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My boss used a racial slur in rapid succession yesterday.

Deleted member 27246

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Oct 30, 2017
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tsampikos said:
Im shocked there is any other context.

Like... Im so aghast I do not believe you or anyone else who says that if they are familiar with the phrase.

Is this thread a social experiment?
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I never heard of the term, but I am not American.
Reading the wikipedia entry on it, I am convinced it wasn't racist in origin. It seems to be a common thing in South American, West African and Native American fairytales/stories. However if you look at the word itself, it is easy to imagine it being taken and altered into a racial slur.
If the boss lady of the op had just talked about that fairytale, I would have given her the benefit of the doubt...however considering she was talking about 'Too PC' I am pretty sure she was indeed aware of the fact that Tar baby can be used as a racial slur.
 
tsampikos

tsampikos

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Oct 27, 2017
2,613
Tence said:
I never heard of the term, but I am not American.
Reading the wikipedia entry on it, I am convinced it wasn't racist in origin. It seems to be a common thing in South American, West African and Native American fairytales/stories. However if you look at the word itself, it is easy to imagine it being taken and altered into a racial slur.
If the boss lady of the op had just talked about that fairytale, I would have given her the benefit of the doubt...however considering she was talking about 'Too PC' I am pretty sure she was indeed aware of the fact that Tar baby can be used as a racial slur.
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Origin doesnt matter.

It wasnt used to celebrate african culture. Not here.

It was used as a polite way to call a kid the n word. That was the intent.
 
Jessie

Jessie

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Oct 27, 2017
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BossAttack said:
"So, I saw Django Unchained the other day and really enjoyed, but the way they say nigger every single second can be a bit grating. Every line is nigger this, nigger that, nigger, nigger, nigger."

Hey, why is everyone looking at me like that? I'm just using the word in the context of the movie...
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Torpedo Vegas

Torpedo Vegas

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Parts Unknown.
I haven't seen this in in 30 years, but If I remember correctly the story was about how the Rabbit which I'm pretty sure is supposed to be a white guy assaults a black person made from tar because it didn't speak to him, because how dare that black person think he was better than the rabbit.

That is super racist.
 
hydrophilic attack

hydrophilic attack

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Oct 25, 2017
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DigitalOp said:
Context changes over time too.

I'm sure you and I and our hypothetical kids wouldnt appreciate being called Tar Babys
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i don't think anyone would

but from what OP has told us so far, his boss was talking about the movie and the br'er rabbit part of it

so it is possible the boss only used the word in this less problematic context

(probably not though, given the rant about political correctness)
 
litebrite

litebrite

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Oct 27, 2017
21,832
DigitalOp said:
Context changes over time too.

I'm sure you and I and our hypothetical kids wouldnt appreciate being called Tar Babys
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Of course because now the context changed to a racial slur. However if somebody is talking about Br'er Rabbit and speaking about Tar Baby then I wouldn't gdt offended because it's an actual character with no racist connotations from an African American folk tale.
 
BossAttack

BossAttack

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Oct 27, 2017
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litebrite said:
It is not the same, because everybody knows how explosive saying the N bomb can be, no matter the context.
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Tar Baby is just as explosive, bud.

Or do we also need to specify that porch monkey, spear chucker, monkey, ape, and the million other racist slang used to denigrate black are not okay, no matter the context?
 
litebrite

litebrite

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Oct 27, 2017
21,832
BossAttack said:
Tar Baby is just as explosive, bud.
Or do we also need to specify that porch monkey, spear chucker, monkey, ape, and the million other racist slang used to denigrate black are not okay, no matter the context?
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Tar Baby in the context of Br'er Rabbit isn't racist, unless you're just being triggered by words regardless of it's context.
 
UltimateHigh

UltimateHigh

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Oct 25, 2017
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It kind of blows my mind the racial terms so many people seem unfamiliar with.

But then again, I grew up in rural america, so I've heard it all at some point.

(only used in a racist context too, and I bet his boss is aware of that, considering her "world is too PC" garbage)
 
Lundren

Lundren

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Oct 27, 2017
1,745
I find it funny how minorities have to write up a dissertation about why and how something is racist, while white people can just say, "oh I dunno, I never heard it."
 
CrankyJay

CrankyJay

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Oct 25, 2017
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It sounds like the OPs boss doesn't realize this is an offensive term and was speaking about it solely in the context of the story.
 
