Source: Gawker

Rep. Doug Lamborn likened compromising with Obama to "touching a tar baby" on talk radio today. But he probably didn't mean to use the racially charged term in a racist way, right? There's no way he missed the lesson from John McCain's "tar baby" blunder, or Mitt Romney's "tar baby" blunder, or Tony Snow's "tar baby" blunder, right?

Given the famed political correctness of Lamborn's district in Colorado Springs—home of sexually repressed meth head pastors and family-focused homophobes—I'm guessing this is all a big misunderstanding. ....

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Read more: http://gawker.com/5826656/republican-working-with-obama-like-touching-a-tar-baby

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One word: RESIGN

http://lamborn.house.gov/

WASHINGTON OFFICE
437 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4422
Fax: (202) 226-2638

Is he friends with Joe Wilson?

a baby who was Korean. She had pictures of her son and his daughter to show another friend that we've had for over thirty years. He had shaved his head for the hot summer and this 'friend' asked if he had a pigtail in the back of his head like the old days when the Chinese men used to wear them. She knew he was Korean. She HAD to know that was as bad as it got racist wise but she asked it and laughed. She's lucky to be alive.

Racist moron at that.

What a prime asshole. This is why I don't bother to write my Congressman.

Un-fucking-believable!

Repukes just let people "talk to the hand" until they have won re-election.

This is likely calculated to cater to the racists in the district. I think House Ethics should go after him.

with no inhibitions about disguising his blatant racism!

Doubt his supporters would even bother to think of this as anything other than a slight faux pas!

Only when Obama actually started talking about cleaning up the mess that George W. Bush made, the teabaggers called him "uppity" and threatened to fuck him up on the House floor.

I'll allow that using that metaphor in referring to Obama is like striking a match in the armory. The fact that people think it's racist has pretty much the same effect. Except the speaker thinks he is referencing a fable from Uncle Remus, and doesn't expect what happens next.

Try using "niggardly" sometime. :shrug:

--imm

I once tried to write an article on the subject and was shot down with someone quoting (I kid you not) the Urban Dictionary as an authority for the claim that the term "tar baby" was a form of hate speech invented by the Ku Klux Klan to describe black people. Of course this was completely inaccurate but the response was "it doesn't matter what the truth used to be, it's what people who are less educated perceive it to be now."

That is why this country is headed in the direction it is in a nutshell.

baby and you won't have to do a poll to find out.

That's because bigots have been using the word for decades as a degrading term for Black people.

Making deals with a politician that may stick to you and harm your political image is a reasonable situation to use the metaphor.

And yes, some people have used tar baby as a slur.

It doesn't matter what the origin of the slur is.

...which were harmless children's tales which originated from African-American folklore. The story is completely harmless and it's a shame that some rednecks have used the term "tar baby" in a derogatory manner. In fact, the story also is where the classic metaphor "Don't throw me in the briar patch!" originated.

Watch the Tar Baby story from Disney's 1946 movie "Song of the South" for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX44YHK5Bik

...people would KNOW what a "tar baby" is and the story behind it. I'm absolutely livid that Disney won't release this great film (which, by the way, includes the song "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah", because it's considered "offensive", while they've long-since released Peter Pan in which children used the term "Injuns" and depicted Native Americans in the most stereotypical way imaginable!

The hypocrisy of Walt Disney Co. is disgusting.

decades. People think it's racist not necessarily because they are ignorant of the story, but because it has a long history as a slur.

Niggardly, on the other hand, only sounds similar to a slur. Seems like a very different situation to me.

And it appears Dems are quite willing to allow the meaning of words to be changed to suit the right wing,

Despite the civil rights movement TELLING them it is a mistake to do so.

"Black" used to be considered a similar slur by well-meaning politically correct white people who didn't
really understand the civil rights movement. Same with "Gay".

"Tar Baby" however has a very specific meaning and one which cannot be confused with what you're talking
about.

For one thing, it refers to an inanimate object.

To that extent, using it to refer to Obama is inappropriate but I do not think it alone is proof of racism.

I would have to see a real racist remark from them (many of which are considered innocuous
by most people, like "I have no problem tearing down public housing", or "yes I DO have a
problem with Muslims" or "yes I DO cross the street when I see a black man") before I'd
make a statement.

The fact that people are calling "RESIGN!" suggests folks aren't familiar with the actual definition.

