Is the word "Cracker" as bad as the "N" word?

[Wcross]

Over Thanksgiving our conversations drifted towards recent work incidents. One of my relatives is a teacher and she was relating a story where she had to take a student to the principals office. There was a playground dispute and one student called the other a "Cracker". The offended student then called the other "N.....".
My relative took the one that used the "N" word to the office but allowed the other one to continue without reprimand. My relative explained that she felt the word "Cracker" was not as bad as the "N" word. My contention was they were both unacceptable and the first kid was baited into using racial insults because he was insulted racially first. I believe both kids should have visited with the principal.

What do you think?

[MrCoffee]

1. it's interesting that you typed out cracker but put "the 'N' word" in quotes

[Wcross]

11. I figure that Cracker barrel can do it, why not me?

I don't think Cracker is as offensive as the other word. I do think the kid who used Cracker in a derogatory way should be taught it is wrong though.

[DemBones DemBones]

136. You're assuming that "Cracker Barrel" uses "Cracker" as

an anti-white slur and that's incorrect. I've heard of cracker barrels all my life and they have nothing to do with race.

Here's how Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines "cracker barrel"

Main Entry: crack·er-bar·rel
Pronunciation: -"ba-r&l
Function: adjective
Etymology: from the cracker barrel in country stores around which customers lounged for informal conversation
: suggestive of the friendly homespun character of a country store <a cracker-barrel philosopher>

Here's the entry on "cracker"

Main Entry: crack·er
Pronunciation: 'kra-k&r
Function: noun
1 chiefly dialect : a bragging liar : BOASTER
2 : something that makes a cracking or snapping noise: as a : FIRECRACKER b : the snapping end of a whiplash : SNAPPER c : a paper holder for a party favor that pops when the ends are pulled sharply
3 plural : NUTCRACKER
4 : a dry thin crispy baked bread product that may be leavened or unleavened
5 a usually disparaging : a poor usually Southern white b capitalized : a native or resident of Florida or Georgia -- used as a nickname
6 : the equipment in which cracking (as of petroleum) is carried out
7 : HACKER 4

Georgia and Florida Crackers took their name from the rural habit of socalizing around the cracker barrel in country stores. They used that nickname in the same way that Indianans call theselves Hoosiers. But "cracker" has become a disparaging term, synonymous with "white trash" or "redneck." (Redneck wasn't always a disparaging term, either.)

[Art_from_Ark]

141. I'm from the South and I never heard "cracker" used as an insult

although computer geeks use the term to refer to someone the rest of us call a "hacker".

[DemBones DemBones]

146. I'm from the South, too, and don't know any Klansmen. Does that

prove there's no Klan?

"Cracker" may not be an insult in your part of Arkansas but it is in many other places. Television shows have picked up on it and used it as an anti-white slur, too.

[Art_from_Ark]

150. Just making an anecdotal observation here

I heard the "N" word enough times in school, but never this "cracker" word. "Honky" was the "popular" (on TV) anti-white epithet back in those days.

[Lilith Velkor]

25. If she typed "the 'C' word" people would assume it meant cunt

However, the way this poll is worded does kind of answer its own question.

[treestar]

31. That says it right there

The word "cracker" is just not offensive, even not taking into account it is the word applied to the race which has had an advantage in this country. It's still just not offensive - even the word "honky" doesn't quite hit that way and can be used. There's no word for whitey that can do it, since whitey has been on top. You can insult whitey but it won't threaten him. The other terms are a threat.

[GenDem]

103. Cracker is a lovely, flat biscuit

that you can put a hunk of cheese on or cover with peanut butter. What white person was ever hurt by that?

[stepnw1f]

73. Because He KNOWs it's Different

Nice catch!

[xultar]

2. I don't think cracker is as bad as nigger. That's just how I feel. We were lynched...

I can't get over that.

[cali]

24. Of course it's not as bad.

I can't even write that word but I have no problem with cracker.

Cracker, cracker, cracker, cracker.

[xultar]

33. I have no problem with a white person saying nigger especially if we have

that sort of a realationship...like they are my bruva or sistah. Then they'd usually say nigga. But a racist. Yes, I have a problem with a racist saying it. Cracker to me seems stoopid. It doesn't seem to mean anything hateful or hurtful to me. In addition cracker doesn't have the history of hate and murder like nigger.

[johnaries]

39. As a white person myself, I think you summed up "cracker" perrfectly.

"cracker doesn't have the history of hate and murder like nigger."

I wouldn't be offended if someone called me "cracker", simply because it doesn't have a history like "the N-word".

[mattclearing]

155. That's exactly it.

"Cracker" is a hollow insult, because it doesn't invoke 400 years of murder, enslavement, and oppression. Cracker is basically calling someone white.

That other word is calling someone less than human, fit to do labor but not remuneration, fit to be hanged for simply challenging their oppressor.

[Karenina]

169. I find it interesting that there is NO CURIOSITY

about what made the black child GO THERE in the first place. NONE.

It is in the interests of those in white denial to float such concepts as:

Africans equally responsible for slave trade
Reverse racism
The race card
"Cracker" JUST as hurtful as "nigger"
See how much PROGRESS we've made
THAT'S not racist
I'm colorblind...

Tim Wise is one who "gets it."


http://www.counterpunch.org/wise04242006.html

April 24, 2006
The Absurdity (and Consistency) of White Denial

What Kind of Card is Race?

By TIM WISE

Recently, I was asked by someone in the audience of one of my speeches, whether or not I believed that racism--though certainly a problem--might also be something conjured up by people of color in situations where the charge was inappropriate. In other words, did I believe that occasionally folks play the so-called race card, as a ploy to gain sympathy or detract from their own shortcomings? In the process of his query, the questioner made his own opinion all too clear (an unambiguous yes), and in that, he was not alone, as indicated by the reaction of others in the crowd, as well as survey data confirming that the belief in black malingering about racism is nothing if not ubiquitous.

