Okla-homey
7/31/2006, 11:30 AM
Tar Baby
http://img472.imageshack.us/img472/8890/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatar babds8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Brer Rabbit confronts the "tar baby" ...it's a trap laid for him by his woodland enemies!
http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/2153/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatarbab ytt7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
When Brer Rabbit becomes miffed because the tar baby won't acknowledge his greeting (because its not human and made of sticky TAR), he strikes it and gets hopelessly stuck!
Now look folks, the term "tar baby" has been in the American lexicon since these Uncle Remus tales were first published in the mid-19th century. They are part of the fabric of American culture. It's a perfectly descriptive metaphor for what happens when a person or group gets involved in something in which they subsequently become hopelessly entangled.
I've avoided use of the term because when I was in the USAF, someone once got p1ssy on me when I used "tar baby" to describe why I think we will remain engaged in Southwest Asia for a very long time. The complainant had not been exposed to these stories of Uncle Remus and thought I was making some sort of racist analogy. Seriously.
IMHO, people just need to chill about this sort of thing when the comment is not INTENDED to have racial overtones. But that's just me.
Anyoo, Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) is the latest victim of having use of the term "tar baby" turned on him to be beaten about the head and shoulders with it.
Gov. Mitt Romney has apologized for referring to the troubled Big Dig construction project as a "tar baby" during a fundraiser with Iowa Republicans, saying he didn't know anyone would be offended by the term some consider a racial epithet.
In a speech Saturday, Romney, a Republican considering a run for president in 2008, acknowledged he took a big political risk in taking control of the project after a fatal tunnel ceiling collapse, but said inaction would have been even worse.
"The best thing politically would be to stay as far away from that tar baby as I can," he told a crowd of about 100 supporters in Ames, Iowa.
Black leaders were outraged at his use of the term, which dates to the 19th century Uncle Remus stories, referring to a doll made of tar that traps Br'er Rabbit. It has come to be known as a way of describing a sticky mess, and has been used as a derogatory term for a black person.
"Tar baby is a totally inappropriate phrase in the 21st century," said Larry Jones, a black Republican and civil rights activist. "He thinks he's presidential timber," Jones said. "But all he's shown us is arrogance."
Romney's spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom, said the governor was describing "a sticky situation." "He was unaware that some people find the term objectionable and he's sorry if anyone's offended," Fehrnstrom said.
White House spokesman Tony Snow sparked similar criticism in May when he used the term in response to a question about government surveillance.
http://img472.imageshack.us/img472/8890/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatar babds8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Brer Rabbit confronts the "tar baby" ...it's a trap laid for him by his woodland enemies!
http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/2153/aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatarbab ytt7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
When Brer Rabbit becomes miffed because the tar baby won't acknowledge his greeting (because its not human and made of sticky TAR), he strikes it and gets hopelessly stuck!
Now look folks, the term "tar baby" has been in the American lexicon since these Uncle Remus tales were first published in the mid-19th century. They are part of the fabric of American culture. It's a perfectly descriptive metaphor for what happens when a person or group gets involved in something in which they subsequently become hopelessly entangled.
I've avoided use of the term because when I was in the USAF, someone once got p1ssy on me when I used "tar baby" to describe why I think we will remain engaged in Southwest Asia for a very long time. The complainant had not been exposed to these stories of Uncle Remus and thought I was making some sort of racist analogy. Seriously.
IMHO, people just need to chill about this sort of thing when the comment is not INTENDED to have racial overtones. But that's just me.
Anyoo, Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) is the latest victim of having use of the term "tar baby" turned on him to be beaten about the head and shoulders with it.
Gov. Mitt Romney has apologized for referring to the troubled Big Dig construction project as a "tar baby" during a fundraiser with Iowa Republicans, saying he didn't know anyone would be offended by the term some consider a racial epithet.
In a speech Saturday, Romney, a Republican considering a run for president in 2008, acknowledged he took a big political risk in taking control of the project after a fatal tunnel ceiling collapse, but said inaction would have been even worse.
"The best thing politically would be to stay as far away from that tar baby as I can," he told a crowd of about 100 supporters in Ames, Iowa.
Black leaders were outraged at his use of the term, which dates to the 19th century Uncle Remus stories, referring to a doll made of tar that traps Br'er Rabbit. It has come to be known as a way of describing a sticky mess, and has been used as a derogatory term for a black person.
"Tar baby is a totally inappropriate phrase in the 21st century," said Larry Jones, a black Republican and civil rights activist. "He thinks he's presidential timber," Jones said. "But all he's shown us is arrogance."
Romney's spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom, said the governor was describing "a sticky situation." "He was unaware that some people find the term objectionable and he's sorry if anyone's offended," Fehrnstrom said.
White House spokesman Tony Snow sparked similar criticism in May when he used the term in response to a question about government surveillance.