On the other hand, McCain's new comment (using the term "tar baby" -- which Romney also used a little while ago: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070316/ap_on_el_pr/on_the2008_trail;_ylt=AuXpsWUi5hazAyimgoIPTbcXr7sF ) on top of his earlier "gook" stuff, isn't so great
Arash:
I agree on strongly condemning people for using terms like "gook" where the meaning is uncontroversial, or the potentially more nebulous "macaca" (no alternative interpretation is convincing), but is it really worthwhile to go after those who use "tar baby" when the context is pretty clearly limited to just describing a sticky situation? I think it only ends up making leftists look foolishly dogmatic and only addresses race in a tangential, rather inane way. The word "tar baby" has a well established history of usage as meaning only, metaphorically barrowing from the Br'er Rabbit tale, a situation that becomes increasingly difficult to extricate yourself from the more you engage it.
I think it is completely sensible to avoid terms like "tar baby" or "niggardly," over which there was a similar controversy a few years back, because their infrequent usage obscures their conventional meaning and as such makes their suggestive linguistic forms easy targets for reanalyzation or appropriation as racial epithets. However, I think it is pretty ridiculous to interpret the use of these terms by people as indicating closet racism when the intended non-racist meaning is clearly discernable. McCain is making a straightforward reference to a sticky situation in his comment, "For me to stand here before all these people and say I'm going to declare divorces invalid because someone feels they weren't treated fairly in court, we are getting into a *tar baby* of enormous proportions."
To me, equating this usage with his reference to "gooks" devalues the seriousness of this far more reprehensible remark.
I think this column gives a thoughtful treatment to the issue, for anyone interested.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2006/06/25/tarred_with_the_same_brush/