A California teenager is making waves with her petition calling for the removal of racially insensitive packaging at Trader Joe’s.
Briones Bedell, 17, of San Francisco, created a Change.org petition in early July calling for the supermarket chain to change the way it labels its ethnic foods. Bedell names “Trader Ming’s,” the store’s Chinese food line, “Arabian Joe,” his Middle Eastern food line, and “Trader Jose’s,” his Mexican food line, as some examples of the “racist brand and packaging. ” in the shops.
“The Trader Joe’s brand is racist because it exoticizes other cultures: it presents’ Joe ‘as the default’ normal ‘and the other characters left out of it are’ Arabian Joe ‘,’ Trader José ‘and’ Trader Joe San , ‘”Bedell’s request is read in part.
As of Wednesday, the petition has more than 3,800 signatures. Bedell tells Yahoo Life that she is surprised by the amount of attention she has received.
“I am absolutely impressed by the attention of the national media and impressed by the response. I’m glad this is on people’s radars, “she says. “I also received a lot of negative reactions, I hate the mail, but I’m glad I opened the dialogue.”
Bedell says she was inspired to create the petition after taking a human rights-focused class, which she believes made her more aware of the cultural insensibilities around her, including at her local Trader Joe’s store.
“I used to buy a good amount at Trader Joe’s, and suddenly I noticed the brand on their ethnic foods,” he explains. “When a community is not allowed to control representation, it leads the way in stereotypes and caricatures.”
The activist also had a problem influencing Trader Joe founder Joe Coulombe to create the store. According to the company’s website, Coulombe was inspired by the book. White shadows in the southern seas along with the Disneyland jungle cruise.
The first store, which opened in 1967 in Pasadena, California, “had a nautical theme and was run by people who were described as” merchants on the high seas, “the website says.
Bedell argues White shadows in the southern seas He is racist and points out in his petition that the work “demonstrates the horrible legacy of business enterprises as they exploited and enslaved the South Pacific in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.”
“It perpetuates the myth of the white god and the stereotype of savage nobles, but it also represents commercial companies and their devastation in the southern seas in the early 20th century,” he tells Yahoo Life. “And I think it’s problematic to list that as inspiration for a grocery store. Plus, there’s the Disneyland ride that depicts the natives as wild. These two sources paired together, [along] with the callous brand it presents this questionable image of Trader Joe’s as a brand. “
Bedell says she is surprised that she hasn’t heard from Trader Joe’s yet since she created the petition. Yahoo Life contacted Trader Joe’s for comment and has not yet received a response. The company issued a statement to the New York Times acknowledging that ethnic names were “rooted in a lighthearted attempt at inclusion” but that “they acknowledge that it may now have the opposite effect, one that is contrary to the welcoming and rewarding customer experience that we strive to create every day.” They also went on to say that several years ago, they decided not to continue using the names in the future.
Bedell noted that the company gave a statement similar to NYLON in 2019, but she’s not satisfied with Trader Joe’s response so far.
“They lack the urgency to remedy a controversy like this in today’s climate,” she says. “These [labels] they are microaggressions and the problem with microaggressions is that they inevitably escalate, and when we accept this basic level of racism, this leads to bigger transgressions in the future. ”
Bedells says he hopes to continue getting more signatures and that Trader Joe’s is committing to a date when it will remove the problematic packaging. If they can’t, you should completely remove the products in question.
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