# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![cheddarsnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cheddarsnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheddarsnax)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/161 "2004-07-02T22:23:23Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > That’s what I was thinking but how does it fit in the context of this thread, or did I miss something? I’m thinking Lib was responding to **lissener** ’s comment: > [@](#): > > Well, there you have it. Surprises me though. I find it pretty hard to believe that such a usage was utterly, utterly wiped out, in Texas, in the 70s. Amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/162 "2004-07-02T22:59:37Z")
It ain’t just a southern problem. I learned the racial version from other kids while growing up in Juneau, Alaska. I can only assume they got it from their parents. Of course, we’re all immigrants from other parts up here (Native peoples excluded, of course). ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/163 "2004-07-03T00:11:07Z")
> [@RenMan](#): > > Yeah, me too. Quite a shock really. Kind of like learning how “to gyp” was an ethnic slur very much like “to Jew”. Lots of my friends still say “what a gyp!”, without meaning any harm towards Gypsies in the slightest. Hopefully a situation will never arise where an uninformed stewardess will need to say “gyp” over the PA system. > > Note: I am not excusing the use of “gyp”. It is indeed an ethnic slur. All I’m saying is we to respond by educating, not suing. A lawsuit should be last resort. AFAIK “Gypsy” is considered a racial slur now too by at least some Romani people. FWIW I learned the “nigger” version (B. 1970) before the “tiger.” My niece and nephew (4 and 9) learned the “tiger” version, and I don’t believe know the “nigger” version. In other related PC news, a landmark in my state called “Nigger Hill” recently had its name changed to “Buffalo Soldier Hill.” It was a location where some Buffalo Soldiers, black calvary soldiers who fought Native Americans (is Indian now totally un-PC?) died in 1877. Cause of death, in the news article anyway, was listed as dying of thirst or at the hands of Comanches. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/164 "2004-07-03T00:20:55Z")
> [@](#): > > I sure hope I’m not pissing off the mods, but this is the second old thread I’ve revived today to give an update. A suggestion, then: open a new thread, providing a link to the old thread. (This will keep us geezers from having to grab the nitro tablets when an ancient ghost appears on our monitors–particularly, a multi-page ghost such as this one.) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/165 "2004-07-03T00:28:02Z")
> [@Machetero](#): > > AFAIK “Gypsy” is considered a racial slur now too by at least some Romani people. I’ve heard this before (on this board), but I’m sure it’s either a misunderstanding or an urban legend. Misunderstanding because it _is_ inappropriate to use ‘gypsy’ (lower case) to refer to all travellers, rather than ‘Gypsy’ (upper case) for Roma. (In comparison, it’s like calling Canadians American…) Urban legend, because, well, I’ve yet to see an example of somebody actually complaining about Roma being called Gypsy. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/166 "2004-07-03T01:09:32Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > I’ve heard this before (on this board), but I’m sure it’s either a misunderstanding or an urban legend. Misunderstanding because it _is_ inappropriate to use ‘gypsy’ (lower case) to refer to all travellers, rather than ‘Gypsy’ (upper case) for Roma. (In comparison, it’s like calling Canadians American…) > > Urban legend, because, well, I’ve yet to see an example of somebody actually complaining about Roma being called Gypsy. I heard it from a Romani scrap metal dealer on America’s Most Wanted (TV program). He had the same name (and profession) as another Romani man wanted for some serious crimes (including murder). He seemed quite adamant about it and referred to it as an insult to all Romani people. Heck if I know 😕 Any Romani posters out there? ---
**Author:** ![infamousmom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d6d6ee/32.png) [@infamousmom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infamousmom)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/167 "2004-07-03T01:24:39Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > So, am I the only one who learned the “n” version? In Virginia, circa 1963. . I learned the “n” version in the same place at the same time. I’m glad it was my brother and not me who got his mouth washed out with soap for saying it. My parents wouldn’t allow that kind of language either. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/168 "2004-07-03T01:53:01Z")
I spent my fomative years in Ohio and Tenessee, and never heard the ‘n’ version until the debut of this thread. And I knew quite a few racist assholes there. So I guess that version wasn’t as widespread as some would have us believe. But this: > [@](#): > > Fuller said she suffered a small seizure on the flight home, which said was triggered by the remark. Later at home, she said she had a grand mal seizure and was bedridden for three days. deseves a special kick in the ass. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/169 "2004-07-03T05:08:13Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > I’ve heard this before (on this board), but I’m sure it’s either a misunderstanding or an urban legend. I’m not saying it _is_ an urban legend but I’m not ready to believe yet either. I know ‘squaw’ being offensive is/was an urban legend and a very harmful one at that. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/170 "2004-07-03T05:23:09Z")
