Hurlo Thrumbo ([info]nesto) wrote,
@ 2004-07-02 20:54:00
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you want to talk about making something out of nothing....


now from Dairy Queen....the Moolatte...no not a mulatto:

Mu*lat"to\, n.; pl. Mulattoes. [Sp. & Pg. mulato, masc., mulata, fem., of a mixed breed, fr. mulo mule, L. mulus. See Mule.] The offspring of a negress by a white man, or of a white woman by a negro, -- usually of a brownish yellow complexion.


but a Moolatte:

MooLatte™ Frozen Blended Coffee Drinks

Introducing the new line of MooLatte frozen blended coffee drinks from Dairy Queen. Come in and try all three: Cappuccino, Mocha and French Vanilla.


now this isn't exactly a derogatory term, but it still seems downright insensitive.

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MooLatte
(Anonymous)
2004-07-14 09:11 am UTC (link)
I think you have been reading between the lines a little too much...this smacks of the conspiracy theory train of thought...nonsense.

Moo (As in cow) + Latte (As in a strong espresso coffee with a topping of frothed steamed milk)= A cute and clever marketing campaign.

(Reply to this) (Thread)
in case you haven't noticed all of my journal entries are conspiracy theory train o thought nonsense
[info]nesto
2004-07-14 03:16 pm UTC (link)
honestly, this was just an observation, i never implied that i thought they did this on purpose to offend someone, i.e. a conspiracy to humiliate people of mixed descent, there was a reason why i titled this entry "so you want to make something out of nothing".

it may be a cute and clever campaign, but as a biracial person, i just happen to think it's insensitive, and i find it hard to believe that NO ONE noticed the similarity before this campaign came out. and if they did know, then it's downright offensive. contriving a name of a drink on the characteristics of race defining term is no better than putting on black face for a hip-hop based frat party.



"Moo (As in cow) + Latte (As in a strong espresso coffee with a topping of frothed steamed milk)..." moo as in cow? about a drink made of milk? oh, i get it now, thanks.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]burnalive
2004-07-14 10:15 am UTC (link)
I imagine you're already aware of this, but on the off-chance you're not I just thought I mention that your journal is being linked to by slate.msn.com as a part of an article on the "moo-latte".

(Reply to this) (Thread)
wow, they'll link any crackpot's opinion on the web.
[info]nesto
2004-07-14 02:49 pm UTC (link)
wow, actually i had no idea, thanks for the heads-up.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: wow, they'll link any crackpot's opinion on the web.
[info]burnalive
2004-07-14 03:06 pm UTC (link)
Wow, I figured they'd at least tell you. But when I clicked on their link and it just took me to your journal and not to the specific entry on the "moo-latte", I thought that was a little weird.

Makes for a good story to tell at parties at least ;)

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: wow, they'll link any crackpot's opinion on the web.
[info]nesto
2004-07-14 03:36 pm UTC (link)
nope, wasn't contacted in the slightest, that was the first thing that occurred to me. then again, i guess if you leave your entries unlocked, they become public domain, still a notice would've been nice, i would've wanted to tell all my friends i've been "published".

it is pretty funny really, i didn't think i was the only one to make the correlation, but a whole article? oh man, too funny...

(Reply to this) (Parent)
MooLatte
(Anonymous)
2004-07-19 07:51 am UTC (link)
You are joking, right??

Moolatte... has nothing to do with mulattoes.. :/

Moo- cow or milk
Latte- coffee

MooLatte.... a coffee drink made with ice cream (milk, from cow).
It is very delicious BTW.

Come on!! One thing has nothing to do with another... not in even in your wildest dreams. LOL.

-Peace

(Reply to this) (Thread)
...and i'm spent
[info]nesto
2004-07-19 03:17 pm UTC (link)
there was this kid named Steve hanging out at my apartment a little while ago. barely knew him, but he didn't seem like a bad dude.

anyway, we're drinking, partying, nothing too heavy, but the whole night when he wanted to make a comment, he would say "my nigga", as in "that's what's up my nigga!" or "naw, nigga, naw". the thing about it is that Steve is latino, no relation whatsoever to any sort of african heritage. so of course we eventually get to clowning him for his vernacular. he started getting heated and saying that he wasn't saying "nigger", but that it was an expression, basically a punctuation, and that he had a right to say this sort of thing because he worked with underprivilaged kids and he was in the hood a lot. basically the same argument was said in the movie
[Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<a href"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165643/">') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.]

there was this kid named Steve hanging out at my apartment a little while ago. barely knew him, but he didn't seem like a bad dude.

anyway, we're drinking, partying, nothing too heavy, but the whole night when he wanted to make a comment, he would say "my nigga", as in "that's what's up my nigga!" or "naw, nigga, naw". the thing about it is that Steve is latino, no relation whatsoever to any sort of african heritage. so of course we eventually get to clowning him for his vernacular. he started getting heated and saying that he wasn't saying "nigger", but that it was an expression, basically a punctuation, and that he had a right to say this sort of thing because he worked with underprivilaged kids and he was in the hood a lot. basically the same argument was said in the movie <a href"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165643/">Black and White</a> by a white chick. he also started spouting that little argument that Chris Rock used about how even black people hate "niggers" but not niggas.

the thing is, i happen to know a lot of people who aren't black who use the term nigga sometimes, it just happens to drop in, not in a offensive way, somehow it's become a curse word but not a derogatory term, this was Steve's point basically. and what i kept trying to explain to him was that it wasn't his call to say whether he had a right to say it or not, and i was trying to tell him that if he started using that around a group of black people who cared, he'd get his ass kicked.


how does this relate to Moolatte/mulattos? doesn't really, i just happened to think of it in relation to this whole name fiasco.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

the thing is, yes, we all understand where the seperate parts of the name came from. yes milk is from animals that go moo, coffee is in latte's, woopdedoo, got it. but where did it come from putting the two together? why not call it a "Milk and Coffee Shake"? or "Milk Au Lait"? not that those describe this particular drink in any sort of manner, but there are other names out there. no, Moolatte is catchy and as a word, is very close to another word in the english language, so it rolls of the tongue easily. companies are always looking for names that will stick in consumers minds, and this one works.


so what's my point? no i don't think it was a intentional play on a slur, i don't think it was on purpose, they just thought it was a clever name. but for a drink that is based on a light white liquid mixed with a dark liquid to be called by a name that is almost EXACTLY like a word used to describe a half-white and half-black person, naw, i'm sorry, that doesn't sit right with me.

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