I think it was the right thing to do. Go Gators Charlie On Sat, Jun 20, 2020 at 1:58 PM 'Oliver Barry' via GatorTalk < gatortalk@googlegroups.com> wrote:
> There were multiple news articles about two weeks ago showing those very > photos of the alligator chasing the black man up the palm tree and the > truly gruesome depiction of a black baby in a swamp with an alligator > nearby. > Yes, let’s move on. > I’ve seen Facebook posts from people who are actually saying they are > dropping their allegiance to the Gators because of this. > I say, if anyone is so shallow as to let something like this affect them, > let them go. I’ve certainly let them go as a Facebook friend. > > Oliver Barry CRS, GRI > Real Estate Broker > PARKS Real Estate Services > 305 B Indian Lake Blvd > Suite 220 > Hendersonville TN 37075 > Office: 615-826-4040 > Mobile: 615-972-4239 > bar...@realtracs.com > > On Jun 20, 2020, at 12:19 PM, Helen Huntley <hhsga...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > What a thoughtful and well-reasoned piece from a UF student. > I knew about "alligator bait" or "gator bait" being a racial slur in the > early 1900s, but until now, I never thought about the Gator Bait cheer > being interpreted that way. > I have no idea whether using black children as alligator bait was ever an > actual thing. However, I do know that it was considered funny to depict > this as well as an alligator chasing a black man up a palm tree and other > stereotypical images on Florida postcards and souvenirs. It was part of the > Jim Crow era, dehumanizing black people and putting them down. > Take a look: > > https://www.google.com/search?q=black+americana+alligator+souvenirs&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwj717TE8JDqAhWH0FMKHaFHAXUQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=black+americana+alligator+souvenirs&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1CilAJYhaMCYKWmAmgAcAB4AIABWIgB_wWSAQIxMJgBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1n&sclient=img&ei=IULuXrvDBIehzwKhj4WoBw&bih=881&biw=1280 > There's a whole Jim Crow Museum dedicated to racist memorabilia,which > incidentally is highly collectible and expensive. > So now that we're aware of this, why not move on? I'm sure many fans will > continue to yell it (assuming there are games at which to yell), but no > need to have the band and cheerleaders involved. > Helen > > > > > On Sat, Jun 20, 2020 at 12:37 PM Shane Ford <goufgator...@gmail.com> > wrote: > >> What They Are Saying: It’s clear that getting rid of ‘Gator Bait’ chant >> was right call >> Tyler Nettuno/ Gator Wire >> <https://gatorswire.usatoday.com/author/tnettuno/>June 19, 2020 >> >> <https://www.gatorsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AP20170712551116.jpg>FILE >> - In this Nov. 7, 2015, file photo, Albert and Alberta, the mascots for >> Florida, do the gator chomp before the first half of an NCAA college >> football game against Vanderbilt in Gainesville, Fla. The University of >> Florida is ending its 'gator bait' cheer at football games and other sports >> events because of its racial connotations, the school's president announced >> Thursday, June 18, 2020, in a letter making several other similar changes >> on campus. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File) >> >> *COMMENTARY* >> >> On Thursday, University of Florida President Kent Fuchs announced >> <http://statements.ufl.edu/statements/2020/june/another-step-toward-positive-change-against-racism.html> >> that >> the band and athletic department would no longer sanction or promote the >> use of the traditional “Gator Bait” cheer in response to the phrase’s >> historic association with racism. >> >> The decision was controversial. It was also the right one. >> >> Now, before I explain what I am saying, I want to make it abundantly >> clear at the outset what I am not saying. >> >> I’m not saying that there is any evidence the chant originates from the >> racist term (and Fuchs conceded as much in his statement). I am also not >> saying that if you participated in the chant at any point, you are a racist >> or acted in a racist manner. >> >> So, what am I saying? >> >> Well, it’s important to first understand the historical context of the >> phrase “gator bait” outside its context as a cheer for Florida athletics. >> It allegedly derives from a horrifying practice of using Black children as >> bait for alligators in the south in the 19th and early 20th centuries. >> Though the historicity of this claim is debated and there isn’t substantive >> evidence that this actually occurred, the phrase “gator bait,” or >> “alligator bait,” is a well-documented racial slur from the time period >> <https://www.snopes.com/news/2017/06/09/black-children-alligator-bait/>. >> >> Cartoons and postcards depicting Black children sitting precariously on a >> log above a large alligator are captioned “alligator bait,” and there’s >> even a song from 1899 titled “Mammy’s Little Alligator Bait,” which >> features overtly racist lyrics, demonstrated by the chorus below. >> >> [Chorus] >> >> Hush-aby, don’t yo’ cry, >> mammy’s little piccaninny’s gwine to get a present mighty soon, >> When de stars am a-peepin’ and de moon it am a-creepin’ >> den yo’ mammy’s gwine to sing ‘dis tune, >> Shut yo’ eye bye and bye, >> mam will whip yo’ if yo’ cry, >> Someone am a-comin’ thro’ de gate; >> Go to sleep, don’t yo’ peep, >> listen to me tell yo’, >> yo’s mammy little alligator bait. >> >> But, as previously stated, even Fuchs admitted that there isn’t evidence >> of a racial association with the chant at UF, and predictably, this angered >> many fans. It also angered some former players such as Lawrence Wright, who >> popularized the term in 1995 after a win over Florida State, announcing, >> “If you ain’t a Gator, you’re Gator Bait.” Wright told >> <https://www.gainesville.com/sports/20200618/wright-disagrees-with-fuchsrsquo-decision-on-cheer> >> the >> Gainesville Sun’s Pat Dooley that he wasn’t happy with the decision to >> change the chant. >> >> “Me and the president need to sit down and talk about this.” >> >> Wright did receive a call from a University Athletic Association official >> to inform him of the decision. >> >> “I’m not going for it,” said Wright, who won the Jim Thorpe Award for the >> nation’s best defensive back in 1996. “I created something for us. It’s a >> college football thing. It’s not a racist thing, It’s about us, the Gator >> Nation. And I’m Black. >> >> Believe me, I understand where Wright is coming from. Certainly, he meant >> nothing racial in his use of the phrase. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if >> yesterday was the first time he’s even heard about its historical usage. >> And perhaps he’s right. Maybe Fuchs should have talked to former Black >> players before making the decision. But I also doubt it would have made >> much of a difference. >> >> Because, while completely valid and worth considering, Wright’s opinion >> isn’t the only one that matters here. And the fact is, no matter how many >> times defenders of the chant wrongfully claim so, Wright didn’t coin the >> phrase. Sure, he popularized it and led to the official embrace of the >> chant. But “Gator Bait” was a part of UF canon long before the Gators beat >> the Seminoles in 1995. >> >> The publication *Gator Bait Magazine* was created in 1980 (15 years >> before Wright said it), and the chant and usage of the phrase was popular >> even long before that, as shown in this picture from 1956, taken from the >> Smathers >> archive <https://ufdc.ufl.edu/uapc/results/?t=gator%20bait>. >> >> So, while we should take Wright’s opinion seriously, we also can’t ignore >> the thoughts of other Black people in the UF community, a community that >> still has a long way to go in terms of diversity and inclusion. >> >> As a white student at Florida, that isn’t always (or even usually) >> apparent to me. I was raised in a county that is 91 percent white and >> attended a high school where the vast majority of students looked like me. >> >> So to me, UF feels diverse. At least, more diverse than what I was used >> to. But my perceptions don’t capture the lived experiences of Black people >> on campus. UF received an “F” score >> <https://www.alligator.org/news/uf-receives-a-grade-of-f-for-race-equity/article_922fb39c-c147-11e8-b444-4fa504f929f0.html> >> in >> race equity in 2019 by a study from the University of Southern California’s >> Race and Equity Center. Black students account for just 6.1 percent of the >> student body, the fourth-lowest percentage among public schools in Florida. >> >> But we aren’t just reckoning with racial inequity in the present. In the >> weeks since the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, >> we’ve seen perhaps the greatest coming to terms with institutional racism >> in the United States in decades. Protests have spurred new discussions >> about the scope of police brutality, but it has also led to a wider >> condemnation of historical relics of racism, such as Confederate >> iconography and symbolism in public places. >> >> And in the wake of these protests, we must look at the past, examining >> traditions and deciding if the spirit of those traditions aligns with the >> values that we as a university community purportedly aim to uphold in the >> modern-day. >> >> This is especially important at a school like Florida, which didn’t >> integrate at all until 1958 (mind you, two years after the phrase was >> documented to have been used at Gators football games). In fact, to this >> day there are still a number of buildings named after prominent Florida >> segregationists <http://thefineprintmag.org/civil-reitz/>, including its >> student union and basketball arena. >> >> Given this information, how can we continue to use a phrase like “gator >> bait,” that, though benign in its origin at UF, is still undoubtedly a >> racial slur? And the belief in that fact didn’t start yesterday, either. >> Many Black students have been aware of the history of the phrase for years >> and have pushed to have it changed. Is making them feel welcome at an >> institution specifically designed for the betterment of all of humanity >> really less important than preserving a 15-second cheer at football games? >> >> UF has other traditions. And no matter what those who promulgate slippery >> slope fallacies say, those traditions will still exist. Even the “gator >> bait” chant is unlikely to disappear from the Swamp, though it won’t be >> officially encouraged by the school. >> >> But if even now, armed with new information about the historical context >> of the phrase as a racial slur, you still feel compelled to defend the >> chant and criticize the change, I sincerely implore you to take a step >> back, look deep inside and question why that may be. >> ------------------------------ >> >> *Check out more Gator coverage at Gators >> <https://gatorswire.usatoday.com/> Wire, a part of USA Today Sports and >> Gannett, which owns Gatorsports.com. College Wires is a digital sports >> initiative that is part of the USA TODAY Sports Network that brings fans >> closer to their favorite college sports teams. The websites are full of >> aggregated content and original stories that has become a daily destination >> for hard core supporters of these successful college sports programs.* >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> Sent from Shane’s iPhone >> Go Gators! >> >> -- >> -- >> GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! >> 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions >> 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 >> National Football Champions | >> Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel >> (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "GatorNews" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to gatornews+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gatornews/0A690951-0B56-4F21-B0A1-34B662B8E497%40gmail.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gatornews/0A690951-0B56-4F21-B0A1-34B662B8E497%40gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 > National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 > National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier > (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "GatorTalk" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to gatortalk+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gatortalk/CAPY6WJN4Qrqbsbf9B8%3DHW%2Ba28y7H_rKwG-kA8MyevaeUhybtwg%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gatortalk/CAPY6WJN4Qrqbsbf9B8%3DHW%2Ba28y7H_rKwG-kA8MyevaeUhybtwg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 > National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 > National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier > (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "GatorTalk" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to gatortalk+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gatortalk/A03F4CE9-B855-430A-B7DA-C8E0E5E5B92E%40realtracs.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gatortalk/A03F4CE9-B855-430A-B7DA-C8E0E5E5B92E%40realtracs.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GatorTalk" group. 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