If you think Tony Snow's use of "tar baby" was wrong, you're ignorant.

[rpgamerd00d]

And have no concept of what the definition of the word "context" is.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=context

con·text
n.
1. The part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or passage and determines its meaning.
2. The circumstances in which an event occurs; a setting.


Done.

[AnarchoFreeThinker]

1. ohhhh, thanks for clearing that up.

[goclark]

2. I am no idiot and until you have walked in the shoes

of an African American, you don't speak for us.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

Well, that response tells more about you then I wanted to know.

[BlooInBloo]

11. I'll hope against hope that s/he simply forgot the sarcasm tag....

[benburch]

7. Ummm... The tar baby did not refer to an African American.

It was a doll made of tar.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

13. Do you live in the South?

[bluemarkers]

15. haven't walked in your shoes

but "tar baby" is offensive. It is(was) commonly used as an insult.

[MrModerate]

3. Hard to be sure whether I'm an idiot or not . . .

WTF are you talking about?

[Catherine Vincent]

5. I don't give a f what it means.

I'm offended and I'm not an idiot.

So there.

[spinbaby]

6. Not an idiot

Just young enough to be unfamiliar with the tales of Brer Rabbit.

[rpgamerd00d]

10. Point taken - title amended.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

19. Oh, yeah...that helped tremendously.

[CatWoman]

8. this is ALL I know about the Tar Baby

and I'm NOT a fucking idiot

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ug97/remus/tar-baby.html

THE WONDERFUL TAR BABY STORY
"Didn't the fox never catch the rabbit, Uncle Remus?" asked the little boy the next evening.

"He come mighty nigh it, honey, sho's you born--Brer Fox did. One day atter Brer Rabbit fool 'im wid dat calamus root, Brer Fox went ter wuk en got 'im some tar, en mix it wid some turkentime, en fix up a contrapshun w'at he call a Tar-Baby, en he tuck dish yer Tar-Baby en he sot 'er in de big road, en den he lay off in de bushes fer to see what de news wuz gwine ter be. En he didn't hatter wait long, nudder, kaze bimeby here come Brer Rabbit pacin' down de road--lippity-clippity, clippity -lippity--dez ez sassy ez a jay-bird. Brer Fox, he lay low. Brer Rabbit come prancin' 'long twel he spy de Tar-Baby, en den he fotch up on his behime legs like he wuz 'stonished. De Tar Baby, she sot dar, she did, en Brer Fox, he lay low.

"`Mawnin'!' sez Brer Rabbit, sezee - `nice wedder dis mawnin',' sezee.

"Tar-Baby ain't sayin' nuthin', en Brer Fox he lay low.

"`How duz yo' sym'tums seem ter segashuate?' sez Brer Rabbit, sezee.

"Brer Fox, he wink his eye slow, en lay low, en de Tar-Baby, she ain't sayin' nuthin'.

"'How you come on, den? Is you deaf?' sez Brer Rabbit, sezee. 'Kaze if you is, I kin holler louder,' sezee.

"Tar-Baby stay still, en Brer Fox, he lay low.

"'You er stuck up, dat's w'at you is,' says Brer Rabbit, sezee, 'en I;m gwine ter kyore you, dat's w'at I'm a gwine ter do,' sezee.

"Brer Fox, he sorter chuckle in his stummick, he did, but Tar-Baby ain't sayin' nothin'.

"'I'm gwine ter larn you how ter talk ter 'spectubble folks ef hit's de las' ack,' sez Brer Rabbit, sezee. 'Ef you don't take off dat hat en tell me howdy, I'm gwine ter bus' you wide open,' sezee.

"Tar-Baby stay still, en Brer Fox, he lay low.

"Brer Rabbit keep on axin' 'im, en de Tar-Baby, she keep on sayin' nothin', twel present'y Brer Rabbit draw back wid his fis', he did, en blip he tuck 'er side er de head. Right dar's whar he broke his merlasses jug. His fis' stuck, en he can't pull loose. De tar hilt 'im. But Tar-Baby, she stay still, en Brer Fox, he lay low.

"`Ef you don't lemme loose, I'll knock you agin,' sez Brer Rabbit, sezee, en wid dat he fotch 'er a wipe wid de udder han', en dat stuck. Tar-Baby, she ain'y sayin' nuthin', en Brer Fox, he lay low.

"`Tu'n me loose, fo' I kick de natal stuffin' outen you,' sez Brer Rabbit, sezee, but de Tar-Baby, she ain't sayin' nuthin'. She des hilt on, en de Brer Rabbit lose de use er his feet in de same way. Brer Fox, he lay low. Den Brer Rabbit squall out dat ef de Tar-Baby don't tu'n 'im loose he butt 'er cranksided. En den he butted, en his head got stuck. Den Brer Fox, he sa'ntered fort', lookin' dez ez innercent ez wunner yo' mammy's mockin'-birds.

"`Howdy, Brer Rabbit,' sez Brer Fox, sezee. `You look sorter stuck up dis mawnin',' sezee, en den he rolled on de groun', en laft en laft twel he couldn't laff no mo'. `I speck you'll take dinner wid me dis time, Brer Rabbit. I done laid in some calamus root, en I ain't gwineter take no skuse,' sez Brer Fox, sezee."

Here Uncle Remus paused, and drew a two-pound yam out of the ashes.

"Did the fox eat the rabbit?" asked the little boy to whom the story had been told.

"Dat's all de fur de tale goes," replied the old man. "He mout, an den agin he moutent. Some say Judge B'ar come 'long en loosed 'im - some say he didn't. I hear Miss Sally callin'. You better run 'long."

[rodeodance]

12. still one of my favorites, thanks for the reminder.

[freedom_to_read]

22. not so long ago

... when I was a kid, wayyy back the 1970s, they still showed the Brer Rabbit movie on TV every once in awhile. Now I doubt you could even get it on Netflix.

There was also a restaurant in my town (I think it was a chain) called Sambos.

I'm glad we've come some small way since then.

[GoneOffShore]

24. I had forgotten the story.

Thanks for posting it.

Very funny stuff. And remarkably wise. Like a version of Aesop.

[rodeodance]

9. Hil, Clinton got blasted for weeks for her use of plantation-most forgot

that Newt used it in the same context earlier (as did others).

[katinmn]

14. You're wrong. Tar baby is also a derogatory term for black people

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 Maoris), 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.
http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19990212

[rpgamerd00d]

20. OMFG you didn't even read the OP, did you?

To repeat:

You have no concept of what the definition of the word "context" is.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=context

con·text
n.
1. The part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or passage and determines its meaning.
2. The circumstances in which an event occurs; a setting.

[tatertop]

25. I have often heard that term used by bigots referring to blacks

While I aware of both meanings I would never use
the term for this reason.

[porphyrian]

16. If you're a person, you're ignorant.

I guarantee there's shit you know nothing about, too.

[Robbie Michaels]

17. It's a racial slur

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[AnarchoFreeThinker]

18. why the new title? I hope you still think we're all idiots.

[BlooInBloo]

21. Yah! Damn ignorant oversensitive negroes!

:rofl:

It's hard to know where to go with such things... sigh...

[Midlodemocrat]

26. I am going to lock this.

Calling other DUers ignorant is not helpful and a blatant rule violation.

Thank you.

DU Moderator.