# Wypipo? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 7, 2018, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wypipo/817482 "2018-07-07T19:03:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wypipo/817482/41 "2018-07-08T00:13:11Z")
> [@Mr.Nylock](#): > > I have no problem with being white and objecting to racism. On the contrary I think it is a good thing. Contrary to that though, I think what you are promoting is a bad thing. I don’t like it. Mostly what it is to me is using race relations as a pawn to feel superior to lower class white people. The real reason you don’t care about whether black use a slur against white people is that you have never been in a situation, or are not often in situations where you are on an equal footing with minorities. Your boss isn’t black, your neighbors aren’t black, your friends aren’t black, your enemies aren’t black. To you, really, black people are just this poor disadvantaged group that you need to protect from bad stupid white people - you may have empathy for them, but really, in your mind, they are not equal. > > And I can tell you that black people I have known do not condone this sort of racism or think it is OK. In fact, one time someone called me a slur and all the people around strongly condemned it to the point that the guy felt a little ashamed. > > You see, most good people just want to get along and don’t care for this nonsense, but I find it hard to believe that people like you care as much about getting along as you do about feeling morally superior. I’m not convinced. The reality is that black people in America are the target of a lot more racism than white people in America are. By a factor of at least a hundred to one. So saying that racism is a problem for black people is just a generalization of the reality. I also have doubts about the theory that protesting against racism is somehow itself a form of racism. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wypipo/817482/42 "2018-07-08T00:15:18Z")
Edit: nm, given the note. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wypipo/817482/43 "2018-07-08T00:15:54Z")
Okay, I just reread the thread and saw the moderator note. I don’t think it was directed at me but I’m going to leave before I write something that will get it directed at me. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wypipo/817482/44 "2018-07-08T01:15:44Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > But should a word used with the intent of insulting other posters as racists be given a pass in non-Pit threads? Speaking only for GD and Elections - To clarify, are you asking whether name calling is okay? Some name calling does get a pass, when it’s clearly meant in good fun and non derogatory at all. **Bricker** often gets referred to as “Counselor”. Doesn’t even rate. If instead a lawyer were referred to as an “ambulance chaser” (or any other generic knock on lawyers) I’d say that’s a no. The basis for this is because name calling is easily construed as being insulting. So the answer is, name calling is not okay. Some obvious and clearly non-insulting construction gets a pass, but if you are going to take that route I’d recommend treading very carefully because your individual interpretation may differ from others’. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wypipo/817482/45 "2018-07-08T01:29:02Z")
i didn’t care about the [“fighting whites”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighting_Whites) and i’m not gonna care about wypipo because I’m not a thin skinned reactionary. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wypipo/817482/46 "2018-07-08T04:37:08Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Speaking only for GD and Elections - > > To clarify, are you asking whether name calling is okay? … No. I am clarifying that calling other posters “wypipo” _is_ “name calling” and not “okay” in those fora. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wypipo/817482/47 "2018-07-08T07:15:10Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Wypipo is just a baby-talk version of white people. You’re ignorant of the origin of the word, but you’re still going to lecture us on who it applies to? Your privilege is showing… > [@](#): > > So it’s literally an insult directed against all white people. No, it isn’t - any more than hillbilly or Mick or kike or polack or wop or WASP are directed at all White people. > [@](#): > > Even if you’re directing it at Omarosa Manigault or Ben Carson. Insulting a black person by telling them they’re acting like a white person is an insult to that individual and to white people in general. It’s not telling them they’re acting like a white person. It’s telling them they’re acting like wypipo. > [@](#): > > The insult to the individual is you’re telling them they’re acting like a member of an inferior group. And the fact that you feel the group is inferior is an insult to the entire group. This is true. The group, however, is not all white people. It’s not \*even \*all the \*racist \*white people. Klan members, the Apartheid government and goosestepping neoNazis are not (necessarily) wypipo. Becky, who calls the cops because there’s a black kid in the neighbourhood pool, is wypipo. NeoNazis who think khakis and Perrys make for a cool uniform \*are \*wypipo. Biff, who asks “How come Blacks can sing nigger but I can’t” while wearing the [Loser Flag](https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/avLgPr5_700bwp.webp) on his t-shirt, is _peak_ wypipo. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wypipo/817482/48 "2018-07-08T15:33:18Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > The group, however, is not all white people. It’s not \*even \*all the \*racist \*white people. > > Klan members, the Apartheid government and goosestepping neoNazis are not (necessarily) wypipo. Becky, who calls the cops because there’s a black kid in the neighbourhood pool, is wypipo. NeoNazis who think khakis and Perrys make for a cool uniform \*are \*wypipo. Biff, who asks “How come Blacks can sing nigger but I can’t” while wearing the [Loser Flag](https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/avLgPr5_700bwp.webp) on his t-shirt, is _peak_ wypipo. Now this makes sense to me. If this is how the word is generally used, it works for me, and I’ll probably even use it. And my gene analysis shows that I’m whiter than sour cream. Though frankly I’m not bothered by it even if that’s not the case. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wypipo/817482/49 "2018-07-08T16:32:06Z")
I found [Wypipo Explained](http://neguswhoread.com/wypipo-explained/) on the website NegusWhoRead. Though the article is labeled humor, don’t think of it like the Onion. It’s totally serious snark. And it backs up what Mr. Dibble has been saying about wypipo, down to including Ben Carson and Omarosa as black wypipo. The word is only offensive to whites, the author says, because whites aren’t used to being the target of stereotyping. Basically, the argument comes down to “it’s our turn, so just stand there and take it.” What’s fascinating is how closely this version of stereotyping tracks with previous versions over American history. I saw a member of X group do Y. Doing Y is so X! X can be any group, and has been Jews and gays and Irish and Chinese and southerners and Yankees and women and Californians and New Yorkers and readers of romance novels and bros and … Like 0.9999… the list never ends. Doing Y can be anything at all. See someone make a bad decision driving? Ha, ha, women can’t drive. That was a man. Well, ha ha, Asians can’t drive. He wasn’t Asian. Well, old people are the worst drivers, amirite? He wasn’t old. Well, look at his bumper sticker. Anyone who puts that on a car is an idiot. Equally familiar is the very loud defensiveness. It’s not all white people. No way. You can’t accuse me of racism. That black woman I work with is one of the good ones. Wait, did I say black? I meant white woman. Oh look, she’s letting her dog eat from her mouth. Wypipo, what can I say? Wypipo is code, just like all the other slurs. It’s code for saying that a member of X group has to do everything “right” and behave in the way I deem appropriate every minute of every day to not slide into the category of “them.” They are on perpetual probation, being watched for the slightest slip. If a slip is made - again, the slip can be anything, including something made up that very moment - there is no getting back on the good side. They are forever stereotyped. Of course, they were from the beginning. All that was missing was the tangible proof that allows for self-justification. Proof is easy to find if you can make it up as you go along. That’s stereotyping. That’s why people have been fighting stereotyping for so long. No defense exists against stereotyping. It’s being judged in a kangaroo court. (Wait. Is kangaroo court an offensive stereotype for Australians? Nobody knows the etymology? Good. Bullet dodged.) The courts’ judgements are never about an individual and always about the group. That’s definitional of stereotyping. Wypipo is your plain, basic, common variety stereotype. Nothing new or different or interesting about it. It’s belittling in a way that is deliberately stolen from white stereotypes about the “other.” (Does this make it cultural appropriation? I’m not stepping into that. I am over here ROTFLMAO, though.) You’ve sunk to our level. Congratulations if that was your goal. Mods, I’ve been careful to keep this to a discussion of stereotyping words and slurs to back up my argument that you should treat wypipo the same way you would treat other negative group words of equal rank. Not all shorthand pejoratives are equal, of course. Even so, there’s a long list of words that posters shouldn’t be using outside the Pit. IMO, Wypipo is their equivalent. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wypipo/817482/50 "2018-07-08T18:08:48Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > You’re ignorant of the origin of the word, but you’re still going to lecture us on who it applies to? Your privilege is showing… > No, it isn’t - any more than hillbilly or Mick or kike or polack or wop or WASP are directed at all White people.It’s not telling them they’re acting like a white person. It’s telling them they’re acting like wypipo.This is true. > > The group, however, is not all white people. It’s not \*even \*all the \*racist \*white people. > > Klan members, the Apartheid government and goosestepping neoNazis are not (necessarily) wypipo. Becky, who calls the cops because there’s a black kid in the neighbourhood pool, is wypipo. NeoNazis who think khakis and Perrys make for a cool uniform \*are \*wypipo. Biff, who asks “How come Blacks can sing nigger but I can’t” while wearing the [Loser Flag](https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/avLgPr5_700bwp.webp) on his t-shirt, is _peak_ wypipo. You say that you use it talk about “big, stupid, over-privileged, racist babies”. If you called a poster “a big, stupid, over-privileged, racist baby” outside the Pit, that would be an insult and would be against the rules. Substituting another word for those words is not going to get anyone a pass on this MB. It seems to me a no-brainer that calling a poster “wypipo” is against the rules, when done outside the Pit. The trickier question is whether using that term at all outside the Pit should be against the rules, because it’s an ethnic slur. On that, I am conflicted. I honestly don’t know whether it’s a slur or not, but one thing I will say-- I can’t get on board with the idea that it’s impossible to slur white people because… privilege. I hope we don’t go down that road as official policy here. My gut feel is that if it’s OK to refer to a non-poster as a “Cracker”, then it’s probably OK to call them “wypipo”. It seems to be entirely focused on behavior and not on skin color or phenotype. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wypipo/817482/51 "2018-07-08T18:19:15Z")
Bravo, **Exapno Mapcase**. Great job. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wypipo/817482/52 "2018-07-08T19:35:02Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Klan members, the Apartheid government and goosestepping neoNazis are not (necessarily) wypipo. Becky, who calls the cops because there’s a black kid in the neighbourhood pool, is wypipo. NeoNazis who think khakis and Perrys make for a cool uniform \*are \*wypipo. Biff, who asks “How come Blacks can sing nigger but I can’t” while wearing the [Loser Flag](https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/avLgPr5_700bwp.webp) on his t-shirt, is _peak_ wypipo. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Wypipo is your plain, basic, common variety stereotype. Nothing new or different or interesting about it. Great post. Quibble: objectively speaking, it is new both in coining and to a limited extent in content. I mean the critique is old, but packaging it in this single word is new. > [@John\_Mace](#): > > It seems to me a no-brainer that calling a poster “wypipo” is against the rules, when done outside the Pit. Maybe not quite a no-brainer, but yeah. You’re not suppose to characterize posters with derogatory expressions outside of the pit. > [@](#): > > The trickier question is whether using that term at all outside the Pit should be against the rules, because it’s an ethnic slur. On that, I am conflicted. I honestly don’t know whether it’s a slur or not, but one thing I will say-- I can’t get on board with the idea that it’s impossible to slur white people because… privilege. Sure, you can slur anyone or any group. But saying that using the term wypipo is hate speech is risible. There are lots of slurs that are not hate speech. (Ref 1) LHoD’s posts upthread, ref 2) Pit rules: “If you say hateful and/or racist things, you may get warned or banned. Some slurs are likely to be viewed as hate speech when used as insults, some aren’t. No, we aren’t going to give you a list…”) So should there be a ban on using the term wypipo outside of the pit? Of course not: mods rely on context. But one consideration should be the extent to which discouraging the word can inhibit clear communication. And there _is_ a constructive concept underlying this stereotype which deserves discussion and can be usefully referred to. Generally speaking the slur wypipo implies clueless racist behavior, although it sometimes refers to other clueless stereotypically white behavior such as (from Expano article) not seasoning your food but opting for “…organic, free range and gluten free.” Oblivious cheerfulness or obtuseness that’s particular to the white ethnic group is at the core of the slur. Like most insults, it’s more than a little is juvenile. But it’s also somewhat a useful term on a general interest discussion board. - mfm, SWM. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wypipo/817482/53 "2018-07-08T19:50:22Z")
> [@Delicious](#): > > I prefer Whitey, sounds like an old times gangster ‘Don’t mess with Whitey O’Keith, he’ll mess up your legs & suppress your vote’ My cousin knew a gangster in a Lower-East Side Jewish mob in the forties named Nigger Moshe. True story. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wypipo/817482/54 "2018-07-08T20:28:09Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > it sometimes refers to other clueless stereotypically white behavior such as (from Expano article) not seasoning your food but opting for “…organic, free range and gluten free.” Oblivious cheerfulness or obtuseness that’s particular to the white ethnic group is at the core of the slur. Long before\* there was wypipo, the same oh-so-rich vein was mined by the (sadly no longer updated) [Stuff White People Like](https://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/full-list-of-stuff-white-people-like/). So gentle mockery of that aspect was already out there. I think I hit like 75% of those stuff. Oh no, I _am_ wypipo! - in internet terms. Like, 5 years. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wypipo/817482/55 "2018-07-08T20:50:44Z")
FWIW I agree with you **MfM**. Context matters. (Sort of like how a white person saying “I am concerned about how often the characters on this show say ‘nigger’. I think it desensitizes to its use.” is _very different_ than a white person calling or referring to someone with that word.) This op should have resulted in a very short thread, a response clarifying that yes that calling a poster (or posters) “wypipo” outside of the Pit is against the rules. Done. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wypipo/817482.md?page=2)