WARNING: May offend some. It's called Coon Hunting

[graywarrior]

The use of this term as an ethnic slur derives from the practice of using coonhounds (dogs trained to hunt raccoons) to recapture escaped black slaves.


A few years ago, a friend of mine was in Arcadia, Florida trying to find his way back to Sarasota. He stopped at a small convenience store to get directions when a group of guys came bursting in to buy beers so they could coon hunt that night. Listening to their conversation, he realized they were talking about hunting for black men. He got out of there fast.

I cannot get that image out of my head when I think of George Zimmerman as he loaded his gun that night.

Sorry if this offends.

[PDJane]

1. No. It is what it is, and it's a reflection of a broader society.

It's disgusting, but it's not your monkey.

[calimary]

2. Not offended.

Not offended by what you SAID. But I am VERY MUCH offended by the reality behind what you said. THAT is offensive as hell.

[graywarrior]

3. I've been thinking about that ever since Trayvon was killed

It's sickens me to the core.

[Voice for Peace]

4. ++

[LeftInTX]

5. I am embarrassed to say that I didn't know the origin of that term

What a creepy experience for your friend........

[NaturalHigh]

11. It's not actually the origin of the term.

There are lots of "coon hunters" who are hunting raccoons. I don't particularly care for the "sport," but it's origin is not racial. That doesn't mean that some people don't use the term to describe a racially-charged crime, though.

[graywarrior]

20. Yeah, I did some research and read about the raccoon hunting.

Still, it's a phrase that sounds so sinister.

[NaturalHigh]

22. Yes, no doubt.

Even without the racial context, "coon hunting" is some fairly nasty stuff in my opinion. As far as I know, they are hunted only for their pelts and not for their meat. I don't even want to get into the specifics of how they are hunted.

Since I rescued a couple of raccoons when I was a teenager, I'm probably biased. They stuck around for several months until the next mating season when they heard the call of the wild. Beautiful little creatures. Ornery as hell. There's a reason for the phrase "goofy as a pet coon."

[graywarrior]

24. I remember putting the trash out one night and one of them charged at me

Scared the life out of me. They look so different in the south than they do in the north.

[NaturalHigh]

26. In the wild, they can be absolutely vicious.

The two we had were raised by us and a bunch of cats. In fact, a little runt cat was the male's best friend. My mother bottle-fed them.

They were two of the cutest, most lovable critters I've ever seen, but yeah, in the wild, totally different thing.

My grandparents caught an adult raccoon in a box trap at about the same time we had our raccoons. They had set the trap because raccoons were tearing into feed bags out in the barn. Nobody wanted to kill it, so they dumped it in some wooded property a couple of miles away, where my grandparents kept some cows in the summer. To this day, my grandmother swears it made it home before they did.

[graywarrior]

29. LOL!

My dad used to call me a raccoon during the 60's when I wore heavy eyeliner.

[Aerows]

62. They have a snout like a pig

sometimes in the south

The others were pretty but that one had a distended snout and scared the shit out of me, and he was huge, like a big dog, and ugly.

Dear Lord. I was traumatized by a raccoon, but it's true. All of that was true. It was HUGE with a longer snout, but it's other little brethren were big, but really cute. Three of them could have gazed at me with those gorgeous little masks and I would have invited them inside they were so precious - but that one with the longish snout scared me to death, as did the bit mother looking one of them.

That happened on my porch. I don't know what would have happened in the woods.

[Aerows]

78. You had one charge at you?

Gracious! The worst I had was one sneaking up on me on the patio while I was reading and stealing cat food from the bowl two feet away. I finally noticed, and couldn't bring myself to move because, well, rabies, but it was just eating and using it's little hands and cute as pie.

[graywarrior]

80. Yeah, it hissed at me and ran toward me.

I managed to get into the house before it reached me and the group home staff were on the floor laughing.

[Aerows]

82. They are nothing to laugh about

because of rabies!

[graywarrior]

83. I run when I see one now

[Aerows]

52. I had a family of five racoons

on the back porch one night. They are no joke, and carry rabies. I strolled outside thinking, "look at the big kitties eating the leftover cat food after my baby came in." They weren't kitties. Two of them weighed at LEAST 40 lbs. They didn't seem scared at all, but they carry rabies like no one's business. They just peeped up at me until I opened the door, slammed it, and didn't go out again.

[NaturalHigh]

54. Yeah, they can get huge if they have an ample food supply...

and no, they are no joke.