Of course language evolves, and most folks appear quite willing to let the right wing expropriate
all manner of terminology, beliefs, and thought and redefine those things for the exclusive use of
the right wing.

Same problem with "niggardly", really.

You see, the guy who made this statement KNOWS the actual definition of the term. He is counting on
us to be IGNORANT of that meaning, so that we make the false connection instead. All the while, not
knowing what he is talking about, so that only his intended audience gets the full meaning.

That's how CODE works! Just like "waste fraud and abuse" or "welfare" or "inner city".

The fact that tar baby has a very specific meaning doesn't mean that it doesn't have a history of being used for other purposes. :shrug:

IS A RACIST REFERENCE. It IS and HAS BEEN for the 6 decades I've been alive.

This is PERFECT EXAMPLE of what Empowerer was asking on this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x724495


I loved it when my Aunt Carole read Uncle Remus to us because she could do so many voices and dialects. I understood the metaphor as did my siblings and cousins.

I personally experienced the reference morph into a racial slur. I was there. It was hurled at me.

I readdress this post to you, Fishwax, knowing you will acknowledge and respect my truth and sensitivity.

As an ESL language trainer abroad, I can assure everyone of one thing linguistically.

USAGE. ALWAYS. TRUMPS.

ALWAYS.

ALWAYS.

"USAGE. ALWAYS. TRUMPS."

:thumbsup:

:hug::hi:

"It's me!" :rofl: No chance. NO. FUCKING. CHANCE.

It is I who declare Peter Pan the winner of the debate.

"I'll never grow up... NOT ME!"

"NOT I."

"NOT ME!"

yes, the guy knows the real meaning, he also knows the other meaning, and he knows he can get away with tweaking obama's nose & dog=whistling his racist supporters by saying "gosh, what are you talking about, it doesn't mean that, i am perfectly innocent!:

Until the 1960s when African-Americans co-opted the description and began using it as a source of pride. "Black is Beautiful."

Or, we can march backwards to the days of old when racism was tolerated.

The tar baby is a strong metaphor. And Br'er Rabbit, fearful and instinctual, models human response quite well. I know of no other fable that illustrates the escalation of a perceived slight, and the self destructive effect of introducing violence, and being captured by it. A great story.

I read these stories as a kid. Saw the movie. Uncle Remus is black, but the animals are not racial. The stories are strong metaphors for human behaviors. (I later became aware of the "magic Negro" stereotype. Sure it fits. I notice.) I hardly ever utter the term "tar baby" but I frequently see that kind of behavior.

--imm

:hide:

;)

--imm

And unfortunately, many people are not well-read and are not familiar with common English idioms that are based on American folklore.

So it's open to abuse.

but in fact, they are, in certain hands, by precedent & repetition.

CONTEXT. IS. EVERYTHING.

:shrug:

Caucus memberships

* Congressional Constitution Caucus
* House Sovereignty Caucus (Co-Founder)
* International Conservation Caucus
* Republican Israel Caucus (Co-Chair)
* Tea Party Caucus
* United Kingdom Caucus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Lamborn

And this may be true. His constituency or even more conservative political opponents may score points off of him working with the Democratic president much like when Bush the first worked with Democrats to raise taxes a bit after promising "no new taxes".

I hear what people are saying but I learned the story and metaphor before I every heard it as a slur. I saddens me that this can't be reclaimed as in civil discourse.

IS A RACIST REFERENCE. It IS and HAS BEEN for the 6 decades I've been alive.

This is PERFECT EXAMPLE of what Empowerer was asking on this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x724495

Have YOU ever been the lone dark-skinned in the class, surrounded by bullying kids on the playground calling you a black, stinky tar baby? Have you ever considered how you might perceive such an experience? THAT was over 50 YEARS AGO in Anne Arundel County.

I loved it when my Aunt Carole read Uncle Remus to us because she could do so many voices and dialects. I understood the metaphor as did my siblings and cousins.

I personally experienced the reference morph into a racial slur.

Just one more thing before you return to the behaviour the thread cited spoke of...

As an ESL language trainer abroad, I can assure you of one thing linguistically.

USAGE. ALWAYS. TRUMPS.

ALWAYS.

Usage. Always. Trumps. Except. When. It. Doesn't.

Living in Texas, I see racist metaphors in action every day.So does my partner. i have yet to see it directed towards a caucasian...they are ALWAYS directed toward African-American or Hispanic Texans.

why isn't the Democratic Party using this kind of shit for ad after ad after ad, against the teabagger/republican/neocon/racist/shit-stain that is the opposition?

