Is this racist?
 

I'm driving behind a white GMC Jimmy SUV and it has exactly one bumper
sticker on it that says, "I hunt black and tans". I'm looking at this
with my mouth open thinking they MUST be talking about dogs, they
can't really be talking about lynching, can they? I look closer to see if
there's a tiny "with" in there. Nope, but there's a silhouette which I
finally figure out (at a stop light when I can study it) is a dog barking
up a tree trunk.

I told my husband how scandalized I was by the poor taste of this bumper
sticker. He said that he didn't take it that way and he couldn't imagine
that the people who put that bumper sticker up thought that way. I said
that the double entendre was the whole POINT of putting up that bumper
sticker. He said I was off my rocker and way too cynical.

Opinions? Am I just nuts to think anyone would be that horrid? I *do*
tend to be cynical (and that's a trait my husband deplores.) I'm also
putting together a study unit on the Restoration of the American South
through to the Civil Rights movement, so racism is on my mind.

Wendy, see red

Is this racist?
 

x-no-archive:yes

I think you are seeing things that aren't there. Black and tans can
refer to a couple of different things and people aren't one of them
that springs to mind.

Wendy Marsden wrote:

I'm driving behind a white GMC Jimmy SUV and it has exactly one bumper
sticker on it that says, "I hunt black and tans". I'm looking at this
with my mouth open thinking they MUST be talking about dogs, they
can't really be talking about lynching, can they? I look closer to see if
there's a tiny "with" in there. Nope, but there's a silhouette which I
finally figure out (at a stop light when I can study it) is a dog barking
up a tree trunk.

I told my husband how scandalized I was by the poor taste of this bumper
sticker. He said that he didn't take it that way and he couldn't imagine
that the people who put that bumper sticker up thought that way. I said
that the double entendre was the whole POINT of putting up that bumper
sticker. He said I was off my rocker and way too cynical.

Opinions? Am I just nuts to think anyone would be that horrid? I *do*
tend to be cynical (and that's a trait my husband deplores.) I'm also
putting together a study unit on the Restoration of the American South
through to the Civil Rights movement, so racism is on my mind.

Wendy, see red

grandma Rosalie

Is this racist?
 

No. Black and Tans are coonhounds, they hunt raccoons by chasing them up
trees. Stating "I hunt Black and Tans" is like stating "I show Poodles".



"Wendy Marsden" wrote in message
...
I'm driving behind a white GMC Jimmy SUV and it has exactly one bumper
sticker on it that says, "I hunt black and tans". I'm looking at this
with my mouth open thinking they MUST be talking about dogs, they
can't really be talking about lynching, can they? I look closer to see if
there's a tiny "with" in there. Nope, but there's a silhouette which I
finally figure out (at a stop light when I can study it) is a dog barking
up a tree trunk.

I told my husband how scandalized I was by the poor taste of this bumper
sticker. He said that he didn't take it that way and he couldn't imagine
that the people who put that bumper sticker up thought that way. I said
that the double entendre was the whole POINT of putting up that bumper
sticker. He said I was off my rocker and way too cynical.

Opinions? Am I just nuts to think anyone would be that horrid? I *do*
tend to be cynical (and that's a trait my husband deplores.) I'm also
putting together a study unit on the Restoration of the American South
through to the Civil Rights movement, so racism is on my mind.

Wendy, see red

Is this racist?
 

Wendy Marsden wrote:

I'm driving behind a white GMC Jimmy SUV and it has exactly one bumper
sticker on it that says, "I hunt black and tans". I'm looking at this
with my mouth open thinking they MUST be talking about dogs, they
can't really be talking about lynching, can they?

I'd do a double-take myself, so I don't blame you at all for being
sensitive about it. But, your interpretation would likely only be
correct if it said "blacks" instead of "black", semantically speaking.
I'm not sure what "black and tans" are, though.


P.
Tierney

Is this racist?
 

On Sat, 9 Aug 2003, P. Tierney wrote:



Wendy Marsden wrote:

I'm driving behind a white GMC Jimmy SUV and it has exactly one bumper
sticker on it that says, "I hunt black and tans". I'm looking at this
with my mouth open thinking they MUST be talking about dogs, they
can't really be talking about lynching, can they?

