# As a white guy, can I refer to myself as a cracker? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 13, 2015, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-white-guy-can-i-refer-to-myself-as-a-cracker/722463 "2015-06-13T21:35:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-white-guy-can-i-refer-to-myself-as-a-cracker/722463/41 "2015-06-15T18:30:07Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > It’s not racist if you use a racial or ethnic slur in respect to yourself, right? Of course it is, honky.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-white-guy-can-i-refer-to-myself-as-a-cracker/722463/42 "2015-06-15T18:56:17Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > As a white guy, can I refer to myself as a cracker? That depends: if your parents got divorced, would they still be related? If so, then maybe… > [@Aquadementia](#): > > Well, only if they have a slice of cheese on their head. Hey, keep Wisconsin out of this… ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-white-guy-can-i-refer-to-myself-as-a-cracker/722463/43 "2015-06-15T19:08:44Z")
Either my Google-fu is failing me, or the Internet is not really the compendium of all knowledge that Apple 1984 ad promised, because I cannot find two quotes relevant to this discussion. One was from an African-American linguist, who said “the problem with white people saying ‘nigger’ is that they don’t pronounce it correctly”. What he meant, I think, was that using that word - or any such loaded term - requires awareness of and sensitivity to subtle social cues, that are not easily accessible to people who are not intimately familiar with the specific culture. Which ties into the other thing I cannot find: an essay by folklorist Roger Welsch. published in _Natural History_ magazine years ago, in which he talks about in-group rituals and how use of a slur can be a marker of identity in that group. It’s the “_I_ can bitch about my family, but don’t _you_ dare” principle. So I can refer to myself as a “redneck cracker” amongst my white, Southern friends and it can be a sign of inclusion; but if, say, an African-American calls me that, it has a whole different resonance - even if it’s used in friendliness or jest. By the way, you know that “cracker” doesn’t simply mean “white person”, right? It’s synonymous with “redneck”, and means a rural Southern white of lower status. Think Bob Ewell in _To Kill A Mockingbird_. He could be called a “cracker”; Atticus Finch wouldn’t be. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-white-guy-can-i-refer-to-myself-as-a-cracker/722463/44 "2015-06-16T07:45:08Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > “Wog is a slang word in the idiom of Australian English and British English, usually employed as an ethnic or racial slur and considered derogatory and offensive.”] Except that wikipedia article is so out of date that it considers the 1980’s “recent” > [@](#): > > More recently, …the popular 1980s stage show … ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-white-guy-can-i-refer-to-myself-as-a-cracker/722463/45 "2015-06-16T13:36:19Z")
It’s still pretty offensive in the UK. Not sure about Australia. Of course, when I explain to people that I’m Indian I often say “dots, not feathers.” It’s okay if _I_ say it, of course. I suppose it could be offensive to American Indians. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2015, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-white-guy-can-i-refer-to-myself-as-a-cracker/722463/46 "2015-06-16T15:52:44Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Except that wikipedia article is so out of date that it considers the 1980’s “recent” No it doesn’t. It refers to a 1980s show as “an early example.” “More recently” refers to other shows since then, some as recent as 2010. You don’t seem to have actually read the article. What’s your point? That wog is no longer offensive anywhere? ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2015, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-white-guy-can-i-refer-to-myself-as-a-cracker/722463/47 "2015-06-17T01:36:40Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > No it doesn’t. It refers to a 1980s show as “an early example.” “More recently” refers to other shows since then, some as recent as 2010. You don’t seem to have actually read the article. > > What’s your point? That wog is no longer offensive anywhere? My point is that since the 1980’s, “wog” is not used as an offensive term in Australia. Since Alex Jesaulenko (1970) the wogs ARE Australian. It certainly was self-adopted as a non-offensive term (2000: “who let the wogs out? {Woof, woof, woof, woof}”, but even that has disappeared. It might be offensive if it was used as an offensive term: so might “educated”, “smart”,“strong” or “friendly”, but it is not normally used in that way. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2015, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-white-guy-can-i-refer-to-myself-as-a-cracker/722463/48 "2015-06-17T13:11:16Z")
What year do you think _Romper Stomper_ came out? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-white-guy-can-i-refer-to-myself-as-a-cracker/722463/49 "2015-06-18T15:32:16Z")
Several times in the store I’ve been asked “Do you sell crackers?” I’ve always wanted to reply “No, slavery was abolished over a hundred years ago,” instead of “Check aisle 8.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-white-guy-can-i-refer-to-myself-as-a-cracker/722463.md?page=2)