yes, we can (well, to some extent).
I think you may have been confused with this thread, where MEBuckner issued a mod’s note (and not warning):
You mistake what Dex was doing. He was trying to keep the thread on topic. Dex tends to be somewhat more fanatical about this than others, but in general, if a thread tends to veer off topic, the mods will try to steer it back on topic and send the hijack to an appropriate forum. So Dex isn’t upset about the “white trash” comment, or the “white trash” complaints, just telling everyone where to take them for proper use of the forum.
Really, you should learn to read without taking things personally and getting all het up about it. 
Hence the very bad Tuba/Tuna Noodle Casserole pun. I was being punny.
[the rest is general and not Liberal specific]
As to the “some people find it offensive”- who gives a damn? We have a frigging PIT forum where the sole purpose is to offend.
Unlike slurs about black people, Italians, Hispanics, Asians, or any other ethnic group or nationality, who “white trash” refers to is subjective and debatable. It does not refer to and is usually not used to refer to an entire race.
I find queer offensive sometimes and sometimes I don’t- it depends on how it’s used. Chances are if it’s being used in a really derogatory way then the poster will say something that merits a warning in and of itself without room for debate to whether it’s a hate term.
And as somebody in the thread said, WE CAN’T BAN EVERY DAMNED THING BECAUSE SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE MIGHT FIND IT OFFENSIVE. There have been many threads outside the Pit bashing religion that I’m sure religious Dopers find offensive but they deal with it. (Start one bashing Catholicism and not only will TomNDebb not rent their garments and cover themselves in ashes and turn to salt but they’ll probably come and make the most informed and cogent posts in the thread.) I don’t equate “don’t be a jerk” with “don’t say anything anybody could possibly be offended by”- I’m sure somebody somewhere is offended by the words Anderson Cooper or defenestrated ocelots.
I love the Dope, but damn- sometimes some Dopers are just too thin-skinned. It’s at such times that, regardless of how I feel about the merits of it and how fun it would be to visit there with a baseball bat and a nail gun, I can actually understand the origins of “the other site”.
I’ll just slide on over to Cafe Society and argue about Deep Space 9 and [/]Babylon 5.* 
I find that very offensive considering how many thousands of U.S. soldier and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died fighting in what was once Babylon and now you’ve conflated their deaths with a cafe and a guy from Benson (Deep Space 9’sRene Auberjunois- who also played The Duke in the B’way production of Big River which is based on Huckleberry Finn which uses the word nigger constantly! So essentially what you’re saying is that the horrors of slavery and the war in Iraq are something you’d like to sit in a Cafe and watch Benson rather than do anything about!
RACIST!
(And Rene is also a descendant of Napoleon’s sister, and she was something of a whore, and her brother was head of the government, and Napoleon like Hitler put together an empire that comprised almost all of continental Europe, so while you’re sitting in your cafe and drinking a toast to Nappoleonically Headed Ho’s and Hitler I’ll be in here fighting injustice!)
How about the term “cracker?”
Going back to GWTW for a second, there was a differrence between “cracker” and “white trash.” Crackers were generally poor folk who lived back in the woods and were lucky to seen $10 in a year. They did not seem to have the stigma attached to them because they were poor. In fact, in the beginning of the book, as the Tarleton twins were figuring out where to go eat dinner, they mentioned a friend who their slave sneered at as “poor white trash” and they ripped their slave a new one, saying he’s just poor, but not trash.
But the Slatterys were shiftless and lived off the kindness of strangers, and Emmie had an out of wedlock child.
Segolene Royal, would be President of France has four.
Let’s see…what can I say without getting in trouble AGAIN?
I was raised by a woman who marched in Civil Rights marches in the 1960’s. Who raised me with the understanding that “color, race, ethnicity, are things that should be recognized and celebrated, not denigrated.” She told me from day one “people of all races are your brothers and sisters. They deserve your respect as human beings, and should never be disrespected because of their heritage, ethnicity, religion, or the color of their skin. Picking on someone because of these things they cannot control is ugly and mean, and if you respect others and celebrate their differences, so will they respect you and celebrate your differences.”
And that’s exactly how I feel, despite the snide and subtle comments some on the SDMB have made towards me in the past when I’ve tried to speak out against words such as “cracker.”
White trash, like cracker, is a racially offensive term. I and others (who happen to be white) have had both those terms used against us in the Real World. As terms meant purposefully and willingly to denigrate our race. That doesn’t mean it’s universally offensive, but really, why are we so afraid to not use a word which is likely offensive to several folks on here? Remember the train wreck over “Hottentot?” I had never in my life heard of that as an offensive term, and I’m fairly well-read - and apparently, others on here had not heard of it either. I polled around my office and found that not one, single person was aware of it being an offensive term - 0/20+ or more college-educated people. Yet a Member was forced to change their username, IIRC because of the risk of offense. A similar question today resulted in a vote of 14 to 3 that the words “white trash” and “cracker” were “racially offensive terms.” Maybe I just work in a fantasy world? Sure, I’m not the world, but nor am I a lone voice in the wilderness either.
