Ok, I’m not shocked any more at the vile, racist statements coming from the right-wing nutbags. Here’s yet another example of the racist rhetoric being thrown around by these clowns…
Think Progress
Appearing on the Caplis and Silverman radio show last Friday, Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) said, “Now I don’t even want to have to be associated with [Obama], it’s like touching a tar baby and you’re stuck, you’re part of the problem now. You can’t get away.”
The term “tar baby” is often considered a slur towards African Americans. Indeed, the term has such a derogatory history that the Oxford American dictionary revamped its definition to reflect the word’s racial undertones. If Lamborn wishes to cross-check, he should ask both then-Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) — both of whom caught controversy for uttering the distasteful phrase.
Listen here:
Its getting worse by the minute.
How the fuck did assholes like this guy get elected?
Interesting thing – I have never heard an African American or other “Black” person use the term “Tar Baby.” How is that we never “innocently” use that term?
Me either. I suspect its origins come from the south…
But I never heard a Black Southerner use the term either. My point is there is no such thing as an “innocent” use of the term. Otherwise Black AND White people would use the term “innocently”.
Ok here it is LTL:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar_baby
The Tar-Baby is a doll made of tar and turpentine used to entrap Br’er Rabbit in the second of the Uncle Remus stories. The more that Br’er Rabbit fights the Tar-Baby, the more entangled he becomes. In modern usage according to Random House, “tar baby” refers to any “sticky situation” that is only aggravated by additional contact.
The expression tar baby is also used occasionally as a derogatory term for black people (in the U.S. it refers to African-Americans; in New Zealand it refers to Maori), or among blacks as a term for a particularly dark-skinned person. As a result, some people suggest avoiding the use of the term in any context.
[who?] [1]
Term
Although the term’s provenance arose in African folklore (e.g., the gum doll Anansi created to trap Mmoatia, the dwarf), some Americans now consider “tar baby” to have negative connotations revolving around negative images of African-Americans.[2]
The Oxford English Dictionary (but not the print version of its American counterpart) lists “tar baby” as a derogatory term for a black or a Maori.[3]
Psychologist Alfred Adler (1870–1937) used the term to frame one of his counseling theory concepts, calling it “avoiding the tar baby”. It referred to the need to avoid getting stuck in the client’s perception of the problem when that perception was based on faulty assumptions[citation needed].
In recent years, several politicians[who?]have used the term publicly (such as Senator John McCain, Senator John Kerry, and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney) have drawn complaints from African-American civil rights leaders, members of the popular daily media, and other politicians.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
In August 2011 US Congressman Doug Lamborn used the term during a radio talk show about the U.S. debt-ceiling debate. He said about President Obama “Now, I don’t want to even have to be associated with him. It’s like touching a tar baby and you get, you get it, you know… you are stuck and you are part of the problem now, and you can’t get away,”[12][13][14]
Yeah, I remember the “Tar Baby” episode from elementary school. The book I had contained pictures of Br’er Rabbit punching the “Tar Baby” and getting stuck. I can still picture it. That’s how Br’er Fox caught him finally. But Br’er Rabbit, knowing the nature of his adversary, begged Br’er Fox not to throw Br’er Rabbit in the brier patch. The rest is history. Needless to say Br’er Rabbit was one of my earliest heroes. Later on I discovered Davy “Be sure you’re right, then go ahead” Crockett.
Later on I discovered Davy “Be sure you’re right, then go ahead” Crockett.
LOL!