It's a question I'm asked often, especially when there are several high-profile news events transpiring, in which race informs part of the narrative. Now is one of those times, as a few recent incidents demonstrate: Is racism, for example, implicated in the alleged rape of a young black woman by white members of the Duke University lacrosse team? Was racism implicated in Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney's recent confrontation with a member of the Capitol police? Or is racism involved in the ongoing investigation into whether or not Barry Bonds--as he is poised to eclipse white slugger Babe Ruth on the all-time home run list--might have used steroids to enhance his performance?*

Although the matter is open to debate in any or all of these cases, white folks have been quick to accuse blacks who answer in the affirmative of playing the race card, as if their conclusions have been reached not because of careful consideration of the facts as they see them, but rather, because of some irrational (even borderline paranoid) tendency to see racism everywhere. So too, discussions over immigration, "terrorist" profiling, and Katrina and its aftermath often turn on issues of race, and so give rise to the charge that as regards these subjects, people of color are "overreacting" when they allege racism in one or another circumstance.

Asked about the tendency for people of color to play the "race card," I responded as I always do: First, by noting that the regularity with which whites respond to charges of racism by calling said charges a ploy, suggests that the race card is, at best, equivalent to the two of diamonds. In other words, it's not much of a card to play, calling into question why anyone would play it (as if it were really going to get them somewhere). Secondly, I pointed out that white reluctance to acknowledge racism isn't new, and it isn't something that manifests only in situations where the racial aspect of an incident is arguable. Fact is, whites have always doubted claims of racism at the time they were being made, no matter how strong the evidence, as will be seen below. Finally, I concluded by suggesting that whatever "card" claims of racism may prove to be for the black and brown, the denial card is far and away the trump, and whites play it regularly: a subject to which we will return...

more at link...

[Karenina]

182. Kin ah fine me som crackas hyeah

wit whom ah kin git down wit on dis??? :silly::evilgrin::silly:

[Behind the Aegis]

156. You bring up another important point.

"Then they'd usually say nigga."

What you are talking about is called "in-group solidarity." The example I usually use is I can say what about my mother, but no one else had better cross that line. It is also of interest to note that the term used as slang, "nigga", is basically a bastardization of a hateful word. It is taking a word used as a weapon against a group of people and being changed to accommodate the "victim" group.

As someone else has said, your comment: "In addition cracker doesn't have the history of hate and murder like nigger." is the best summation of the difference of the impact of the two words!

[geomon666]

158. Christians were fed to lions...

you don't see them boycotting Italian restaurants do you.

Also, who's 'we'? People were lynched, you weren't.

[kdmorris]

165. "Also, who's 'we'? People were lynched, you weren't."

I think it's pretty obvious he/she wasn't lynched or they wouldn't be posting right now (Lynching refers to hunting down and killing another human being, who was almost always black). "We" is used in the same way that everyone else uses "we" to identify with a group of people. How many posts did you see on Election night that said "We" won the senate or "We" won the House With a very small exception, "WE" didn't win crap. The person who was being elected won, not this collective "us".

In addition, there was still millions of Jewish people who talk about the Holocaust as something that happened to "us". Native Americans still talk about how "our" land was stolen, or "we" were herded on to reservations, even though these events happened years ago. And I think that these are all acceptable usages of the "we", "us" and "our".

Are you deliberately trying to be obtuse? Or does it just come across in print like that? You show a remarkable lack of understanding of racism and human nature in general. Making a flippant comment like "Christians were fed to the lions. You don't see them boycotting Italian restaurants" seems designed to minimize how, as a society, white people have subjugated and brutalized an entire race of people. And racism is still alive and well. "They" have to live it every day. So, your response to xultar seems designed to make it seem like it hasn't been that bad.

Was that your point?

[malaise]

166. Great response n/t

[geomon666]

177. Wow, judge much?

From one comment you're able to determine that I'm obtuse and lack understanding of racism and human nature. I wonder what else you'll pick up about me from my second post. Maybe I'm a bed wetter and I'm turned on by girls that wear KISS masks. I'm sure you're thinking I'm a racist right now.

My opinion is my opinion. Nothing more, nothing less. I don't like it when people interject themselves into a situation they never faced simply because, somebody that may have looked like them faced it.

And yes, we won because we as a collective went out and voted. You really don't see the difference?

[sniffa]

209. wow, that's cLassy

are you having victim envy?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

3. no its not.

its like breeder vs faggot

whenever you insult a powerful majority the word has far less power than one that is used against a powerless minority

niggers and faggots are oppressed. crackers and breeders arent.

[Gato Moteado]

54. i'm straight but i have no children....

...is there a category for me that includes a derogatory name?

additionaly, i know several gay people (both men and women) who have biologically parented at least one child. which category do they belong in? both?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

59. thats not my point. my point is breeders is a powerless term.

and you dont actually have to breed to be called a breeder. your sexual activity could lead to breeding. thats all there is to it.

[INDIA]

95. I like your argument...

It's a double standard, but some double standards are fair IMO. Makes sense to me.

[Strawman]

154. That's absolutely right

And succinctly stated: "whenever you insult a powerful majority the word has far less power than one that is used against a powerless minority." That's exactly right and to the point.

People ought to think about racism as a system of oppression, not as mere "prejudice." Simple prejudice does not equal racism. African-Americans cannot be racist. They can be prejudiced, and that's not good, but they cannot be "racist." That's an important distinction that is too often ignored. Bad words are merely bad words, but those that are reinforce a worldview that has had the power to significantly diminish the quality of life (to put it way too mildly) for African-Americans throughout American history, well, those matter a helluva lot more in my opinion. Simple prejudice is bad, no matter where it comes from, sure, but it doesn't have the impact of racism. An African-American slave couldn't oppress a white person, for example, no matter what nasty names he or she called that white person. There's just no equivalence there. "Cracker" doesn't have the same historical significance. I've always understood it as more or less synonymous with "white trash." But I could be wrong there. "White trash" is a term with some oppressive power, for sure. But it's not the same as the n-word. No way.

If we make oppressive racist language a dead language in this country, I fully suspect that the harsh retaliatory names for whites that are uttered by members oppressed minorities with historically understandable resentments might also follow those truly racist words into extinction. Let's keep the focus on racism and its systemic features and effects. It's more significant than just name-calling.

