Snow’s poor choice of words

May 17, 2006

Several reporters praised [tag]Tony Snow[/tag]’s first [tag]White House[/tag] press briefing, but there was one comment that might need some clarification.

A reporter asked [tag]Snow[/tag] about why the White House was reluctant to talk about the NSA’s phone-record database program. Snow said:

“I don’t want to hug the [tag]tar baby[/tag] of trying to comment on the program — the alleged program — the existence of which I can neither confirm nor deny.”

Now, the reporters in the room seemed unfazed. There were no gasps or immediate follow-up questions. But as the New York Times noted today, the “tar baby” phrase “carries vague [tag]racist[/tag] connotations,” and has been used as derogatory term for [tag]African Americans[/tag]. The NYT added, “most politicians and TV commentators prefer to avoid tar baby references.”

As a rule, that seems like a good idea. Think Progress summarized the issue nicely in “memo” to Snow.

Based on the context of the term, we believe you meant tar baby to mean: “a situation almost impossible to get out of; a problem virtually unsolvable.”

But in “American lore,” the expression tar baby is also a racial slur “used occasionally as a derogatory term for black people.” Use of the term has resulted in people being [tag]fired[/tag].

As Random House notes, “some people suggest avoiding the use of the term in any context.” Now that you are no longer at Fox News, you may want to take them up on their advice.

Given the context, I suspect Snow did not have malicious intentions, but it was certainly a poor choice of words. Will the flap linger? Will Snow face pressure to “clarify” his remarks? It seems unlikely — most reporters seem impressed with yesterday’s briefing — but the honeymoon could end rather quickly.

“Now that you are no longer at Fox News….”

That in itself is a revelation. Is there some kind of boundary between the White House and Fox News?

  • I agree with the “sticky” definition. Though, my point of reference is the Disney movie “Song of the South.”

  • Um, yeah. Apparently Snow was a very good pick for this job. He seems to fit right in. He’s going to start off splitting hairs. I can’t wait to see what’s next.

    Snow: “The governments policy of deploying National Guard troops on the border. This week, US Boarder Patrol Agents with support from the National Guard apprehended and deported 47 wetbacks sneaking into this country to steal our jobs and give birth to anchor babies.”

    Gaggle: “Did you say 47?”

    Snow: “Correct. 47 wetbacks.”

    Later that day….

    Gaggle: “You referenced wetbacks in this morning’s briefing. Were you aware some people consider that tern to be derogatory towards Mexican Americans?”

    Snow: “I was referring to the condition of the illegals apprehended. Since they had been crossing the Rio Grande River their backs were in fact wet when they were caught. I did not mean to insult the wetbacks. In fact, the President, Vice-President and me had dinner at Chi-Chi’s last night. We really like their free chips and salsa.”

    Gaggle: “Oh, my bad.”

  • Poor Tony, screwed up on his first day.

    You know, I just can’t think of any way to actually write about this issue. Since it is used as a derogatory term, I suppose it should be avoided, but Tony was using it ‘correctly’, meaning an entangling sticky situation. I suppose it could be the next attempt to fight against political correctness and bring back the ‘proper’ use of the term.

    Or maybe Snow just wanted to show he had read Joel Chandler Harris.

  • Scotty McNumbnuts never would have used “tar baby,” even if it applied to the many horrible and sticky situations the Sadministration found itself in while Scotty was there. Although, the “Tar-baby” Administration really does describe the one currently in power.

  • Nah. Because anyone, any country, or anything who/that comes in contact with it gets stuck. Politically, just look at Anzar, Berlusconi, Blair. Look at the “progress” of our policies in Iraq. Afghanistan and elsewhere. Then there is the long list of corrupted politicians and people…

  • Ok, I am no fan of the administration or any of it’s various mouthpieces (or other orifices), but I think this is an example of being a bit overly pc. Context is important and he clearly didn’t mean any racial slur by it. It’s a kind of censorship if you can’t use a word meaning one thing if it has other vague connotations for fear of being prosecuted somehow. It’s related to all those folks who’ve been punished, fired, or had to apologize for using the word “niggardly”.

  • he gets a pass, but only one. (interesting that he had to use his ‘get out of jail’ card his second day on the job.) next time the tar will be used for his feathering.

  • We all know what Snow meant, and there was no racist intent or context going on there, but you would think any seasoned journalist and TV personality would, in effect, have scrubbed that phrase from their vocabulary…

    It might just be because I first heard the phrase tarbaby in its derogatory context, but I always find it jarring when I heard it used like this.

    Good. His blood is already in the water as far as I’m concerned…

  • oh, and, fwiw, the correct historical usage is to ‘punch’ a tarbaby. clearly snow is sensitive enough to the racial aspect of the term to therefor change it to ‘hug’ the thing.

    signed,

    BA, English

  • I don’t have a problem with using that term, especially since Snow used it properly. Thinking of that as a racist comment just demonstrates a lack of knowledge, not a progressive soul.

    There’s plenty to attack Snow and the Bush administration on.

    They’re illegally tapping our phones, accessing our calling records, kidnapping people to torture them, straining our National Guard to the point where they can’t protect the country, destroying our environment, giving away tax dollars to corporations with nothing in return, and we are worried that Tony Snow properly used an American literary term that could be misinterpreted by the ignorant.

