06-21-2006, 04:32 AM
Quote: By all means we should have a PR secretary who buys into the PC chic of dancing on egg shells giving the press lip service saying nothing, rather than being direct and honest speaking from the heart.
Before i respond to the rest of your post let me note a bit of irony.
When Tony Snow made the "Tar Baby" comment was he:
A. Being direct and honest.
B. Dancing on egg shells. (political ones at least)
C. Giving the press lip service.
D. Saying Nothing.
E. B,C, and D.
The whole context of why he used the metaphor was because he wasn't being direct and honest!
As for the main topic of your post. Are there people in america that are ignorant of the origins of the term and that metaphor specifically? sure are. There are probably a great deal of people that only know of that term because of it's aqcuired racial significance. And because of that when they hear the press secretary saying it they are going to take offense. It doesn't matter whether there is validity to their offense or whether they should just go educate themselves more to the meaning of the term. As a PR person, in general, and more specifically as one at that level of the game, you should know better. If you foresee yourself saying something that might be construed in a bad way you need to "lock it up".
Here's exactly what Tony Snow said: "Having said that, I don't want to hug the tar baby of trying to comment on the program"
Now for anyone thinking of going into PR (or if Tony Snow happens to be reading) here's a quick tip. Cut out the tar baby comment. What do you have left? "Having said that, i don't want to comment on the program" Exact same end result and you save yourself from people misconstruing your remarks as racist.
lastly let me jump away from your specific topic and address something Occhi has said. Namely that i'm gnashing my teeth at this whole Tony Snow thing. I'm not. I find it absolutely hilarious. But the reason i find it hilarious is because I always have a tendency towards amusement when people of supposed high regard and stature fall face first into a giant steaming pile of manure. As well as the ironic factor that Snow is a public relations person and, as i maintain, this comment was a complete failure at relating to the public. you can't choose your public (well not unless you are setting up a Bush town hall meeting) and as such, if a decent proportion of your public only has experience with a certain phrase in racist context it would be a good idea to stay away from that phrase.