Any white person who thinks an African-American using the word "cracker" is just as bad as a white person uttering the n-word or that being called a "cracker" entitles him or her to drop n-bombs in retaliation demonstrates ZERO understanding of American history.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

170. prejudice vs racism....

thats an excellent way to word it.

[Auggie]

4. Both words are meant to hurt

[JuniperLea]

110. Bingo... hence both are very, very bad... anyone who can't see that...

Hasn't a clue... so sad to even have this conversation...

[htuttle]

5. I guess it depends on what end of the rope you're on

ie., I think there is some relevant context as to 'those in power' versus 'the dis-empowered'.

[originalpckelly]

9. That's a very interesting way to put it...

"I guess it depends on what end of the rope you're on"
:eyes:

[htuttle]

13. I think the effect of a word has to do with it's context, not just it's intent

It's similar to the 'kicking someone in the groin' principle of slapstick: A small guy kicking a big guy in the groin is comedy -- a big guy kicking a small guy in the groin is just cruel.

(which is also why Dennis Miller is rarely funny, but I digress...)

[originalpckelly]

27. If a guy's talking about lynching...

it might not be a great idea to talk about ropes. Just a hint.

:eyes:

[Goblinmonger]

62. But that's his point

A white who is hanging a black and calls that person a nigger is in a position of power and the word carries a different tone than that same black (who is "on the other end of the rope") calling the hanger a cracker--there is no power in that word and thus does not carry the same weight.

If you didn't just knee-jerk to the "rope" thing I think you would have got it.

[treestar]

34. Exactly - the way children or women are "cute when they're mad"

Yet if a big man gets mad, it would be scary.

[JerseygirlCT]

137. I agree

Doesn't mean that either ought to be bandied about -- what's the good in that?

But there is a distinct difference, as you say.

[originalpckelly]

6. If someone's trying to make upset by calling me a cracker...

they'd better pull out another insult, because that just makes me think of Saltines.

[bryant69]

7. You need gradations

Because I feel that both are insulting attacks, and shouldn't be used. On the other hand "Nigger" has a far worse history than "Cracker," and Whites still pretty much run the show, so "Cracker" is not nearly as problemattic.

It's like comparing loosing a leg to loosing a finger. Obviously loosing a leg would be worse but that doesn't mean I'm in favor of loosing a finger.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[La Lioness Priyanka]

12. yeah thats true. i wouldnt say cracker but i could never use nigger.

[last1standing]

8. Hate is hate is hate.

You can justify it, quantify it, rationalize it and politicize it, but in the end it still stinks.

[JuniperLea]

111. Yep

Glad to see SOME people here actually get it! Jeez... I can't believe some of the responses...

[blogslut]

10. Name calling is name calling

n/t

[Karenina]

119. Name calling is name calling

and in this instance, BOTH children should be accountable to the principal to "explain themselves" while being thoroughly discouraged from engaging in such crass behaviour in future.

What I find interesting is that no one has questioned or even shown any interest in knowing why the black child "went there" in the first place. Is it just the assumption of blacks' reverse racism? Is the school predominantly black? Had the two had words before? Was there any type of bullying involved?

Oh yeah, "cracker" is such a painful word! IT ONLY HAS THE MEANING THAT ANY PARTICULAR WHITE PERSON ASSIGNS TO IT. The white child reacted in realizing she'd been called a "name" in anger. Must be bad. I'll bet dollars to doughnuts she has no clear concept of the word as an epithet. But the N-word was CLEAR.

My son's boss refered to himself as a cracker one day. (Not American and was totally amused by the word). I told him he fit the description; salty, crunchy, delicious and if he didn't watch out I was gonna dip him in some guac and eat him up!


These threads are beginning to nerve. 3 WHITE girls beaten by Negroes- Is it a hate crime? Ya know, that Mostafa was just an asshole- he should have... Those N-words don't DESERVE money!!! HOW DARE THEY!!! It was entrapment, I tell you! ENTRAPMENT!!! Is Seinfeld RACIST? :puke:

America is a VERY SICK, VIOLENT society...

[ProfessorGAC]

14. Not Even Close

The term cracker was developed as an epithet that wouldn't get the user of the word beaten to death. By definition, it's less inflammatory and less insulting, since it was the only "insult" that was sprouted by the oppressed toward the oppressor.

So, it can't be as insulting, because an equally insulting word would have been too dangerous.
The Professor

[devilgrrl]

17. How many white people even know what "cracker" means?

eom

[ProfessorGAC]

26. Good Point

Don't you have to be from Georgia? I'm not from Georgia.
The Professor

[devilgrrl]

28. I don't even know the origin of the term...

having said that, I think words like "dago", "guinea", "mick", "frog", "kraut", "pollack", etc.... are far more offensive.

[ProfessorGAC]

37. Wop, Dago, Guinea Are OK By Me

And my grandparents came here in the 1920's from Sicily! The italians in this country have never been truly oppressed, so there is no inherent harm in using those words. I know the IADL would have us accept that italian-americans have been unfairly maligned, but i just don't agree, and i'm one of them! You have to be far more oppressed before a word would bring up intrinsic pain inherent in the word.

Now, if only we could get rid of all those "micks". (I'm kidding!)
The Professor

[htuttle]

41. I'm proud to be a 'Mick' now

...but only since we got our own share of the pie. I'm sure my ancestors weren't too pleased about it (ie., back when businesses had signs that said "No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs").

[ProfessorGAC]

55. Same Here

I think the level of pain experienced by our ancestors (wops and micks) was so far less than that suffered by those of african descent, that the hurt of the word diminished quickly over time. Hey, you can even tell me that i must be in the mafia, because all of us are. I'd think it was funny. But, somehow i doubt the hurt of 450 years of institutionalized bigotry is gone. Remember that even though businesses had the signs as you describe, the gov't never sanctioned it. They may have done little to stop it, but they didn't encourage it either.

