# Airline sued for "eeny meenie miney mo" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 11, 2003, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352 "2003-02-11T15:10:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Ben\_Hicks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbce88/32.png) [@Ben\_Hicks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben_Hicks)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/121 "2003-02-13T14:27:13Z")
Oops, forgot the šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/122 "2003-02-13T15:14:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ben Hicks \* > As a bleeding heart liberal weighed down by the crushing burden of white guilt, I believe I am in a perfect position to condemn this denigrating slur on our Native American population. > > Bigot. Iā€™m no bigot - I hate everyone _equally_ šŸ†’ ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/123 "2003-02-13T21:46:23Z")
If you have ever cooked over an open fire, you will know _exactly_ why ā€œthe pot calling the kettle blackā€ is an apt expression. Not only is it an issue of similarity, but also that crap that builds up on the outside of pots is _seriously_ gross - not just a nice black colour, but sticky, greasy, impossible-to-get-off sooty crap. What is ā€œbadā€ about it is not the colour, hence racial overtones. What is bad about it is the fact that it is a sooty nuisance. That is why it is ā€œbadā€. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2003, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/124 "2003-02-13T22:23:49Z")
Back in Texas, sometime in the 1940s, I learned the dreaded N-word version. I also learned to call Brazil Nuts the dreaded N-word toes. I am ashamed to admit that I learned the former from my father and the latter at my motherā€™s knee. Until today, I didnā€™t know there was a ā€œtigerā€ version of that little bit of garbage. For that matter, I didnā€™t know there was ANY other version than the one I learned as a child. I also hate to say that if I heard someone say ā€œeenie, meenie, minee, moeā€ my brain would automatically complete the thing using the dreaded N-word. So, if I were a black passenger, I might well be mighty pissed about the casual use of the phrase, even if it had a different ending. For the record, I strive mightily to not use the dreaded N-word, ever. I inflict enough random pain just by moving around and talking; I donā€™t need to inflict any intentionally. ---
**Author:** ![GrandfatherTrout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@GrandfatherTrout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandfatherTrout)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/125 "2003-02-14T04:50:04Z")
Grew up in suburban San Francisco in the 1970s and never _once_ heard anything but the tiger version. I had no idea there even _were_ alternative versions of that rhyme until I opened this thread. This lawsuit is ridiculous. Does it make anybody else think back to that [stupidity in Washington DC a while back](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/daily/jan99/district27.htm)? I mean, even that incident made more sense. Not in a way that made any sense, but you know what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/126 "2003-02-14T06:08:19Z")
Another thought. I just saw a commercial for ā€œJoe Millionaireā€ on Fox. One of the two women left said on the commercial ā€œEnie Menie Miniey Moe, somebody has got to GO!ā€. Should Fox be sued for that comment? (Fox should be sued for putting this kind of ā€˜reality TVā€™ crap on but that has nothing to do with the OP) Slee ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/127 "2003-02-14T13:41:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LouisB \* > **ā€¦I also hate to say that if I heard someone say ā€œeenie, meenie, minee, moeā€ my brain would automatically complete the thing using the dreaded N-word. So, if I were a black passenger, I might well be mighty pissed about the casual use of the phrase, even if it had a different endingā€¦** But you have to keep in mind that MANY people are totally unaware of the N-word version and itā€™s simply wrong to sue or get angry with them about it. I live in an area with a large Black population and interact with people of all races every day. I often hear ā€œeenie meenie miney moā€ (Iā€™ve heard blacks use it!) and Iā€™ve never heard any complaints. ---
**Author:** ![Rock-n-Rolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/22d042/32.png) [@Rock-n-Rolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rock-n-Rolga)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/128 "2003-02-15T05:14:04Z")
Ok, I grew up in Alabama in the 1970ā€™s and only heard the ā€œTigerā€ version until I saw Pulp Fiction. But then, I did go to a gifted school in Birmingham with kids from all sorts of different backgrounds, and thus was rather sheltered from seeing true bigotry until we moved to another state in 1984. What a rude awakening that was. ā˜¹ And we also used ā€œOne potato, two potatoā€ a lot of times. Never heard the ā€œmy mother, your motherā€ thing until reading this thread - itā€™s quite chuckleworthy, thoughā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/129 "2003-02-15T07:13:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Purd Werfect \* > \*\*In regards to the subthread, I flew Southwest once and probably wonā€™t again. This was due to one of the boarding attendants joking over the intercom about one of their flights arriving successfully without crashing into the tarmac. Iā€™m a fan of humor, but joking about plane crashes to people about to board and people about to meet those arriving just didnā€™t seem all that humorous. \*\* Try flying Southwest to Buffalo. Iā€™ve heard two different announcements that seemed unique to the area. 1. ā€œWeā€™ve safely arrived at Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Please set your watches back twenty years.ā€ 2. (after the turbulence that plagues the region) ā€œWeā€™ll be piloting whatā€™s left of our plane to the gate ā€¦ā€ ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/130 "2003-02-15T17:31:41Z")
