death by salsa
Priest demands store pull brand of salsa with 'homicide' in name
10/12/2000
New York Times News Service
CHICAGO - His salsa was so hot his friends said it should be a crime. So Russell Moore, a chef by day, named his culinary creation Homicide Salsa.
But this is Chicago, the city of Al Capone, where memories of the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929 still linger. In more recent years, it has been the gang wars over drug turf in inner-city neighborhoods, like Englewood on Chicago's South Side, that have left the stain of loss and bloodshed. It is no wonder that someone would take offense to Homicide Salsa.
The Rev. Michael Pfleger, a Roman Catholic priest known nationally for his crusades against alcohol billboards in black neighborhoods, marched into a small South Side grocery store this summer accompanied by a Fox Television news crew after learning that the salsa was on the store's shelves.
Father Pfleger demanded that the owner remove the jars of Homicide Salsa, saying that its name was offensive and that its makers seemed to be cashing in on the neighborhood's misery. The owner of the store, the only place selling the salsa, obliged.
Mr. Moore, 32, and his business partner and sister, Dora Moore, 41, contend that their startup venture is inspired only by the spirit of capitalism. And they continue to tell anyone who will listen that their label, which features a flaming chalk outline of a body, was simply an effort at savvy marketing in the competitive world of salsas, where braggadocio about a sauce's spiciness is as important as its contents.
"You wouldn't name a sports car the GT Molasses," Mr. Moore said. "Nor would you name a salsa Chef Russell's Peace and Serenity Salsa. Last I checked, America was a capitalist country. You can sell stuff. If you don't like it, don't buy it."
For the Moores, there is but one issue: the right to bottle and sell their product. For Father Pfleger, the dispute hinges on a lack of sensitivity in even selling something called Homicide Salsa, especially in a neighborhood where there were 782 homicides from 1989 to 1999, including 50 last year and 55 the year before, according to the Chicago Police Department.
Father Pfleger said the Moores crossed the line of social responsibility and poor taste. "I thought it was crazy," Father Pfleger said. "I thought it was a sick play. I've never heard the word 'homicide' used for anything except for violence."
The Moores say that it is not that simple and that they are no less sensitive than Father Pfleger to Englewood's troubles. Father Pfleger is white. The Moores are black and grew up in Englewood, where poverty and hope coexist with the bald vacant lots and the sturdy brick houses.
"I think he thought we were a bunch of white people selling this product and trying to profit off crime," said Dora Moore. "Now, if I came out with a product called Crack House Five, that would be offending someone." In the meantime, the Moores have a new product in development, a sauce for Buffalo chicken wings. It has been christened House Arrest.
10/12/2000
New York Times News Service
CHICAGO - His salsa was so hot his friends said it should be a crime. So Russell Moore, a chef by day, named his culinary creation Homicide Salsa.
But this is Chicago, the city of Al Capone, where memories of the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929 still linger. In more recent years, it has been the gang wars over drug turf in inner-city neighborhoods, like Englewood on Chicago's South Side, that have left the stain of loss and bloodshed. It is no wonder that someone would take offense to Homicide Salsa.
The Rev. Michael Pfleger, a Roman Catholic priest known nationally for his crusades against alcohol billboards in black neighborhoods, marched into a small South Side grocery store this summer accompanied by a Fox Television news crew after learning that the salsa was on the store's shelves.
Father Pfleger demanded that the owner remove the jars of Homicide Salsa, saying that its name was offensive and that its makers seemed to be cashing in on the neighborhood's misery. The owner of the store, the only place selling the salsa, obliged.
Mr. Moore, 32, and his business partner and sister, Dora Moore, 41, contend that their startup venture is inspired only by the spirit of capitalism. And they continue to tell anyone who will listen that their label, which features a flaming chalk outline of a body, was simply an effort at savvy marketing in the competitive world of salsas, where braggadocio about a sauce's spiciness is as important as its contents.
"You wouldn't name a sports car the GT Molasses," Mr. Moore said. "Nor would you name a salsa Chef Russell's Peace and Serenity Salsa. Last I checked, America was a capitalist country. You can sell stuff. If you don't like it, don't buy it."
For the Moores, there is but one issue: the right to bottle and sell their product. For Father Pfleger, the dispute hinges on a lack of sensitivity in even selling something called Homicide Salsa, especially in a neighborhood where there were 782 homicides from 1989 to 1999, including 50 last year and 55 the year before, according to the Chicago Police Department.
Father Pfleger said the Moores crossed the line of social responsibility and poor taste. "I thought it was crazy," Father Pfleger said. "I thought it was a sick play. I've never heard the word 'homicide' used for anything except for violence."
The Moores say that it is not that simple and that they are no less sensitive than Father Pfleger to Englewood's troubles. Father Pfleger is white. The Moores are black and grew up in Englewood, where poverty and hope coexist with the bald vacant lots and the sturdy brick houses.
"I think he thought we were a bunch of white people selling this product and trying to profit off crime," said Dora Moore. "Now, if I came out with a product called Crack House Five, that would be offending someone." In the meantime, the Moores have a new product in development, a sauce for Buffalo chicken wings. It has been christened House Arrest.
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More "PC" Crapola
Blairs "Death sauce" "Ass blaster" etc. There are a ton of them that can be offensive but jeezzzzeee it's a hot sauce for cry out loud. If you don't like it, don't buy it! That simple.0 -
At least he didn't put a picture of a gun on it. 0 -
A buddy of mine died after eating that stuff...they ruled it a suicide....not a homicide. 0 -
[:D][:D] don't stand behind the guy eating the "ass blaster" salsa! 0 -
Rev. Michael Pfleger is a physico that has protested guns shops along with Jessie Jackson and threatened to "Snuff" the shop owner.
He's nuttier than a snickers bar.0
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