tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post2404152352090760307..comments2024-03-28T18:35:54.237+09:00Comments on BigHominid's Hairy Chasms: weapons-grade stupidityKevin Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01328790917314282058noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post-80573822520015066612017-05-27T21:32:38.078+09:002017-05-27T21:32:38.078+09:00Yeah. I don't have an opinion on the specifics...Yeah. I don't have an opinion on the specifics; I was just trying to find a rationale for what happened. The existence of a patent is not much of a rationale but I have heard some patents have been given too easily.<br />I agree that simply cooking Mexican food should not be an offense. If it were, the homemade salsa I have in my fridge puts me at risk!Surprises Aplentyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14178013380916292778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post-39787315827938948312017-05-27T06:38:32.299+09:002017-05-27T06:38:32.299+09:00I'm struggling to see how learning a technique...I'm struggling to see how learning a technique from people in another country and then bringing that home to your own country is somehow "stealing" from those people. Are those poor Mexican women now all out of jobs because two women in LA opened up a burrito pop-up shop? Did the people in that Mexican community say, "Oh, now the gringos are doing it, so I guess we'd better close up shop and find some other way to make a living." How exactly do we get from A to B here?<br /><br />Seems like underpants gnome logic to me.Charleshttp://www.liminality.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post-90951932841336373492017-05-25T19:14:01.087+09:002017-05-25T19:14:01.087+09:00Brian,
Upon further research, I see that you CAN ...Brian,<br /><br />Upon further research, I see that you CAN indeed <i>patent</i> a technique, but I really don't see what these ladies did as a kind of thievery or corporate espionage. They probably could have used better language to describe how they learned what they learned without giving the impression that they were sneaking from window to window to "steal" techniques that the Mexican ladies were unwilling to show them (according to the American ladies, some people <i>did</i> show them/tell them about certain techniques).<br /><br />I bet the real story is something more like this: the American ladies realized that tortilla-making wasn't as easy as they'd thought it would be, especially in terms of making tortillas with the fantastic consistency that they loved. They learned a lot through observation, then went back to the States and perfected their own techniques (on the assumption that they already knew how to cook) that were based on, but not out-and-out imitations of, the techniques they sort-of witnessed in Mexico. <br /><br />This is all conjecture, to be sure, but it's certainly not a case of Nasty Whitey going down and <i>stealing</i> these poor Mexican ladies' livelihoods. That's a ridiculous claim, especially since the Mexican ladies' customer base is primarily Mexicans while the American ladies' customer base is (was) primarily Americans way up north in Portland. How is/was any business being stolen or diverted? Absurd.<br /><br />Oh, well. It's too late now. The business is defunct, and I doubt these ladies will ever try their hand at ethnic cuisine ever again. Sad.Kevin Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01328790917314282058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post-26017701978963371872017-05-25T16:53:40.438+09:002017-05-25T16:53:40.438+09:00As a white person, I suppose this idiocy mandates ...As a white person, I suppose this idiocy mandates that I can only eat white bread. Unfortunately, I hate white bread. I love French bread, but I am not a Frenchman. Moreover, I don't particularly care for the French. Thank goodness I really don't like German bread ...<br /><br />I also hate Leftist idiots (but I repeat myself).TheBigHenryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04917973198063733316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post-61375335329165711682017-05-25T15:52:46.325+09:002017-05-25T15:52:46.325+09:00Apparently, under US law, you can't copyright ...Apparently, under US law, <a href="https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/5-things-you-cant-copyright" rel="nofollow">you can't copyright a technique</a>, e.g., a burrito-making technique. It also seems to me that these ladies publicly gave credit for their tortilla-making to the workers they saw in Mexico. I'm not sure what more could be done. The whole thing reeks of idiocy.Kevin Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01328790917314282058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post-48579886318620195052017-05-25T15:45:26.842+09:002017-05-25T15:45:26.842+09:00I'm torn. This sounds like it relates to paten...I'm torn. This sounds like it relates to patent law which I think is too lenient in the creation of patents. On the other hand, if someone invents a new technique, they have some legal right to protect it.<br /><br />So I don't see the problem as cultural appropriation but as infringement.Surprises Aplentyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14178013380916292778noreply@blogger.com