Since this is also on the topic of the "tar baby" here is a long post exploring the definition of the word and the use from the thread above that might not go to the front page since it is closely on topic (although I think its a better article than this one).

Deveyn
And this term is racist how?

Ok well lets go to the definitions to see if its racist.

From webster.com, http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/tar%20baby:

"tar baby
One entry found for tar baby.


Main Entry: tar baby
Function: noun
Etymology: from the tar baby that trapped Brer Rabbit in an Uncle Remus story by Joel Chandler Harris
: something from which it is nearly impossible to extricate oneself"


This is the wikipedia definition, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar_baby:

"A tar baby was originally a character from African folklore; in the Uncle Remus stories, it is a doll made out of tar. From that usage, it has gained the metaphoric meaning of a "sticky situation"[1], that is, one whose resolution is only aggravated by efforts to solve it.

Over the years, however, that term has also acquired a negative connotation as a derogatory term for black people (such as African Americans in the United States or Maoris in New Zealand), or to an especially dark skinned black person by other lighter skinned black persons.[1]"


This definition is from the urbandictionary.com (most definitions there have the above definition except for this one), http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tar+baby:

"2. tar baby 130 up, 94 down

Tar baby is a synonym for attractive and successful African-American, except that it is only used in bigoted manners, whereas attractive and successful African-American can be a sign of respect, if the speaker is also African American.

It comes from a children's story in which the dark skin and seeming ignorance (caused by a lack of schooling) of slaves were explained by the idea that black children were baptised in tar, which made them dark and dumb.

see attractive and successful African-American

Biff: Let's beat the sh*t out of that tar baby.
Tad: Shall we?"


Looking at the various definitions, it appears that this was a benign statement that some twisted into a racial slur. Some people use it as its formal definition of a sticky situation that you can't get out of, that others with the racial slur definition find offensive. Honestly I didn't even connect the term to a racial slur until I saw some of these definitions.

Lets use the smell test to see if there is offense. When discussing the Big Dig, was Mitt Romney saying it was African American's fault that the tunnel is collapsing? Of course not, he was saying the Big Dig situation is a mess and it will be difficult to find a solution. When Tony Snow was refusing to discuss the surveillance measures used by the White House, was he doing so because African Americans had screwed it up or was it because the topic was very complicated and messy? When John Kerry used the term to describe Iran, was it because he was commenting on African Americans or that foreign policy was difficult.

Jeez people need to grow up and realize that just because you may find offense in a term, doesn't mean that is what the term is being used to say or that is the only way to understand the word. It's just like the term "handsome nubian" (if you get my meaning), it can be used as a term of friendship, respect, or if used another way be a hateful term. Do we ban the use of "handsome nubian" by all individuals since some understand the word as hateful? No, you selectively interpret the meaning based on the topic of discussion when the word is used. Why can't the same be done for the term "tar baby?"

whidbey

You wasted that entire post defending an offensive racist epithet.
Congratulations.

Thank you for missing the point of my post, or maybe you are just trolling. The point is the phrase "tar baby" isn't an offensive racist epithet to the vast majority of individuals whether they be white, black, or green. It is a term describing a sticky situation, and had no racial component when it was used like in the article to describe a topic, not an individual or racial group. How can you be offended by the proper use of a term? Language is powerful, but if a handful of people has a warped view of the meanning of a word, we should have to avoid using it?

Given this dual standard, I propose we eliminate the word Cracker since it is both a racial slur as well as a tasty flat bread object.

Are there any more duel use words we need to eliminate from the english language to avoid offense?