Mitt Romney, governor of the great state of Massachusetts got his pee-pee stepped on by the press and by minorities when he used the term “tar baby” to refer to Boston’s Big Dig construction project. A Romney spokesman said he used the term to describe a “sticky situation.”
The word does have a history of legitimate, non-derogatory use, however so does “lawn jockey,” and I can’t imagine why someone would use that term.
So, I’m torn. The good Governor’s use of the term was, given its non-derogatory roots, technically correct, but it certainly wasn’t prudent.
Because I’m sure Mr. Romney knew of the term’s derogatory uses, he finds himself here. Not a heavyweight D.I.G. entry, but worthy of an honorable mention.
Here are a few related links:
The word does have a history of legitimate, non-derogatory use, however so does “lawn jockey,” and I can’t imagine why someone would use that term.
So, I’m torn. The good Governor’s use of the term was, given its non-derogatory roots, technically correct, but it certainly wasn’t prudent.
Because I’m sure Mr. Romney knew of the term’s derogatory uses, he finds himself here. Not a heavyweight D.I.G. entry, but worthy of an honorable mention.
Here are a few related links:
4 comments:
I don't think he meant tar baby in a racist way--he probably meant it in the Brer Rabbit way. A tar baby, from when I grew up in the 1950s referred not to visible minorities but to the Uncle Remus folk tale about a rabbit literally made from tar that was to be a decoy, but that you couldn't get rid of because it would stick to the skin.
It wasn't racist. It was part of office lingo in this town for years, and used to describe problems that would not go away.
Am not familiar with the politics you're describing, tho.
Hope this is helpful...ND
here's a link to the story:
http://www.otmfan.com/html/brertar.htm
Thanks Nancy Drew. I did read the history of the term before posting. I'd cleanly forgotten about it until I did. Thanks for the retrospective about the term. Being in my mid-40s, I'd only heard the term used derogatorily.
Romney most probably didn’t use the term with bad intentions. No one’s that stupid are they? But he should at least have had the sense to know that doing so would elicit a backlash from one corner or another of our country.
Kewl...that's the only benefit of being my age lol...stories!!!
and you're right. Anyone in public office should know better....
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