Huh, missed a whole page of new posts.
That’s the thing – it doesn’t denigrate a person based on the ethnicity. It denigrates a person based on their trashiness. The “white” part in there is an archaic reference to a supposedly privileged class. I agree that it’s out of place and best avoided – “trailer trash” means the same thing, without the racist connotation – but it’s important to note that any associated racism is not against people who are “white,” it’s in the implication that they are letting the side down, or that it’s more remarkable for whites to be trashy than it is for any other ethnicity. For this reason, “trailer trash” or just plain “trash” applies better.
Freaking out in this way about this usage is whiffy of the sort of person who gripes that white heterosexual males are discriminated against, though. It’s just eye-rolling.
It’s offensive to say that whites should be a privileged class. I think it’s very hard to argue that they aren’t, though. We all work towards an egalitarian society, but there’s a long way to go. An eighteen-year-old dirt-poor native has more to overcome if they want to make something of themselves in our society than a white boy with the same means. Ought not to be, but it is.
The term “white trash” refers to these circumstances. The old view encouraged lowered expectations for certain ethnic groups, if they laze around and drink and fight all day, what of it? It’s not like they’re going to get a job at the bank. But a white behaving like that, why you know they could do better if they applied themselves just a* little.*
Yes, the situation has improved, but the term remains.
FWIW, growing up in East Vancouver, the term “white trash” was applied (without irony) to people who fit the bill, regardless of ethnicity. The family on our block most frequently derided this way (for their long reliance on public assistance, thieving, partying, rock-shirt & mack fashion sense, prolific reproduction rate, etc, etc, ad nauseum) – they were the Wongs.
