"I don't like that!"... A discussion

When my 13 year-old niece was a smaller child, if she didn't want something, she would say "I don't like that," not quite understanding the context of context.
Ever the evil genius now, she gets it, so no worries...

It seems, though, that ADULTS seem to unlearn that shit just in time to become narrow-minded when it comes to trying new things, which leads us into today's Question of the Day, this one comes to us courtesy of the pretty lady Barri over at Witches Brew...

Why, when faced with something that they have never had, do people -- usually brown people -- toss up "oh, I don't like that" just because they'd never had it before?

[Phlip note - a prime example of this would be sushi, and an exception to the rules would be chitterlings -- I don't expect ANYONE to like the specter of eating pig asshole and intestines]

First Facebook respondent was my cousin* Wayne, with...

"I don't like clams... but I love clam chowder (goes to cry in a corner)"

* Not really my cousin, but is light-skinnded and shares a last name with the light-skinnded side of my family, so it is a running joke.

Next, came former coworker, Norine, with...

"I've converted a few folks that has given me that same response. Variety is the spice of life! Just call me Mikey!"

After her was the homie Ryan, with...

"scared to try something outside of the norm"

Next was Joe, with...

"Humans are prone to criticize, reject, and/or show apathy to that which we do not understand. I fucking DARE someone to prove me wrong on that. However, a lot of time with food more specifically, a lot of people are what I call visual or smell influenced eaters. What does that mean? Basically that if the food looks gross, they're less likely to try it, or if it smells like the inside of my work boots after 7 hours wrenching on cars in 90deg heat, they want nothing to do with it. Introduction of alcohol into the situation may change it however, because drunk enough people will try anything (right ben roethlesberger?)."

After that was best friend, Roger, with...

"Phillip, refer to the breakfast scene of pulp fiction, lol"

[Phlip note - if a conversation between us can't be conducted PURELY of quotes from Training Day, Pulp Fiction and Casino, then we're having an off day]
To those who aren't readily familiar, that scene is as follows, cribbed from IMDB...

Vincent: Want some bacon? Jules: No man, I don't eat pork. Vincent: Are you Jewish? Jules: Nah, I ain't Jewish, I just don't dig on swine, that's all. Vincent: Why not? Jules: Pigs are filthy animals. I don't eat filthy animals. Vincent: Bacon tastes gooood. Pork chops taste gooood. Jules: Hey, sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I'd never know 'cause I wouldn't eat the filthy motherfucker. Pigs sleep and root in shit. That's a filthy animal. I ain't eat nothin' that ain't got sense enough to disregard its own feces. Vincent: How about a dog? Dogs eats its own feces. Jules: I don't eat dog either. Vincent: Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal? Jules: I wouldn't go so far as to call a dog filthy but they're definitely dirty. But, a dog's got personality. Personality goes a long way. Vincent: Ah, so by that rationale, if a pig had a better personality, he would cease to be a filthy animal. Is that true? Jules: Well we'd have to be talkin' about one charming motherfuckin' pig. I mean he'd have to be ten times more charmin' than that Arnold on Green Acres, you know what I'm sayin'?

All that is to give a good reason to make such a statement as in the question that leads this post.

Next was Jamal, with...

"Niggas fear what they don't understand, hate what they can't conquer
Guess it's just the fury of man
Became a monster, on top of the world, never fallin
I'm as real as they come, from day one, forever ballin
C'mon

[Puff Daddy]
You ain't never seen a nigga like me, ever in your life
And that's what you can't understand!"

One day, I will learn what in the FUCK that has to do with the question I asked.

Next was former coworker Amanda, with...

"fear of the unknown."

Then came former coworker Dominik, with...

"I feel in our society people have the tendency to be 'followers' so if the consensus says it's not good then I don't like it either. I thank God I've NEVER been like this. Trying new and different things(food, etc.) is a must. Dare to be an individual and make an informed decision for yourself."

At the end of it all, I am guessing that everyone who answered with an actual answer was right... People fear what they do not know, and often make their preconceived notions based upon that unknown unknown.

"Yeah, I am cooking tofu and [...]"
"TOFU?!!? Oh man, I don't even like that"
"Ever had it?"
"Nah, I'm just sayin' look at it, I don't like that... What is it anyway?"

Without fail, there seems to be such an exchange.
I could go further into my opinion on this, but it seems that we've already come to the same conclusion I would have with the responses above. Not often something such as that happens, so we will take that as indicative as to just how cut and dried this issue really is.
Maybe, perhaps just maybe, people should learn to step outside of their comfortable little box. If not that, perhaps learn some new phrases when speaking on the specifics behind their whys.
There again, people have gone clearly mad trying to question or even understand human nature.