Mit Romney's "racial" remark...

taking it in or out of context is really beside the point

if you're a politician, you should be savvy enough to stay away from words that will be PERCEIVED as offensive

of course he was trying to say it was a sticky wicket, but you also can't say the word 'niggardly' in public anymore or you'll get taken to task

just a brain fart by romney i'm assuming, but he's already having lots of problems

he should just take that word out of his vocab for good
 
[quote name='CocheseUGA']I don't mind trying to not offend people, but half the damn english language offends someone these days. Get over it.[/QUOTE]

yeah once you get into the whole 'what can i say, what CAN'T i say' issue, it becomes such a tar baby.. i mean.. um..

whoops

:|
 
[quote name='daphatty']Some people just won't let racism die...[/QUOTE]

That category would include racists; those who are aware of their racism, and those who seem to be perfectly fine with the status quo.

At least Romney took it back, which is more than I can say for Bill "abort all the black babies" Bennett.
 
Wow, I had no idea "tar baby" was ever used as a derogatory term. Where did that start? I thought that it was just used to describe a sticky situation, like Romney...
 
[quote name='elprincipe']Wow, I had no idea "tar baby" was ever used as a derogatory term. Where did that start? I thought that it was just used to describe a sticky situation, like Romney...[/QUOTE]

Didn't the OP-linked article mention that its symbolic origin was in the "Br'er Bear" books (or whatever the world the series was called)?
 
[quote name='elprincipe']Wow, I had no idea "tar baby" was ever used as a derogatory term. Where did that start? I thought that it was just used to describe a sticky situation, like Romney...[/QUOTE]

Neither did I and I would never had made such an association had I not seen this article.

[quote name='mykevermin']Didn't the OP-linked article mention that its symbolic origin was in the "Br'er Bear" books (or whatever the world the series was called)?[/QUOTE]

Actually, yes the article does talk about the terms' origin. Interesting no?
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Didn't the OP-linked article mention that its symbolic origin was in the "Br'er Bear" books (or whatever the world the series was called)?[/quote]
It's an old story from the 1800's. Disney even had its version of it:
disney_rabbit.jpg
 
[quote name='moiety']It's an old story from the 1800's. Disney even had its version of it:(the picture's right above, ya lazy prick! look there.)[/QUOTE]

There is also the well-known but little seen "Song of the South" that Disney reps have repeatedly said time and time again will never see the light of day in release.

On one hand, I'm pleased that companies are willing to sacrifice stereotypes for profit (though the backlash from releasing said film might be more costly in the end). On the other, I don't like revisionist history. It greatly disturbs me to hear that all Tom & Jerry cartoons have had the "mammy" voice redubbed to sound less like a, well, "mammy." Not for authenticity's sake, but because I feel we should recall how shortly ago we condoned overt racism (seeing as how we can't see how racist we currently are, but in 15-20 years we'll look like major league bigots, I assure you).

Likewise, why do we hide things like Tom & Jerry, or the pro-WWII Bugs Bunny cartoons, replete with devious slant-eyed Japs? It provides context and a reminder of what kind of a nation we have the capability of being, and hiding it also provides a false sense that we are, as a society, "past" or "over" racism, when nothing could be further from the truth.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']There is also the well-known but little seen "Song of the South" that Disney reps have repeatedly said time and time again will never see the light of day in release.

On one hand, I'm pleased that companies are willing to sacrifice stereotypes for profit (though the backlash from releasing said film might be more costly in the end). On the other, I don't like revisionist history. It greatly disturbs me to hear that all Tom & Jerry cartoons have had the "mammy" voice redubbed to sound less like a, well, "mammy." Not for authenticity's sake, but because I feel we should recall how shortly ago we condoned overt racism (seeing as how we can't see how racist we currently are, but in 15-20 years we'll look like major league bigots, I assure you).

Likewise, why do we hide things like Tom & Jerry, or the pro-WWII Bugs Bunny cartoons, replete with devious slant-eyed Japs? It provides context and a reminder of what kind of a nation we have the capability of being, and hiding it also provides a false sense that we are, as a society, "past" or "over" racism, when nothing could be further from the truth.[/QUOTE]

i agree, the term 'slant eyed japs' really does provide context and reminds one of just what kind of nation we can be sometimes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFWb-kGbxXA
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Likewise, why do we hide things like Tom & Jerry, or the pro-WWII Bugs Bunny cartoons, replete with devious slant-eyed Japs? It provides context and a reminder of what kind of a nation we have the capability of being, and hiding it also provides a false sense that we are, as a society, "past" or "over" racism, when nothing could be further from the truth.[/QUOTE]

Agreed. Sweeping it under the rug is just as bad as clinging to straws.
 
Actually, the only time I have ever heard of the term "tar baby" was in a derogatory sense. I hadn't even heard of the other one.

The only reason the term didn't really offend me in this instance is because the guy obviously wasn't talking about a human being (that made the comment just seem strange to me). If he had been talking about a person then I would have had issue with it.

