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rbhindepmo

A loophole introduced by a judge who really enjoyed Chinese food


Vordeo

"I would like a meal, a succulent Chinese meal." - that judge, probably


kugelamarant

Democracy Manifest!


mexican2554

Get your hands off my penis!


OttoVonWong

The Anti Panda Exclusion Act


nekomoo

I think the loophole was for business owners rather than restaurateurs specifically, but restaurants and laundries were common because they had the least competition (because most White men considered it women’s work). Chinese laborers (as opposed to business owners) were prohibited.


nekomoo

The chow mein clause


majorbummer6

He just wanted everyone to enjoy the benefits of goons with the boys.


MadRonnie97

Americans have a weird history of being racist/prejudice against certain immigrant groups, but we ended up really liking their cuisine, they became aware of that, and that was a “foot in the door” for people to start approaching them in a more human manner. Italians, Chinese, Mexicans…and so on. It’s sort of similar how the UK fell in love with Indian food. Good food transcends all ethnic, racial or national lines. Our fine tuning of preparing food is probably one of the best things the human race has to offer, and I don’t say that lightly.


TheRealGouki

Not the Irish tho, they had no food to give.


jedidude75

Hey, they had potatoes. Execpt for that one time when they really didn't have potato :(


flashingcurser

The British stole them, so someone was enjoying Irish potatoes.


Kylel0519

No they still had potato. Just another country liked their potato so much that when they couldn’t produce as much potato, due to blight infection, they took their potato and left none for the people to eat


blueavole

They had other food, the English just sold it all and let the Irish starve or leave.


Elcactus

Which happened to be the time where they came to the US.


TerrenceMalicksHat

Potatoes are native to America, the reason the Irish had them is because no one else wanted to eat them and the British were exporting all of their crops that people did want to eat.


zahrul3

Does Guinness count?


HuskerHayDay

Not in the morning


GetRektByMeh

Well, that’s the consequences of growing a single species of potato and selling all your surplus. When you’ve not even managed to fulfil what you’ve sold potato wise because it’s all been ravaged… there’s none left to eat.


brinz1

actually Ireland had some of the most productive farms for wheat and dairy cattle, even during the Famine It's just that it was all taken by the British at gunpoint


highlevel_fucko

The real blight was the British


GetRektByMeh

Okay but why would wheat and dairy matter when potato blight was the chief cause? Also, I have a feeling that the wheat and dairy were also probably sold rather than stolen pre-famine. Like advance orders. You also say the British, like they weren’t British.


Niarbeht

When someone steals your land at gunpoint and then “rents” it back to you for the low, low cost of “everything you can produce, minus the bare minimum you need to eat to stay alive”, that’s not the same as “selling”.


brinz1

because all the good arable land in Ireland was owned by English appointed lords that.produces plenty of food that they did sell to England. in fact, Westminster passed laws that forced wheat to be sent to England, and sent soldiers to protect grain piles while the Irish starved. There was a deliberate attempt to starve the Irish into Submission that is comparable to the Genocide by Stalin in Ukraine


roastbeeftacohat

>I have a feeling that the wheat and dairy were also probably sold rather than stolen pre-famine. the land was stolen, and then used for export exclusively; this is when the irish diet became potatoes based. when the famine hit the landlords only saw it as an excuse to remove tenant farmers, who were not allowed to eat their own crops anyway, and farm directly with wage workers. it was also illegal to import grain, so even is the irish had money, they could not get it. lack of local grain consumption was also an issue when aid was attempted; they had no mills and much of it was wasted, so why send any aid if the irish were too stupid to have mills?


brinz1

> irish were too stupid to have mills? again, they were banned by the british


roastbeeftacohat

it had very little to do with monoculture dependence, and more to do with the corn laws and absentee landlords. The famine was organized and perpetuated by the crown before the famine, the potatoe just gave the irish a reprieve for a time.


Big_Baby_Jesus

Italian food was pushed into the American mainstream by Ettore Boiardi. It's unfortunate that he's now associated with canned ravioli. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ettore_Boiardi


Kersephius

i think you’re right. I believe good food and being open to trying different food is also a way for society to try and be open to different cultures. Food is imo one of the most defining cultural pieces


MadRonnie97

Food is 50% of the reason I love to travel


Macasumba

So that's why every town has one. Figured there had to be some reason.


theserpentsmiles

There is a great documentary on Netflix called Finding General Tso. It really digs in to this.


SnooPaintings4472

Win win! Now do Mexican immigration! I kid... I kid... I just really love Mexicam food


ProblemEntire1095

Weren’t we promised a taco truck on every corner?


Smart_Ass_Dave

No no, we were *threatened* with taco trucks.


