Tuesday, June 24, 2008

'They were going to deny us barbecue'

News from Odessa, Texas:
Leaders of the Black Cultural Council say volunteers and the black community felt "humiliated" after two health department food inspectors threatened to put a stop to a Juneteenth celebration over questions about food preparation for 600 free barbecue sandwiches. . .
"I wanted people to go away talking about how great the celebration was this year. All you heard was 'They were going to deny us barbecue. Here we are in modern-day slavery again.' "
(Via Malkin.) Actually, this sounds like a story about bureaucrats gone mad with their own power, attempting to enforce health department regulations at what is essentially a private party. It's more like a church potluck or a family reunion than a commercial vending situation.

1 comment:

  1. Actually, Juneteenth celebrations are not “private” by any means. It’s very common in Texas to have to close down entire streets to make room for pedestrians, live music, vendors, etc. The general public is always invited. Food that is not prepared on site cannot be inspected during preparation at “private” locations. So, there's no way to determine whether it was done so under the same sanitary standards that may govern other public food vendors like restaurants. Just because it's prepared privately at home doesn't mean it can't be harmful if not done so in a sanitary manner.

    To call it too much bureaucracy or to equate it to slavery is just plain ridiculous. Unfortunately that’s what passes many times for common sense down here.

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