It was still weird though since I only knew of the racist connotation.
 
"dead hunkey"

:lol:

EDIT: OT, I wonder if the phrase "tar baby" is used regionally in a benign sense, the same way "pop" is a soft drink in a certain part of the nation (though, where I come from, it's "coke" no matter what you're drinking). The problem with this, however, is that other than Mit Romney, the only other public figure to say it recently was Tony Snow, and he's from southern Ohio. It's certainly not a phrase from around here.

Actually, a better linguistic comparison is how the British use the term "fag" when asking for a cigarette.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']"dead hunkey"

:lol:

EDIT: OT, I wonder if the phrase "tar baby" is used regionally in a benign sense, the same way "pop" is a soft drink in a certain part of the nation (though, where I come from, it's "coke" no matter what you're drinking). The problem with this, however, is that other than Mit Romney, the only other public figure to say it recently was Tony Snow, and he's from southern Ohio. It's certainly not a phrase from around here.

Actually, a better linguistic comparison is how the British use the term "fag" when asking for a cigarette.[/QUOTE]

yeah if you don't know that one and some pasty white bloke walks up and says 'Can I bum a fag?' it could turn out badly. :)
 
[quote name='mykevermin']
Actually, a better linguistic comparison is how the British use the term "fag" when asking for a cigarette.[/QUOTE]

Exactly! Just another reason why people need to look at the context in which questionably racist phrases, depictions, or stereotypes are used before denouncing something as an act of racism. I mean, come on. Are we that freakin sensitive? If Dole came out with a fruit commercial showing a bunch of people eating fruit, and the commercial happens to show someone resembling a Puertorican eating a Dole Mango, would I get offended? fuck no! We puertoricans eat Mangos for christs sake! We love them!

Sorry... I'm just agitated with the overreacting in this country.
 
I'm offended becuase the "Big Dig" is much more than a tar baby, or sticky situation. It's been a goddamn clusterfuck ever since Kerry lobbied for this pork project and now it's killed an innocent civillian.

I call for an immediate U.S. withdrawl from Boston.
 
[quote name='bmulligan']It's been a goddamn clusterfuck ever since Kerry lobbied for this pork project and now it's killed an innocent civillian.

I call for an immediate U.S. withdrawl from Boston.[/quote]

What are you talking about? I hadn't heard of this at all. Any links?
 
[quote name='bmulligan']I'm offended becuase the "Big Dig" is much more than a tar baby, or sticky situation. It's been a goddamn clusterfuck ever since Kerry lobbied for this pork project and now it's killed an innocent civillian.

I call for an immediate U.S. withdrawl from Boston.[/QUOTE]

LMAO.

It was needed, however much of a 'tar baby' it is.
 
[quote name='GuilewasNK']What are you talking about? I hadn't heard of this at all. Any links?[/QUOTE]
a couple of weeks back, part of the ceiling/roofing in one of the tunnels fell and killed a lady (maybe her child too, I don't remember). That is when romney stepped in. He pretty much fucked the guy in charge of support/construction of the big dig, and romney brought in a team to investigate the problems with the big dig...He found over a 100 different major issues.

a link to the overall mess of the big dig http://www.boston.com/news/specials/big_dig_ceiling_collapse/

about a death in the tunnels
http://www.boston.com/news/traffic/bigdig/articles/2006/07/12/concrete_falls_and_a_couples_joy_is_destroyed/

as for romney's comments, I think that people are blowing this way of of context. I did know the dual meaning of it, but it is obvious which one he was talking about when he used the terms. But I hope it kill him politically. Granted it is tough to be a Republican gov in a state where the state congress is about 90% democrat. But he hasn't come closed to doing anything he said he was going to do. As a Republican, I am very disappointed with him.
 
[quote name='bmulligan']I'm offended becuase the "Big Dig" is much more than a tar baby, or sticky situation. It's been a goddamn clusterfuck ever since Kerry lobbied for this pork project and now it's killed an innocent civillian.

I call for an immediate U.S. withdrawl from Boston.[/quote]

You've obviously never lived near boston. The big dig is a mess, constant problems, and by the time it's finished it will be outdated. The criticism it gets is well deserved. But it's replacing an eyesoar that wasn't capable of handling the traffic boston gets. Something needed to be done.
 
[quote name='daphatty']Exactly! Just another reason why people need to look at the context in which questionably racist phrases, depictions, or stereotypes are used before denouncing something as an act of racism. I mean, come on. Are we that freakin sensitive? If Dole came out with a fruit commercial showing a bunch of people eating fruit, and the commercial happens to show someone resembling a Puertorican eating a Dole Mango, would I get offended? fuck no! We puertoricans eat Mangos for christs sake! We love them!

Sorry... I'm just agitated with the overreacting in this country.[/QUOTE]

What if Dole showed someone who looked like a Puerto Rican stealing a mango? ;-)
 
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