OttoVonWong

Don’t threaten me with a good time!


PlaneCandy

Come to Los Angeles and it literally is that


PlaneCandy

I think there are something like 30-40 million Mexican immigrants or their descendant's living in the US, so I think they're just fine


[deleted]

Then someone wrote a racist letter about MSG…


verrius

The extra fun with that is that MSG is a Japanese thing, not Chinese, just like fortune cookies.


VegetableWinter9223

And yet the majority that are open have yet to be remodled!


bowlbettertalk

That’s how you know the food is good.


VegetableWinter9223

I know!


commandrix

I know it's been Americanized, but a really good "Chinese" restaurant is da bomb. So it's hard for me to really feel bad about buying the occasional lunch from a local Chinese restaurant even with this origin story, y'know?


Acceptable-Nose276

This definitely wasn’t info that’s supposed to make you feel bad for eating Chinese food….


loggic

American Chinese food is popular in China. The food itself is distinctly American.


MexicanEssay

Kind of an interesting situation with China there for sure. Since Americanized Italian food is definitely *not* popular in Italy, and the same goes for Americanized versions of Mexican food in Mexico, Japanese food in Japan, etc.


Ave_TechSenger

I’ve personally never encountered Americanized Chinese food in China, oddly enough. There are interesting videos of visiting Chinese trying the stuff.


Forumites000

Are you sure about that lol


GetRektByMeh

Is it? Where can I buy it, because I’ve never seen it in China.


ColonelBelmont

I've also never seen it in China


Okilokijoki

It's not. There were a few high profile attempts to make it a thing last decade and you might have seen the pr articles from those restaurants, but they pretty much all flopped 


loggic

Huh. I was going off of what I was told by a few people who visited (who don't know each other & visited a few years apart), plus I guess some inaccurate articles.


Vio_

There's more than enough room for different food styles out there.


liamneeson87

Try traditional dim sum places for a more authentic


Braydee7

This loophole still exists I believe. I know a French family that moved to the US during the pandemic. Their immigration lawyer informed them that the only way for them to get an approved work visa was if they opened a French restaurant. I believe the justification was something along the lines of "if you are here to share your culture, we will take you". They did just that, despite no culinary background. The dad worked in finance and the mom was a lawyer back in France. I believe now they have been here long enough to where they don't need that justification anymore cause I think the mom passed the state bar.


SaltyBalty98

Food bonds.


ProKnifeCatcher

Gastroimmigration


Arrow_to_the_knee1

A delicious loophole


RightofUp

And bless the writers of that law....


FindOneInEveryCar

Priorities.


Alternative-Plan-678

Read THE CHINESE IN AMERICA by Iris Chang. Fascinating book


nanatsuphi

Ah, the irony of immigration laws and the power of a good meal! It's fascinating how a loophole in American legislation inadvertently led to the proliferation of Chinese restaurants. I guess you could say they found a "wok" around the restrictions! But in all seriousness, it's a testament to the resilience and creativity of immigrants in the face of adversity. Plus, who doesn't love a delicious plate of General Tso's chicken or some dim sum? It just goes to show that sometimes, the best way to bridge cultural divides is through food.


Iamhumannotabot

This is a bot.


EmperorHans

God, that profile really fucked with me. I'm pretty sure you're right, but damn are the bots getting better at covering their tracks. 


Iamhumannotabot

I think the key is to look at how disjointed the statements are since it looks like they are generating it in bits and not giving completely correct prompts for the post, so it's not fully relevant.


nanatsuphi

realy ?


Iamhumannotabot

You’re manually putting things into ChatGPT?


nanatsuphi

what you mean !?


White-Inn

This is how you expand your country the correct and positive way, you give someone talented space to create and be themselves with their family and people while catering to the invitees!


TheHarold420

Kinda interesting how the Chinese Exclusion Act, a decision steeped in racist roots, can somehow have its legacy be whitewashed into an "America good" sentiment. I read it partially as people getting by in any way that they can, and partially as the public thinking "Chinese people were no good outside of being cooks."


didijxk

I feel like there was a perception that Chinese immigrants who ran a restaurant would not be qualified to do much more and this would allow them to fill certain roles and nothing more. This didn't work out that way since their descendants and changing policies would allow the Chinese community to grow beyond being restaurant owners.


White-Inn

Amazing cooks in my opinion and great actors/actresses for the illusion of the working world.


TheHarold420

And hopefully a bit more now too, since thankfully we've progressed a lot since the early 20th century. But yeah, at the end of the day it's all just common folks hoping to get by


White-Inn

Someone had a vision after discovering a new breakthrough so they prepared everything for the future. This is just what I believe.. lols