For those of us from italian blood, remember that most of our brethren came here between 1870 and 1930. By the time that mass migration ended, New York had an italian descent mayor! Not exactly a long history of being kept down! The Irish had Jimmy Walker in pretty short order too! It took another 60 years before Dinkins.
The Professor

[Sapphocrat]

106. ROFL!

To be perfectly honest, my very Italian-American family uses "wop" and "dago" with aplomb... but just let any non-Italian say either and get away with it!

I've only heard "guinea" in movies and books... Do you know where it comes from? I've never understood it.

P.S. I can't agree that Italians have never been truly oppressed in the U.S. -- my ancestors were considered "brown people" (just like the Irish) at one point, and Italian-Americans labored under a fair bit of scrutiny during WWII.

On edit: Not that I'm saying one can compare the treatment of Italians to the treatment of African-Americans -- you're right, it doesn't even come close.

[DemBones DemBones]

143. See my post upthread for dictionary definitions.

Today, "cracker" is as offensive as the other terms you mention. Once it was a nickname, like Hoosier. Now it is equivalent to calling someone "white trash" or "redneck."

[blogslut]

30. I do

The first time I ever heard the word was from my mother. She was telling the story of how her mom fought to get the farm kids bussed into town so they could go to school. She said that when they finally were allowed to go to school, the kids all made fun of them. She said with a bitter voice I had never heard:

"They called us crackers."

Of course, that was during the 1930's-40's. Up until she told me that story, I had never heard anyone use the word.

Is cracker worse than nigger? Of course not.

However, my point is that the OP is right. Both kids needed to be reprimanded. They were using hurtful words on each other. Both need to be taught that words hurt and using them has consequences.

[Ferretherder]

134. As a matter of fact, yes, I do.

The term is the shortened version of 'whip - cracker', meaning the guy who cracks the whip at you - the Slave Owner.

[JuniperLea]

125. Does that mean I can start a trend to call all people of a certain group

DumbFucks and it would be acceptable because no one has been killed over it?

How absurd.

IMHO, if you need to qualify a word then you don't get it.

Hate is hate. Most of those who use these words today have never been in a situation where it could get them killed. The words are used in hate. Period. They are both bad. Hate is bad.

[ProfessorGAC]

173. Sure You Can

It's not absurd at all. An insult rooted in deeper pain is more serious than one rooted less deeply. Apparently, that premise eluded you. The question wasn't whether Cracker is OK. You just made that up to support your rant. The question was whether it's as bad. I said no. If you wish, one is bad, the other is worse. See how that works? It's called a comparison!

The Professor

[JuniperLea]

181. Your condescension suits you

I get it fine. I get that you see racism in shades of gray.

That's pretty scary... and freakishly sick if you ask me.

[noonwitch]

15. I've never been offended by cracker or honky or any of those terms

they really don't have the ugly history of the n word.

[Eurobabe]

16. Cracker is innocuous, the N word is heinous

[ecstatic]

19. exactly! And why anyone would argue anything different is beyond me

I actually find both words tasteless, but to act as if both words carry the same repugnancy level is ridiculous. Every now and then I'll hear the word "cracker" thrown around during some sort of racial upset, but it always sounds stupid to me because that word doesn't carry any baggage or pain. It's like trying to ward off a grizzly bear with a feather.

[geek tragedy]

18. "Cracker" isn't as bad, but it's not acceptable either. eom

[smoogatz]

20. Both kids should have gone to see the Principal. You're right.

The black kid was wrong to open the door to the racial insult game; the white kid was wrong to respond in kind. The "which is worse" argument is fundamentally silly, IMO. Racism is racism, any way you slice it.

[soupkitchen]

21. Lets see: Polly want a cracker vs Polly want a Nword

Was your favorite candy Crackerjacks or Nwordjacks?
Did your mother give you soup and crackers or soup and Nwords.

And by the way how many "Crackers" do you know that have been lynched?

The history of the language is simply this: a cracker is one who cracked the whip. And guess who got whipped?

So to call someone a cracker might be an insult, although historically a pretty mild one, but for a white person to use the NWord is a figurative crack of the whip.

[Lance_Boyle]

96. you have the etymology quite wrong

on the epithet "cracker."

As to the OP, what school rule was violated? If the rule says "no use of racial epithets," then both students were in violation and both should be punished. If the rule says "no use of the N-word," then only the white student was in the wrong - and the rule should be broadened to include all racial slurs. I think it makes very little sense to punish one child and not the other in this instance.

[Swede]

22. Both are racial epithets.

If someone feels offended,stop using the term.

[aquart]

23. Ever put a cracker in chains and sell him? No. It's not as bad.

Nigger, like kike, is a killing word. It has centuries of death behind it.

[kiahzero]

29. Both kids should have gone to the principal (n/t)

[xultar]

36. Agreed.

[Lerkfish]

49. also agreed. they both used racial terms. However I also agree with other

posters in the thread that cracker is not as emotionally charged, due to history and intent of the slur.
Someone calling me a cracker would not offend me. I'm not sure what term would have the same visceral effect as the "n" word has, even I react viscerally to it when it is used by someone else against someone else, and I'm white.
If I, as a white person, find the word outrageously inflammatory and demeaning, then I figure african americans would feel doubly so.

[kiahzero]

64. Yeah, pretty much

I didn't answer the poll because it seemed separate and distinct from the actual content of the post.

[xultar]

75. Where kids are concerned name calling should not be tolerated.

[Lerkfish]

212. um...I wasn't tolerating anything.

maybe I misunderstood your post, or you misunderstood mine?

[AlinPA]

32. I remember talk of baseball teams in Georgia ('50's) and found this link:

http://www.libs.uga.edu/russell/online-exhibits/baseball/gabball.html

[O.M.B.inOhio]

35. The difference is power (and an ugly history)

Name calling against a group that holds power is impotent. "Cracker" comes across as quaint. I recall hearing Dr. Alvin Puissant speak at my college: Everybody's got some prejudice. But racism is a different thing. Racism is Prejuduce plus Power.