I'd do a double-take myself, so I don't blame you at all for being
sensitive about it. But, your interpretation would likely only be
correct if it said "blacks" instead of "black", semantically speaking.
I'm not sure what "black and tans" are, though.



My dad had a black and tan. It's a coon hound

That said, I'm not so sure such a bumper sticker isn't meant to
have more than one meaning.

Is this racist?
 

On Sat, 09 Aug 2003 03:03:19 GMT, Wendy Marsden
wrote:

I'm driving behind a white GMC Jimmy SUV and it has exactly one bumper
sticker on it that says, "I hunt black and tans". I'm looking at this
with my mouth open thinking they MUST be talking about dogs, they
can't really be talking about lynching, can they? I look closer to see if
there's a tiny "with" in there. Nope, but there's a silhouette which I
finally figure out (at a stop light when I can study it) is a dog barking
up a tree trunk.

A black and tan is a dog (usualoly used for hunting, but the
description of my beagle colors are black and tan(

Barb

Is this racist?
 

"sacred pnats" wrote:

Opinion: you need to get out more.

I'm not the OP, but I've lived a pretty broad and varied life without
knowing anything about hunting dogs. And I'll continue to do so without
learning anything *else* about hunting dogs, thank you. ;-)



P.
Tierney

Is this racist?
 

"Barbara Bomberger" wrote

A black and tan is a dog (usualoly used for hunting, but the
description of my beagle colors are black and tan(


Heh. In my world a "Black and tan" is either a drink (half Guinness and
half ale) or a British soldier from the period of the Irish War of
Independence (1919-1921).

Jean


--
"And he said:
Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of
Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, and
though they are with you, yet they belong not to you." Khalil Gibran

Return address is unread. Replies to firstnamelastname @eircom.net.

Is this racist?
 

Wendy Marsden wrote in
:

I'm driving behind a white GMC Jimmy SUV and it has exactly one bumper
sticker on it that says, "I hunt black and tans". I'm looking at this
with my mouth open thinking they MUST be talking about dogs, they
can't really be talking about lynching, can they? I look closer to
see if there's a tiny "with" in there. Nope, but there's a silhouette
which I finally figure out (at a stop light when I can study it) is a
dog barking up a tree trunk.

well, i can see how a nonhunter or non-dogperson might read it as
racist (since a lot of people don't know black & tan is a breed), but i
doubt the person with the bumpersticker or the maker of the sticker meant
it as racist. while it's poor grammar to leave of the 'with', it's common
convention particularly on bumperstickers. it's not meant as a double
entendre in this case, anyway.
BTW, i've never heard a racist remark using 'tan' as a derogatory term.
lee
--
It is paradoxical that many educators and parents still differentiate
between a time for learning and a time for play without seeing the vital
connection between them. -Leo Buscaglia, author (1924-1998)

Is this racist?
 

On Sat, 09 Aug 2003 03:03:19 GMT, Wendy Marsden
wrote:

I'm driving behind a white GMC Jimmy SUV and it has exactly one bumper
sticker on it that says, "I hunt black and tans". I'm looking at this
with my mouth open thinking they MUST be talking about dogs, they
can't really be talking about lynching, can they? I look closer to see if
there's a tiny "with" in there. Nope, but there's a silhouette which I
finally figure out (at a stop light when I can study it) is a dog barking
up a tree trunk.

I told my husband how scandalized I was by the poor taste of this bumper
sticker. He said that he didn't take it that way and he couldn't imagine
that the people who put that bumper sticker up thought that way. I said
that the double entendre was the whole POINT of putting up that bumper
sticker. He said I was off my rocker and way too cynical.

Opinions? Am I just nuts to think anyone would be that horrid? I *do*
tend to be cynical (and that's a trait my husband deplores.) I'm also
putting together a study unit on the Restoration of the American South
through to the Civil Rights movement, so racism is on my mind.

I think it really depends on your perspective. The only "black and
tans" I have ever heard of are beers. That wouldn't sound racist to
me.


--
Cheryl
Mum to DS#1 (11 Mar 99), DS#2 (4 Oct 00)
and DD (30 Jul 02)