As a thought experiment, think on this - what racially offensive term to whites is not allowed on the SDMB? I tried to search on past rulings and such, and could find none. And if there is none, then by definition there is an inequity, and it’s a glaring one. How can a denigrating term that contains the word “white” not be racially connected? Has anyone ever seen “white trash” commonly used to describe a black person?
I want equality. I want blacks and whites to live together and love each other and ignore the issue of race, ethnicity, heritage, etc. except in a positive way. I want lesbians, gays, the transgendered, and of course straight folks to show respect and dignity towards each other. I want Christians, Jews, and Muslims to be at peace. Please excuse any groups left out; there is limited time to type. And I want the SDMB to in part set a standard for what is to be a “better” place on the net. And in my mind, racially divisive terms used with malice towards Members, such as “white trash” and “cracker”, do nothing towards making the SDMB the shining city on the hill, so to speak.
I want to appeal therefore to the SDMB Staff to discuss this in private and see if we really want to allow what I, and I’m certain others, have had experience with are racially offensive terms to be used by one person against another - “white trash” and “cracker.” Or at a minimum, if a Member complains formally about the use of the word towards them or a libeled group, then at that point and in that instance, a warning could be issued (obviously, if some people are “happy” with the terms, why cause trouble where there is none?)
This seems to be where we’re sticking. Is it a racially offensive term simply because it mentions race? Is it a racially offensive term when it cannot and is not applied to every member of the race? I don’t know a single person in the history of the English language who would describe Audrey Hepburn as “white trash”. Or Catherine Zeta-Jones or Natalie Portman or Bill Gates or Steven Hawking. To be called “white trash”, one must be assumed to be behaving in or part of a social group who participates in specific behaviors. One is not white trash merely as a result of being white.
Contrariwise, any and every black person in the US runs the risk of being called a nigger. Doesn’t matter who or where they are, how they act, what kind of person they are; the simple fact of having dark skin opens them to the hateful word, and that’s what makes it hateful - they have absolutely no choice or influence in the matter.
Can someone be called white trash and not be trashy? Sure. And that sucks, and it’s hateful, for sure. But it’s hateful in the same way being called “filthy trash” or “trailer trash” or “stupid” or “ugly” or any other phrase that hurts hurts.
Point A: the poster volunteered to change her username, albeit after considerable social pressure. That took the verdict out of the hands of the Mods, although I believe they still discussed it.
Point B: I, personally, didn’t agree with that, either, and would have agreed even less if it had been an Official Decision.
I’m not surprised, but I’m not sure what your office vote has to do with us - a different culture in a different medium. The overwhelming majority of replies in two threads now have been from people who don’t consider it a term worth banning. While I don’t approve of mob rule, it does seem to indicate that those with enough of an interest to weigh in don’t measure out in the same proportions your office mates do.
I see “white trash” the same was I see “hippie”. Both describe mostly self-chosen social groups. When I use it about myself (either one), it’s a bit tongue in cheek. When people use it about me as a descriptor, I don’t mind it. When it’s hurled as a weapon, I don’t like it. We already have words about hurling weapon words - it amounts to a personal insult, and is rarely allowed. The other two uses are not harmful, and in the absence of harm, free speech ought to prevail, IMHO.
I ask because I was white trash, and I’m not even white. It seemed that everybody who lived in rural Appalachia with no indoor plumbing was white trash. We lived with my grandfather, and he lived there. I suppose you could make the argument that he chose to live there, but if he’d chosen to go to Harvard or something, someone along the way would have told him no. Luckily, when we moved to the flatlands, I learned that I was a half-breed, (people were lousy with fractions), and that my dad couldn’t hold his liquor, (despite that he didn’t drink). It really never dawned on me until I was in my twenties that white trash was not a kind of trash, but a kind of person. As far as I’m concerned, if you hate someone and you open your mouth, that’s hate speech.
Likewise, I’ve never heard anyone ever refer to Bill Cosby or Colin Powell as a “nigger”; I’m sure someone will Google and find a hit on it, but seriously, IRL I never. And I have heard Bill Gates called “white trash” before. I did hear Steven Hawking called “that black hole cracker”, but that use was in jest.
But this assumes facts not in evidence. You cannot prove that any specific white person could not risk being called a “cracker” or “white trash” by some racist. I’ve personally heard Bill Gates called “white trash” - I reckon if I hung around racists all day I could probably hear a lot of other folks called that as well. Maybe my office is unusual, but in 15 years I’ve heard just one, single racist statement in that whole time, and that person was ostracized fairly quickly.
I really hate nitpicking on this, but that’s not the chain of events. From here at Post 29: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8407810&postcount=29
That says that the name is not going to be allowed, and that she had to change it. No verdict was taken out of anyone’s hands. And just before that in that thread, in Post 26, we had the subject in question saying:
Which says to me that she was not voluntarily changing it before the ruling.
