start > 2006 > May > 19 > 001

No monopoly on stupid

Created by Zink. Last edited by Zink Fri, 19 May 2006 11:52:22 PDT. Viewed 1539 times. atom feed
I'm getting tired of the idiot left (Jon Stewart, Peter Daou, Jill Feministe) jumping all over Tony Snow for saying "I'm not going to hug that tar-baby". The phrase "tar-baby" refers to a folk-tale character which is made out of tar, which means once you touch it you are stuck to it. Now, starting a long time ago ignorant people who didn't know what the phrase referred to guessed it meant "black kid" and that's become a secondary meaning. As with "niggardly" you use it in public at your peril.

But the left crosses the line from offensensitive to idiot when people like Jill use it as evidence of racism and write "The White House Press Secretary uses the term “tar baby” in his first press briefing—albeit in an odd context."

Nothing odd or racist about the usage, Jill, Peter, Jon, you idiots.

Ask Molly. I guess "to tar and feather" means to adopt blackface and Native American garb at once...

tony : Fri, 19 May 2006 13:28:02 PDT permalink
Stephanie, hiding as Tony, believes: Nothing racist, IMHO. But sadly, the usage is odd. Tar-baby might not be the a klan codeword but it is an anachronism. Americans are moving away from literary references (even children's literature) as we move away from valuing education. After all, they serve neither to simplify nor illustrate when the audience isn't aware of original context.
ceej : Fri, 19 May 2006 15:25:37 PDT permalink
You've got to be kidding when you say it's anachronistic. I say it all the damn time. It's a wonderful metaphor.
rone : Fri, 19 May 2006 17:22:30 PDT permalink
Literary references are another way the intellectual elite try to put down hard-working, decent Americans.
Zink : Fri, 19 May 2006 19:35:42 PDT permalink
You mean, “lazy TV watching Americans”. Reading is Fundamental.
norskog : Sat, 20 May 2006 23:42:45 PDT permalink
It is indeed niggardly to deny the validity of 'tar-baby'.
Belabor : Sun, 21 May 2006 08:41:26 PDT permalink
They should quit trying to jew down that word.
Zink : Sun, 21 May 2006 09:50:33 PDT permalink
Now, just a second, bela-boy. “to jew down” is a direct reference to an ethicity, whereas “niggard” (meaning a stingy guy) shows up in Chaucer in the 14th century—the similar sounding ethnic slur doesn't appear until the late eighteenth century. A “tar-baby” is a doll made of tar.

So you're a bit out of line. Don't be a gamer.

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