Boy, does this take me back. Yes, I remember the ā€œbubblegumā€ and ā€œCinderellaā€ jump rope rhymes. Except at my school, it was ā€œHow many kisses will he give her?ā€ Oops, I guess that falls under the heading of ā€œsexualization of childrenā€. When I was 9 or so, there was a song making the rounds: \*I woke up Sunday morning and looked upon the wall The Bedbugs and the Skeeters were playing a game of ball The score was six to nothing; the Skeeters were ahead The Bedbugs hit a homerun and they knocked me out of bed Singing! Eenie meenie and a Miney mo Catch a tiger-tiger by the toe and if he Hollers, hollers, hollers, let him go Eenie meenie and a Miney mo\* My friend and I and her little brother were coming home from orchestra one day, and we were particularly hyper, singing this not just for each othersā€™ benefit, but also hanging out the car windows and singing it to other people stopped at a red light. This went on until her mom asked if we wanted to stop at Greystone (local mental hospital). We shushed. And FTR, my friends were Chinese-American. Make of that what you will. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/131 "2003-02-15T18:36:51Z")
I remember that song! Except the version I learned had ā€œCatch a whipper-whopper by the toe.ā€ There was another verse, too: _My father was a burglar, My mother was a spy, And Iā€™m the little ratty who called the FBIā€¦_ Canā€™t remember the rest of it, but Iā€™m sure itā€™s quite offensive to members of the criminal classes. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/132 "2003-02-15T20:15:36Z")
This will serve as formal notice to all posters in this thread that I am representing both the Pep Boys, and descendants of the Three Stooges, and have filed a damage action seeking redress for the emotional shock, personal injury, loss of consortium, and other damages suffered by my clients owing to the pejorative and repetitive use of the name **Moe** and other spelling variants thereof, in an unflattering manner. Pat McGroin, Esq. ---
**Author:** ![nani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58956e/32.png) [@nani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nani)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/133 "2003-02-15T20:26:03Z")
I too, only learned the tiger version, and until today did not know of any others. Now, when I was about 8 or so, there was a rather popular rhyme that involved something like this: My mom was Chinese! (Pull ends of eyes up) My dad was Japanese! (Pull ends of eyes down) Look what it did to me! (Pull one eye up and the other down, creating in a diagonal thing) Being that my school was excessively WASPy, no one really cared (except my mom. I was forbidden from that rhyme very quickly. Kudos to her). ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/134 "2003-02-15T21:32:54Z")
A similar rhyme that I had heard as a child: Chinese! (pull ends of eyes up) Japanese! (pull ends of eyes down) Americanese! (put your hands on your knees) ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/135 "2003-02-15T21:50:25Z")
Growing up in various parts of the UK, I heard three versions of the rhyme; N-word, Tiger and (most commonly) monkey. **CJ** : Offhand, I donā€™t remember when you moved to the US, but could you have learned the monkey version in the UK? ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/136 "2003-02-16T00:18:15Z")
I seem to remember hearing both the ā€œn-wordā€ and the monkey version when I was growing up in Chicago; I honestly canā€™t remember which Iā€™d heard more often, and it may be that the monkey version was supposed to be a substitute for the other one. Iā€™d also like to add my two cents that some people need to have someone remove the ā€œIā€™m being discriminated againstā€ stick out of their ass and beat them about the head with it. Itā€™s getting to the point where Iā€™m afraid to talk to anyone for fear of being accused of being racist, sexist, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/137 "2003-02-16T05:40:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ƱaƱi \* > \*\*I too, only learned the tiger version, and until today did not know of any others. > > Now, when I was about 8 or so, there was a rather popular rhyme that involved something like this: > > My mom was Chinese! (Pull ends of eyes up) > My dad was Japanese! (Pull ends of eyes down) > Look what it did to me! (Pull one eye up and the other down, creating in a diagonal thing) > > Being that my school was excessively WASPy, no one really cared (except my mom. I was forbidden from that rhyme very quickly. Kudos to her). \*\* I learned: Chinese (pull eyelids up) Japanese (pull eyelids down) Dirty knees (tap knees) Hercules (flex muscles in arms) Look at these! (pull out chest area of blouse) Of course, this could only be done by prepubescent girls. I must say, I think this was more because of the rhyme than some sort of anti-Asian agenda. It and a couple of other jokes were pretty much the only racist jokes we had on our plates, and they were more dialect jokes than ā€œAll \_\_\_\_\_s are \_\_\_\_\_ā€ ones. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/138 "2003-02-16T20:12:56Z")
I moved around the US as a kid. Heard the n-word version. Heard the monkey version. Heard the tiger version (which seems to be most common in the US). Seems that sometimes more than one version could be circulating in the same place at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Mr\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Kami)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/139 "2003-02-16T21:19:20Z")
growing up near detroit I always thought that tigers reffered to the baseball team. I did not know there was any variations, until just now. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/140 "2003-02-16T21:52:21Z")
I was 2 1/2 when we moved to the States, and Iā€™m the oldest and most British of us three kids, so thereā€™s a chance Mum could have taught me the monkey version. Iā€™ll have to ask her which way she thinks it goes next time I talk to her. I also remember the Cinderella version, both as a way of picking who was going to be it and as a jump rope rhyme. I also realized I just missed a prime opportunity ā€“ I was at a Mensa Games Night last night, and it would have been a prime chance to ask people what variation they used. On the other hand, there are other ways. I think I might make use of one and report back. CJ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352.md?page=8)