small brush shouldn't fuck with big timber

Death's Door, the view from the Spanish announcers table: <strong>This is an e-mail I received from a long-time reader</strong>

Wednesday, January 21

This is an e-mail I received from a long-time reader

Did you know I now read the news and think, "I wonder what Death would
think about this?" Case in point, the article is about a trial in which two women from KC are suing a flight attendant for using the phrase "eenie, meenie, minnie, moe" saying it was a racial slur. I said the rhyme when I was a kid and so did my boys. I never knew there was a racial version; we followed it by "catch a tiger by the toe". I'd be curious to hear what you think. I always respect your opinions.
Is that rhyme offensive to you?
Thanks
Venus


What Venus is referring too is an incident that happened in 2001 during a flight on Southwest Airlines. Two sisters from suburban Kansas City, who happened to be black, were heading home from a Las Vegas vacation when the incident took place. As passengers were boarding the plane and looking for seats, a Southwest flight attendant made the following comment over the intercom: "Eenie, meenie, minnie moe; pick a seat, we gotta go." The two sisters contend that the attendant's remark struck them as a reference to a well-known racist version of the rhyme, in which the first line is followed by these words: "Catch a nigger by the toe." The two women went on to sue Southwest Airlines in U.S. District Court at Kansas City, Kan., claming they were discriminated against and suffered physical and emotional distress.

Ok, on this I have to call bullshit. Over the years I’ve heard both versions of the rhyme spoken by both blacks and whites. And I’ve heard the Italian version, the Mexican version, and even a Chinese version. And to tell you the truth, it’s a pretty rare thing nowadays to hear a racial version of that rhyme. Cause unless your ass is up near middle age, or your fuckin pa’s in the goddamn Klan, I doubt you’ve ever even heard the racist version. And further more, I’ve also heard “bah, bah, black sheep, have you any wool”? Songs by the Black Crows, and Black Betty by Arrowsmith, and I don’t consider none of that racist. So what I’m sayin is, that when it comes to racism in all its various forms, I’m the first one to cry foul when I see it. But having the fuckin flight attendant, who most likely is too young to have ever heard the rhyme abused in such a way, yell it out to get people to sit the fuck down instead of screaming, “hey, find a fuckin seat assholes”, doesn’t strike me as overtly racist. And for the two black women to think so and claim that they were racially discriminated against is quite a reach. Plus I find it difficult to believe that any black man or woman, would let themselves get caught in such a manner. By the toe indeed.

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