AR, you are WRONG.
Drive down a certain street on the Upper East side in NY, near the row of ambassador’s homes. The street is lined with, yes, lawn jockeys.Black AND white.
How dare you presume I am racist, yet end your diatribe with the sentence “Sweet people”. Who is sweet? what people? You aren’t generalizing by race, are you? Cause THAT is a definition of racism!
Oh
My
God
And it is out of stock! :eek:
[QUOTE=JER;3004238]
You can put a swastika on your lawn and say it’s an ancient symbol of good luck. And at that point, you better hope it works because you’ll need all the luck you can get.[/QUOTE]
I think racism can sometimes be a regional or cultural thing. Meaning, things that are seen as racist in some areas or cultures might not be seen that way in other areas or cultures. I have lived in South Carolina for about 30 years and I have never heard the term “lawn jockey” used as a racial slur. However, I AM familiar with the term “porch monkey” but a friend of mine from up north didn’t know what it meant when she heard it down here.
The swastika example is another good one. My husband and I are friends with an Asian-Indian couple. They moved into a new apartment and we went over to take them a housewarming present. When we got to the apartment, there was a swastika on a piece of paper taped to the door. They are Hindus and I know it was meant to be a symbol of good luck for their new home, but I’m sure some people in the apartment complex probably thought they were white supremacists.
Those of you who think lawn jockeys are offensive…are ALL of them offensive to you? Or just the ones that are painted black? I’m talking about the ones that are meant to look real…not the Jocko one.
So here is a basic question:
Does anyone find this offensive?
It’s located on a lawn in Monrovia, California. A State which is far oustide the pitch battles of North v. South and Yankee/Rebel stuff lingering today on the East Coast.
Why such an ornament in Monrovia? Well for one it had been home of The Jockeys’ Guild office until its very recent relocation from Monrovia, CA to the Lexington, KY area.
Mine is not the Jocko kind, but the cast iron very old one which has the same face black or white.
And around antiques circles, black americana is considered valuable art to both white and black collectors. It is a certain type of person who sees every single black (or Oriental, or Indian) thing as racist.
[QUOTE=ravenclaw;3004398]
Those of you who think lawn jockeys are offensive…are ALL of them offensive to you? Or just the ones that are painted black? I’m talking about the ones that are meant to look real…not the Jocko one.[/QUOTE]
I would like to take this opportunity to say that I’m generally opposed to all ceramic lawn statuary.
I see no problem with white lawn jockeys. They were not used at one time to portray servile slaves or servants. Black ones were. It was especially egregious in the lawn jockeys that had exaggerated African American or minstrel features.
Generally, the homes I remember as a kid sporting them were the tacky, racist families where the owners thought it showed they were “upper-crust”.
I’m not that old and I do know the term “lawn jockey” has a derogative connotation. It certainly didn’t come from white lawn jockeys. I remember seeing the black ones when I was a kid and many of them had those exaggerated minstrel features. Definitely not meant to be complimentary.
:lol::lol: I so AGREE!
Prior to reading this I had NO IDEA that those little statues had any connotation at all, racist or otherwise. I just assumed that they were purchased by people who unfortunately LIKE Yard Art, but ALSO happened to be horsey. The so-called Lawn Jockey fell below my radar as general “yard art”, which I eschew in all shapes and forms- fuzzy sheep, weird wind chimes, big shiny balls mounted on bird feeders (WHAT are people thinking when they buy THOSE :eek:), and the like.
This is all very interesting though.
Isn’t it time that “political correctness” left that small bit of nostalgic history alone! Couldn’t those politically correct individuals, stop trying to tell us what our cement lawn jockeys should look like??? Once there were excellent black jockeys, there probably still are!
Gosh, if I have a statue of a black lab…should I now have it painted blonde so no one will be offended…what’s next. Oh, I know, stud pants on the Red Horse that stands above the restaurant.
My lawn jockey has a white face, so I guess he is OK…for now anyway.
[QUOTE=Alter top;3004208]
NOT buying it. I think these stories are used as justification for continuing to display or support something that is inherently offensive and hurtful to a lot of people. Typical.[/QUOTE]
Please tell me what is “inherently offensive” about a statue of a small man in riding attire holding out his arm. The statue itself is nothing more, or nothing less, than what people read into it.
Now if actual jockeys were offended because the statues make them look shorter than they already are, that maybe I could understand. :lol: And why are white lawn jockeys supposed to be offensive to black people everywhere? How the heck does that work?
[QUOTE=LaurieB;3004703]
Please tell me what is “inherently offensive” about a statue of a small man in riding attire holding out his arm. The statue itself is nothing more, or nothing less, than what people read into it.
Now if actual jockeys were offended because the statues make them look shorter than they already are, that maybe I could understand. :lol: And why are white lawn jockeys supposed to be offensive to black people everywhere? How the heck does that work?[/QUOTE]
Our lawn jockey (who is caucasion at the moment) is residing in our tack room… maybe we should keep him in there… God forbid we offend anyone…LOL…
What’s inherently racist about a swastika? Or a burning cross? Or caricatures of Jews as money-loving usurers?
The list could go on. Just because you don’t intend something in a racist way doesn’t mean that people won’t see it as racist.
Why would you put a lawn jockey on your lawn if you knew that it was likely to offend people?
[QUOTE=MassageLady;3003854]
Well, if people would look into what the true meaning is, instead of instantly going to ‘racism’ and become educated about them, there wouldn’t be the problem. Why put up informational markers? People wouldn’t read them anyway! It’s THEIR responsibility to become informed.[/QUOTE]
I agree. Not everything should or does have a negative connotation.
Another Round,
I am so disappointed in you calling MoonRiver a racist. 
Do you know how she treats others or are you just assuming because of a statue that many people have that she is a racist. That is just sad.
“It is a certain type of person who sees every single black (or Oriental, or Indian) thing as racist.”
It is a certain type of person who USES the word “Oriental” to describe someone who is Asian.
The limited grasp this thread had on horse-relatedness is gone, so we’re closing it.
Thanks.
[QUOTE=AnotherRound;3001066]
Yes, you are a racist. Ignorance of how these ‘traditions’ are racist is no excuse. These icons were created in racism, that is why they are frowned upon. Whether they are used that way or percieved that way, the lawn jockeys were representative of servents hold the owner’s guests horses (hitching post) and barn help, which were slaves and black, and the Aunt Jemima syrup bottle is racists because it was created around a slave racists stereotype of the care-taker mammy. Whether you still think that way or not, the creation of these icons were racist at the time.
Today, people who do not want to subscribe to social racist traditions are vocal about pointing them out. In my part of the world, we see lawn jockeys only rarely, and their faces are painted white. They make me and most people I know uncomfotable, and I wonder what the owners are missing in their history that they would continue to think its acceptable to have it in front of their barn, garage, house walkway. My mother pointed this out to me when I was a child. I was taught about predjudice so I would recognize it when I see it. We were all wealthy (growing up) with old family estates, many of which had lawn jockeys from past generations, and all of the families I knew got rid of them during the '60s.
I guess I can perpetuate a little stereotyping of my own when I notice that all the “its ok, go ahead and give a black lawn jockey for a present” people are from southern states. And no, we don’t consider Maryland a northern state. This whole thread demonstrates not only racism, but ignorance. Sweet people.[/QUOTE]
I see, nothing like a limousine liberal!:yes:
Legend has it that George Washington had a slave groom who held his horse for him outside in bitter cold and froze to death while the General socialized in a tavern.
This might be about as true as the cherry tree story but nonetheless this is where the tradition of lawn jockey’s being black came from.
In recent years they were painted white to be PC. traditionally they were always black. It’s history and Americana. Do everybody a favor and take your name-calling someplace else.
George
