SoCalDem (1000+ posts) Wed Jan-05-11 10:36 AMhttp://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x119130
Original message
SC 'Coon Hunter' License Plate Not Offensive, Says Raccoon Hunter
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/01/sc_co...
To some, the word "coon" is most recognizable as a racial slur. Yet as South Carolina considers issuing specialty plates with "Coon Hunters" written on them, the president of a raccoon hunting organization there says the term is hardly offensive.
"Coon is a word that's in the dictionary," David McKee, president of the South Carolina Coon Hunters Association told TPM. "There are national publications about coon hunting."
True, the dictionary does define coon primarily as an abbreviation for nature's mischievous bandits. Yet the online version of Merriam-Webster notes the common derogatory connotation as well. The site defines coon like this:
1: raccoon 2: usually offensive : black
And this article
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/01/sc_re...
SC Reps Propose 'Coon Hunters' And 'Don't Tread On Me' License Plates
Jon Terbush | January 4, 2011, 8:39AM
Forget bumper stickers. South Carolina drivers may soon have a new way to make a political statement while tooling around town in their cars. As Corey Hutchins reported in the Columbia Free-Times, several lawmakers in the South Carolina State House recently introduced bills that would allow the DMV to issue over a dozen new specialty plates, including one with the Gadsden Flag slogan turned Tea Party rallying cry, "Don't Tread On Me." Among the other proposed plates are ones bearing the words "Coon Hunters" and "Second Amendment" for firearm fans, or, if fishing is more your thing, one with an image of a largemouth bass.
While the "Coon Hunters" plate may raise some eyebrows for its apparent use of a racial slur, it's apparently meant to celebrate raccoon hunting. Revenue from sales of the plate would go toward the South Carolina State Coon Hunters Association Youth Fund.
That group's website states:
The SC State CHA was established in 1982 to promote the sport of coonhunting in our state...We work constantly with members of our General Assembly to insure that our hunting privileges are not infringed upon. <sure it is ..>
None of the state reps sponsoring these proposals responded to TPM's request for comment. Neither did the raccoon hunting organization.
marmar (1000+ posts) Wed Jan-05-11 10:39 AM
Response to Original message
2. Good f**king Grief.....
How long before they declare an official Grand Wizard Day holiday?
DCKit (1000+ posts) Wed Jan-05-11 10:41 AM
Response to Original message
6. Oh, those crafty racists! nt
Botany (1000+ posts) Wed Jan-05-11 10:42 AM
Response to Original message
7. South Carolina is a beautiful state and has some really nice people but ....
Good God in Butter it is loaded w/ dumb asses and mouth breathers.
Obamanaut (1000+ posts) Wed Jan-05-11 10:46 AM
Response to Original message
10. Will we now, in order to be PC, change all the stories about Dan'l Boone,
Davey Crockett, and their "coonskin caps"?
I predict that in the future all words will be printed with a first letter, a last letter, and a bunch of asterisks in between.
G**d g***f.
JBoy (1000+ posts) Wed Jan-05-11 10:48 AM
Response to Original message
12. Good luck parking that car anywhere.
crim son (1000+ posts) Wed Jan-05-11 10:53 AMDUmmy crim son does not speak English.
Response to Original message
13. Wow.
It would never have occurred to me that "coon hunter" could be construed as a racial slur but I'm from the far north. If in South Carolina, racial slur is the first thing that comes to mind then how can the CHA possibly excuse themselves? No doubt they're balking at the enforced political correctness which does get old at times but serves a very real purpose.
Dogtown (1000+ posts) Wed Jan-05-11 11:01 AM
Response to Original message
15. Unmistakable and unforgivable.
Dogmudgeon (1000+ posts) Wed Jan-05-11 11:17 AM
Response to Original message
19. Only if they add CRAKR H8R
(Cracker Hater)
Crackers can really kill a person's diet.
slackmaster (1000+ posts) Wed Jan-05-11 11:31 AM
Response to Original message
25. Jeez, I just used that word this morning when addressing my cats
"Have those 'coons been tearing up our yard again? Do your job and stop them!"
IMO the apostrophe is the key. With that, there is no ambiguity about what the word is referring to.
LibertyLover (1000+ posts) Wed Jan-05-11 11:39 AM
Response to Original message
27. Growing up in northern New Jersey
we called raccoons "raccoons". The word "coon" was always understood to be a derogatory name for African-Americans, except if it preceded '-skin cap' or 'hound' and so I never used it. My mother, who was rarely bothered by anything, didn't like using the word "coon" at all and would actually say 'raccoon-skin cap'. Good friends of mine have a purebred Coonhound, and I confess that I had a bit of a hard time using the word when telling my little girl that Ms Debby and Ms Suzanne's dog, Beaudreaux, was a Coonhound when she asked what he was.
People in Lousiana refer to themselves as "coonasses".
Is it me? Or are the DUmpmonkies showing how racist they truly are? They see a tag that says "Coon Hunter" and they automatically jump to black people?