[Aerows]

57. They have very sweet faces

but the rabies bit scares the shit out of me, and apparently, when I had been taking my cat in at night, they had been joyfully eating the rest. My vet told me to keep my cat in at all times, only letting her out NOT at dawn and twilight (the crepuscular cycle) until they wouldn't encounter each other. I stupidly had left out cat food at twilight before this advice, thinking my cat would appreciate it. Yes, so do raccoons, in droves.

[NaturalHigh]

60. Yes, they have very sweet faces.

They don't seem so sweet, though, when you hear the hiss. It's almost as bloodcurdling as a bobcat's growl.

They are still beautiful animals, though. The two that we raised were a lot of fun.

[Aerows]

64. A big one sniffed at me

And scared the shit out of me. I slammed the glass patio door and prayed for them to go away. They are insufferably cute, but very dangerous to pets.

[NaturalHigh]

66. Sniffed at you?

It might have thought you were a potential meal. Glad you slammed the door. You probably didn't want that little fellow following you in the house!

[Aerows]

70. Don't be an ass

It probably was hissing at me because it realized I was scared of it. Animals do that, when they realize that you aren't exactly friends. They thought I was the chuckwagon until I realized they weren't exactly cats and nearly fainted because of rabies.

[NaturalHigh]

75. I'll try not to be.

Certainly didn't mean to offend.

[Aerows]

72. I can't explain the actions of the raccoon

it had this weird nose, and squinted his eyes at me, and like a dumb person, I thought, he has shorter hair than the rest of the clan that is with him (really, he had no whiskers or facial hair) RABIES! Slammed the glass door shut.

[arely staircase]

63. i have a whole family of them that eat my cat's food and turn over my garbage cans

So they are basically thieves and terrorists but I have gone nothing to run them off because of said faces.

[NaturalHigh]

68. When we had ours...

there favorite foods were cat food, vanilla wafers, and some sort of disgusting little marshmallow pies.

[Aerows]

73. I kinda don't mind them

in a way. The cute ones. It's the one that is missing whiskers and facial hair that scares the crap out of me. I was kind of charmed the night I was reading a book on the patio and I had left some food for the cat and I saw on reach in with a very delicate and dextrous hand about 2 feet from me into the cat bowl. I didn't do a thing. I just kept reading.

[Aerows]

77. See?

They have those sweet little faces and you really can't do anything about them. When the one little raccoon reached into the cat bowl for food with it's little hand, peeping at me while I was reading a book, I pretty much melted.

[arely staircase]

79. i love how they have bandit masks and are actually thieves

Makes it almost impossible to get mad at them. ITs like well duh Im stealing your cat food.

[Tigress DEM]

53. Calling someone a "coon" is a racial slur documented from 1830's

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_slurs

Coon
(US, UK and Australia) a black person. Possibly from Portuguese barracão, a building constructed to hold slaves for sale (1837).[54][55] Popularized by the song "Zip Coon", played at Minstrel shows in the 1830s.



HISTORICALLY, blacks have been put down with many terms that call them animals instead of people because literally they were treated as if they were not "really" civilized human beings.


Remember a lot of discrimination is "denied" by pretending there is some other innocent explanation and hate language has been "coded" for a long time so that people can put others down and then act as if nothing happened. But when the game has gone on for years people know what's really going on.

[NaturalHigh]

55. I don't deny any of that.

That wasn't the point of my post at all.

[Tigress DEM]

59. Well, one doesn't get a coon skin hat or coon skin coat without hunters... that's true.

My point is that the TERM Coon has been an acknowledged racial slur for long enough that it's "origin" as a racial slur is legitimate aside from actual hunting of an animal.

[arely staircase]

65. that is true

I wonder if the OPs etymology of the slur is correct. It is plausible.

[LWolf]

6. The verdict legitimized "coon hunting."

It's as offensive as hell, but it's not your offense.

[Go Vols]

7. Where did you get this from?

The use of this term as an ethnic slur derives from the practice of using coonhounds (dogs trained to hunt raccoons) to recapture escaped black slaves.

The only place I could find it was at #6 on Urban Dictionary for the word coon.

I coon hunted for 30 years all over the south and have never heard it to mean hunting black people.

[olddots]

8. the term has a hidden meaning

Did you ever get any raccoons ? because the slang word coon isn't about raccoons .

Well maybe I'll go troll hunting for little ugly elves who live under bridges .

[Go Vols]

9. No link ?

here's a few

http://www.coondawgs.com/

http://www.sccoonhunters.com/

http://www.hunterspec.com/content/southern-vs-northern-summer-coon-hunting

http://coonhuntersclub.com/how-to-coon-hunt-tips-for-beginners/

[kestrel91316]

12. Deny it all you want.........then open your eyes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_slurs#C

Scroll down to "coon".