BossAttack

BossAttack

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litebrite said:
Tar Baby in the context of Br'er Rabbit isn't racist, unless you're just being triggered by words regardless of it's context.
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The context of the OP's conversation was an individual loving a movie and not getting why everyone is so "PC" by the term while continuously saying Tar Baby as much as they could.
 
Yoshi

Yoshi

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Oct 27, 2017
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DigitalOp said:
The name itself in a racial slur he ce why they won't rerelease the film. That's semantics
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I do not know the movie (obviously, it is not being released anymore), but from the thread here it appears to be the name of the character, which of course is inherently problematic if "tar baby" is a racial slur (which I do not want to contest, it's the first time I heard the term), but when explaining the story, using the name of the character can include the usage of the phrase "tar baby" without that usage being racist in itself, though? To evaluate this, it would of course be good to know if this is actually the name of the character in the movie and what the co worker said, specifically.
 
OP
OP
Spork4000

Spork4000

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Oct 27, 2017
8,488
BossAttack said:
The context of the OP's conversation was an individual loving a movie and not getting why everyone is so "PC" by the term while continuously saying Tar Baby as much as they could.
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This, it would be one thing to just mention the character and then I'd go...uhhhh watch that one, but they just kept coming in so quickly I couldn't get a word in. I really doubt she was ignorant if the fact and wanted to see how many she could get in.
 
MisterR

MisterR

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Oct 27, 2017
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OP, my advice would be to move on. HR isn't going to do anything about somebody talking about a character in a movie and it could well backfire on you.
 
CrankyJay

CrankyJay

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Oct 25, 2017
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UltimateHigh said:
If she's cranking on about political correctness and why it's not been rereleased, then she's aware.
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Spork4000 said:
This, it would be one thing to just mention the character and then I'd go...uhhhh watch that one, but they just kept coming in so quickly I couldn't get a word in. I really doubt she was ignorant if the fact and wanted to see how many she could get in.
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Alright, missed that part. Fuck her, then.

Coffee hasn't kicked in yet. =/
 
litebrite

litebrite

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Oct 27, 2017
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Spork4000 said:
This, it would be one thing to just mention the character and then I'd go...uhhhh watch that one, but they just kept coming in so quickly I couldn't get a word in. I really doubt she was ignorant if the fact and wanted to see how many she could get in.
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She was definitely getting her rocks off by saying it, but I think it's going to be iffy ground to stand on if you report her.
 
Van Bur3n

Van Bur3n

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Oct 27, 2017
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How in the world can one like Song of the South. Of all of the Disney movies you could be fond of. It's explicitly racist.

But yeah, OP. I'd probably just forget about it. Whatever you do, I don't think it's going to be in your favor.
 
Yoshi

Yoshi

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Oct 27, 2017
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BossAttack said:
Tar Baby is just as explosive, bud.

Or do we also need to specify that porch monkey, spear chucker, monkey, ape, and the million other racist slang used to denigrate black are not okay, no matter the context?
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Monkey and ape are words that can be used totally fine if you talk about monkeys and apes though. They only become racist if applied to humans. Similarly, if this character is a baby made from tar whose name is tar baby, the usage in that particular context (and probably only that one) could be justified.
 
BossAttack

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litebrite said:
not getting why everyone is so "PC" by why the film won't be rereleased.
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In other words, everyone says this film is racist as fuck, but I like it so I don't get what the big deal is so let me repeat a racist term fron the movie 30 times, a word that I have no idea is racist even though I keep repeating it over and over whilst stating I don't understand why everyone is so "PC" about the film.

Nigga...
 
iapetus

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Oct 26, 2017
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Here's the thing. The story isn't racist, and has roots that make it pretty much impossible that it is.

Our interpretations of it, though?

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blinky

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Oct 27, 2017
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BossAttack said:
Tar Baby is just as explosive, bud.

Or do we also need to specify that porch monkey, spear chucker, monkey, ape, and the million other racist slang used to denigrate black are not okay, no matter the context?
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"Monkey" isn't a racial slur if you're using the term to refer to an actual monkey. If you're referring to a black person as a monkey, then yeah of course it's racist.

"Tar baby" is similar. Obviously it's racist to call a black person by that term, but there's nothing wrong with it in the context of folklore.
 
