Why is it okay and not considered racist to call someone "white trash"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're supposed to say TRAILER TRASH, not WHITE TRASH.

That innoculates you from the racism. It doesn't make you a better person, though.

Yes, trailer trash is just as bad as white trash. Both are improper.

[Anonymous]

It's not okay. As for racist, think a lot of that usually applies when you use derogatory names for minorities with little power, not the majority with most of the power.

[Anonymous]

Horrible terms.

Slightly OT -- there's a new commercial for DirecTV with "mountain people" that is just so offensive it makes my blood boil.

Needless to say, we would never tolerate, and rightly so, mocking poor, uneducated blacks or Latinos in a nationwide commercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LX6Rhu23yQo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Horrible terms.

Slightly OT -- there's a new commercial for DirecTV with "mountain people" that is just so offensive it makes my blood boil.

Needless to say, we would never tolerate, and rightly so, mocking poor, uneducated blacks or Latinos in a nationwide commercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LX6Rhu23yQo

That is horrible. I agree, it would never be tolerated if it mocked any other group.

[Anonymous]

Because we always think they are talking about someone else. I've been called "white trash" and I thought they were joking or mistaken. Surely, they couldn't be talking about me. So, for me I guess the question becomes, if I'm not insulted, have I really been insulted?

[Anonymous]

When white people use the term, I think it is derogatory but not racist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not okay. As for racist, think a lot of that usually applies when you use derogatory names for minorities with little power, not the majority with most of the power.

I know that people define the term this way. I'm a sociologist and I know that there are sociologists who use this definition but I personally don't care for it. I understand the intention behind it but it leads to arguing about whether black people can ever be racist. Which is ridiculous and diverts us from addressing the real problems characterizing race relations. Racism is racism. What is significant to me is how much the racism matters to the well-being of the person on the receiving end. As an upper middle class white professional I can think of one time in my life where I was worried about a black person discriminating against me because I was white because in that situation she held power over me and my family. But in the vast majority of situations, it just doesn't matter because the person exhibiting racist behavior just doesn't have much power in society at all.

So my interpretation is not all that divergent from the argument that minorities can't be racist but to put it that way is too much like giving someone pass on bad behavior just because they're not a member of a more powerful demographic group.

[takoma]

Anonymous wrote:When white people use the term, I think it is derogatory but not racist.

But in that case, doesn't the inclusion of "white" kind of imply that you'd expect blacks to be like that, but here are (heaven forbid) whites. So the subtext is still kind of racist. But I may be overthinking it; once I start discussing something like this I keep peeling away layer after layer and convince myself of at least four different sides of the issue.

[Anonymous]

Implicit in the term "racism" is an institutional power structure that enforces racial inequality. So, no, "white trash" is not "racist".

[Anonymous]

The first time I heard the expression "trash" was while viewing the 1967 re-release of GWTW.

Mammy, Scarlett, and others used it, referring to blacks and whites.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Horrible terms.

Slightly OT -- there's a new commercial for DirecTV with "mountain people" that is just so offensive it makes my blood boil.

Needless to say, we would never tolerate, and rightly so, mocking poor, uneducated blacks or Latinos in a nationwide commercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LX6Rhu23yQo

That is horrible. I agree, it would never be tolerated if it mocked any other group.

I am poor white hillbilly trailer trash, or at least that is what people would call me if they knew where I came from. These kinds of jokes are pervasive. Few people even notice because it is so accepted. I am obviously not a disadvantaged minority, but it stings nevertheless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Implicit in the term "racism" is an institutional power structure that enforces racial inequality. So, no, "white trash" is not "racist".

Says who? You can be a racist without an institutional power structure backing you up. Racism is just the belief that every person of a race shares some characteristic other than their mutual race. "White Trash" is racism combined with a socio-economic factor.

[Anonymous]

As Takoma says, it's racist because there is no "black trash." Implicit is that trash is usually black, and that if we need to specify that white people are involved we can call them "white trash."

[Anonymous]

10/23/2013 20:30 Subject: Re:Why is it okay and not considered racist to call someone "white trash"?
Anonymous



Anonymous wrote:
It's not okay. As for racist, think a lot of that usually applies when you use derogatory names for minorities with little power, not the majority with most of the power.
I know that people define the term this way. I'm a sociologist and I know that there are sociologists who use this definition but I personally don't care for it. I understand the intention behind it but it leads to arguing about whether black people can ever be racist. Which is ridiculous and diverts us from addressing the real problems characterizing race relations. Racism is racism. What is significant to me is how much the racism matters to the well-being of the person on the receiving end. As an upper middle class white professional I can think of one time in my life where I was worried about a black person discriminating against me because I was white because in that situation she held power over me and my family. But in the vast majority of situations, it just doesn't matter because the person exhibiting racist behavior just doesn't have much power in society at all.

So my interpretation is not all that divergent from the argument that minorities can't be racist but to put it that way is too much like giving someone pass on bad behavior just because they're not a member of a more powerful demographic group.

Excellent analysis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Implicit in the term "racism" is an institutional power structure that enforces racial inequality. So, no, "white trash" is not "racist".

Says who? You can be a racist without an institutional power structure backing you up. Racism is just the belief that every person of a race shares some characteristic other than their mutual race. "White Trash" is racism combined with a socio-economic factor.

Wrong. You're talking about "prejudice". Racism is institutional. No institutions, no racism. It's the difference between "Jim Crow" laws and someone calling you a "cracker" because you cut them off in traffic. I know everyone likes to feel like they're a victim in our modern culture, and I know it's PC to claim victim status as a middle-class white man, but it's just PC resentment politics.