LibertyLover (1000+ posts) Wed Jan-05-11 11:39 AM
Response to Original message
27. Growing up in northern New Jersey
we called raccoons "raccoons". The word "coon" was always understood to be a derogatory name for African-Americans, except if it preceded '-skin cap' or 'hound' and so I never used it. My mother, who was rarely bothered by anything, didn't like using the word "coon" at all and would actually say 'raccoon-skin cap'. Good friends of mine have a purebred Coonhound, and I confess that I had a bit of a hard time using the word when telling my little girl that Ms Debby and Ms Suzanne's dog, Beaudreaux, was a Coonhound when she asked what he was.
People in Lousiana refer to themselves as "coonasses".
Can't be helped sometimes. I ran next door to deliver something and my neighbor had 5-6 woman in the kitchen playing cards. I was invited to join and asked what the game was, they said SPADES .I looked at the black woman and had to get the hell out of there as I had heard that term used before. What a strange life when words not heard in years come back to stun you.
Mother tells me that she was embarrassed when I was 3 years old and in a restaurant looked out the window of a restaurant that had black servers and yelled Mommy, look at all the Crows on the lawn.
Do I get upset when called a Honkey, Cracker, Damn Yankee, Hell no, I did as a kid hate it when the French Canadians were called Frogs but I freaking grew up and laugh at that. Frenchie has made me laugh for years-----anyone remember the Polish jokes about how to tell the groom at a polish wedding--he was the one wearing the bowling shirt.
We need to wear with pride the nicknames given to us, not get so uppity about a word that may mean something else to others.
LibertyLover (1000+ posts) Wed Jan-05-11 11:39 AM
Response to Original message
27. Growing up in northern New Jersey
we called raccoons "raccoons". The word "coon" was always understood to be a derogatory name for African-Americans, except if it preceded '-skin cap' or 'hound' and so I never used it. My mother, who was rarely bothered by anything, didn't like using the word "coon" at all and would actually say 'raccoon-skin cap'. Good friends of mine have a purebred Coonhound, and I confess that I had a bit of a hard time using the word when telling my little girl that Ms Debby and Ms Suzanne's dog, Beaudreaux, was a Coonhound when she asked what he was.
Thank you for your yankee insight on the Southern dialect and diction... ::)
Can't be helped sometimes. I ran next door to deliver something and my neighbor had 5-6 woman in the kitchen playing cards. I was invited to join and asked what the game was, they said SPADES .I looked at the black woman and had to get the hell out of there as I had heard that term used before. What a strange life when words not heard in years come back to stun you.
Is it me? Or are the DUmpmonkies showing how racist they truly are? They see a tag that says "Coon Hunter" and they automatically jump to black people?To be fair: every time I here the expression "stupid, in-bred, thieving, half-educated, totally-stoned, retarded, lay-about welfare junkie" I think, "democrat."
Nah, that's normally what other people refer to'em as. Like Mississippians such as myself. :stirpot:
Whereabouts in MS? And please tell me you know what a stumpjumper is, cuz I sure don't and I was born and raised on the coast.
...and you jump right to black people too.
Shocking.
Coon = Short for Racoon
Coonass = Derogatory term used for ALL Louisianans. Similar to hillbilly for Tennesseans and Kentuckians, Stumpjumpers for Mississippians, Illiterates for Texans, etc. :bolt:
Why not, most of us small town Yankees had never seen a Black unless we went out of state.
What about Maine Coon Cats? Am I supposed to say, "and this here is Cookie, my Maine Raccoon Cat." Goofy.
Born in Brandon, lived in Jackson, Clinton, Byram, Walls (near Memphis for about 3 years), then back to Byram until I enlisted.
First time I heard "Stumpjumper" was from my Coonass army Friend from outside of Monroe. Guess they think we jump stumps or something.
Obamanaut (1000+ posts) Wed Jan-05-11 10:46 AMI should have mentioned that the only word truly deserving of that treatment is v****e. Either say "vegetable", talk about meat, or shut up. V****e is a truly contemptible, nauseatingly cutesy-sweetsie word.
I predict that in the future all words will be printed with a first letter, a last letter, and a bunch of asterisks in between.
G**d g***f.
First, where are you from, Minot, ND? Secondly, if you'd never seen a black person, why would "Spades" automatically invoke racial connotations?
Just a few years ago, people laughed out loud at ridiculous words like "spokesperson" and "chairperson". But "niggardly" is still a perfectly good word among people with IQs of at least the high double digits.
To be fair: every time I here the expression "stupid, in-bred, thieving, half-educated, totally-stoned, retarded, lay-about welfare junkie" I think, "democrat."That's funny SGT. I think the same, either a democrat or liberal as well. :cheersmate:
Hell yeah! Jerry Clower! My fellow Mississippian.
Hell yeah! Jerry Clower! My fellow Mississippian.
I had relatives that lived in Tracy Minn. (Think Little House on the Prairie area) and they had a *GASP* Black family move into town. Their house became a local tourist attraction. People would honestly to God go out of their way to drive by hoping to see them. Then if there was a sighting the phones burnt up. We Floridians LOAO at them.
