# In BBQ, why mod a hint at a racist joke but not an actual racial slur? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 26, 2021, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-bbq-why-mod-a-hint-at-a-racist-joke-but-not-an-actual-racial-slur/942970 "2021-05-26T17:49:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 72
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2021, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-bbq-why-mod-a-hint-at-a-racist-joke-but-not-an-actual-racial-slur/942970/72 "2021-05-27T15:54:48Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Nevertheless, it has this in common with them: it’s a word that has been used by one class of people to demean another of perceived lesser status; in this case, poor Southern whites. Like all slurs, it punches down. So, “cracker” should be moderated because of it association with the history of discrimination against poor Southern whites at the hands of… African Americans? This is a big part of my reluctance over moderating the term - it’s not punching down. I feel there’s a qualitative difference between terms coined by an oppressed group to describe their oppressors, and terms coined by the oppressive group to describe the groups they’re oppressing. I’m also not thrilled at the prospect of being expected to use a rule about hate speech to tone police people expressing anger at dealing with personal or systematic racism, which is going to be about 90% of the context where this term comes up. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-bbq-why-mod-a-hint-at-a-racist-joke-but-not-an-actual-racial-slur/942970)._