# University benefactor and board chairman uses N-word **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 17, 2007, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-benefactor-and-board-chairman-uses-n-word/412112 "2007-07-17T11:25:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-benefactor-and-board-chairman-uses-n-word/412112/41 "2007-07-17T18:26:36Z")
[QUOTE=DudleyGarrett] Really? So it’s not publicly OK for blacks to call a black person a “nigger” [/quote] Does that even count? Fuck, I thought you were talking about people lobbing grave insults against other groups. Guess what: most groups get a pass on what they call themselves. > [@](#): > > or a white person a “cracker?” If you think “cracker” is as bad an insult as “nigger,” you’re straight-up nuts. Then again, I’ve never heard anybody seriously call a white person a cracker. I’ve heard it in comedy and that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-benefactor-and-board-chairman-uses-n-word/412112/42 "2007-07-17T18:29:58Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] If you think “cracker” is as bad an insult as “nigger,” you’re straight-up nuts. [/QUOTE] Why? Explain this to me, with logic. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-benefactor-and-board-chairman-uses-n-word/412112/43 "2007-07-17T18:42:39Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] Well, the other choice would be to offer up an insincere-sounding apology laden with lame excuses, then immediately start acting defensive. Oh, wait. [/QUOTE] No matter how sincere you are, it doesn’t matter. Once you have crossed that threshold, the options are: Kill yourself Or Donate every last cent of your money, live in a cardboard box, and spend the rest of your life thinking about what a horrible transgression you made. This, of course, has never happened- but I think it just might work. Well, maybe if you intentionally gave yourself leprosy too. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-benefactor-and-board-chairman-uses-n-word/412112/44 "2007-07-17T18:44:11Z")
[QUOTE=DudleyGarrett] Why? Explain this to me, with logic. [/QUOTE] There’s no logic to it, frankly. But I suspect it’s as obvious to you as it is to me, which makes me even less interested in getting into an argument about it. Cracker is just not that big of a deal. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-benefactor-and-board-chairman-uses-n-word/412112/45 "2007-07-17T18:46:16Z")
[QUOTE=DudleyGarrett] Why? Explain this to me, with logic. [/QUOTE] Mind if I take a stab at it? The argument I’ve heard for the n-word being more offensive than “cracker” is that it’s associated with a series of really horrible legal and cultural institutions. The slave trade, slavery itself, Jim Crow, lynchings, etc. The n-word was a big part of the working vocabulary of those institutions, and the use of it can be seen as a tacit endorsement of them. On the other hand, there were never any similar institutions that employed the word “cracker”. ---
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-benefactor-and-board-chairman-uses-n-word/412112/46 "2007-07-17T18:49:20Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] There’s no logic to it, frankly. But I suspect it’s as obvious to you as it is to me, which makes me even less interested in getting into an argument about it. [/QUOTE] No, there is logic. A black man calls a white man a “cracker.” That is a racial slur. A white man calls a black man a “nigger.” That is also a racial slur. Either one carries the same weight with me, and it carries the same level of ignorance. Either way, the person using these terms is an uneducated idiot. Without getting into how an individual perceived the meaning of the word (no matter how hard people try, there is no universal perception), they are exactly the same. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-benefactor-and-board-chairman-uses-n-word/412112/47 "2007-07-17T19:00:06Z")
[QUOTE=DudleyGarrett] Either one carries the same weight with me, and it carries the same level of ignorance. [/QUOTE] Congratulations, you have an opinion. I doubt too many other people share it, and as such, a lot of people don’t consider the two terms equivalent, even though they are both slurs connected to race. With words, the subtle differences can be very significant, and proving two words mean comparable things doesn’t deal with all the connotations they carry. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-benefactor-and-board-chairman-uses-n-word/412112/48 "2007-07-17T19:03:15Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Excellent] Mind if I take a stab at it? The argument I’ve heard for the n-word being more offensive than “cracker” is that it’s associated with a series of really horrible legal and cultural institutions. The slave trade, slavery itself, Jim Crow, lynchings, etc. The n-word was a big part of the working vocabulary of those institutions, and the use of it can be seen as a tacit endorsement of them. On the other hand, there were never any similar institutions that employed the word “cracker”. [/QUOTE] So it’s fine and dandy that you would call me a person who “cracked” whips on other people? I’m not supposed to be offended by this? I’ve done no such thing, nor would I ever. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-benefactor-and-board-chairman-uses-n-word/412112/49 "2007-07-17T19:14:29Z")
[QUOTE=Spit] So it’s fine and dandy that you would call me a person who “cracked” whips on other people? I’m not supposed to be offended by this? I’ve done no such thing, nor would I ever. [/QUOTE] Interesting - it never occurred to me that that’s what “cracker” meant. I always thought it simply referred to skin tone - white, like a Saltine cracker. But yah, if that’s actually the source of the term, then I’d agree the offensiveness level goes way up. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-benefactor-and-board-chairman-uses-n-word/412112/50 "2007-07-17T19:19:04Z")