I hadn't listened to Jerry Clower in a coon's age until today.
Know watcha mean bro!
I haven't stopped since the first link to YouTube! There's tons of his stuff on there! I read Patrick McManus, too! Between him and Jerry, they pretty much let me relive my younger days!
I think I was about 14 when I first went Boar huntin'! Scared the livin' hell right outa me! Dad rthought it was downright hilarious! The prick!
So, did ya read my definition of StumpJumper, or are ya just ignorin' me?
This Coonass loves Jerry's humor... especially stories about Dammit Ray....
Was McManus the guy that used to write about the "north woods" for Field & Stream, or am I thinking about someone else?
I did, and I ain't hunting boar unless I'm in an elevated position and with a BIGASS caliber weapon. You're DEAD right. It takes a f'n tank to bring one down and they are mean as shit.
That's the guy! One of my favorites is "They Shoot Canoes Don't They?"
Ya gots to look this guy up! The wife thinks I have lost my mind when I read him! I just can't stop laughin'!
"The Grasshopper Trap" is another good one! He has around a dozen or so books that are all compilations of short stories. He was born here in my back yard back in the 50's! We're close to the same age, so we went thru much the same tech wise! I have lived many of his stories!
Be careful! Once ya start readin' him, he is addictive!
I used to get Field & Stream way back in the 70's when I was in school, which makes it a surprise that I remember him.
I did, and I ain't hunting boar unless I'm in an elevated position and with a BIGASS caliber weapon. You're DEAD right. It takes a f'n tank to bring one down and they are mean as shit.
I've been out in the scrub with people that consider using something more than a knife weak.
They're all ****in' crazy.
Me - I'm good with 308 or 45/70 for pigs. The 45 for up close and personal.
I never go into the woods without my Dirty Harry Special! If my .44 mag with 260 gr. hollows don't bring it down, I'm ****ed anyway!
We got griz around here! If you think a Boar Hog is mean, ya oughta see what a Boar Griz can do and they're the easy ones. Mama is much worse!
Thanx to the eco terrorists they have re-introduced 'em up here! Not only them, but they decided we needed wolves too! It's Damn dangerous to go out in the woods nowadays! We've always had good size Black Bear, but now, if ya go hikin', you can get hunted!
I've never understood why people think the Australian outback is so "dangerous". Sure we've a lot of venomous insects and snakes - but they're insects and snakes. Hardly anything to get worked up on.
The craw-cee-doiles don't much care unless you jump into their piece of water and the sharks the same.
You've got BEARS.
****in BEARS !
...and mountain lions , and cougars and so on.
Animals that hunt YOU.
I've got a pretty funny story about a call to a police department in my neck of the woods, once upon a time, many (25+) years ago, that involved a 'coon. I'm not going to post it on this board, though. If you want it, I'll PM you.
Had a cousin working dispatch in a small southern town late one night. Guy calls up all excited screaming, "There's a 'coon in my house." Cousin asked what the 'coon was doing, "He's tearing everything up. Come quick." Cousin had figured out what color the caller was and that he was talking about an animal....and had dispatched an officer to that address....so he decided to have a little fun. He asked how big the 'coon was...is he armed...what is he wearing etc.'...then he asked what kind of 'coon was he talking about...The fellow on the phone tells him, "It's the 4 legged kind. This is a 2 legged 'coon calling." ... :rotf:
Bailiff, whack his peepee!!!
Who's got the "That's Racist" pic??? lol!It's down towards the bottom of the More Smilies page.
You're showing your age and tastes with that one ;)
It's down towards the bottom of the More Smilies page.
Had a cousin working dispatch in a small southern town late one night. Guy calls up all excited screaming, "There's a 'coon in my house." Cousin asked what the 'coon was doing, "He's tearing everything up. Come quick." Cousin had figured out what color the caller was and that he was talking about an animal....and had dispatched an officer to that address....so he decided to have a little fun. He asked how big the 'coon was...is he armed...what is he wearing etc.'...then he asked what kind of 'coon was he talking about...The fellow on the phone tells him, "It's the 4 legged kind. This is a 2 legged 'coon calling." ... :rotf:
I thought it had to do with huntin' wild boar. You either "jump a stump" or climb a tree if you miss that bastard with the first shot! I've hunted Boar in Arkansas, and know this to be pretty damn close to the truth! Them mofos are ****in' mean!!!!!
But, I'm just from Kansass! What do I know? We couldn't even figure out what side we were on in the "Great War" between the States!
Way late on this one...if that's the correct answer it stinks!
Like I said, I was born and bred in Kansas, what do I know? I'm just tellin' ya what my Dad told me, right after he took me "stump jumpin'" in Arkansas!
I had relatives that lived in Tracy Minn. (Think Little House on the Prairie area) and they had a *GASP* Black family move into town. Their house became a local tourist attraction. People would honestly to God go out of their way to drive by hoping to see them. Then if there was a sighting the phones burnt up. We Floridians LOAO at them.I think they moved to Marshall...as of 6/09 Tracy was lilly white..