[Go Vols]

13. I am not denying anything,

just pointing out your error about coon hunting as someone else has done above.

[Call Me Wesley]

17. To enlighten you:

http://www.blackagendareport.com/content/%E2%80%9Ccoon-huntin%E2%80%99%E2%80%9D-new-york-city

You're welcome.

[Go Vols]

95. Thanks,

Like I said above,I coon hunted for over 30 years all over the South and never heard it to mean what the OP said.

But I have never hunted in New York City where your link clearly shows it means otherwise there.

[kentuck]

14. Me neither.

A good coon dog was worth a lot of money. He would go out in one direction for about a hundred yards and if he didn't tree, he would come back and touch base. Then he would go out in another direction. Then, when he treed a raccoon, his bark would be strong and very loud. I never thought of it in racist terms but maybe I was just naive?

[lumpy]

36. Years ago I heard a member of my family who was from Tenn. use that racial term more than once.

And he wasn't referring to racoons. The man left the South and spent enough years out of the South to realize that most people didn't appreciate hearing the word 'coon' in reference to blacks. He grew to realize how demeaning it is to use such terms.

[arely staircase]

39. Bluetick Coonhounds are one of my absolute favorite dogs to look at, pet, etc.

I am not a hunter (used to bird hunt some) but scent hounds of all stripes from dachshunds to bloodhounds fascinate me. I have a beagle. But there is something about Blueticks that I just can't take my eyes off them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetick_Coonhound

[Hassin Bin Sober]

56. A friend of mine has a Tree Wallking Coon Hound.

He got it from the shelter so he didn't know anything about her or the breed.

She's a great dog and he hit the shelter jack-pot. She appears to be full bred.

He WAS a little embarrassed at the breed name when people would ask her breed. Living in a diversified Chicago neighborhood, he felt a little apprehensive about using that word "coon"....

That was until he kept having older African American men come up to him on the street saying "That's a Tree Walking Coon Hound!, awesome dog!" etc. etc. It seems the older AA men who grew up hunting in the south knew the name.

[jdadd]

81. That's slang for Treeing Walker Coonhound....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treeing_Walker_Coonhound

My ex FIL, Bred and sold these...

[Hassin Bin Sober]

87. I'm sure I mis-understood the full name.

[heaven05]

33. no

clue. Black have been referred to as coons for as long as I can remember. Just because you haven't heard of term used racistly doesn't mean it's not true!!!!???? I don't believe you about coon hunting and 30 years, virgin ears. Bullshit!!!!!

[Go Vols]

96. I could really give a shit

what you believe about me hunting.BTW,if you are so inclined you can search my post and see that I have posted similar before and also spoke of pet coons I had as a kid that I got while hunting.

[heaven05]

97. you

shouldn't. right and nuff said.

[ladjf]

10. It is also called "lynching". nt

[arely staircase]

15. check out the google images for "coon hunting"

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1504&bih=660&q=coon+hunting&oq=coon+hunting&gs_l=img.3..0l10.952.6012.0.6305.12.11.0.1.1.0.322.1269.2j7j0j1.10.0....0...1ac.1.19.img.LfIBnM3dn6g

[Electric Monk]

23. Ok, I did. Here's some of what I found:

This was with a google image search for: coon hunting funny





?



oh, and this http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/04/01/1079438/-Coon-hunting-slave-catchers-and-vigilantes

[heaven05]

32. yep

classic amerikkkan culture. geez

[moondust]

16. Reminds me of this:

Before the murder, a group of young whites were drinking in largely white Rankin County, Mississippi. According to a lawyer representing one (or more) of the perpetrators, they decided to go buy more beer in a location where stores were open later at night.[4] According to law enforcement officials, Deryl Dedmon, a white man from Brandon, Mississippi, led the group, urging his friends, "Let's go fuck with some niggers."[1][2][5] The group climbed into Dedmon's green 1998 Ford F-250 and a white Jeep Cherokee and drove 16 miles (26 km) west on Interstate 20 to a predominantly black area on the western edge of Jackson.[5]

Anderson was near his truck in the parking lot at the Metro Inn in Jackson, Mississippi, at 5 am on June 26, according to prosecutors.[1] The two vehicles pulled off the freeway and into the motel parking lot.[1][6] According to an attorney representing one of the group, they assumed that Anderson was trying to steal a vehicle because they saw him trying to break into a vehicle. The vehicle was Anderson's own; he was trying to break in because he had lost his keys.[4] The group repeatedly beat Anderson and robbed him, the district attorney said, citing reports from witnesses. Video from a motel security camera does not show any beating occurring but instead shows the perpetrators entering and leaving the frame of the video.[1][5] One witness reported that one of the perpetrators yelled “white power” when returning to his truck after the beating.[1]

According to Rice, the Jeep drove off, driven by William Montgomery[7] and the green pickup, driven by Dedmon, ran over Anderson, killing him. It left the scene at a high speed.[1][2][5]

After leaving the scene, Dedmon boasted about beating and running Anderson over, while using racial slurs, saying[1][5] "I ran that nigger over" to the accomplices in the other Jeep.[5][8] Law enforcement officials indicated that Dedmon repeated that statement with the racial slur in subsequent conversations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_James_Craig_Anderson

[lumpy]

37. I heard of that case. That sort of racism is why I have no interest in being exposed to that

culture. My brother spent 2 years in Alabama on a job. He returned home tainted with racist remarks against blacks. Our family was astounded that this person was left with such a racist attitude. I don't know if he regretted his attitude, he and his family left the West coast to settle in Florida of all places.

[moondust]

49. I lived in Mississippi for almost a year.

During the Carter administration. I was in a university town and worked with and met a lot of liberals/Democrats (my boss later filled a top post in the Clinton admin). I've never made so many friends in such a short period. Not at all racist, although the social company I was in was not very mixed as seems to be common in the "dual culture" South. I left there with great memories and some hope that the South was "coming around."

I'm sure it largely depends on what kind of social situation one finds oneself in, as well as one's prior sociopolitical leanings and how young and impressionable one is at the time.

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. It is what it is

I wish it was history, but it is not

[Call Me Wesley]

19. Here's a link that defines the term as what you say it is:

http://www.blackagendareport.com/content/%E2%80%9Ccoon-huntin%E2%80%99%E2%80%9D-new-york-city

So I guess denial is futile. It's not about the furry critters.

[graywarrior]

21. !

[hay rick]

25. The phrase can have more than one meaning.

Many years ago I worked with a man who loved to hunt with "coon hounds." He was a semi-illiterate fifth grade dropout from Tennessee. He asked me to write a letter for him to order a coon-hunting puppy from a magazine devoted to coon hounds and coon hunting.

We were in southern California. He would take his hunting dogs out at night. One time his dogs treed a bobcat and he brought the cat around in a cage to show us the next day.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

27. Guess I have to post this again...

[heaven05]

30. of course

he did. Totally ignored and covered up with that 'goon' bullshit lie used by many on this site. But the verdict was correct. To a lot of trolls and DUers. Sad. No clue.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

35. It went from "coons" to "goons" to "punks" with the power of the "Liberal Media".

[Hissyspit]

91. Nonsense.

It went from 'coons' to 'punks,' with the better audio copies made available.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

98. I'll go with the ORIGINAL audio rather than a later one...

So will the Feds in a Civil Rights case.

The South is FAMOUS for manipulating evidence to fit the narrative that there is no evidence of racism.

[graywarrior]

31. That. Is. Creepy.

[lumpy]

38. It seems even more clear on the original tape. I caught it right away. Other people also

heard "fucking coons" on the tape.

[Hissyspit]

90. I've listened to it over and over. From the first day it was available, in headphones, about

50 times that day, to now, multiple times, all the different EQs.

He says 'punks.'

[heaven05]

28. been

going on since Harriet Tubman was helping slaves escape. Still using that cover term huh. Doesn't surprise me. Amerikkka. geez

[libodem]

34. Needs to be said

Sanitized language makes everyone believe this is post-racial America. It's still out there, folks.

[DirkGently]

40. Was he sure? Southerners do hunt actual Rac(coons).

I would hope he called the police if he heard someone contemplating murdering black people.

I have had the displeasure of hearing racial slurs many times. I do not recall a single time hearing white-on-black racists use "co*n" as a slur. There is the big one, and there is one that starts with a "J" sound I heard a number of times. It's a pretty ancient slur.

[graywarrior]

42. He was sure

The N word was included in the rah rah rah-ing

[DirkGently]

43. Ugh. Hope he called the cops then. n/t

[graywarrior]

45. It was a few years back

And I doubt the cops would have done anything. Small town.

[arely staircase]

67. your op raises an academic question

I have definitely heard the word cook used as a racial slur. But I have heard it much more often as a short form for racoon. And I have only heard the term coon hunting as literally meaning the hunting of raccoons. I had a grand uncle who coon hunted a lot. He had coon dogs and lights he wore on his head, etc. Definitely from a different generation.

