the Trader Joe's line-up: kosher brisket, in the freezer section. "Is it called Trader Shlomo's?" I wanted to know.
"I think that's kind of weird, when Trader Joe's turns their name into a different name on the labels of some of their foods," the fifth-grader seated next to me at the table mused.
"Like what?" I asked.
"Oh, you know," he explained, "something like Trader Jose's salsa or Trader Giotto's noodles."
"Got it," I said. "I remember I saw Trader Ming's Sweet and Sour Chicken one time."
"Exactly," he affirmed.
"What do you think about that?" I asked him. "Do you think Trader Joe's is doing it to try and be respectful of other people's cultures, or do you think it's like teasing?"
My conversation partner and seatmate pondered a moment. "Well," he replied, "I guess I'm not sure, I can't really say because I am not any of those cultures so I don't know what it feels like for them. I'm Irish. Now, let's say they had Trader O'Malley's something--THEN I'd have a point of view. I guess for now I just think it's interesting."
Now, there's a kid raised in Berkeley by two liberal educators for you. Yeah.
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