According to **Kal** (who is of that group) [“Gypsy” can be seen as offensive](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=4608049#post4608049). **Kal** has also provided some nuanced commentary in [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=3712274#post3712274) and in [this post with citations](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=3709557#post3709557). ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/171 "2004-07-03T06:17:49Z")
I was born in '71 and I had never heard of the non-tiger version until this thread. I, too, grew up in Texas. My husband, born '69 in Texas, had heard of it. Maybe it depends on the part of Texas. I don’t recall as much racism in west Texas as I seem to encounter here in DFW. ---
**Author:** ![MidnightRadio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@MidnightRadio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MidnightRadio)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/172 "2004-07-03T14:31:18Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Hmm. The flight attendant is from Texas. I have a hard time believing she was unaware of the N version. Kids in the schoolyard and all. But mabye I’m just irredeemably cynical. I was born in 1976 and raised in the Tulsa, Oklahoma, area and I never heard the racist version of the rhyme until I read about the Southwest incident, so I think it’s possible. But even if she’d heard the racist version at some point in her life, she may have thought that it wasn’t the “definitive” version, just a racist alteration. I, too, had a copy of _Little Black Sambo_, though. > [@Liberal](#): > > Aw, did da iddy biddy weftist’s cawicatuah bwow up? That’s _really_ uncalled for. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/173 "2004-07-03T15:17:16Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Aw, did da iddy biddy weftist’s cawicatuah bwow up? It would behoove you to remember that many of us on the left also support freedom of speech and oppose frivolous lawsuits like this, believing that this sort of stupidity detracts from real inequities and draws attention from real cases of racism. Furthermore, in this very thread, quite a few of the people who have strongly criticized the complainants in this case have been people of the left. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/174 "2004-07-03T16:05:06Z")
I do not dislike, nor do I mock, everyone on the left. There are leftists who are greatly to be admired. Like yourself, for example. But those who have presumed that everyone in Texas is a bigot and are surprised to learn otherwise are not in your esteemed company. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/175 "2004-07-03T16:07:55Z")
> [@](#): > > And among Scots, “Jimmy” is interchangeable with “buddy” or “pal.” 😕 I’ve never heard any Scotsman say that. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/176 "2004-07-03T16:15:41Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > I do not dislike, nor do I mock, everyone on the left. There are leftists who are greatly to be admired. Like yourself, for example. But those who have presumed that everyone in Texas is a bigot and are surprised to learn otherwise are not in your esteemed company. Ah-ha! You see, in the absence of any other context in your post, i assumed that your sarcasm was directed at the women litigants, and that you were assuming that they were “weftists.” Also, i think most people were just genuinely trying to figure out if/when the “nigger” usage faded away. **Lissener** , at whom your post now seems to have been most closely directed, said: > [@](#): > > I find it pretty hard to believe that such a usage was utterly, utterly wiped out, in Texas, in the 70s. Well, to tell you the truth, i’d be pretty surprised too if that were the case. It doesn’t mean that i think that all Texans are bigots; only that some (perhaps a very small minority) are. But hell, every state its share. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/177 "2004-07-03T16:39:28Z")
> [@auntie em](#): > > Yeah, yeah, I know–but then how do you explain _Little Black Sambo_? 😛 Well, he was a mascot for a breakfast chaih that made damn fine pancakes. 😃😉 I’ve heard tiger, n\*\*\*\*\*, and asshole used in the eeny meanie rhyme. Some people just look to be offended because all they can see is ‘their oppression.’ :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/178 "2004-07-03T17:19:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Denny’s was always Denny’s. Sambo’s became The Hungry Tiger. In SoCal, Sambo’s became “Seasons Friendly Eating”. (As opposed to what? “Malevolent Eating”? “Vicious Eating”? “Not Very Nice At All Eating”?) ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/179 "2004-07-03T18:47:58Z")
> [@MidnightRadio](#): > > I was born in 1976 and raised in the Tulsa, Oklahoma, area and I never heard the racist version of the rhyme until I read about the Southwest incident, so I think it’s possible. OFF TOPIC WARNING!! My mom lives in, and grew up in, Sand Springs. I’ve never noticed a doper from there before. That is all. Oh, and I grew up in Northern Illinois (b. 1977) and had never heard the offending version before this thread, either. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352/180 "2004-07-03T18:54:14Z")
> [@Bad News Baboon](#): > > I was born in '71 and I had never heard of the non-tiger version until this thread. I, too, grew up in Texas. My husband, born '69 in Texas, had heard of it. > > Maybe it depends on the part of Texas. I don’t recall as much racism in west Texas as I seem to encounter here in DFW. Born in '69, spent most of my childhood in San Antonio and then returned to Dallas for many years as an adult. I’ve only ever heard the “tiger” version. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airline-sued-for-eeny-meenie-miney-mo/154352.md?page=10)