thegeek20004 wrote:i'm black, never been called a nigger before... which I'm incredibly grateful for. if it did happen, I'd like to think at first I'd be confused and at the most bemused by it. then laugh it off and pity the person who said it. i think the historical use of nigger makes it far sharper and hurtful than cracker. however, how about we all just agree that racism is bad, and that you shouldn't be a racist.

Post back if it is ever said to you. Confused, I think not. Bemused, I doubt it.

My mother grew up in the 1930's-40's, and she would say that the black kids would call the white kids "cracker" or "poor white trash", so yes, it is racist.

thegeek20004 wrote:i'm black, never been called a nigger before... which I'm incredibly grateful for. if it did happen, I'd like to think at first I'd be confused and at the most bemused by it. then laugh it off and pity the person who said it.

i think the historical use of nigger makes it far sharper and hurtful than cracker. however, how about we all just agree that racism is bad, and that you shouldn't be a racist.

cracker = nigger poster here.

Yes, I think you just articulated better what I was trying to say.

Of course the history of the word "nigger" is dramatically more heinous than "cracker." No one was ever called a "cracker" as they were lynched, for example. But when someone is hatefully calling a white person a "cracker" the sentiment is still very much the equivalent to someone else hurling any other sort of epithet. The hostility is the same.

I do find the reluctance of people to even spell out the word "nigger" to be really funny. It's like they're afraid of the word or something. Referring to the "n-word" as if the word "nigger" will bite simply by being printed on the page (or screen) is ridiculous.

thegeek20004 wrote:i'm black, never been called a nigger before... which I'm incredibly grateful for. if it did happen, I'd like to think at first I'd be confused and at the most bemused by it. then laugh it off and pity the person who said it.

i think the historical use of nigger makes it far sharper and hurtful than cracker. however, how about we all just agree that racism is bad, and that you shouldn't be a racist.

You are a better person than me. Admittedly, I can sometimes channel the stereotypical "angry black woman" within, but I do not think I would handle being called "nigger" with ease. In fact, I know I wouldn't.

i'm black, never been called a nigger before... which I'm incredibly grateful for. if it did happen, I'd like to think at first I'd be confused and at the most bemused by it. then laugh it off and pity the person who said it.

i think the historical use of nigger makes it far sharper and hurtful than cracker. however, how about we all just agree that racism is bad, and that you shouldn't be a racist.

Anonymous wrote:I had a woman call me a Cracker and she certainly meant it in a racist way. It was the oddest thing because I had no contact with her prior to her comment. She was walking in the center of a lane in a parking lot and I was following slowly getting ready to turn into a parking space. It was a nice day and my windows were open so I heard her when she turned back and "That's right, Cracker, you have to wait for me". I have to admit I found it funny because no one had ever called me that before and it was totally unprovoked. I was just crawling to the space I wanted and had my turn signal on. My intentions were clear and not menacing in any way.

Thanks for that story. Seems to me it's a very nice illustration of the difference between this and n----. I've had black friends tell me about times that someone has used n---- toward them. Never once have they said they found it funny.

I was called a Yankee in Australia. The guy kept screaming it at an office party and eventually got yelled at by the partners. It was really weird!

I would find it hilarious if someone called me a cracker. Or a gringo. Or a shikse. Or a yankee. I'm a white non-hispanic, non-jewish chick from the North. People can call me whatever the hell they want.

I find plenty of words offensive. the n-word. spic. chink. wetback. towelhead. Cracker is weak compared to those.

I first heard "cracker" in DC, and the way it was used made me think it was an offensive term. On a trip to Florida, however, it seemed folks used the term without offense - describing cracker houses, themselves, etc. It even had a ring of pride. In Florida it was white people using the term. In DC it was black people using the term to describe a white person they didn't like.

I find it amusing when white people pretend to get offended at being called "cracker". Most seem to think it's funny.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pejorative doesn't equal racist.

I don't believe racial stereotypes against the majority are really racist. Unkind or inappopriate, maybe, but not the same as calling someone the N word.

Cracker = nigger. Period.

Do you think cracker is worse than redneck? Because I see them as about the same.

I think majority people (white people, men ...) who perceive things like "reverse" racism or sexism are revealing a lack of understanding of what racism and sexism really are, and may also feel marginalized within their own group.

Regardless of that uninformed viewpoint, cracker is certainly not the equivalent in any way of the N word.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pejorative doesn't equal racist.

I don't believe racial stereotypes against the majority are really racist. Unkind or inappopriate, maybe, but not the same as calling someone the N word.

Cracker = nigger. Period.

Really. Only in your world.

Only in the real world.

What's the intent of someone who hurls the word "cracker" at a white person?
What's the intent of someone who hurls the word "nigger" at a black person?

They come from the same dark place in the heart.

Crackers were the mule drivers (and they were white, the lowest of the lowest workers) in early Florida history. Heard this on a tour at the Edison-Ford Winter Estates recently.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pejorative doesn't equal racist.

I don't believe racial stereotypes against the majority are really racist. Unkind or inappopriate, maybe, but not the same as calling someone the N word.

Cracker = nigger. Period.

Really. Only in your world.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:it's a pejorative to describe white people, so, yes, it's racist.

Then why is cracking the whip getting a passs?

Why are you making bizarre comparisons?

Cracking the whip is an expression. Cracker is a racial epithet. I don't see the connection.

NP, the term cracker was given to the overseerer for "cracking the whip". That's the connection.