  • Snowflake took this job with the Kid George administration of his own free will. In this, he literally HAS hugged the tarbaby.

    Oh, and by the way—we have a copy of the Disney feature here at home. My son’s own words: “I wish more people were like Uncle Remus.”

    My son’s eight years old, by the way….

  • I think this is just a case of Tony using an expression that he doesn;t realize is considered mostly derogatory, probably because most Republicans like him are stuck in 1956.

    Now Babs’ comment about Katrina evacuees at the Astrodome:

    “What I’m hearing which is sort of scary is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this–this (she chuckles slightly) is working very well for them.”

    THAT”S derogatory

  • “I don’t want to hug the tar baby of trying to comment on the program — the alleged program — the existence of which I can neither confirm nor deny.”

    I’ve never been on board the pc train, so I won’t even comment on it. But what really bothers me about what he said is that our government won’t confirm or deny the existence of the program. The shroud of secrecy surrounding the Bush administration, all under the guise of national security, is absolutely chilling, and for the most part, we are acquiescing all too readily. It’s our government. We have a right to know, even a duty to determine, what the hell they are doing. We can ‘t trust them. We’ve learned that over and over again with this gang of lying, corrupt thugs.

  • Took this and expanded on it at my place…

    “It also makes me question the mindset of a person who would use the phrase. Clearly Snow is technically correct in his usage, but when experienced speakers like Snow choose to use a touchy phrase like that, there is a reason—even if subconscious—in my opinion. Especially when you consider he’s fresh from FOX. This usage strikes me as a deliberate use of a politically incorrect phrase in a situation where the speaker can then defend himself for being correct, innocent, and beyond reproach, while accusing his attackers of being “overly politcally correct.” It’s not really about race, it’s about scoring points on “sensitive” liberals and others that will be tweaked by this. Limbaugh has made a nice living doing exactly this.

    Unless you are telling the story of Brer Rabbit, one should avoid “hugging the tar baby” of hugging the tar baby, but no tough FOX manly-man is going to follow those rules… Can’t you just picture Hannity or O’Reilly getting all indignant and try to project over something like this? “I used the term correctly. Maybe you have a problem and that’s why you heard it a different way…”

    Problem is, Snow doesn’t work at FOX anymore.”

  • Let’s not make a mountain out of this. Since there is nothing about the context that suggests Snow means to be offensive, isn’t the correct thing to point out to him (as TP has done) that the phrase has a racist connotation and maybe he shouldn’t use it, and then move on?

  • Agreed, short fuse, but it’s worth asking WHY Snow used it.

    I actually think it was an honest mistake on his part to use it in this setting, but it is interesting to think about why this phrase EVER gets used when there are plenty of other analogies handy…

  • I saw Song Of The South as a child, and I’m having trouble finding a reason to complain about the tar baby reference, though it’s mildly interesting.

    What I observe is that Bush might have finally found someone who can handle the press with some actual tact. Simply the way he refused to answer questions is a lot better. I know that Ari Fleisher or Scott McClellan would have handled that question (the one that got the tar baby response) a lot worse.

    But of course this is just a first impression. Snow has a lot of tough questions ahead of him, and constantly dodging them, no matter how colorfully or defusingly, will eventually wear on the press that is asking them.

  • C’mon, I’m no fan of Tony’s, but Brer Rabbit is Southern folklore (actually, it even pre-dates Disney) and, like all good fables, it teaches lessons that are still relevant to modern life. Just like “Don’t Throw Me Into That Briarpatch” is the perfect illlustration of reverse psychology, The Tar Baby is a great, easily understood symbol of a surprisingly sticky, difficult situation one should best avoid. Just because tar is black doesn’t make it a racist comment and, just because pc people want it to be, that literate people should allow that to happen. Tar as a metaphor for sticky situations has nothing to do with black people any more than getting coal in your stocking does. What next–the Goose That Laid The Golden Egg (gee, that sounds kinky with all that goosing and laying), the Fox in the Henhouse (is that some kind of biased media slur? And why just hens and no roosters? hmmmm), Three Blind Mice (shouldn’t we be calling them visually challenged?), Letting the Camel’s Nose Under the Tent (call the Arab defamation league!). Guess resolving this issue is kind of a Mexican stand-off at this point (no offense to hispanics meant, really). This is just silly.

  • I’ve lived in the south my entire life. I’ve heard the term “tarbaby” used in the same situations as other Americans. I’ve never used it as a racial epithet, and never heard it used in any way that could be construed as a racial epithet. That some people consider it so is news to me.

    I’m also a liberal, and I think liberals need to stop fretting about things that seem “vaguely racist.”

  • I recall coming across a reference to “touching pitch” in one of Trollope’s Barsetshire novels. The meaning was the same–something you can’t contact and avoid getting sullied. If I recall, the character in question had to decide whether or not to expose an embarassing fact about a rival; to do so(to touch pitch), however, would inevitibly have self-damaging consequences. In other words, don’t sink to that level. I suspect that this sense actually pre-dates the possible racial connotations of the “tar-baby” story.

    In any case, no matter how contemptible Snow is, he seems innocent in this case.

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