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Five on the n****r side


Terrific link. The malleability and fluidity of memories intrigue me. I am fascinated by how infallible we often think our memories are, but they change over time and get influenced by new experiences and by physiological changes in our brains.

Dr. Rubin is right that the new concepts from cognitive science about memory's being so fallible are deeply troubling to lawyers. Courtroom trials rely mostly on testimony from witnesses based on what they remember. Often, the events they testify about happened years earlier. Those memories could be very inaccurate by the time of the trial, or they could even be wrong altogether. Casting so much doubt on their reliability is unsettling to our whole system of jurisprudence.

AS
 
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My friends and I played this as kids, but we did not call it that. Does it still count as a "racist game" then?
 
One person would extend their hands with the palms up and the other would put their hands with the palms down on top of the first's palms. The first would then try to slap the the tops of the other's hands before they could pull away.

I don't remember the exact name, but I do remember that particular epithet being used in relation with it.
I played that, but I don't recall it having a name. It was just the girly version of bloody knuckles: place your fists against your opponent's fists, and attempt to rap him on the knuckles (back of the hand) before he could pull away. Jumping the gun on pulling away earns a free rap.
 
West Virginia born and raised here. Never heard of it.

We did say the eeny, meany, miney moe catch a n****r by the toe thing, but at the time I didn't have a concept of racism.
We had that and the "n***** rigged" (kind of like jury rigged) thing. But it wasn't intended as a slight of any kind.

Also I'm simply amazed this thread is still open.
 
West Virginia born and raised here. Never heard of it.

We did say the eeny, meany, miney moe catch a n****r by the toe thing, but at the time I didn't have a concept of racism.

We said 'eeny meeny miney mo, catch a ****** by the toe, if he squeals let him go, eeny meeny miney mo'.

I can quote it now as I said it then - without any racial implications. We were children and the word '******' had no more meaning or consequence than the word 'miney'.
 
We said 'eeny meeny miney mo, catch a ****** by the toe, if he squeals let him go, eeny meeny miney mo'.

I can quote it now as I said it then - without any racial implications. We were children and the word '******' had no more meaning or consequence than the word 'miney'.

I'm not impressed that the JREF censors words like that - I hope that anyone reading will understand the context.
 
Reading your explanation, yes, I have played it, though I never called it that. Actually, I never knew what the heck it was called. However, I do have experience with something similar.

Growing up in Western Kentucky, in a 99.99999999% white area, I did grow up a round a lot of racism and quite a bit of racist terms which I didn't really recognize at the time having not been exposed to people of other races and cultures. When I was a kid, I dabbled in a game that most kids do - where you run up to a house, knock on the door or ring the doorbell and run. Where I grew up, this was called "N****r Knocking." That's all I knew it as and, when I was young, I never even thought about the racial remark within the name. It was just a name. As I got older, I realized how wrong that was and quit using the term, but for the longest time I didn't know what else to call it. When I was about 23 years old, I finally heard someone call it "Ding Dong Dash" which is what I now use to describe this activity.

I've also learned from my 3-year-old daughter that sitting in what used to be called "Indian Style" is now "Cross-Cross Applesauce."


We called it "knock knock zoom zoom"
 
Eenie, Meenie, Miney Mo,
Catch a tiger by the toe.
If he hollers let him go.
Eenie Meenie Miney Moe


According to the Duke University article and others on this thread, the above or something very close to it is the standard for this verse. But it leaves out the extortion and maternal guidance!

Eenie, Meenie, Miney Mo,
Catch a tiger by the toe
If he hollers make him pay
Fifty dollars every day
My-mother-said-to-pick-the-very-best-one-and-you-are-it


Let him go? Let him go?! Fifty bucks a day is a lot of green to let go, especially for a five year old.
 

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