General Discussion

Xithras

(16,191 posts)

30. Find a different one and teach it to him.

Fri Sep 4, 2015, 05:27 PM

Sep 2015

If your six year old nephew found a pointy white hood and started running around with it, wouldn't you stop him even though he didn't understand its meaning? A six year old singing eenie meenie minie mo should never be punished for doing so, but they SHOULD be redirected to more appropriate rhymes.

Honestly, the REAL problem is with the rhymes second line, "Catch a..." Changing one word doesn't mask the underlying meaning.

My wife, who is a kindergarten teacher, has been hearing this one lately. Don't know how widespread it is:

Eeny, meeny, miney, mot
put the baby on the pot
when he's done
wipe his bum
stick a diaper on the tot

That's just one example of the hundreds of variations that exist, that don't reference back to catching slaves.

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When Racism Slips Into Everyday Speech [View all] KamaAina Sep 2015 OP

Lets start a list of words to ban GummyBearz Sep 2015 #1

"Potentially" racist is the operative word. Baitball Blogger Sep 2015 #2

There is plenty of ACTUAL racism to be found these days. There is really no need jonno99 Sep 2015 #3

What specifically leads you to believe that particulars of etymology generates discord? LanternWaste Sep 2015 #23

Personally I'm a fan of studying etymology. What "leads me to believe" (and I could be wrong with jonno99 Sep 2015 #33

Words and their meaning have always interested me. yuiyoshida Sep 2015 #4

Indeed, it is quite interesting to learn the etiology of words and phrases. uppityperson Sep 2015 #6

It is interesting when the etymology is correct and not just someones TexasProgresive Sep 2015 #11

A Japanese word I recently learned yuiyoshida Sep 2015 #12

Wasshoi' is ... GummyBearz Sep 2015 #14

heh heh heh... yuiyoshida Sep 2015 #15

Eh. A few of these are just wrong. They're Internet memes without any real truth. Xithras Sep 2015 #5

There is a term "jigaboo". KamaAina Sep 2015 #8

True, but there's no relationship between "jigaboo" and "the jig is up". Xithras Sep 2015 #13

A "jig" is also an Scots-Irish folk dance ProudToBeBlueInRhody Sep 2015 #73

Which, interestingly, also derives from the same root Xithras Sep 2015 #118

Thank you voice of reason Facility Inspector Sep 2015 #9

Perpetually offended? Are you a minority or are you a white person therefore privileged? randys1 Sep 2015 #26

remain curious or do your research Facility Inspector Sep 2015 #34

So no, you arent. No wonder you can make such an obtuse statement. randys1 Sep 2015 #39

There ain't no good guy Facility Inspector Sep 2015 #84

Message auto-removed Name removed Sep 2015 #112

I'm "perpetually offended" by people who use that dismissive phrase Gormy Cuss Sep 2015 #38

+1 840high Sep 2015 #78

Really? ... 1StrongBlackMan Sep 2015 #102

Thanks for adding more info to some of those. I remember being instructed uppityperson Sep 2015 #10

"Eenie meenie miney mo" actually IS racist. It's one of a handful she got right. Xithras Sep 2015 #17

So when my 6-year old nephew does "eenie meenie minie mo, catch a tiger by the toe" Nye Bevan Sep 2015 #21

I would say yes dumbcat Sep 2015 #24

Tigers certainly do have toes. The Velveteen Ocelot Sep 2015 #54

Those are mongo "jelly beans," or "toe-beans." nt tblue37 Sep 2015 #56

Tigers don't have toes? DirkGently Sep 2015 #58

It comes from a song from a minstrel show gollygee Sep 2015 #69

It does not come from a minstrel show. DirkGently Sep 2015 #70

Bert Fitzgibbons, who is listed in your link as the author, wrote minstrel shows gollygee Sep 2015 #83

Looks like Fitzgibbons' version had the toe, not the hollering. DirkGently Sep 2015 #85

We used that growing up treestar Sep 2015 #94

Find a different one and teach it to him. Xithras Sep 2015 #30

But that was never "the underlying meaning." DirkGently Sep 2015 #61

+1 nt jonno99 Sep 2015 #82

Except running around with a pointy white hood is still recognized as clearly racist ProudToBeBlueInRhody Sep 2015 #74

I'm old enough to recall the earlier version of eenie meenie miney mo. SheilaT Sep 2015 #81

In addition to 'eenie meeni' we did 'One Potato...' trof Sep 2015 #113

Thanks for taking the time to educate. Juicy_Bellows Sep 2015 #18

Now now they are just being niggardly with the truth whatthehey Sep 2015 #19

A Washington, DC city councilmember created a huge uproar by using "niggardly" KamaAina Sep 2015 #20

George Carlin would tell us not to discard words but discard from civility the assholes randys1 Sep 2015 #28

Except niggardly has none of those problems and is usually used quite properly. whatthehey Sep 2015 #96

Yes and I like Julian Bond's take on that. whatthehey Sep 2015 #95

Thank you whatthehey ChazII Sep 2015 #104

This reminds me of the brouhaha over the word "niggardly." GreenEyedLefty Sep 2015 #35

This reminds of the brouhaha over the word "niggardly." GreenEyedLefty Sep 2015 #36

The use of the term niggardly shouldn't raise any eyebrows? uponit7771 Sep 2015 #45