[Wcross]

38. If the kid who used the term "cracker" was not corrected....

...he will continue to throw it out there. If he continues then others are liable to continue insulting him back using even more unacceptable words.

BTW- This occurred in Michigan, not the south as some would assume by my location.

[Bunny]

40. Reminds me of this:

Racist Word Association Interview

Written by: Paul Mooney

Interviewer.....Chevy Chase
Mr. Wilson.....Richard Pryor


Interviewer: Alright, Mr. Wilson, you've done just fine on the Rorshach.. your papers are in good order.. your file's fine.. no difficulties with your motor skills.. And I think you're probably ready for this job. We've got one more psychological test we always do here. It's just a Word Association. I'll throw you out a few words - anything that comes to your mind, just throw back at me, okay? It's kind of an arbitrary thing. Like, if I say "dog", you'd say..?

Mr. Wilson: "Tree".

Interviewer: "Tree". < nods head, prepares the test papers > "Dog".

Mr. Wilson: "Tree".

Interviewer: "Fast".

Mr. Wilson: "Slow".

Interviewer: "Rain".

Mr. Wilson: "Snow".

Interviewer: "White".

Mr. Wilson: "Black".

Interviewer: "Bean".

Mr. Wilson: "Pod".

Interviewer: < casually > "Negro".

Mr. Wilson: "Whitey".

Interviewer: "Tarbaby".

Mr. Wilson: < silent, sure he didn't hear what he thinks he heard > What'd you say?

Interviewer: < repeating > "Tarbaby".

Mr. Wilson: "Ofay".

Interviewer: "Colored".

Mr. Wilson: "Redneck".

Interviewer: "Junglebunny".

Mr. Wilson: < starting to get angry > "Peckerwood!"

Interviewer: "Burrhead".

Mr. Wilson: < defensive > "Cracker!"

Interviewer: < aggressive > "Spearchucker".

Mr. Wilson: "White trash!"

Interviewer: "Jungle Bunny!"

Mr. Wilson: < upset > "Honky!"

Interviewer: "Spade!

Mr. Wilson: < really upset > "Honky Honky!"

Interviewer: < relentless > "Nigger!"

Mr. Wilson: < immediate > "Dead honky!" < face starts to flinch >

Interviewer: < quickly wraps the interview up > Okay, Mr. Wilson, I think you're qualified for this job. How about a starting salary of $5,000?

Mr. Wilson: Your momma!

Interviewer: < fumbling > Uh.. $7,500 a year?

Mr. Wilson: Your grandmomma!

Interviewer: < desperate > $15,000, Mr. Wilson. You'll be the highest paid janitor in America. Just, don't.. don't hurt me, please..

Mr. Wilson: Okay.

Interviewer: < relieved > Okay.

Mr. Wilson: You want me to start now?

Interviewer: Oh, no, no.. that's alright. I'll clean all this up. Take a couple of weeks off, you look tired.

[ismnotwasm]

109. Thank you

I was just going to post that. Suits the topic;)

[warrens]

42. If you live in parts of Flordia, Georgia etc

Cracker is just a historical word, describing early settlers and their architecture and cuisine. As a perjoritive, it only applies to a small percentage of whites, and to a social attitude on their part. Not every white is a cracker, and use of the term is very specific to mean a racist southern white.

[Auggie]

44. Thanks for the explanation

[DemBones DemBones]

139. The dictionary recognizes "cracker" as a disparaging term, which it has

become in recent years

Main Entry: crack·er
Pronunciation: 'kra-k&r
Function: noun
1 chiefly dialect : a bragging liar : BOASTER
2 : something that makes a cracking or snapping noise: as a : FIRECRACKER b : the snapping end of a whiplash : SNAPPER c : a paper holder for a party favor that pops when the ends are pulled sharply
3 plural : NUTCRACKER
4 : a dry thin crispy baked bread product that may be leavened or unleavened
5 a usually disparaging : a poor usually Southern white b capitalized : a native or resident of Florida or Georgia -- used as a nickname
6 : the equipment in which cracking (as of petroleum) is carried out
7 : HACKER 4


"Cracker" refers to oldtime visiting around the cracker barrel.


Main Entry: crack·er-bar·rel
Pronunciation: -"ba-r&l
Function: adjective
Etymology: from the cracker barrel in country stores around which customers lounged for informal conversation
: suggestive of the friendly homespun character of a country store <a cracker-barrel philosopher>

[Iris]

43. The problem in this case was not the words. It was how 2 children were

relating to each other in a negative way. To make the situation into a learning experience rather than a punishment situation, BOTH should have been taken to the office.

[political_outcast]

45. but is there a pervasive anti-white attitude among progressives, even white progressives?

Some would say thatt there is a pervasive anti-white attitude among progressives, even white progressives, as exemplified by the heavy use of certain words, such as cracker, white trash, trailer trash, redneck, Bubba, etc.

and does this attitude push many whites away from progressive-democrats, and toward the rightwing/GOP? Thomas Frank was right about how the Democrats failed to offer the red staters anything, but is there a REPELLING force (exemplified by progressives' use of "cracker" and similar words)?

Is this antiwhite sentiment associated with the idea that whites were slaveowners and somehow therefore incorrigbly evil? Even when the 1860 census shows that only about 1.5% of all American whites owned slaves? And that almost all whites themselves had white slave ancestors? See this video, for example: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2179287111477800737

Also, is this general anti-white sentiment (based on false premises, some would say, as I pointed out above) helpful to the upper class in their eternal quest to divide and rule the masses? Is the progressive platform (centered as it is on divisivr race and gender and sexuality and religion and other social wedge issues, which are basically unsolvable, instead of unifying issues like populist economics, progressive taxation and universal healthare) the best friend of the ruling class of rich and powerful?

Just some thoughts!

[ecstatic]

60. Nope. It's anti-black sentiment that draws certain people to the republican party

Just some thoughts.

[Bridget Burke]

92. No.

Perhaps you ought to meet more progressives!

[Sapphocrat]

113. Uh, yeah, sure.

I'm an anti-white white person. Must be self-internalized caucasiophobia. :eyes:

Try to wrap your brain around this radical concept: Did you ever consider the idea that a person can support black people without hating white people? The two are not mutually exclusive.

