# Hey American Left: Can we stop calling people "trash?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 17, 2017, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-american-left-can-we-stop-calling-people-trash/801870 "2017-11-17T14:47:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-american-left-can-we-stop-calling-people-trash/801870/21 "2017-11-17T16:10:47Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Calling out the GOP for racism on this board would bring out howls of protest and a ton of counter-examples that would dwarf any objections you may see in this thread, no matter which side did the calling. How would that be an analog of Richard’s post? It would not. Why would I have written about a GOP member calling out the GOP _on this board_? What sense would that make in the analogy? Why would you add that detail? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-american-left-can-we-stop-calling-people-trash/801870/22 "2017-11-17T16:12:14Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I guess I need to see some of these examples. But this looks like a minor complaint over a non-issue to me. I agree it’s minor. Is it a non-issue? Just do a search for “trash” in GD, Elections and the Pit on this MB. You see it fairly often here. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-american-left-can-we-stop-calling-people-trash/801870/23 "2017-11-17T16:12:33Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > But the idea it expresses is awful. No person is trash. They aren’t trash even if they do terrible things and aren’t held accountable for them. If you believe in basic human dignity for everyone, as you fucking should, then you shouldn’t call anyone trash. [Not everyone agrees that this is a bad thing.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxgWHzMvXOY) But, I think the OP has a good point. And yeah, not everybody does it. If the shoe doesn’t fit, don’t wear it. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-american-left-can-we-stop-calling-people-trash/801870/24 "2017-11-17T16:16:14Z")
If you do a google search on the SDMB for “white trash” and “trailer trash” you get plenty of hits. I’m with the OP - I think the term is not appropriate. Doesn’t matter who’s using it. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-american-left-can-we-stop-calling-people-trash/801870/25 "2017-11-17T16:16:18Z")
I can still call raccoons ‘trash pandas’ though, right? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-american-left-can-we-stop-calling-people-trash/801870/26 "2017-11-17T16:20:51Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I agree it’s minor. Is it a non-issue? Just do a search for “trash” in GD, Elections and the Pit on this MB. You see it fairly often here. Excluding the Pit, where calling people “trash” is the very least you can expect to see, the other forums contain a few mentions of the word “trash”…but not too often in the context mentioned in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-american-left-can-we-stop-calling-people-trash/801870/27 "2017-11-17T16:40:01Z")
The problem with relying in word or phrase searches to point out a problem is that context is important. For instance, the word in question has been used over a dozen times in this thread but no one has actually called anyone else “trash”, and some of the posts that would pop up on a search of the word never actually used the word directly at all-they contained a quote using the word that they responded to. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-american-left-can-we-stop-calling-people-trash/801870/28 "2017-11-17T16:50:39Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Please fix this sentence: People who are involved in dog-fighting are trash! You’re either hyperbolic or equivalent to or worse than the average person involved in dog-fighting. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-american-left-can-we-stop-calling-people-trash/801870/29 "2017-11-17T17:00:37Z")
Somewhere in this Great Land of ours, a Conservative just called a Liberal “trash”. Seen on Trump’s twaddle feed where he made that “Pictures 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6” remark (whose spelling, BTW, is every bit a good as Trump’s): > [@an apparent conservative on Twitter](#): > > Jacob Wohl > @JacobAWohl > Replying to @realDonaldTrump > There’s nothing funny about agrevated sexual battery! Al Franken is a piece of trash that must resign immediately! ---
**Author:** ![Covfefe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Covfefe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covfefe)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-american-left-can-we-stop-calling-people-trash/801870/30 "2017-11-17T17:05:06Z")
Agreed. Anything beyond expressing some contempt for others is going too far. I get that we are emotional creatures, swearing and calling names to blow off steam can serve a purpose. I think that should be done in private mostly. If you are representing yourself and your views online, name calling may well generate blowback (even if hypocritical) and perpetuate ideas which dehumanize others. I would much prefer getting flack from someone on the right for being considered intolerant of theories and practices that are imo horrible than being intolerant because I was calling those people involved names, 100 times out of 100. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-american-left-can-we-stop-calling-people-trash/801870/31 "2017-11-17T17:05:19Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Does that matter? If it’s only used by non-famous people is it ok? What’s the point of your question? The point of my question is, I’d like to look at those tweets myself and make up my own mind, but I wouldn’t know whose tweets to look at. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-american-left-can-we-stop-calling-people-trash/801870/32 "2017-11-17T18:54:15Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > If you believe in basic human dignity for everyone, as you fucking should, … Why, exactly? ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-american-left-can-we-stop-calling-people-trash/801870/33 "2017-11-17T18:59:06Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Using 10 words where one suffices is not always a good thing. “Dogfighting is reprehensible.” 3. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-american-left-can-we-stop-calling-people-trash/801870/34 "2017-11-17T19:09:52Z")
I lean left in some ways, and am mostly center-right. **Richard** , I like what you are doing here. Good on ya! I will avoid using such labels. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-american-left-can-we-stop-calling-people-trash/801870/35 "2017-11-17T19:11:05Z")
And, dogfighting is cruel. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-american-left-can-we-stop-calling-people-trash/801870/36 "2017-11-17T19:36:55Z")
> [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](#): > > “Dogfighting is reprehensible.” 3. > [@Bullitt](#): > > And, dogfighting is cruel. **Dogfighters** are reprehensible and cruel. Since we are talking about calling people trash and not actions, per the OP. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-american-left-can-we-stop-calling-people-trash/801870/37 "2017-11-17T19:40:21Z")
> [@naita](#): > > You’re either hyperbolic or equivalent to or worse than the average person involved in dog-fighting. Op did not provide an example of the use of the term, I gave one, he still has no examples and no alternative as opposed to the excellent parry below. Your post would seem to be the hyperbolic one. > [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](#): > > “Dogfighting is reprehensible.” 3. Good answer. I stand somewhat corrected. Though I think trash is stronger and sums it up better. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-american-left-can-we-stop-calling-people-trash/801870/38 "2017-11-17T19:55:30Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Good answer. I stand somewhat corrected. Though I think trash is stronger and sums it up better. I actually agree. We could amend it to something like, “Dogfighters are like trash and should be similarly thrown out of society,” to meet the OP’s goal of not actually calling them trash. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-american-left-can-we-stop-calling-people-trash/801870/39 "2017-11-17T20:26:17Z")
Is “deplorable” still a safe alternative? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2017, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-american-left-can-we-stop-calling-people-trash/801870/40 "2017-11-17T20:29:56Z")
I think you’ve got the point backwards. Talking about the actions and not the person is the goal. The whole idea is that calling people trash reduces them to inhuman status, which it would be better not to do, since presumably we don’t actually support treating them like they have no humanity. Because, you know, if they’re trash, then we might as well just murder them all and throw them in a pit. “Dogfighters are like trash” is the kind of idea the OP is asking to get away from. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-american-left-can-we-stop-calling-people-trash/801870.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-american-left-can-we-stop-calling-people-trash/801870.md?page=3)