No, it should not. It doesn't stem from anything meaning "black." WinkyDink Sep 2015 #52

Thank you for this. cwydro Sep 2015 #37

Banning the word "spade" is pointless, since it's a type of shovel meow2u3 Sep 2015 #42

Thank you for bringing some facts and common sense. hifiguy Sep 2015 #46

Re: "call a spade a spade" tblue37 Sep 2015 #47

Thank you treestar Sep 2015 #93

Sold down the river for sure but not so sure about peanut gallery TexasProgresive Sep 2015 #7

That's certainly it's origin, "sold down the river." Igel Sep 2015 #22

"Lord" and "Lady" = tblue37 Sep 2015 #51

"Another thing coming" makes better sense than the original. DirkGently Sep 2015 #57

Not really, because the line "You've got another think coming" tblue37 Sep 2015 #62

Actually, the fact it was originally ungrammatical slang explains the DirkGently Sep 2015 #64

But "thing" just doesn't make sense in that context. What "thing"? There was no tblue37 Sep 2015 #65

The "thing" is that which you thought. DirkGently Sep 2015 #66

An impasse has been reached... Generic Other Sep 2015 #107

Well now that's interesting. DirkGently Sep 2015 #109

Don't you mean �ing? Liberal Veteran Sep 2015 #72

I think kow-tow was originally a Chinese term for genuflection. n/t Mister Ed Sep 2015 #75

Precisely. No cows or towlines are involved! :) n/t DirkGently Sep 2015 #76

"The word 'picnic' originated with crowds gathering to witness lynchings"- Snopes says FALSE Nye Bevan Sep 2015 #16

I remember how aggravated I got when that happened. Xithras Sep 2015 #32

+ a brazillion! nt tblue37 Sep 2015 #53

Please stop. LiberalAndProud Sep 2015 #25

Please don't use the word "unsavory". It rhymes with "fun slavery", so is best avoided. Nye Bevan Sep 2015 #29

... romanic Sep 2015 #60

Oh dear. I imagine that's next on the list of no no's. grossproffit Sep 2015 #91

Thank you. Blue_In_AK Sep 2015 #106

That doesn't sound right LittleBlue Sep 2015 #27

Doesn't the "peanut gallery" refer to cheap seats? Even in parts of the country with very few pnwmom Sep 2015 #31

First learned about the 'peanut gallery' from "The Howdy Doody Show"' mia Sep 2015 #40

Yeah, Howdy was Grand Dragon of the Buffalo Klan ProudToBeBlueInRhody Sep 2015 #90

The preferred term is "Bison Klan," you brute. Orrex Sep 2015 #116

'Jimmies' is racist also Heeeeers Johnny Sep 2015 #41

But if you call them "sprinkles," someone will think you intend a reference to tblue37 Sep 2015 #55

Nice post, Annie! KamaAina Sep 2015 #67

I suppose you think all blacks and whites know these are racist terms lunatica Sep 2015 #43

That's precisely the point. Hardly anyone does. KamaAina Sep 2015 #44

That's not the consensus on "peanut gallery." DirkGently Sep 2015 #48

I always thought "peanut gallery" was a group of kids smirkymonkey Sep 2015 #86

I've heard it as synonymous for "from the cheap seats." DirkGently Sep 2015 #87

It was on Howdy Doody!. . .n/t annabanana Sep 2015 #97

I have heard of some of these as being racist LiberalElite Sep 2015 #49

Baby Boomers learned "the Peanut Gallery" from the show "Pinky Lee." NPR can just get over it. WinkyDink Sep 2015 #50

NPR only called out the ice cream truck jingle. KamaAina Sep 2015 #68

Most of those are wrong Warpy Sep 2015 #59

When I hear the term "peanut gallery" I think of the Howdy Doody Show. WillowTree Sep 2015 #63

I don't want to comment on this thread tularetom Sep 2015 #71

Well said. If you look hard 840high Sep 2015 #79

Peanuts, peanuts. 840high Sep 2015 #77

I think some of those examples are not terribly accurate. MADem Sep 2015 #80

Badly written and researched. kiva Sep 2015 #88

They also left room for the "neener neener neener, you're a bad person if you use this" scold. ProudToBeBlueInRhody Sep 2015 #89

If people don't know what it originally meant treestar Sep 2015 #92

I think it's enlightening to learn the etimology of these phrases. Quantess Sep 2015 #98

Accurate etymology, not the fake kind. DavidDvorkin Sep 2015 #100

Then there is Saturday Night Special which gained rather recent currency... Eleanors38 Sep 2015 #99

racist imagery was used in advertising...someone please "parse" that noiretextatique Sep 2015 #101

Howdy Doody circa 1940 1950s Major Nikon Sep 2015 #103

I didn't know that d_r Sep 2015 #105

And "welshing" on a bet. KamaAina Sep 2015 #108

Some of those are just painfully fucking stupid, sorry. Spider Jerusalem Sep 2015 #110

Thanks to the DU posters who pointed out errors and fallacies in the article! raccoon Sep 2015 #111

More BS in that link than a little. GoneOffShore Sep 2015 #114

It's sad that ignorance (and fantasy etymology) is so much stronger than knowledge. Romulox Sep 2015 #115

(sigh) The Root usually has good stuff about race. KamaAina Sep 2015 #117