[political_outcast]

116. explain kamikaze pilots, and other people that die for a cause

humans are evolved to be programmable by those at the top of the social hierarchy. Read Somit's book on democracy and dominance.

Here is a theory: those at the top use their monies to generate decades of propaganda via nonprofit organizations (see Roelofs book, The Mask of Pluralism). This propaganda from the top was used to create a sort of a false-Left, one that is centered around race and gender identity politcs, which means a fragmented electorate, and a false Left that no longer focuses on populist economics, which would unite the electorate.

One vital aspect of this propaganda is the targeting of the educated white workers who go to college. This is the core of the false Left. They have been programmed (not brainwashed) over decades to think that whiteness is wrongness. The white lower middle class blue collar white male is the bad guy of this false Left. No longer is the rich person and big corporations the only bad guy.

So members of the false Left hate whites, at least to some degree. Which explains some of the beliefs of liberals. Well, the same goes for conservatives, but a different set of overclass-friendly ideologies.


Obviously it varies from person to person. Nothing is exact. I speak here of general trends.

Well, this is just a theory, but not a conspiracy theory. More like a sort of quasi ecosystem where quasi organic entities compete via the propagation of ideologies. This theory is based on the work of Darwin, Richard Dawkins, Somit, Desmond Morris, Joan Roelofs, Gramsci, Jerry Fresia, Chomsky, Jim Goad and others.

And thanks for your kind and considerate comments. I highly value your input.

[Sapphocrat]

117. Why are you asking me about suicide bombers?

Talk about non sequitirs. Do you always operate like this?

And re "humans are evolved to be programmable by those at the top of the social hierarchy" -- it sounds like you've been reading too much Leo Strauss.

[political_outcast]

118. please read my edited post.......... nt

[Sapphocrat]

124. I just did.

And I'm even more convinced you're reading all the wrong books. I strongly suggest you get out and actually interact with some flesh-and-blood progressives.

This "false-Left" business is about as convincing as the "Paul McCartney is Dead" theory.

[political_outcast]

127. you can only understand these organisms from the outside

too close, and the structure gets lost.

[Sapphocrat]

130. So I was right.

You've got your nose buried in books, from which you cherry-pick just enough to make all the wrong assumptions, when you could be learning something useful about the human condition by actively participating with humans. But that would mean slumming among the commoners, wouldn't it?

Real life is going to come as a big shock to you the day you venture outside your room.

Enjoy your feeling of superiority over the rest of us organisms while you can. It won't last long.

God, I feel sorry for you.

[Bluebear]

131. "SOME WOULD SAY" - - -oh NO, you didn't use that, did you? nt

[fishwax]

152. I wonder who those "some" would be

folks like this, perhaps:

[fishwax]

151. No, there is not

There is not a pervasive anti-white attitude among progressives. The right wing would love for everyone to believe that, but it isn't true.

[NMMNG]

179. I've never heard a white person call other whites "crackers"

And the notion of whites being anti-white is laughable.

[donco6]

197. What?

You're saying that among progressives there is a "heavy use" of cracker? White trash?

In my interactions with progressives, I note a prevalent ABSENCE of such terms. I can't even imagine any of my friends using these words.

[pink-o]

46. If you're asking the question in contex with the two schoolchildren...

...then yes, both should be educated and taught not to use racial slurs when angry.

But when it comes to our own....I'm a straight white female, if I called myself a cracker or a breeder it wouldn't be offensive to anyone. My African American friends call themselves the N word all the time because to do so has taken away its power to hurt and maim. It's like how the gay community has taken back the word "Queer" in order to diminish it as an insult. But coming from me, those two words would be horribly hurtful and offensive (not that I'd EVER EVER say them in anger to ANYONE!!!)

Interesting tho...the Italian who didn't object to Dago or Wop: if I were Italian I'd have a problem with that. My father's family is Jewish and I would never use the K word for my people--even if it does apply to me and mine!

[napi21]

47. I guess I must have lived a very sheltered life, because I never

heard the name "Cracker" until last year, and I guess I'm still notquite sure what it's supposed to mean.

I did however hear the name "Nigger" when I was a very little girl, and even then,y Mother said it witha cautioned tone telling me you're not supposed to use that word.

BTW, I'm 62 now and was raised in Pgh. Pa. We moved to the Southin 19987, but the first time I ever heard the name cracker was on CNN last year.

[Catherine Vincent]

48. Both students should have been taken to the principal.

But I didn't think any kid would know to use "cracker". And I agree with everyone else, "cracker" is not as offensive as the n word.

[bigmonkey]

50. I feel like, as a white guy, I can't use the "N" word.

Frankly, I'm happy about that. It's a harmless reminder of the privileges that I enjoy just because of my genetics - it's easy to forget that. I figure African-Americans get hundreds of years of horrible oppression, and I have a word I can't say. How can I complain?

[JacksonWest]

51. In a word, No.

"Nigger" brings up a connotation that includes, but is not limited to: Slavery, rape, torture, murder, intolerance, bigotry, segregation, eradication of national identity, the destruction of families, and discrimination.

"Cracker" brings up a connotation that we resent you for all of the above things. I don't know any white people that are offended by the word cracka any more then a generic insult. I guess you could be, but without a rich history, cracker is just another word.

[Goblinmonger]

69. But even your explanation is troublesome.

I grew up in North Dakota. My parents grew up in North Dakota. My grandparents (all of them) came over from Bohemia and Poland. I had nothing to do with slavery in the south nor subsequent problems.

Anyone who calls me cracker assumes that, since I am white, I am part of the power structure that caused and continues to hold up those horrible things. I am not. You are judging me by my skin color and attributing to me things which are not true due to lack of melanin. How is that different from me assuming that all blacks are lazy, like watermelon, etc. etc. etc?

[stepnw1f]

71. And If You Were Black and Somebody Called you a Nigger...

you'd feel the same? I doubt it...

