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Message |
    
tjohn
Supporter
Username: Tjohn
Post Number: 4605
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 11:06 am: | 
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The Governor of Massachusetts compared getting involved with the Big Dig scandal to socking the tar baby and now he is in trouble with the P.C. police.
"Tar baby is a totally inappropriate phrase in the 21st century," said Larry Jones, a black Republican and civil rights activist.
Funny, I thought the stories of Uncle Remus contain both wisdom and wit. Should I burn my book of Uncle Remus stories?
Clearly, calling a black person a tar baby would be offensive. On the other hand, using the story of B'rer Rabbit and de Tar Baby to describe George Bush's huge blunder in Iraq seems pretty effective.
This reminds me of the poor guy in Washington, D.C. who was slammed by the ignorati for using "niggard" in a speech.
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tom
Citizen
Username: Tom
Post Number: 5384
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 11:24 am: |
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Mr. Jones is apparently a fool. Using "Tar Baby" is hardly like using "Little Black Sambo." It's a perfect metaphor for a common situation, and as such deserves its currency.
It's really just a coincidence that tar is of a black color, and Jones should try to not take it personally. |
themp
Supporter
Username: Themp
Post Number: 3126
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 11:33 am: |
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Yeah, agreed, but Tar Baby is sometimes used as a racial slur, so if you are in the public sphere, wiser to avoid it. I'm not even sure that in its original context there wasn't a little wink in its use.
We bought a cheap toy for our kids that plays different songs, one of which is "Old Black Joe", which you don't hear too often these days. It was made in Korea, and I wonder if they didn't realize that although that is a traditional American song that has been around forever, it isn't one that the kids come home singing from nursery school these days. It just plays the melody. |
notehead
Supporter
Username: Notehead
Post Number: 3648
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 2:34 pm: |
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While it's true that "tar baby" is a term that has been used by some as an insult toward blacks, it should be recognized by all that the term is usually used to signify a difficult, sticky situation. That is clearly how the Gov used the term, and Jones is off base by making a big deal about this. |
tom
Citizen
Username: Tom
Post Number: 5386
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 4:42 pm: |
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There are dozens of terms that have been used to insult blacks (and a lot of other groups for that matter). I won't go into them now, but I knew a guy in junior high school who was viciously racist and used to run down the list every now and then.
Let's just say, if I said I was going to wash a dirty pot with a Brillo Pad, you shouldn't have an automatic reason to be upset with me. |
notehead
Supporter
Username: Notehead
Post Number: 3651
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, July 31, 2006 - 10:25 pm: |
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Dude, that went so far over my head I couldn't even hear the "whoosh!"  |
Duncan
Supporter
Username: Duncanrogers
Post Number: 6806
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 1, 2006 - 9:07 pm: |
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Notehead...its a slur I remember from the 70'a comparing the popular AFRO worn by many african american men then to the scouring pad. You can see how it works in tom's example. |
Nancy - LibraryLady
Supporter
Username: Librarylady
Post Number: 3749
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 1, 2006 - 9:12 pm: |
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar_baby |
John Caffrey
Citizen
Username: Jerseyjack
Post Number: 437
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, August 3, 2006 - 9:03 pm: |
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Tjohn, I believe the poor fellow actually used the adverb of the word, "niggardly." |
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