It has as much to do with “us” as the other anecdotes in this thread where people state that it’s not been their experience IRL that it is offensive. And on that standpoint, it’s just as valid. Or invalid.
That’s your opinion, which is just as valid as mine or that of my co-workers who I polled. Maybe if you had had it applied hatefully to you you would post something different - or maybe you wouldn’t, I’m not you. You’ve led a different life and moved in different circles. I appreciate your experiences, and admit that they are valid data points - but please recognize the validity of mine.
The fundamental point is, I’m not debating it with you, or anyone else - I’ve made an appeal, and explained my reasons, and asked the Moderators and Administrators here to discuss it privately. It’s hopefully in the hands of the SDMB Staff, of which you and I are not. Whatever they decide, I won’t pester them again about this unless something seriously changes with the character of the Board - and I won’t bitch about it if things don’t go how I’d like.
Then next week we can do native week and discuss whether American Indians, Kanook, Eskimo, Cheyenne, and Sioux are offensive.
Crazy Horse will be mentioned and make a nice segue into whether the word Crazy can still be used for the next installment, after which we’ll discuss whether Snow White and the Seven Dwarves should be called Snow Caucasian and the Seven Little People* followed by ‘Men, Does Being Excluded from Auditioning for the Vagina Monologues Wound Your Inner Child?’ week.
*We don’t know if she’s worthy of being white, so she’s just caucasian- or is it the opposite?
But that’s next week and another thread.
Meanwhile:
I am one who has not asked for the banning of the term white trash. At the same time, I marvel at those, including the mods, who claim that it’s not a hate term. One has only to read Sampiro’s loaded definition in this thread for contradiction of that notion.
What do you expect when you take the word trash and apply it to another human being? What begins as a supposition that all poor people are trash is distorted by “group think” until it becomes a caricature that the same group then reacts to as if it were the reality.
Poor people becomes poor, uneducated, unintelligent, unreliable, criminal, tacky, meth-making, baby-factories, etc.
Not hate speech?
To top it off, we now have someone who says that this is a “self-chosen social group.”
Maybe wanting to be poor is genetic. Think that’s it? :rolleyes:
It’s more than just being poor. Obviously a child born into a “white trash” family will not have a choice, but when they become adults they can choose not to live like that. I’m not saying they can choose not to be poor–that’s something with a lot more factors in it–but they can choose whether or not to be loud, tacky, criminal, racist, etc.
I don’t think it’s hate speech. It’s derogatory, yes. But hate speech implies a level of vitriol that isn’t present in the phrase “white trash”.
I’ll freely admit that “white trash” isn’t one of the really bad racial slurs, IMHO. It can even be used with tongue in cheek with no one taking offense.
But with “Jap” and other terms that I thought even more harmless taking such heat, I thought it was best to discuss this.
In fact one of our Irish members educated me- there “Brit” can be a fairly nasty racial slur! :eek: :smack:
(and much to overseas dudes suprise: to a good number of Southern Americans- “Yank” is a nasty slur, too!) :eek:
Yes, real hate speech has a certain personne ne sait quoi. Like God, it moves in mysterious ways.
OpalCat, so on one hand you can say that white trash implies “loud, tacky, criminal, racist, etc.” and on the other hand you can say:
It’s not the phrase that has the most vitriol; it’s the characteristics that you have come to associate with the phrase – loud, tacky, criminal, racist, etc."
Again, I ask you to look in Webster’s dictionary for the literal meaning. Then ask yourself how much of the definition that you have given it is something that is prejudiced inside of you? I have nothing at all against you personally, Opal. I just think this is a blind spot for you.
What if people automatically associated African Americans with being loud, tacky, criminal, racist, etc.? You would say they were bigots, right?
All I can tell you is that all of the people that society has labeled white trash are absolutely nowhere near being loud tacky, criminal and racist. Many of those people are the salt of the earth and would lay down their lives for you. They would give you the clothes right off of their backs if you needed them. If you needed a place to stay, they would take you in and share what they had. They would share their treasures unselfishly with you. Their hearts can be full of love and they can say the sweetest things that you will remember all of your life.
The woman with the most courage of any woman I have ever known would be labeled by many people as white trash.. She did things that are so frightening they are hard to even write about. And last year she worked herself to death.
Unless you know some of these people for a while, often they won’t open up to you. At least, that’s been true of some that I’ve known through teaching and other friendships. I’m sure there’s the criminal element too, but I’ve known only one that I know of. In the mid-1970’s I met one man who was eventually shot to death robbing a store.
I take it that you don’t assume that everyone who lives in a trailer is white trash, right?
Well, there’s a huge difference in morals between 2007 and 1861.
What, they used invisible nails?
Not the risk, the certainty - I’d already been offended. But only in the username, not in say, quoting a Victorian author or Shakespeare’s Sister.
They somehow realize the teachings of youth are so much dross and they will shun their family and friends?
I can’t see that happening more often than Hindus, Orthodox Jews, Amish, New Yorkers or Mississippians converting.