[JacksonWest]

80. A derogatory name is a derogatory name.

Some are worse then others. I think that the n word has a darker connotation then cracker. Nobody was ever killed for being a "cracker". While it may not be true or accurate in calling you that-can you say that the word itself is on par with the "n" word?

[jeffrey_X]

52. Not even in the same ball park.

I had a guy call me a cracker once as I was filling up my rental car on the way back to the airport in Atlanta. He didn't exactly say it directly to my face, more under his breath as he walked by. It bothered me just a little bit, but it was really no big deal to me. I can't imagine if the situation had been reversed.

[Beelzebud]

66. Cracker has its roots from "Crack the whip". a.ka. a slave owner.

It is the same ball park.

[jeffrey_X]

67. Okay so the roots of the word maybe in the same ball park, but not the meaning

or the damage or impact of the word.

Not even close.

[Quantess]

88. Thanks for the origin. I didn't know.

I had assumed it was because caucasoids are the color of saltine crackers.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

203. But why?

Was the guy black? Are you white? Did you have any previous interaction with him? Did you do or say something that caused him to say that?

If you were a black person minding their own business filling their car and some white person muttered "nigger" as they walked by, we'd be offended. The post would have a hundred replies saying you should have called the cops, challenged them to a fight, put a nail in their tire, etc.

But a black man walks by a white man and calls him "cracker", and no one cares because hey, the guy is black and maybe he's had a tough life and just doesn't like white people? I don't care what word he used. He hurled an epitath for no reason whatsoever, aside from, I guess, that you were white and he is black.

As far as the use of the word itself, would we give a white man who called a black guy a "jerk" unprovoked for no reason whatsoever a pass and not think "That guy is a bigot?" No way.

A racist is a racist. A bigot is a bigot. We need to stop saying it's okay for one group to be racist just because the words they use aren't "as bad". The words mean nothing. The intent is what matters.

[Karenina]

204. Two questions

Is there anything that white people as a monolith have systematically done to people of colour that might elicit generations of ill-will?

Is there anything that people of colour as a monolith have systematically done to white people that might elicit generations of ill-will? EVER??? ANYWHERE???

I tell you what, dude. Your plate is FULL with your transgressions against those in the middle east. Your GRANDCHILDREN will shriek "OY VEY ES MIR! Scheisse DUMME Großeltern!!"

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

206. My transgressions?

What did I do?

Besides, I was asking what a guy filling his gas tank did.

[Karenina]

207. WOIK WIT ME HYEAH! IT'S THE

"ROYAL" YOU and YOUR!!! DON'T YOU REALIZE YOU'RE AN ARCHETYPE YET??? :silly:

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

208. Sorry.

It's been a long day. My sarcasm meter is off for once. ;(

[FyurFly]

53. Yes it is...

Cracker and nigger are equaly offensive to me.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

56. Of course not.

This is like republicans whining about reverse discrimination.

[undeterred]

57. The equivalent phrase is:

"white honky bitch" not "cracker"

[suston96]

58. Unacceptable, especially for the elderly, if by "cracker"...

....you mean what they did to old people in Soylent Green.

[Solo_in_MD]

61. Equally Offensive

No one gets a by on this one

[stepnw1f]

68. It's Not Equally Offensive At All

One refers to "Slave" and "Cracker" refers to a bigot cracking the whip on that "nigger slave". How are they equally offensive?

[FyurFly]

77. pot meet the kettle! n/t

[stepnw1f]

81. You Don't Get It.... !!!111111!!!!!

Since it is the same and all.... Someone calls you a "Cracker", just because you are white and you think it's the same as being black and being called a "Cracker"? Slave meet slave owner..... sound the same for ya still? I have plenty of friends you could call nigger, and plenty of friends you could call cracker and guess what? .... There's a HUGE difference.

Slave meet owner/cracking the whip.

You can take offense to being called/labeled "cracker" just remember who was cracking the whip and on who the cracker was cracking that whip on.

Your offense is ::yawn:: not the same.

[jeffrey_X]

78. Walk into an establishment full of white people and yell out "CRACKER"

Then walk into an establishment full of black people and yell out "NIGGER"

I'm sure there will be an equal response.

[Catherine Vincent]

83. LOL!

[Goblinmonger]

93. Depends

If you are black and walk into a black crowd and shout "nigger" you will get some mixed reactions.

If you are black and walk into a white crowd in the south and shout "crakers," you might, depending on the crowd, get the same reaction as a white saying "nigger" to a black crowd.

[stepnw1f]

63. Why... I Call White Rascists Cracker All the Time

Especially those who feel their "Whiteness" is in danger. Am I not to call somebody a "racist" or a "bigot" now too because it offends you? Give me break....

[Beelzebud]

65. "Cracker", as I have always understood it, was the label of a slave owner.

They "Cracked the whip".

I'm not a fucking slave owner, and I would take offense if someone called me that.

[stepnw1f]

70. As Much Offense as Being Called a "Nigger/Slave"? (nt)

[Beelzebud]

72. For me personally, yes. I'm white but I'm no fucking slave master...

If I were black I'd be equally outraged if someone called me a nigger.

I'm not a racist. If this were the 1800's, I'd be invading the south right about now.

For me it would be unacceptable to be called a slave master because I'm white.

[stepnw1f]

76. You Would Feel As Much Outrage if You Were Black being Called a Nigger?

You really sure about that?

[Beelzebud]

79. They are opposing sides of the same coin.

Both labels are total shit.

Thats my point. Neither is acceptable.

[stepnw1f]

82. My Point is Calling a Rascist a Cracker

is acceptable and is not the same as calling a black person a nigger.

[Beelzebud]

84. In that context I can sort of agree. I've been called a cracker before though.

And as someone that is not a racist, being called that is complete shit.

I guess it all comes down to context.

[stepnw1f]

86. I Have Been Called a Cracker Quite a Few Times

The history of being demeaned and segregated from what we whites sometimes take for granted in this country, is incalculable and still remains. That's why I say it's different.

But yes... I do agree "Cracker" has been used to label whites unjustifiably....

