Opinion

Letter – What say you, Timah? – Hafiz Hassan

Brewers must be responsible corporate citizens

Updated 2 years ago · Published on 19 Oct 2021 9:54AM

Letter – What say you, Timah? – Hafiz Hassan
‘Timah’ can become ‘Tin’ or, as suggested by one, ‘Captain Speedy’ to honour the man who helped introduced whiskey culture back in the mining era during British colonial times. – Pic courtesy of Timah, October 19, 2021

I REFER to your report “What’s in a name? Controversy surrounds Timah whiskey over perceived namesake”.

Women’s rights activist Ivy Josiah was reported to have lambasted detractors of the award-winning Malaysian-made Timah whiskey, saying: “This is a perfect example of making a mountain out of a molehill.”

“In fact, I feel silly having to respond to this manufactured offence.”

I must say that I’m disappointed with Ivy. If you are a rights activist, you are a rights activist for all. You stand up for the rights of all – like the rights of one Vicki Noble, who was offended by the beer name and label Lost Abbey’s Witch’s Wit Belgian White.

A 2010 New York Times article reported that Noble – famous in the pagan and Wiccan communities for her astrology readings, shamanic healing, and writings about goddess spirituality – said she and other members of the pagan and Wiccan community were personally offended by the pale ale’s depiction of a witch being burned at the stake.

The bottle has a painting of a witch being burned at the stake. Noble wrote to her email list, with a subject line: “Can we stop this brewer from their hate imagery?”

One may not agree with her being offended by the painting on the bottle. As it is, “wit” means “white” in Dutch. The beer is produced by Lost Abbey, a division of the Port Brewing Company of San Marcos, California.

That gives the beer its name: Lost Abbey’s Witch's Wit Belgian White.

Noble’s email was also sent to Cynthia Eller, a professor of religion at Montclair State University in New Jersey. The professor is known for her pioneering book The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory, which is widely loathed in the pagan community.

According to the NYT article, Noble and Eller have their share of disagreements. But they did not prevent Eller from sharing Noble’s disgust “at the use of witch-burning the painting on the label” – done by the artist Sean Dominguez – to sell beer. 

This being 2010, Eller said it on Facebook.

The professor did not feel silly about responding to Noble’s offence at the beer name. Nor did she say it was a perfect example of making a mountain out of a molehill.

I reckon the professor understood the right to be offended.

This perhaps explains why the American Brewers Association (BA) has added a policy to its marketing and advertising code which now states that advertising and marketing materials should not “contain sexually explicit, lewd, or demeaning brand names, language, text, graphics, photos, video, or other images that reasonable adult consumers would find inappropriate for consumer products offered to the public”.

According to BA, it wants its members to keep their wits about naming their beers. 

“We want our members to be responsible corporate citizens,” CEO Bob Pease was quoted as saying. 

“We want to err on the side of tolerance.”

Malaysians of diverse religions and cultures can expect the same from brewers in the country: be responsible corporate citizens.

So, what’s in a name?

Darkie the tootpaste became Darlie in 1989 after great controversy erupted over the brand in the United States. The chief executive officer of Colgate-Palmolive, which acquired the brand in 1985, even went as far as issuing an apology. The image on the packaging was also altered to show a racially ambiguous face in a top hat.

Dutch’s Jodenkoeken – no cookie aisle in the country is fully stocked without this national treat – was also changed to Odekoeken as recently as in March.

According to the report, “jodenkoeken” means “Jew cookies”. Dutch Jews didn’t seem to mind having a cookie named after them. Many even bought them as a joke to bring to relatives abroad or even give to each other.

But things changed when the company behind the brand announced that it was changing the cookie’s name in a bid to “help create a more inclusive society”. “Odekoeken” is Dutch for “ode cookies”.

“Timah” can become “Tin” or, as suggested by one, “Captain Speedy” to honour the man. He was one of the men who introduced whiskey culture back in the mining era during British colonial times.

What say you, Timah? – The Vibes, October 19, 2021

Hafiz Hassan reads The Vibes

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