# Use of the word Cracker **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [February 23, 2015, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-cracker/713446 "2015-02-23T21:46:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-cracker/713446/61 "2015-02-24T22:36:44Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > Did you report it to a mod? What is that supposed to mean? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-cracker/713446/62 "2015-02-24T22:54:36Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > I’ve always heard/read “cracker” as a term equal to “poor white Georgia trash” who would crack the whip over their one mule or slave as the wealthy plantation owner rode past - trying to make himself the equal of the rich. It was considered quite an insult - at least back in the 1800s. > > I don’t know if it makes the word more offensive but that is the origin I was taught at Pitt. That folk etymology was created about the same time that various people began attempting to use it as an ethnic slur, (since “honky” never got much traction). That “whip cracking” claim was actually a change to the older “whip cracking” claim that attributed it to the cowboys and stock handlers of the Georgia and Florida scrub who used whips to herd cattle. However, even that folk etymology was incorrect. The word cracker was a sixteenth century nickname for a braggart. It is not clear how it became associated specifically with the poorer inhabitants of Georgia and Florida, but its use preceded the rise of cattle herding to those areas and long preceded the rise of plantations in that area. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-cracker/713446/63 "2015-02-24T23:00:39Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > And here’s the point, the point why allowing “Cracker” is wrong- we dont allow any racial pejoratives, _unless they are against white people._ Has the SDMB ever banned any racial pejorative against white people? Think about it. We still don’t allow racial pejoratives. It was not used as a pejorative in the post that started this discussion. The fact that it can be used as a pejorative by certain people in specific situations does not make it universally pejorative. The fact that thousands of Floridians and Georgians use it of themselves, both jokingly and proudly, attests to its lack of universal malice. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-cracker/713446/64 "2015-02-24T23:39:07Z")
I suppose this is an inappropriate time to ask for a “_beating a dead horse_” smilie? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-cracker/713446/65 "2015-02-24T23:45:35Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > We still don’t allow racial pejoratives. It was not used as a pejorative in the post that started this discussion. > The fact that it can be used as a pejorative by certain people in specific situations does not make it universally pejorative. The fact that thousands of Floridians and Georgians use it of themselves, both jokingly and proudly, attests to its lack of universal malice. That’s a silly argument. Thousands of African-Americans use the word “nigger” jokingly and proudly, but you don’t allow that term on this forum. Why is “cracker” somehow different? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-cracker/713446/66 "2015-02-24T23:50:22Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > That’s a silly argument. Thousands of African-Americans use the word “nigger” jokingly and proudly, but you don’t allow that term on this forum. Why is “cracker” somehow different? Because it’s a different word. And no, that is not a flippant answer. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2015, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-cracker/713446/67 "2015-02-24T23:55:18Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > We still don’t allow racial pejoratives. It was not used as a pejorative in the post that started this discussion. > The fact that it can be used as a pejorative by certain people in specific situations does not make it universally pejorative. The fact that thousands of Floridians and Georgians use it of themselves, both jokingly and proudly, attests to its lack of universal malice. as I said before: Sure, but that same argument can be used with “Nigger” since some dudes use it among themselves in a jocular and friendly non-racist way. Thus then “But it isn’t necessarily pejorative, and certainly isn’t always racist.” But we dont allow racial pejoratives here, except in context, and thus dont allow “nigger” to be used in such a way, even tho “it isn’t necessarily pejorative, and certainly isn’t always racist.” ---
**Author:** ![simply\_put](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7993a0/32.png) [@simply\_put](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simply_put)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-cracker/713446/68 "2015-02-25T00:25:52Z")
I am what you call an African American, the N word is a commonly used colloquium among people of color, recently I’ve heard some young whites using it. I’m not sure most Caucasians are familiar with the history of the word (Cracker). Nor are a vast majority of black people born in US totally abreast of the meaning of the term (Nigger). A high rate of so called whites and blacks wrongly understand and therefore misuse the two terms, interchangeably as petty attempts at being insulting, or perhaps demeaning. A nigger is not no more a person of color, and a cracker is nothing more than something that you eat that doesn’t necessarily have to be in a box. Depending on your life style and social habits anyone can be effectively referred to as a “nigger” without respect to nor restricted by race according to formal definition of word etymology. Whereas the word “Cracker” originated in the south in the state of Florida. Wikipedia has the history or story on this word. These Caucasians were best known as crackers because of their fanciful lighthearted joking nature. You could always tell one because of their incessant habit to crack jokes! So from that time period on people referred to them as Florida Crackers! Now one thing about the truth, unlike our American History, you can always take the truth beyond where you heard it and prove whether it is true or not. That is if you really want to know the truth, or perhaps you only wanted to use the word Nigger is this post. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![donkeyoatey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@donkeyoatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donkeyoatey)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-cracker/713446/69 "2015-02-25T00:32:10Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > What is that supposed to mean? 😕 This is going to cause more confusion than a mouse in a burlesque show. That’s a joke, I say that’s a joke son. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-cracker/713446/70 "2015-02-25T00:56:45Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I agree. It’s only about as offensive as “Jap” but by and large we have banned that word here too. White trash is also a offensive racial term. Seriously? You honestly think that “cracker” is the equivalent of “jap”? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-cracker/713446/71 "2015-02-25T01:16:50Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > **BrainGlutton** did not use the word against anyone. Not every jocular reference to a group is always intended as an insult or an attack. 😕 It wasn’t jocular. It was descriptive, though I always preferred to call them “swamp rats.” > [@camille](#): > > I used to hear [this](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=country) way back when I was a child in the city (New York) Otis Redding is accused of being “country” [here.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNWSI-AP1cA) > [@tomndebb](#): > > The word cracker was a sixteenth century nickname for a braggart. It is not clear how it became associated specifically with the poorer inhabitants of Georgia and Florida… I see you’ve never known one. So basically Florida’s Crackers are the equivalent to the First Families of Virginia. While I have used “FFV” disparagingly (again, you need to know some), most members of that group wear it with pride. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-cracker/713446/72 "2015-02-25T02:15:27Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I agree. It’s only about as offensive as “Jap” but by and large we have banned that word here too. That’s an extremely offensive term. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-cracker/713446/73 "2015-02-25T02:22:28Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > I suppose this is an inappropriate time to ask for a “_beating a dead horse_” smilie? Maybe whipping a dead mule might be more appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-cracker/713446/74 "2015-02-25T03:32:33Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > That’s a silly argument. Thousands of African-Americans use the word “nigger” jokingly and proudly, but you don’t allow that term on this forum. Why is “cracker” somehow different? > [@DrDeth](#): > > as I said before: Sure, but that same argument can be used with “Nigger” since some dudes use it among themselves in a jocular and friendly non-racist way. Thus then “But it isn’t necessarily pejorative, and certainly isn’t always racist.” > > But we dont allow racial pejoratives here, except in context, and thus dont allow “nigger” to be used in such a way, even tho “it isn’t necessarily pejorative, and certainly isn’t always racist.” Nope. There are significant differences that you are failing to recognize. First, one more time, cracker is not inherently pejorative. It is descriptive, as is Gullah. Now, it can be used in a pejorative manner, just as “cheesehead” can be used as a pejorative, (or as Lincoln famously used Michigander). Those in the black community who use nigger or nigga are engaged in [reclaiming](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reappropriation) the word, just as the words Yankee or gay have been reclaimed by the populations toward which those words were initially directed as insults. Cracker was reclaimed many many years ago, as its use in the names of sports teams indicates. The black community has not universally embraced that reclaiming effort, with a majority still regarding the word as an insult. So you are attempting to equate the negative values of one word that has been embraced by pretty much everyone it identifies, and which was never much of an insult to begin with, to another word that is universally recognized as an insult even if a small subset of the population it identifies is engaged in an effort to reclaim it. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-cracker/713446/75 "2015-02-25T14:44:06Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Or, consider the word “Jew.” It can be used offensively, as in “He wanted fifty bucks for it, but I Jewed him down to $35.” Does that mean that all uses of the word “Jew” are offensive? You’re using the word Jew as a noun in one instance and a verb in the other. I can’t imagine any instance where the use of the word Jew as a verb wouldn’t be offensive. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-cracker/713446/76 "2015-02-25T14:55:13Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > I can’t imagine any instance where the use of the word Jew as a verb wouldn’t be offensive. Dialogue involving a character with a speech impediment telling someone to “jew” their food with their mouth closed. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-cracker/713446/77 "2015-02-25T16:23:29Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > We still don’t allow racial pejoratives. This is a lie. I reported the post below less than an hour after it was made. The Pit mod posted in the thread about 27 hours later so he had plenty of time to see the report. It was allowed to stand. > [@Afroman punches woman on stage](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afroman-punches-woman-on-stage/713034/93): > > It’s “you’re”, you dumb greasy wop. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18146342&postcount=93](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18146342&postcount=93) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-cracker/713446/78 "2015-02-25T16:41:35Z")
Did you start an ATMB thread? Because that certainly merited a warning. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-cracker/713446/79 "2015-02-25T16:53:57Z")
It was actually pretty amusing in context. But was nevertheless “bigoted and offensive.” As (again, in context) it was intended to be. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-cracker/713446/80 "2015-02-25T17:03:52Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Sure, because we only base how pejorative is based upon the “real historical weight”.:dubious: > > If that word hasnt been oppressing Americans for a hundred years- it dont count!:rolleyes: Heh. I gotta have real reasons to get my panties in a twist, but obviously YMV. > [@andros](#): > > It was actually pretty amusing in context. But was nevertheless “bigoted and offensive.” As (again, in context) it was intended to be. Also, wasn’t the first time it was used, it was as nothing but an example? Then the second time (the one everyone keeps quoting), wasn’t that used in a way to mock the idea that it was brought up to begin with? Not actually to call whoever it was by that slur? So yeah, I agree that context is everything here. ETA: And now I have an overwhelming urge to change my username to Honky Cracker. I have no idea why. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-cracker/713446.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/use-of-the-word-cracker/713446.md?page=5)