Why?

"oh, it was just a slip, i certainly didn't mean anything by it!"

how often does anyone use the phrase "tar baby" innocently? it's pretty much gone out of common use.

And they are, more often than not, supported by all kinds of folks, even people on our side, who parse the words in order to defend the language as innocent, innocuous, etc. - and, as sure as day follows night, the people who have the nerve to be offended by such slurs are then attacked as overly-sensitive whiners who are, by virtue of their insistence on stirring the pot, making race relations worse for everybody.

it used in ordinary conversation, either -- only by right-wing politicians.

to millions upon millions of AMERICANS.

:shrug:

:freak:

I'm really a nice, cute, accomplished girl who, as an old lady now, is known to test the the staying power of belts below the boxer line. Da boyz do warn their friends when Tante K is hanging around with the parental units. And then sometimes they don't. :rofl: Age does come with some privileges. :rofl:

Here's what we call a "communion picture."



I assure you, my bark is much worse than my bite. Are you willing to engage me on the matter addressed in this thread?

Oh, and BTW, can you identify the instrument I'm holding?

Is seen by you as a "stupid game." That IS your privilege. I accept your rejection and wish you all good things.

Tschüß! :hi:

I could barely say his name out loud, but as it turns out the UK parents loved the story and didn't know that it was once a common slur in the US.

Cannot leave a message. Cannot email.

...for those of you who are unfamiliar with the "Tar Baby" story...it is on of "Uncle Remus' Tales" and was included in Walt Disney's 1946 movie "Song of the South"...

Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear, in an attempt to catch Br'er Rabbit, took a heap of hot tar, shaped it, and "dressed it up" so it looked like a person--a "tar baby". After placing it on a wooden log near the path, Br'er Rabbit came by, saw the tar baby, and said hello. But when the tar baby didn't answer, Br'er Rabbit took that as an insult and warned the tar baby to say "hello" or he'd "bust (him) wide open." Well, the tar baby didn't say anything, and Br'er Rabbit punched the tar baby in the mouth...only to get his entire arm stuck on the tar. Br'er Rabbit tried to push himself loose by placing his other hand against the tar baby, but it got stuck, also.

"He pushed and he pulled, and heaved and he hoed, but the more he tried, the more he got stuck up he got until he was so stuck up he could scarcely move his eyeballs."

I don't believe this story is racist (although apparently some people do, as Disney still refuses to release "Song of the South" on DVD), I see it as a story in which if you choose to get mixed up with trouble, the trouble may consume you so much you won't be able to withdraw from it.

...was this person saying that Barack Obama was a tar baby himself? Or was he using the Uncle Remus story of the tar baby as an analogy meaning if you try to talk to Obama (engage with him), you get all tangled and confused that you don't even remember what you went to talk to him about? I'm not saying I agree with the analogy, but if he's comparing talking to the president is like "punching the tar baby", that is not racist.

Tschüß! :hi:

this is the mentality that we are up against.

If we don't figure that out, and focus our anger in the right direction, we're screwed.

A person who doesn't truly understand the historic context of such a reference should not attempt to apply it to a contemporary situation.

Let's assume he did NOT mean it in a racial way. He's still saying that republicans can NOT compromise with the President of the United States! Without the racial overtones, that's still VERY f***ed up. Are there any adults in the GOP right now?

Seems like a great deal for teabaggers like Lamborn. They get to describe the president using a phrase that has been racially-charged for several decades and have even DUers defend it.

For anyone to compare compromising with the POTUS to a tarbaby needs to go away and not come back until he grows the hell up. This is insane.

coming to an end. They'd best teach their offspring to get along, because when they get old they will be surrounded by brown people.

I doubt Lamborn will be so quick to be flinging 'tar baby' and his other cute sayings around in the nursing home.

Sharpton was quick to correct him, saying words to the effect Obama was not his boy, he was his President and Pat Buchanan's president. Buchanan laughed and looked down.

Sam

http://www.creators.com/opinion/pat-buchanan.html

DU thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1648681

Of course, that particular phrase has an established history in political discourse, meaning to claim or signify victory. So maybe some will defend Pat Buchanan on that.

:eyes:

Sexism and racism have brought America to its knees. I consider myself fortunate to be ensconced across the pond but looking back over my shoulder with the wider view distance provides, I'm just so horrified and pained. :cry: