Mixed Bathing (East Texas); Mixed Swimming (West Texas)

[Wilson Gray]

My goodness! I thought that y'all were talking about what is also
termed "interracial" bathing / swimming. When interracial bathing /
swimming was made legal in Saint Louis in 1956, it led to the only
race riot there that I'm aware of. Unfortunately, I was down in Texas
for my grandfather's funeral, at the time, so I missed out on all the
fun.

Well, it probably wouldn't have been much fun. Believe it or not, once
upon a time, black people were deathly afraid of white people, instead
of the other way around. Even now, I find myself taken aback by
references to black people posing a physical threat to white people.
In my childhood, youth, and young manhood, the following was one of
many, many "Don't mess with The Man" sayings:

White man, will I ever, ever [acquire equal rights]?

Naw, nigger. You will never, never!

But where it's life, it's hope!

And where there's tree, there's rope!

But where it's a will, it's a way!

And where there's a hill, there's a grave.

-Wilson

On 9/2/07, JAMES A. LANDAU Netscape. Just the Net You Need.
<JJJRLandau at netscape.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "JAMES A. LANDAU Netscape. Just the Net You Need."
>               <JJJRLandau at NETSCAPE.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Mixed Bathing (East Texas); Mixed Swimming (West Texas)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> <DIV style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif; font-size:10pt;"><DIV>On Sat, 1 Sep 2007 10:09:52 Beverly Flanigan <flanigan at OHIO.EDU wrote:</DIV>
> <DIV> </DIV>
> <DIV><quote></DIV>
> <DIV>Perhaps people aren't familiar with the term because the phenomenon is no longer uncommon.</DIV>
> <DIV>But "bathing/swimming" and "bathing beach/swimming beach," "bathing suit/swim(ming) suit,"</DIV>
> <DIV>"bathhouse/changing room," etc. are all familiar variants to me. The only exception I can think of</DIV>
> <DIV>is *bathing lessons. And "bathing beauties"? Terrible term, but very familiar all through the last</DIV>
> <DIV>half of the 20th century--not so now? I don't see any of this as a DARE issue though, since I don't</DIV>
> <DIV>think it's a dialect matter. </DIV>
> <DIV></quote></DIV>
> <DIV> </DIV>
> <DIV>"bathing beauty" is hardly "last half of the 20th century"---the term was popularized by</DIV>
> <DIV>the famous filmmaker Mack Sennett circa 1920. (I have no idea if Sennett coined the term). </DIV>
> <DIV>Sennett is also famous for "Keystone Kops", a phrase well-known enough today to have occurred</DIV>
> <DIV>in some of the more honest commentaries on the Elian Gonzalez kidnapping.</DIV>
> <DIV> </DIV>
> <DIV>"Bathing suit" sounds better to me than "swim(ming) suit". However, the Miss America Pageant</DIV>
> <DIV>has long insisted that those things the contestants wear are "swimsuits" which has helped to keep</DIV>
> <DIV>that word alive.</DIV>
> <DIV> </DIV>
> <DIV>James A. Landau</DIV>
> <DIV>test engineer </DIV>
> <DIV>Northrop-Grumman Information Technology </DIV>
> <DIV>8025 Black Horse Pike, Suite 300 </DIV>
> <DIV>West Atlantic City NJ 08232 USA </DIV>
> <DIV> </DIV>
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> <DIV>QIWER DNNFK QWAFG P </DIV>
> <DIV>~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^ </DIV><BR> <BR><HR>Netscape.  Just the Net You Need.</DIV>
>
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--
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
                                              -Sam'l Clemens

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