But the question your post raises is regarding the etymology of the racial slur coon. Did it come from slavemasters using their coon dogs for tracking runnaway slaves? It certainly makes sense.

[HipChick]

44. Call the police?

Hell...in that part of the world, they prob join in

[DirkGently]

46. Oh bullshit on your Deliverance fantasies. n/t

[HipChick]

51. Obviously you live in a world

that cannot even relate ..

[DirkGently]

76. I don't imagine racist hunting parties behind every tree, no.

I'm pretty sure the reason I can't relate to that is because, despite all the racism that does exist, that kind of scenario is now thankfully rare.

I think this story is race-baiting glurge. I don't buy someone heard a group of people discussing setting out to murder black people and did nothing about it put pass along a horrified story. I'd call the cops. I don't know anyone who wouldn't call the cops.

I'm calling bullshit.

[HipChick]

86. Maybe you would call the cops

and some would say they caused their own murder..

[graywarrior]

47. Yep

[Warpy]

41. Not offensive unless you are the one calling other people a pejorative.

or unless you're calling a fellow DUer a pejorative.

[ileus]

48. We always had walkers and redticks when I was growing up.

At our peak we had 12 hounds, you'd take 4 out each night and rotated them to keep em' fresh.

[Jamaal510]

58. I never got the connection between Black people and raccoons.

I'm Black, and I don't have a striped tail or claws or fur on my body. The term "coon" makes no sense. But then again, these same people who invented and/or regularly use that term don't exactly come off as the sharpest tools in the shed.

[mwrguy]

61. They'd better get ready for some 'Polar Bear Hunting'.

Shit goes both ways.

[ileus]

69. but the polar bear is the black bear of the Arctic...

[Heddi]

71. FYI your thread was alerted on

for some bullshit reason

AUTOMATED MESSAGE: Results of your Jury Service
Mail Message
At Sun Jul 14, 2013, 04:46 PM an alert was sent on the following post:

WARNING: May offend some. It's called Coon Hunting
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023255933

REASON FOR ALERT:

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate. (See <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=aboutus#communitystandards" target="_blank">Community Standards</a>.)

ALERTER'S COMMENTS:

Offensive, derogatory name for a person of color - bigoted hate speech - DU is becoming over run with racist posts.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Sun Jul 14, 2013, 04:53 PM, and the Jury voted 1-5 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: No explanation given
Juror #2 voted to HIDE IT and said: What the alerter said. That, and I don't believe this story one bit. Surely, poster's friend didn't hear this and not report it, call police, or anythhing???
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: dear alerter: foad, troll.
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: No explanation given
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: No explanation given
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: The post appears to me to be about and against racism, and offers a bit of its ugly history. Because I hate it doesn't mean I must close my eyes to it.

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[graywarrior]

74. Good!

Why is everything posted questioned with such animosity around here? Tough shit if that poster doesn't believe me. Mr G told me when he was in the Navy in the 60's, that was a common past time in the south.

[malokvale77]

84. Jasper, Texas

That was as recent as 1998. It brought about the hate crimes law here.

And, yes they still use that term today right here in Texas.

[graywarrior]

88. Thank you for that.

[mstinamotorcity2]

85. its hard to say anything

that people of color haven't heard already. No offense taken.

[Lunacee_2013]

89. Thankfully I've only heard that term used once in my whole life.

And, even though I'm white, I threw such a fit about it that the person who used it never said it in front of me again. Why some posters think you made up that story kinda puzzles me. Maybe it's because I live in the south, but I thought everyone knew about this slur, and it's no big secret that black people don't really trust the cops, especially southern ones. Why should they? I can't even begin to count how many news stories I've heard about cops abusing someone after profiling them based on their skin color.

[graywarrior]

93. I was in a used book store one day in S. Carolina when I struck up a conversation with the owner

I couldn't believe it when she turned the conversation to the n*****s and how the whites knew how to keep them in their place. That took place in the mid 90s. I was shocked, told her I was from the north and didn't think that way and walked out. Unbelievable.

[reusrename]

92. About 20 years ago my brother and his new wife went to a "Duck Unlimited" dinner here in FL.

There was a big display set up in the middle of the lobby with all sorts of stuffed wildlife with little plaques: "possum" "quail" "gator" and such. It was a rather large exhibit so it took them several minutes to notice that over in one corner of the case there was a stuffed human head with "coon" on the plaque next to it. They left the event and were too sick to eat that night.

[graywarrior]

94. Jeeze, that is sickening.