The problem with your analogy, DrDeth, is you’re equating the word white with the word nigger. I’m sure that’s not what you meant to do though.
That ONLY “white” people have? (Or ONLY dudes living in trailers? )
That’s the problem with “white trash” as a term. It is racist. It does NOT apply to a “certain style of living” or even a “specific style of living” - it applies to a certain socio-economic type of WHITE person only. Not brown, black or green. "White" . We don’t use “nigger” even though there are those who claim they “only use it to refer to the bad ones” as it ONLY refers to black people in a derogatory way. “White trash” only refers to white people in a derogatory way.
That’s why the term is racist and should not be used. It is, by defintion- “racist”.
“Trailer trash” is not so racist, although I still don’t like it as it implies that people who live in trailers are “trash”. Although I have never seen the term “trailer trash” applied to anyone BUT a white person, note.
I’ve heard the term “trash” used to describe non-whites of a rural persuasion.
And listen up: While the term “ghetto” is often used to describe urban black people, I have heard it used to refer to urban whites and Hispanics as well. A certain demographic tends to create and perpetuate “ghetto” behaviors, but this does not preclude individuals from other groups from doing likewise.
The term “yuppie” is often used to describe young, upwardly-mobile folks. Most yuppies are whites, hence the word is associated with this demographic. You can call, say, a black person a “yuppie”, but blacks have their own terms. “Buppie”–if you’re being nice. Or “bougie”–if you’re being mean.
This does not mean that “ghetto,” “yuppie”, “buppie”, or “bougie” are racist terms.
I’ve used the term ghetto (and, boy, do I use it frequently) to refer to white people. I’ve also used the term trailer trash (and, boy, do I use it frequently) to refer to black people. I even used trailer trash to refer to rich people (Kid Rock and Pamela Lee, anyone?)
It stands for Young Urban Professional. What exactly was the point you were trying to make here?
Thank you, monstro, for explaining that better than I ever could.
Dr.Deth, yeah, the term white trash refers to white people. You know why? Because most, if not all, people that fit the white trash stereotype are white! Do you know of any black or hispanic people named Billie Joe or Bobby Sue with mullets and dirty wife beaters, usually quite ignorant, with poor hygiene living in a broken down trailer with 5 piece of shit cars on the lawn, but somehow think they’re better than the black family in the next town living in the nice house simply because they’re white?
I didn’t think so. Get off your PC high horse and step into reality.
Umm, hello? If you would go back and read the thread that got you so riled up in the first place, you would have just answered the “why include white” question you continue to put forth. So I will repeat it again in the hopes it will finally get through to you.
Let me clarify. I didn’t mean that the term ghetto is reserved for black folks only. I’ve used it to refer to white folks as well. But it describes a lifestyle different from that of a white trash lifestyle. So it can’t really be used interchangeably.
I’m all for using trailer trash instead of white trash. But as you can see, that immediately brings in the “but so and so lives in a trailer!” arguments. You can’t win. People just don’t get that it describes something other than where you live.
The same could be said for the word, ghetto, lezlers. One of the nicest people in Baltimore, Bea Gatty, lived in the ghetto.
Exactly.
Which brings us all the way back to my first point:
Ghetto isn’t a place as much as it is a state of mind.
You guys are totally correct.
I give up. Whoever said that “if you look hard enough for something to get offended over, surely you will find something” was spot on.
[sub]I probably butchered the quote, and shamefully, don’t even know who said it. I’m merely trying to convey the general point.[/sub]
I’m deeply offended that you got that quote wrong, lezlers.
That offends me, RevTim.
I’m deeply offended you incorrectly capitalized the ‘T’ in my username, gobear.
I’m deeply offended that you didn’t bold my name.
Bigot.
And I would sure like to know exactly where you expect the poor bears to go.
And what about the rich bears? When will they be considered?
Susan
I think that the problem some people are having with the term “white trash” is that they seem to be seeing it as “white=trash”. Which WOULD be somewhat racist.
When it’s really a description for those white people who DO happen to be trash. In other words, it means “white AND trash” not “white’s ARE trash”.
Or perhaps I should more kindly say “who BEHAVE trashily”. After all, if they are choosing to behave so badly, then they DO have the ability to learn appropriate behaviour (which in my book makes their behaviour worse, but that’s a whole 'nother thread).
In other words the aforementioned “springer wannabes”. If a person is white, and behaves in the “wife-beater attired, gaptoothed, loudmouthed, bad personal hygiene offending, purposefully ignorant” way. Then that person IS trash, and they frequently, for some strange reason, happen to be white. Hence “white trash”.
And don’t give us all the bleeding heart garbage about “how can you talk of your fellow human beings that way”. They’ve CHOSEN that behaviour. Like another poster very cleverly stated, (sorry if I butcher the saying) “ain’t no one so poor he can’t sweep the floor”.
Looking at monstro’s really good analogy of the term “ghetto”. Are there nice people, of all races, who happen to live in ghetto areas? I’m sure there are.
But the term itself has passed into common usage (much like the word ain’t which in my schoolgirl days wasn’t in the dictionary and now is), and it has a specific meaning. And that is along the lines of, again monstro’s pretty good description of the strutting, gold toothed (they really put fonts on their teeth?? :D), got possibly shady business in the 'hood, type character behaviours.
Not really a “racist” comment on a certain behaviour, merely a comment on the behaviour.
Really folks, in this world, where nothing is sacred, and one sees as near to soft porn as you can get on prime time Network tv…
And on the radio, where the “F” word in popular music has the “UC” bleeped out, but not the F or the K, so that it sounds JUST like the real word anyway…
Really, do we need to get THIS offended by the fairly innocuous term white trash?
argggh…and only NOW do I see that everyone else made a great end to this thread…
Grrr