[AuH2ORepublican]

"When I was a very young child, I recited the rhyme as "Eenie, meenie, miney mo; Catch a tiger by the toe.""

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So did I, and of course it isn't racist. But I have to guess that there was an old version that substituted "tiger" with the N word or some similar slur. Still, it was a ridiculous lawsuit.

[mountaineer]

I didn't hear the "n-word" version until I was much older, thought it was rude, and never recited it. I don't suppose it occurred to these two offended airline passengers that the flight attendant was thinking of the "tiger" version. Then again, it doesn't really matter what she thought, intended to say or actually said - only that they were offended. Good grief.

[Quix]

Yes. I'm 56. Mother used the N word in teaching that rhyme years ago!

[johnb838]

Oh come on. I have to admit that we used the N-word version when the folks weren't around and the Tiger version when they were. I was originally taught the tiger version.

Even still, it's ridiculous. It's a way to choose something randomly. How would one catch an African-American person by the toe? And what would one do with them if one did? How does that help make a random choice?

And these complainants. Have they never used the N-word? Why is it racist and derogatory if whites use it but not if blacks do? The word is a dialectical version of the Spanish word "Negro" (pronounced Nay-gro) which was the accepted description of the race at that time. Would the Italian "Nero" be better? Or the French "Noir"? I knew a French guy who's best friend was African-American and he called him "Noir-ee" all the time and the guy didn't mind. I thought "Black was what the African-American community wanted to be called. Oh, then it became "Afro-American". It would seem that the rules keep being changed to perpetuate a continual game of "gotcha" (not by the toe).

THis is childish. It needs to stop. The above are some questions that need to be asked and answered any time there is a spurious charge of racism by someone on the make.