Supermarket giant Coles will change the name of an in-house brand of biscuits amid claims it is racist.
Coles Spokesman Jim Cooper said the name of the “You’ll Love Coles” brand of chocolate and vanilla biscuits, called Creole Creams, will be changed as part of the company-wide rebranding of Coles products.
The name change comes on the back of claims of racism, with the word Creole used to describe a person of mixed European and African ancestry.
“The word Creole comes from a period when people’s humanity was measured by the amount of white blood they had in their bloodstream. This is the same kind of thought that underpinned horrific regimes like the Nazis,” Sam Watson, the deputy director of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit at the University of Queensland, told brisbanetimes.com.au yesterday.
But Mr Cooper today disputed the racist claims and said the name Creole Creams referred to the “well-known Creole cuisine style that originated in the US.”
The word ‘creole’ is racist? It clearly refers to race, or more specifically skin colour, but as far as I’m aware its not derogatory. Is this biscuit thing just politically correct nonsense? If you are injured while eating one, would it constitute a race related incident?
If you really want to see examples of racist product packaging (and racism in general) look at The Jim Crow Museum.
http://ferris.edu/jimcrow/menu.htm
I wonder if the Creole really MADE creme filled cookies..LMAO..
and its #1 for the win!
Oreos used to be a lot better before they started with all the trans-fats….back when they were filled with lard. mmmmmmmmm.
Either Australians have strange tastes or the store really doesn’t know Creole food really is.
Australians have strange tastes in food. Proof? Vegemite. QED.
I don’t know what “creole” food is either. Creole is an adjective, like “mixed”, or “plain”, or “unknown”. I don’t know what the dictionary definition is, but it’s frequently used to describe a mix of foreign and indigenous *anything*; food, culture, language, race, etc etc etc etc etc.
And creole and cajun are hardly synonymous although you could say that cajuns are a creole culture. (Look up the history of the arcadian “cajun” people sometime… their culture and persecution predate the founding of the US.)
Sorry, “acadians”, not “arcadians”.
I do that every time.
#23, Super,
Whoa, good catch. You are correct. I was editing my post and was distracted. I don’t remember what I wanted to say but obviously, I was wrong.
Thank you for pointing out my error.
Wikipedia has 46 entries under the term “Creole” — it’s quite a complex subject.
Creole and Acadian are two different and distinct cuisines here in Louisiana. The Acadian (Cajun) people were forced to migrate here from Canada when this was still the Louisiana Purchase. Creoles are mixes of French, Native American, Spanish and African peoples whose ancestors predate the Louisiana Purchase era.
However, references to Creoles have been made in reference to peoples in the Philippines, Mauritius and other islands in the Indian Ocean. This must be the source of the concern over the brand name of the products in Australia. The term Creole here in Louisiana is worn with pride.
A hand full of activists, directed from foreign countries like Zimbabwe and Cuba, are holding the very language to ransom.
Anybody bother to look up the dictionary definition of “Creole”?
As those of us living in south Louisiana should know, it primarily refers to someone born in the West Indies or America of Spanish or French descent . Although creole can also mean someone of mixed race, the key parameter is descent from European stock.
#25 jccalhoun
The word is not in general use down under. The only other time I can remember it being used is in reference to a music venue called the Creole Club.
@ #12
They publish a book of words that people may find offensive. They call it the Dictionary. Honestly every word in every language could be found offensive to someone. Personally I just try not to offend my friends and most of my customers. Outside of those people I couldn’t give a shit.
Think of the offence that white and brown bread can cause.
Macbandit is right. You can find someone thin skinned enough or in some minority group to take offence at anything.
One of the popular ice creams in Australia is called “gaytime”. Dont know how anyone has not taken offence to that term. (They are nice by the way).
Don’t forget Creole Tomatoes.
Faxon, believe it or not “Darkie” toothpaste is still available. You can walk into any of the “coop” corner markets and buy one.
In China. (No kidding!)
Creole cooking, Cajun cooking, they both taste good to me.
I for one am deeply offended by Nips crackers. This is a terrible injustice to our Jap friends.
I’m a Yank who has lived many, many years in Australia. My mother is from New Orleans and I’ve lived there too. I’ve also lived many years in black and mixed race countries around the Carribean.
First, Aussies wouldn’t know what a Creole was if it bit them on the ass. It is simply not a word used there. Some might vaguely recall it has something to do with Louisiana style Cajun cooking. But they wouldn’t have any idea what it means.
Second, Creole is not an insult or racist term in the US, or in southern Louisiana, or anywhere in the Americas that I’ve lived. On the contrary, all of the Cajuns and Creoles that I have ever met in my life take enormous pride in their heritage.
Someone in Oz has gone on a PC bender and Coles was too chickens**t to stand up to them.
Sad.
@41
I use Wikipedia, in addition to my personal life experiences, my formal education and my first-person observations and analyses. Thank you for your help.
As an Australian, I have never known the word ‘Creole’ until this Coles mess started. Kinda clever to get world wide publicity on something kinda trivial. There is however a certain cheese we sell here called ‘Coon’ and now that, should be changed.
Oh and coonass (#17), go fuck yourself.
At least in the states many people seem to be as proud of being Creole as any other ethnic group. A lot of them are good cooks.
I like Creole cooking and traditional Southern cooking. Heck I even like Hill Billy cooking.
I think its racist that the recycle bin at work says “white only”.
How can they get away with that????