# Should this broadcaster be suspended? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 14, 2009, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827 "2009-02-14T15:45:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/21 "2009-02-15T14:19:41Z")
> [@bufftabby](#): > > FWIW, I’ve always heard the joke used to imply cannibalism, not cunnilingus. It’s the sort of joke my grandpa would tell. I think your grandpa had a dirtier mind than you imagine, buff. You got whooshed. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/22 "2009-02-15T14:26:38Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Let me assure you that, in the context of American sports, especially male sports, that the joke and the reference to it concerned oral sex with a young girl. I don’t think I’ve ever heard the joke before either (at least not recently), but as soon as I read the OP, my mind immediately jumped to the oral sex component. Plus, since the Brownies are young, you can’t really think, “Well, what if it was an older, more experienced Girl Scout.” It pretty much JUST implies the pedophilia. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/23 "2009-02-15T14:45:38Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > I used to be in radio and can attest to the failure of sometimes engaging brain before opening mouth. > > What happens is the “opening” is there and you jump into it. > > I do it even now sometimes in our (IANAD) ER. > > A situation will present itself, a joke or another funny line is remembered, and next thing I know, I have said something inappropriate. > > Probably just needs an apology, but not a suspension, IMHO. > > Q I dunno… If you apologize, you kinda have to repeat you said, so people will know what you’re apologizing for. And then you have to explain, “Well, I really didn’t mean that a Boy Scout was eating OUT a Brownie. I meant brownie the delicious chocolate treat, and by that I didn’t mean a young black girl, or young white girl either. I meant… um, oops. I’ll just shut up now.” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/24 "2009-02-15T18:16:41Z")
I’m actually having second thoughts about this. The joke apparently dates to at least a few decades ago, so the question is: when did “eating” or “eating out” become a common euphemism for cunnilingus? (Someone get William Safire on it.) Now, virtually anyone under 30 who hears or repeats the joke is going to go right to sex, but I could see how it may have started out as an innocent pun ("‘eating a brownie,’ get it?"), so that anyone over a certain age may be telling a cleaner version of the joke. Also relevant: would middle-aged Americans have spent their formative years telling jokes like the one at the end of this post?\* Or is joking about pedophilia a relatively recent phenomenon? Given **ivylass** ’ link, it sounds to me like the announcer in question (who is 46) interpreted the joke sexually, and undoubtedly the people who are calling for his head did so. - spoilered for possible offensiveness; not graphic: “I like my women like I like my whiskey: 12 years old and mixed with coke.” ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/25 "2009-02-15T20:57:56Z")
I thought it was a reference to cannabis use, after deciding it wasn’t about [del]caprophagy[/del] coprophagy. That said, grade school was a long time ago. I can see how a child would make the immediate leap to Brownie girls & think it was about oral sex or cannibalism, thus finding it much nastier than I did. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/26 "2009-02-15T21:47:46Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever heard the joke before either (at least not recently), but as soon as I read the OP, my mind immediately jumped to the oral sex component. Plus, since the Brownies are young, you can’t really think, “Well, what if it was an older, more experienced Girl Scout.” It pretty much JUST implies the pedophilia. He’s talking about when he was a boy scout. Is two children doing the naughty of their own accord considered pedophilia these days? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/27 "2009-02-16T03:24:43Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > He’s talking about when he was a boy scout. Is two children doing the naughty of their own accord considered pedophilia these days? That’s true, I overlooked the boy scout part. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/28 "2009-02-16T03:43:36Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > He’s talking about when he was a boy scout. Is two children doing the naughty of their own accord considered pedophilia these days? Dunno. Am I allowed to jack off while I watch? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/29 "2009-02-16T04:12:09Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > I’m actually having second thoughts about this. The joke apparently dates to at least a few decades ago, so the question is: when did “eating” or “eating out” become a common euphemism for cunnilingus? (Someone get William Safire on it.) Now, virtually anyone under 30 who hears or repeats the joke is going to go right to sex, but I could see how it may have started out as an innocent pun (“‘eating a brownie,’ get it?”), I was a boy scout 40 years ago and the joke seemed dated then(it was meant sexually). ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/30 "2009-02-16T04:53:01Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > \Now, virtually anyone under 30 who hears or repeats the joke is going to go right to sex, but I could see how it may have started out as an innocent pun (“‘eating a brownie,’ get it?”), so that anyone over a certain age may be telling a cleaner version of the joke. I’ll be 50 this year and I immediately knew it to be a joke about oral sex amongst the young’ns. I can certainly see how someone could blurt out an inappropriate comment, but this guy is a Sportscaster. It’s his JOB to know what’s coming out of his mouth before it gets there. I don’t understand the moral outrage, but I do think the guy needs a new career. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/31 "2009-02-16T06:58:56Z")
> [@Ruby](#): > > It’s his JOB to know what’s coming out of his mouth before it gets there. Maybe he knew exactly what he was saying, and the offended just need to deal and not get caught up in their moral dictatorship on society. He should not be suspended. ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/32 "2009-02-16T07:02:47Z")
OK, he should be fired for telling the joke wrong. It’s supposed to go: “I got kicked out of CUB SCOUTS for eating a Brownie.” Cub Scouts and Brownies are the same approximate age, so it’s funny in that naughty-kids-are-cute kind of way. The thought of a Boy Scout eating a Brownie, on the other hand, is just sick – Boy Scouts are much to old to be having oral sex with girls that young. Egads, people, have some sense of propriety! ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/33 "2009-02-16T09:20:21Z")
I really think people need to get over it. It was just a lame joke. ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/34 "2009-02-16T10:47:00Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > my first impression was that it was a darkly comic reference to cannibalism. > [@bufftabby](#): > > FWIW, I’ve always heard the joke used to imply cannibalism, not cunnilingus. It’s the sort of joke my grandpa would tell. You guys seriously need to consult a mental health professional. Quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827/35 "2009-02-17T02:31:09Z")
Definitely cunnilingus. “Back in the day…” (my broadcasting days, I mean), we used to get away with some pretty nasty stuff. Signing off a shift and handing off to the next jock… “Plans tonight, Bill?” “Just gonna eat at the Y, Zack!” That kinda thing…🙂 Q [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-broadcaster-be-suspended/485827.md?page=1)