I’d never heard anybody suggest that’s where it came from either. Wikipedia lists a variety of possible origins, and refers to the slavery one as a folk etymology - which in my experience always means it’s bullshit. > **[Cracker (term)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cracker_%28pejorative%29)** > > Cracker, sometimes cracka or white cracker, is a racial epithet directed towards white people, used especially with regard to poor rural whites in the Southern United States. Although commonly a pejorative, it is also used in a neutral context, particularly in reference to a native of Florida or Georgia (see Florida cracker and Georgia cracker). > The exact history and etymology of the word is debated. > The term is "probably an agent noun" from the word crack. The word crack was later adopted int... ---
**Author:** ![Li\_l\_Pluck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ee59a6/32.png) [@Li\_l\_Pluck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Li_l_Pluck)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-benefactor-and-board-chairman-uses-n-word/412112/51 "2007-07-17T19:19:04Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Excellent] Mind if I take a stab at it? The argument I’ve heard for the n-word being more offensive than “cracker” is that it’s associated with a series of really horrible legal and cultural institutions. The slave trade, slavery itself, Jim Crow, lynchings, etc. The n-word was a big part of the working vocabulary of those institutions, and the use of it can be seen as a tacit endorsement of them. On the other hand, there were never any similar institutions that employed the word “cracker”. [/QUOTE] Yep, sounds 'bout right to me. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-benefactor-and-board-chairman-uses-n-word/412112/52 "2007-07-17T19:43:09Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] I’d never heard anybody suggest that’s where it came from either. Wikipedia lists a variety of possible origins, and refers to the slavery one as a folk etymology - which in my experience always means it’s bullshit. > **[Cracker (term)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cracker_%28pejorative%29)** > > Cracker, sometimes cracka or white cracker, is a racial slur directed at white people, used especially with regard to poor rural whites in the Southern United States. It is commonly a pejorative, though is also used in a neutral context, particularly in reference to a native of Florida or Georgia (see Florida cracker and Georgia cracker). The exact history and origin of the term is debated. According to one theory, it is an agent noun derived from the verb crack, meaning "to boast". The use of ... [/QUOTE] Let’s see our options here: > [@](#): > > There are various theories concerning the origin of the term “cracker”… > > …The term “cracker” was in use during Elizabethan times to describe braggarts… > > …By the 1760s, this term was in use by the English in the British North American colonies to refer to Scots-Irish settlers in the south. A letter to the Earl of Dartmouth reads: “I should explain to your Lordship what is meant by Crackers; a name they have got from being great boasters; they are a lawless set of rascalls on the frontiers of Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia, who often change their places of abode”. A similar usage was that of Charles Darwin in The Origin of Species, to refer to “Virginia squatters” (illegal settlers) (p. 35)… > > …Spaniards in Florida called them “Quáqueros,” a corruption of the English word “Quaker,” which the Spanish used to contemptuously refer to any protestant… > > …One theory claims that the term dates back to slavery in the antebellum South. The popular folk etymology is based on slaver foremen using bullwhips to discipline African slaves, and the sound the whip being described as ‘cracking the whip’. The foremen who cracked these whips were thus known as ‘crackers’… > > …According to the 1911 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, “cracker” is a term of contempt for the “poor” or “mean whites,” particularly of Georgia and Florida. Britannica notes that the term dates back to the American Revolution, and is derived from the “cracked corn” which formed their staple food. (Note that in British English “mean” is a term for poverty, not malice.) … > > …Historically the word suggested poor, white rural Americans with little formal education. Historians point out the term originally referred to the strong Scots-Irish of the backcountry (as opposed to the English of the seacoast). Thus a sociologist reported in 1926: "As the plantations expanded these freed men (formerly bond servants) were pushed further and further back upon the more and more sterile soil. They became ‘pinelanders’, ‘corn-crackers’, or ‘crackers’… So once again…I’m not supposed to be offended by this? It doesn’t matter how it came about, it is still an offensive, socio-economic (at this point, widely racist) term. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-benefactor-and-board-chairman-uses-n-word/412112/53 "2007-07-17T19:55:57Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] If you think “cracker” is as bad an insult as “nigger,” you’re straight-up nuts. Then again, I’ve never heard anybody seriously call a white person a cracker. I’ve heard it in comedy and that’s it. [/QUOTE] Agree. If a white and black are about to get into a fight and the white calls the black a nigger, it would escalate the problem, every time. If the black called the white a cracker, it would probably diffuse the situation, as probably anyone around would start laughing. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-benefactor-and-board-chairman-uses-n-word/412112/54 "2007-07-17T19:59:26Z")
[QUOTE=Spit] So once again…I’m not supposed to be offended by this? [/quote] I don’t remember anybody saying that. The word is obviously an insult. > [@](#): > > It doesn’t matter how it came about You thought it mattered before, but okay. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-benefactor-and-board-chairman-uses-n-word/412112/55 "2007-07-17T20:00:08Z")
