I'm hitting the Tar Baby

That's right I said it. And no, I'm not a racist. Deal.

US Senator, and Presidential hopeful John McCain became the latest person to use the words, "Tar Baby" in the correct context and have to apologize. Former MA Governor Mitt Romney was nailed in July 2006 for using regarding the Big Dig, and was told

Tar baby is a totally inappropriate phrase in the 21st century," said Larry Jones, a black Republican and civil rights activist. "He thinks he's presidential timber," Jones said. "But all he's shown us is arrogance."

Here's the thing. Racism and bigotry have divided this nation for generations. While things are better now than they ever, there is still work to be done. Tar Baby is an innocent word. It's also a great way to describe getting caught up in something that no matter how hard you try, it just gets worse (like this post). If you grew up in the south, you know the story of Br'er Rabbit and how Br'er Fox finally caught him by using a trap that was a person only made out of tar. You probably also know that Br'er Rabbit outsmarts Br'er Fox by begging the fox to not throw him in the brier patch, that would be worse than anything, of course the fox does, and then Br'er rabbit laughs and says he was raised in the brier patch, and hops away (I've always liked Br'er Rabbit, maybe more than even Bugs). Anyway, great story, great lesson, great memories of my Grandmother reading me the story.

Then some evil pricks decided to use "Tar Baby" in a derogatory way, in essence stealing a great story, a great lesson and great memories. The way I see it, one way to beat racism is to reclaim our words. To take back what is ours. To take back our innocence. If we continue to give the word negative meaning, the racists continue to define who we are and how we communicate. The racists continue to win. Screw that. I use Tar Baby all the time, and I've never once directed it at an African American.

Said anther way, take the word "doorknob." The word is prominently displayed at any Home Depot or Lowes in America. Nothing offensive about it. If I'm talking about a doorknob in a conversation and I say, "I need to fix my doorknob" no one gets offended. If however, I say, "Muscles for Justice isn't very smart, he's a real doorknob," then I've just offended him. But no one in their right mind would go around trying to ban the use of the word "doorknob."

I'm not sorry for using "Tar Baby," I am sorry that the word is offensive and no one is looking to render it inoffensive. It will be a small step, but when Tar Baby is uttered correctly in a sentence, and no one is offended, good will have reclaimed a small bit of land from evil.