A man from Lincoln, Nebraska, is taking up the mantle of the fight no one knew needed to happen. But in 2020, everything’s fair game.
Anders Christensen has made it his goal to convince his city council members to exile the term “boneless chicken wings,” arguing the phrase is not accurately descriptive of the popular appetizer.
“Lincoln has the opportunity to be a social leader in this country,” he told officials this week. “We have been casually ignoring a problem that has gotten so out of control that our children are throwing around names and words without even understanding their true meaning — treating things as though they are normal.”
He lamented taking his family to local restaurants were he encounters people “throwing this name around and pretending as though everything is just fine.”
Christensen was, of course, talking about “boneless chicken wings.” His beef with the descriptor, he said, is “nothing about ‘boneless chicken wings’ come from the wing of a chicken,” arguing anyone would be angered by a butcher who “mislabeled cuts of meat.”
The Nebraska native offered a few possible alternatives, one of which is “trash.”
“I propose that we rename ‘boneless wings’ in the city of Lincoln,” he said. “We can call them buffalo-style chicken tenders. We can call them wet tenders. We can call them saucy nuggs. Or trash.”
“We can take these steps that show the country where we stand,” Christensen continued, “and we understand that we’ve been living a lie for far too long. And we know it. We can feel it in our bones.”
City council members could be heard chortling during Christensen’s impassioned, albeit brief, speech.
Apparently, though, he’s not alone.
According to a survey released in January, roughly one-third of Americans — 34% — believe “boneless chicken wings” is a fallacious description of the appetizer. Fifty-three percent of the poll’s respondents, however, are content with calling them “wings.”
Former NBA player Rex Chapman lauded Christensen for his fight.
“Finally,” he wrote. “Someone with guts, speaking truth to power.