There are white people who are really, seriously offended at being called ‘cracker’? I can’t imagine being anything but amused if somebody called me that. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-benefactor-and-board-chairman-uses-n-word/412112/56 "2007-07-17T20:00:36Z")
Except all “racial slurs” aren’t created equal. Some are deadly, some are nerfed. The fact that this isn’t logical is irrelevant. “Cracker” just isn’t as offensive as “nigger”, and anyone who pretends they are equally offensive is selling something. ---
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-benefactor-and-board-chairman-uses-n-word/412112/57 "2007-07-17T20:06:29Z")
[QUOTE=Lemur866] Except all “racial slurs” aren’t created equal. Some are deadly, some are nerfed. The fact that this isn’t logical is irrelevant. “Cracker” just isn’t as offensive as “nigger”, and anyone who pretends they are equally offensive is selling something. [/QUOTE] To me, there is either offensive or not offensive. The degree to which I’m personally offended is not relevant to this discussion as it is based solely on my own perception or emotional reaction. I can’t fucking believe that some of you are so fucking into arguing that you’re actually implying that some racial slurs are horrible and punishable by death while others are good for a small laugh – based solely on history that \ ***NONE OF US** \* have lived through. Jim Crow Laws? Are you fucking serious? I’m 100% Irish, can we go back to how the Irish were treated in the US upon their arrival in the 1840s? ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-benefactor-and-board-chairman-uses-n-word/412112/58 "2007-07-17T20:14:07Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Excellent] Interesting - it never occurred to me that that’s what “cracker” meant. I always thought it simply referred to skin tone - white, like a Saltine cracker. But yah, if that’s actually the source of the term, then I’d agree the offensiveness level goes way up. [/QUOTE] > **[Redneck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redneck)** > > Redneck is a derogatory term mainly applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the southern United States. > Its meaning possibly stems from the sunburn found on farmers' necks dating back to the late 19th century. > Authors Joseph Flora and Lucinda MacKethan describe the stereotype as follows: Its modern usage is similar in meaning to cracker (especially regarding Texas, Georgia, and Florida), hillbilly (especially regarding Appa... > [@](#): > > In colonial times, they were often called rednecks and crackers by English neighbors. A letter to the Earl of Dartmouth included the following passage: “I should explain … what is meant by Crackers; a name they have got from being great boasters; they are a lawless set of rascalls on the frontiers of Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia, who often change their places of abode.” [5] More here: > **[Georgia cracker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_cracker)** > > Georgia crackers are the descendants of colonial-era British American pioneer settlers in what is now the U.S. state of Georgia, and a subculture of White Southerners. In the late 19th century and the early part of the 20th century, Georgia ranchers came to be known as "Georgia Crackers" by Floridians when they drove their cattle down into the grassy flatlands of central Florida to graze in the winter, stopping where the citrus groves began. In order to get the cattle's attention they became ... So while it is a perjorative (with semi-racial overtones given its origin insulting the Scots), it does not appear to fall into the same scale as nigger. It is all in how it is used, of course. When an 80 year old white man says nigger when fighting the forced inclusion of black candidates, it sounds pretty damned racist. If a black comedian uses cracker, I can tolerate it. If Jesse Jackson does it, then I might be a bit pissed off, given his role in politics (tying in another thread). There are people who can call me a redneck (justifiably so). When they do it, it is a pleasant thing usually referring to my hobbies of firearms, hunting, and working on old muscle cars. There are others who use the term redneck in my presence to denigrate a percent of the population. Those folks get my response with both bores. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-benefactor-and-board-chairman-uses-n-word/412112/59 "2007-07-17T20:14:12Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] You thought it mattered before, but okay. [/QUOTE] …in that they are all offensive roots for the word. Since I was a child, I have known it to come from whip cracking. (As did most people, whenever the discussion came up) ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-benefactor-and-board-chairman-uses-n-word/412112/60 "2007-07-17T20:16:47Z")
[QUOTE=DudleyGarrett] To me, there is either offensive or not offensive. The degree to which I’m personally offended is not relevant to this discussion as it is based solely on my own perception or emotional reaction. I can’t fucking believe that some of you are so fucking into arguing that you’re actually implying that some racial slurs are horrible and punishable by death while others are good for a small laugh – based solely on history that \ ***NONE OF US** \* have lived through. Jim Crow Laws? Are you fucking serious? I’m 100% Irish, can we go back to how the Irish were treated in the US upon their arrival in the 1840s? [/QUOTE] Amen brother. Coming from a very deep Irish background on one side, I have heard a lot of things. From the other side, I had Cherokee blood, which was also great for some stories. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-benefactor-and-board-chairman-uses-n-word/412112.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/university-benefactor-and-board-chairman-uses-n-word/412112.md?page=4)