Are you… Ken Hotate but in real life?
Comment on I'm getting cancelled soon, aren't I
ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 2 days ago
Lol … I’ve been to restaurants where the waiter awkwardly asked me if I had a reservation.
I’m obviously indigenous … in Canada where I’m from, most people like me who are big brown and long hair can safely be assumed to be indigenous
I usually act out in one of two ways
I look at them seriously and tell them that’s racist … then smile right away to tell them I’m joking
Or I tell them that yes I do have a reservation thank you for asking.
Any way I act, I tell them right away I’m having fun and 9/10 times, I get to have a good laugh with people.
ddash@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 days ago
Kusimulkku@lemm.ee 1 day ago
“DOES IT, WHITE MAN”
ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 2 days ago
lol … I love Ken Hotate … and that is where I got that bit to look at people and tell them ‘that’s racist’.
I also loved the part where he just laughs it all off and then asks for a whisky instead. I really wished they had featured him more in the show or even made a spin off with him and his tribe.
moseschrute@lemmy.ml 2 days ago
What happens 1/10 times?
ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 2 days ago
I not a travelling comedian so I don’t do this all the time every time. The times this went wrong wasn’t serious or anything … everyone just went silent and looked at me like a weirdo. I like to make friends but not everyone everywhere are ready to be fast friends.
justme@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 day ago
I’m not a native English speaker, so the double meaning of “reservation” here is now to me. Now I’m wondering why they can’t simply ask whether you “reserved a table”?
ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
I’m Indigenous Canadian in northern Ontario. My ethnic group were here in North America before European arrived so our ancestors have always been here since humans first arrived in his continent. I’m 100% Indigenous on both sides of my family. The short history is that once Europeans arrived, roughly about 100-150 years ago they made agreements (called treaties) with local Indigenous people where Europeans took control of the majority of the land in exchange for the Indigenous people to get small parcels of land and some specials rights for hunting, travelling and other services, treatments or even monetary compensation. There were multiple treaties across Canada that varied in timing, types, amounts and variety of compensations … but all of them included setting aside lands for Indigenous people. The small parcels of land that were set aside were called Reservations … lands reserved for Indigenous people according to treaties.
So today … when someone somewhere in Canada mentions the word ‘Reservation’ to an Indigenous person, it is a very loaded word that may mean different things to different people depending on the situation. Indigenous people like me like to play with it as a joke for amusement. Others would be offended by the word. Some non-Indigenous people use it in a derogatory racist way to make fun of a minority group.
It’s also very interesting because the word is actually very negative to most Indigenous people now. For the past 100 years whenever that word was mentioned, it was always in the context of how the government controlled, manipulated or negatively affected Indigenous people. Today the word is not often used in official settings.
Indigenous people now prefer to use the words ‘First Nation’ or ‘Indigenous lands’ or ‘Traditional territories’ to refer to the treaty lands.
In city settings where few people know about this history, it’s still common to visit a restaurant and a waiter asks ‘Do you have a reservation?’ and to the majority of Canadians, the phrase means nothing … but to an Indigenous person, it means a lot.
justme@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 hours ago
Thanks for the clarification. I’m aware of the general story behind this, just the exact word was new to me because the corresponding word from my language would more translate to “reservoir”. So I guess the phrase “did you reserve a table?” Would not cause any harm?