# An apology to Ultress and the rest of the alleged brigade **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 11, 2003, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-apology-to-ultress-and-the-rest-of-the-alleged-brigade/181231 "2003-06-11T23:44:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-apology-to-ultress-and-the-rest-of-the-alleged-brigade/181231/101 "2003-06-16T14:37:20Z")
and perhaps it wasn’t. However, at this point, why bother? either folks will continue w/that behavior or not. if they don’t, there’s no problem. If they do continue, you’ll have ample, **fresh** opportunity to flog the horse. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-apology-to-ultress-and-the-rest-of-the-alleged-brigade/181231/102 "2003-06-16T18:28:23Z")
Alas, I am not letting this die, not because of what BBJ wrote but because of a comment I saw upon revisiting this thread. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MelCthefirst \* > \*\* > Please don’t tell me that ‘white trash’ is the equivalent to an ethnic group and therefore a rascist term and that there are people who seriously classify themselves as ‘white trash’ and therefore find the term offensive. > It’s descriptive. \*\* Even if the term does not describe an ethnic group, some folks can be offended by it. I used the term once, in my younger and less thoughtful days, describing my own family. My african-american colleague jumped down my throat about it, for she felt that putting the term “white” inbetween poor and trash implied that the average poor trashy person was understood to be non-white. Which is insulting to her heritage. I’d never thought of it that way, and I’m not sure I agree with her, but her point was that SHE found the term highly objectionable, even when it didn’t refer to herself or her family. I post this to say that you, as an individual, can’t assess a term and declare it unoffensive or free of bigoted overtones for all. And FTR, for those who weren’t following along, my objections with the term were not because I found it racist. I just thought it, well, mean. Classist, maybe. I dunno. I sure as flying fuck didn’t “rip” anyone “apart.” Lord we’ve wandered far afield, haven’t we? ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-apology-to-ultress-and-the-rest-of-the-alleged-brigade/181231/103 "2003-06-16T18:36:50Z")
tomndebb, you rotten bastard, once again I see that what you posted made my post unnecessary. I skimmed like a madwoman because so much of this thread was making me sad, but I missed your comments the first go-around and just now saw them, having already posted some dumn anecdote about “White trash” being a potential racial insult. Will you never get tired of making the rest of us look overemotional, uninformed, and trigger-happy? ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-apology-to-ultress-and-the-rest-of-the-alleged-brigade/181231/104 "2003-06-16T18:48:06Z")
**Cranky** -in my years of lurking, I don’t think I ever seen you rip anyone apart for the pure mean spirited pleasure of it. Disagree volubly, yes. Rip and slash, no. That said, I’m not comfortable with any term that uses race/class to define a group of people negatively en masse either. I thought your co-worker’s perspective really interesting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-apology-to-ultress-and-the-rest-of-the-alleged-brigade/181231.md?page=5)