# Stupid Republican idea of the day **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 26, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897 "2009-03-26T18:48:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 166
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3301 "2011-08-02T18:06:58Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I started looking through dictionaries, which seem like a good impartial source of the usage of the term. I couldn’t find any that indicated that the term was offensive. > [Link,](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tar%20baby) [link](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tar+baby), [link](http://www.google.com/dictionary?aq=f&langpair=en%7Cen&q=tar+baby&hl=en), [link](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/tar+baby), [link](http://dictionary.infoplease.com/tar-baby), [link.](http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/tar+baby?region=us) Then I got tired of looking through different dictionaries. (I further note that dictionaries, do, indeed, warn about racially sensitive terms, even if literary in origin: [link.](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/uncle+tom)) By that reasoning, referring to blacks as “spades” or “jigs” (Richard Nixon’s favorite) could not possibly offend either, because none of your dictionaries flag them as racially sensitive. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3302 "2011-08-02T18:17:46Z")
[Spade: a derogatory term for Black](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/spade) [Offensive slang - a disparaging term for a black person](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/spade) I’ve never heard ‘jig’ myself. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3303 "2011-08-02T19:11:01Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > By that reasoning, referring to blacks as “spades” or “jigs” (Richard Nixon’s favorite) could not possibly offend either, because none of your dictionaries flag them as racially sensitive. I’ve also never heard of “jigs,” but context is key. The use of tar baby was in a context that was not exactly elegantly phrased, but certainly conveyed the allusion to someone being stuck in a bad situation. If the comment had been in a different context, like, “Obama’s a tar baby who is spending too much money!” then my reaction would be quite different. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3304 "2011-08-02T19:21:08Z")
“Jigs” is a shortening of “jigaboo”, a long discarded slur. A similar outmoded term might be “ofay”, a term for whites once popular amongst black Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3305 "2011-08-02T19:23:11Z")
> [@bup](#): > > [Spade: a derogatory term for Black](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/spade) > [Offensive slang - a disparaging term for a black person](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/spade) > > I’ve never heard ‘jig’ myself. Short for [“jigaboo”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_slurs#J). “Tarbaby” is sometimes used as a racial slur, but this is not a case where I think there was any racist intent. This is akin to Obama’s “lipstick on a pig” moment." ---
**Author:** ![eulalia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eulalia/32/457_2.png) [@eulalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eulalia)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3306 "2011-08-02T19:32:21Z")
I believe “jig” is short for “jigaboo”. Not that I would use either term. I still don’t really get what is racist about the tar baby story, but maybe that’s just one of my blind spots (I live in a predominantly white city in a predominantly white state, but I spent most of my early childhood in the south). The tar baby is black because tar is black; so what? The story showed the consequences to Brer Rabbit of losing his temper because of the tar baby not meeting his expectations of a civil response, but then our hero gets out of the trap by using his wits and begging not to be thrown into the briar patch, a place he knew well and could use as an escape route. How could that possibly be racist? Still, I won’t argue that Lamborn is not an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3307 "2011-08-02T19:34:19Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Pretty much what it sounds like. It’s a bunch of tar shaped to look like a baby. You touch it, you’re stuck and you can’t get the tar off, and struggling only makes it worse. The first I heard of it was in Song of the South, but it may be from before that. It is indeed from much, much before that - it’s one of Anansi’s stories, originally from West African folklore. I don’t think anyone’s quite sure when that folklore was first codified (there’s always trouble back dating oral traditions, dontcherknow), but we can at least be sure that they were popular and widespread as early as the 17th century, which is when they got cross-pollinated over to the Carribean and North America. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3308 "2011-08-02T19:45:46Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > “Jigs” is a shortening of “jigaboo”, a long discarded slur. When I was an insensitive teen in Phoenix AZ in the 80’s we used the slur ‘jigaboo’. I guess it held out in the redder states. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3309 "2011-08-02T20:14:04Z")
Is ‘jig’ short for ‘jigaboo,’ then? ---
**Author:** ![howye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9adbd/32.png) [@howye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/howye)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3310 "2011-08-02T20:20:47Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > If I can’t find a dictionary that even makes a vague caution about the racial connotations of the term, I can’t assume that someone is making a racist comment about the President. It was fine and good that he apologized, but I think the automatic assumption that it is a racist term seems to be easily questionable. Looking in a dictionary would not be my first choice for finding out the racially sensitive nature of terms. Granted, I would not expect your average 20-something African-American to be all that upset or even understand the reference. But given Lamborn’s age and presumed education, holds a J.D., I am in no way buying that he did not use the reference deliberately. I just doesn’t pass the smell test. Further, his apology is weak. A term that some find offensive? This is right up there with apologizing if I offended anybody, but not actually apologizing for the conduct. Perhaps I am just not in a mood to be forgiving of any R currently. Maybe we can blame it on the redefining compromise as you give a mile, we fuck you in the ass. I see a country being brought low not by its enemies, but by its own self described patriots. I see no reason to forgive the trespasses of those who would see the economy of this nation sent into another recession for their personal and political gain. Associating the President with the tar baby story is just another way of reminding scared white voters that the President is black. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3311 "2011-08-02T20:41:29Z")
> [@howye](#): > > Looking in a dictionary would not be my first choice for finding out the racially sensitive nature of terms. Why not? Dictionaries are remarkably good tools for figuring out what words mean. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3312 "2011-08-02T21:16:06Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Is ‘jig’ short for ‘jigaboo,’ then? I thought it was short for “Rio.” ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3313 "2011-08-03T00:59:42Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > His apology included some pretty weak tea Ah yes, the ol’ “I’m sorry you were offended by what I said, but not for saying it” dodge once again. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3314 "2011-08-03T01:04:55Z")
The apology was lame, but he shouldn’t have apologized at all. He clearly didn’t intend any racial innuendo, and he should have just said so. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3315 "2011-08-03T01:20:56Z")
That isn’t “clear” at all. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3316 "2011-08-03T01:27:33Z")
I think it’s perfectly clear from the context that he was using the commonly understood analogy and not the racial slur. Let’s not turn into a bunch of Sarah Palins here. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3317 "2011-08-03T01:42:49Z")
A punch line offensive on so many levels that, though it was bleeped on Chicago TV, it could be nothing else: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3viQHsBFc4) ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3318 "2011-08-03T03:30:04Z")
I’m just glad he didn’t call Obama ‘niggardly with his leadership’, or something. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3319 "2011-08-03T11:47:26Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I thought it was short for “Rio.” It was. Once. In the 1960s. For 20 minutes… ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/3320 "2011-08-03T14:37:32Z")
Eh, seems pretty clear that most people understand that tar baby is a racist term. Here is a completely unscientific poll: [Here is a completely unscientific poll.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=618765) The results so far, more than 80% of respondents are cognizant of racial overtones and over 6% like cheese… Really though, I had to write a letter over this one. Lamborn is not my congress person, but he is from my state and I can’t just let this one skate by. This is the President of the US we are discussing, let’s try to keep the level of the discussion up a bit. (I felt this way about President Bush also. Even though I hated the man, he was the President and deserved a certain level of respect.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=165) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897.md?page=167)