I had no idea about the history of the phrase, but now that I know, I think we should leave it behind. I hate the idea that we’d be chanting about ‘gator bait’ while fellow gators are cringing from the unintended implications of the term.
Rob On Jun 20, 2020, at 3:50 PM, Charlie <imaga...@outlook.com> wrote: 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 WireJune 19, 2020 >>> 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 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. >>> >>> 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 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. >>> >>> 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 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, 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 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. >> >> -- >> -- >> 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. > > -- > -- > 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. -- -- 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/CADrWSXtM5sLKWbYT3FPSoEd3V4weT%2BvornDqRNYTd%3D-02-G4%3Dw%40mail.gmail.com. -- -- 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/24ABA2F5-855E-4EA2-8AD5-66428FC41022%40autumnwood.us.