Ponn

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DigitalOp said:
The name itself in a racial slur he ce why they won't rerelease the film. That's semantics
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Well that, and the whole Uncle Remus being a worker on a plantation telling stories to the white owners kid thing. But hey the OPs boss thinks it's cool.
 
litebrite

litebrite

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Oct 27, 2017
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BossAttack said:
In other words, everyone says this film is racist as fuck, but I like it so I don't get what the big deal is so let me repeat a racist term fron the movie 30 times, a word that I have no idea is racist even though I keep repeating it over and over whilst stating I don't understand why everyone is so "PC" about the film.

Nigga...
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LOL

The term in the film isn't racist though. It's like the one context White people can say it freely and it make sense and not be racist. Their boss was definitely milking it. LOL
 
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Dead Guy

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Oct 25, 2017
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Isn't it the name of the actual character in the movie though? Was she just using it to reference the character?

I've literally never heard tar-baby used in a conversation before. No idea it could be seen as a racial slur.
 
ShyMel

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Oct 31, 2017
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Out of all the Disney movies to mention, your supervisor picks Song of the South? And complains about people being too PC as well?
 
Bjomesphat

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Van Bur3n said:
How in the world can one like Song of the South. Of all of the Disney movies you could be fond of. It's explicitly racist.

But yeah, OP. I'd probably just forget about it. Whatever you do, I don't think it's going to be in your favor.
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A lot of people that grew up in the 70s and 80s have nostalgia for the film as it was re-released a few times to modest success.

It also has great cinematography and animation.
 
DigitalOp

DigitalOp

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Nov 16, 2017
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litebrite said:
LOL

The term in the film isn't racist though. It's like the one context White people can say it freely and it make sense and not be racist. Their boss was definitely milking it. LOL
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That's what people are arguing tho.

If she's getting rocks off an milking it, she's pretty aware what she's using it for.

Is there enough to actually report her in this story? Maybe not.

Is she to be put on bigotry watch by the OP? Def yes.
 
BocoDragon

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Oct 26, 2017
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Using this word in the context of a discussion of Song of the South could be perfectly acceptable. It's a seminal film that has historical value and millions of people grew up with it. Even complaining about PC culture isn't necessarily a racist flag... I think a lot of us would have similar concerns about people who try to get Huck Finn banned from libraries and schools because it has that word in it. Maybe this person isn't good at articulating this pushback without invoking "PC" which is a culture war flag to us.

You'd know igorant racism if you heard it, though. I'll trust the OP that their warning signs went off and this was no film school discussion.
 
NeonBlack

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Oct 25, 2017
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It name of the character and the story, right? I just watch a clipped and it was a trap made by the two antagonist.

I don't think that's enough for HR.
 
L Thammy

L Thammy

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As far as I was aware, the use of "tar baby" to refer to a situation is referring to a baby covered in tar, so that when you try to clean them you also get covered in tar and the mess gets bigger. It could be that it was a benign term that's been conflated with other terms over time.

That said, if your boss was going on about political correctness when using the word, then she obviously doesn't think there's anything innocent about it when she uses it.
 
Jecht

Jecht

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Oct 25, 2017
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Custard said:
Isn't recording people at work illegal?
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Workplaces are considered public spaces, there is no expectation of privacy, and if the person recording is participating in the conversion than in most states it is legal because of that as well.

However if you are recording for purposes of exposing discrimination in the workplace then the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has determined that it is legal no matter what in most cases. This instance would meet all three of these criteria I would think.
 
Baji Boxer

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tsampikos said:
Im shocked there is any other context.

Like... Im so aghast I do not believe you or anyone else who says that if they are familiar with the phrase.

Is this thread a social experiment?
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Same. I don't know if it's because I'm old and younger generations are just ignorant of that particular term or what. It was already old when I was a kid in the 80's.

ephemera.tarbaby.013.jpg


I mean, while it predates me, that is the sort of shit I was familiar with when it came to that term. Googling, it seems Wikipedia and other sources have a very sanitized explanation of the term's racist uses and imagery.
 
Brian Crecente

Brian Crecente

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It's amazing how racist some old cartoons are. Equally amazing, how they weren't (at least publicly) considered racist at the time and shown to kids. I grew up watching some of this sort of stuff without having any idea. Shows and movies like Song of the South, Heckle and Jeckle, Popeye, Dumbo, Jungle Book, some Loony Tunes. The key, though, is that most people these days get that yes, this was some super racists shit. There's a reason Disney buried Song of the South. And it was a good one.
 
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