Eenie Meenie Miny…NO
Racism Score: 0.6
In 2020 anything can be deemed racist. We stand by the fact some things are racist and everything is not racist.
Every Black person reserves the right to play the “race card” when they see fit. Sometimes playing the card can work in one’s favor, and sometimes playing the card can be a bust.
We believe this hand is a bust for Alice Reese, but we do not believe this hinders her chances on winning the election.
Alice Reece is a candidate running for County Commissioner in Hamilton County, Ohio. Local 12 news reports Reece accused Republican opponent, Andy Black of a racist attack.
The racist attack in question is the following mailer.
Reece claims the global nursery rhyme “Eeeni, Meenie, Miny, Moe…” reference was done intentionally because of the racist connotations.
Most people think of the catchy children’s song. We are willing to bet most people born in the 80’s and thereafter are unaware the original ending was not “catch a tiger by the toe.” The original ending was “catch a n-word by the toe.”
Clearly, the song has been reimagined and repurposed. Although, PETA and Carol Baskins may have something to say about catching tigers by the toe, but we digress.
If anything, Andy Black’s campaign created a non-racist mailer by not darkening Reece’s skin which is a tactic often used to make Black people look less desirable and more menacing.
Democratic chair of Hamilton County, Gwen McFarlin weighed in and offered the following.
“This is not something by happenstance or, well, we’re taking it all out of context,” said state Sen. Cecil Thomas. “No, this is something that has been known throughout the African American community as offensive.”
Andy Black countered the accusation with the following statement.
“The ‘eenie, meenie, miny, moe’ thing that came out was in no way intended to be a racial slight or anything like that,” said Black. “We didn’t even realize it was until one person had sent an email to the Enquirer and all of a sudden it’s a story.”
Unless there is a history of racist actions by Andy Black, he deserves the benefit of the doubt.
Levity Alert
Anyone else see the irony of Andy’s last name?! Childish on our part, but we could not resist.
Eenie Meenie in Pop Culture
Sean Kingston and Justin Bieber collaborated on a song titled “Eenie Meenie” in 2010 that is close to 400 million views. We do not recall an outcry for the artists using the childhood nursey rhyme.
