This is the 6th interesting science of "Open Eyes to see the world"
Zhang Tunan/Written
Zhang Jiashu/Editor
Zhang Jiashu/Operations
If you meet black people, don't ask them to eat watermelon. Why? In fact, not all black people can not eat watermelon, mainly for black people in the United States. So what's behind the fact that black Americans can't eat watermelon? This is a tragic history of blood and tears.
Like and pay attention, let's learn about the suffering of black Americans with Brother Tree.
As we all know, in the 15th century, the Western European navigator Columbus sailed around the earth and discovered the New World, after which many Asian and European explorers came to the American continent in search of wealth, and then settled in the Americas. In order to own a group of slaves who worked for them, many black Africans were sold to the United States. Most of the work under white slave owners worked day and night, mainly growing cotton and watermelon. Many literary and film works have written about the situation of black people at that time. Those who are interested can read Uncle Tom's Cabin and Twelve Years of Slavery. What is the connection between blacks being used as slaves and watermelons?
Why is watermelon associated with racial discrimination? What exactly did black people go through?
As mentioned above, the United States treated blacks as slaves. In such cases where blacks were discriminated against, watermelon, as a good, productive and delicious food, was often given to blacks by white slave owners. Poor black brothers even wanted to eat watermelon. Over time, words like "black people love watermelon" became white people laughing at black people. This was not the end of it, and with the end of the Civil War, slavery with regard to blacks was legally abolished. Although the equal status of blacks was legally recognized, the deep-seated racial discrimination had not disappeared, and many whites still had prejudices against blacks. Let's look at the black side, even if they have equality and freedom, but because of the long-term oppression, many black people have no cultural knowledge and cannot support themselves. So many people have started their old business again - growing watermelons. At this time, many complaining whites seized the opportunity to smear blacks: first, black people eating watermelons was said to be greedy; second, black people from the past to now only grow watermelons, which are easy to grow, and high-yield crops are said to be lazy; watermelons are delicious but not of high nutritional value, which represents the naivety and short-sightedness of blacks.
The only purpose of the white man's fuss over watermelon was to prove the lowliness of the Negro and his own nobility.
At the end of the 19th century, this discrimination against watermelons reached its climax. At that time, there were a large number of reports of black people stealing watermelons in the newspapers to illustrate the love of black people for watermelons. Correspondingly, many movies, comic books and postcards depict many black greedy watermelons and fight for watermelons.
Since then, watermelon has completely become synonymous with white discrimination against blacks. This is a pain point in the history of black people. More than a hundred years later, this discrimination still exists to a greater or lesser extent. So, don't mention watermelon when you're facing black people in the United States, or it will cause unnecessary misunderstandings. There are two well-circulated little stories about inviting black Americans to eat watermelon.
This is a real incident of inviting black Americans to eat watermelon, and after reading it, don't say watermelon to black people again.
In 2017, Robert, an American firefighter, was at his home and invited many of his colleagues, including several black friends. During this time, Robert entertained his colleagues and brought a fruit plate containing watermelon. This move caused the displeasure of all the black people present. After the queue, Robert was expelled because of the bad effects of watermelon.
The second thing happened in China, where the famous American basketball player Wade took his friends to the KTV to sing. If you think about it, our KTV will have a fruit plate, and the indispensable fruit in the fruit plate is watermelon. So when the fruit plate was brought up, Wade and his friends stopped singing, and the scene was awkward for a while. Fortunately, the Chinese staff reacted in time, explained to Wade that watermelons are common in China, there is no discrimination and quickly removed the watermelon, and the contradiction was resolved.
There are certain differences in cultures in various countries, and we must pay attention to the taboos of others when interacting with foreign friends. At least when facing black Americans, don't talk about watermelon, let alone invite them to eat watermelon. Do you remember?
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