[slaveplanet]

167. not necessarily

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cracker&page=2

The Urban dictionary says it was cart drivers:

A highly misinterpreted word, but which has come to mean Caucasian. However, the word originated from the American civil war of the 1860s. During this time, Florida, which was a neutral state, provided supplies to many southern states. These supplies were delivered via horse drawn carriage. The drivers used a whip for driving these horses, and thus the slaves called them “Crackers” as they cracked their whips. When the slaves heard the cracking of the whip, they would say “Crackers’ a comin,” and thus the Floridians were given this nickname.

However, over time, the Floridians kept the name in their vocabulary, not as a racial term, but as a badge of honor. (Author is a genuine Cracker from Ft. Lauderdale) The now free slaves began to refer to southerners as “crackers.” Eventually, the term was used as a general term for a white person. It’s the equivalent of nigger or spic, used for blacks and Hispanics respectively. Among other common racial epithets for whites are honky, which comes from the term honky-tonk, a western style saloon, or a type of upright piano used for ragtime music.

And in another explaination a poster claims it referred to the white slaves:



Cracker is a slur that was used by whites Originally To describe free white Indentured servants/slaves as In the early days Of America and Austrila where basically slave colonies for the serf class Of England, Ireland & Scotland. These whites where brought to the Americas against their will In a 3rd passage To cut welfare cost in England. Upon freedom, black slaves where promised 40 acres and a mule, white slaves where Promised 50 acres and a horse. Only about 25% ever got land promised to them, The free whites who got land was the worst land In the country where cotton and tobacco could not be farmed, the only crop able to farm was corn which they distilled to make whiskey like their ancestors did in Ireland & the Scottish highlands. They where called corn crackers Or crackers after their one and only crop they grew. This land is In W.Va, Va, Pa, Ohio.

Cracker- Jimmy Crack corn and I don't care My masters run away. A American Folk song about Free white slaves Or corn crackers.

Don't know how reliable any of these explainations are...



1. A term in Southeastern United States English to describe poor white trash, derived from the Scottish meaning of the verb "to crack," which, in this sense denotes ostentation.

"I should explain to your Lordship what is meant by crackers; a name they have got from being great boasters; they are a lawless set of rascalls on the frontiers of Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas and Georgia, who often change their places of abode." 1766, G. Cochrane

2. In more general and contemporary U.S. usage, the term has become an ethnic slur for all Americans of Northern European decent.

[Exiled in America]

74. Other: both can be acceptable or unacceptable depending on context.

As is true with all things, context matters.

[hsher]

85. I disapprove of both

[slackmaster]

87. Cracker lacks the strong negative historical connotation

But as with any other insult, using it in a provocative manner is likely to result in negative consequences for anyone who chooses to do so.

[nini]

89. Both words are unacceptable in content

but Cracker doesn't come close to carrying the hateful meaning as the N word.

[fishwax]

90. they are not even in the same league

that doesn't mean one or the other should be given a pass in a specific situation, but because it carries the weight of history, the n-word is much worse than cracker.

[Bridget Burke]

91. I wouldn't use either word, personally.

But my grandma isn't going to rise out of her grave to haunt me if I type "Cracker."

[11 Bravo]

94. Has "cracker" ever been the last word a white person heard just before ...

the noose tightened around their neck?

[Bluebear]

97. So. What kind of agony does the word "cracker" impart?

"Cracker" might be lowbrow, tasteless, but don't even claim that it carries the same weight as the other word.

Who would even argue that "cracker" brings with it the baggage that the other word brings?

[Dorian Gray]

98. I believe that they are both horrible

though Cracker doesn't sting quite as much as the other.

[Pyrzqxgl]

99. I wish both words were OK but I guess thats impossible

it isn't the words themselves. It's the hate involved with their usage. That's whats not OK. The Constitution allows us to say anything we please but Freedom of Speech shouldn't have to make allowances for the H word.

[Tony Soprano]

100. What about "Peckerwood"

or "Redneck"?

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

101. For The Life Of Me I Can't Comprehend The Racial Ignorance Of The 36% That Think 'Cracker' Is Ok.

I think the N word is far worse and has far worse history behind it, but that doesn't make saying the other word ok. The lack of logic is astounding. But to each their own hypocrisy I guess. :shrug:

[WinkyDink]

122. What, pray, does "Cracker" mean, anyway? It's not like it has loomed

large in U.S. history. Or did I miss the Cracker Civil Rights movement?

[mattclearing]

147. See my post below. This is defined by power.

When whites and blacks are treated equally, we'll talk.

But for now, calling white people names is merely stupid and mean, whereas calling black people names is adding insult to 400 years of injury...I can't comprehend the ignorance of someone who thinks tha racism is about words and intent, not about context and history.

White people are still going to get their car loans, their jobs, and indifference from police, among various other things.

Call a white person a cracker and they shrug, like "whatever, man, I'm still white, who gives a shit what you think?"

Call a black person that other word, and you are perpetuating 400 years of oppression, likening them to an animal at best, fit to do menial labor without recompense and die for the slightest of transgressions. Depending on their ability to manage their righteous anger, they might just beat your ass, and rightfully so.

That's the difference.

Disclosure: I am white.

[WinkyDink]

176. ITA.

[Sapphocrat]

102. As one who learned only recently...

...what "cracker" means (it's a slam at a white person from Georgia, isn't it?), it has no effect on me whatsoever. I suppose it should, as it seems offensive, but I just don't get it -- where it comes from, or why it's bad. Now that I know it offends some people, I'll never use it -- but then, I've never used it anyway.

"Cracker" simply does not compute, Will Robinson.

[Nutmegger]

104. Both are unacceptable.

The "n-word", however, just carries a deeper meaning though.

[Midlodemocrat]

105. Here's how I would sum it up. If someone called me a cracker, I would laugh at them.

If someone called a friend of mine *n*, I would slap them. Hard.

I'm sure cracker is offensive to some, but it doesn't connote the travesty that was slavery. JMHO.

[Clinton Crusader]

107. Both bad, but "N" is much MUCH worse...

I know the origin of "cracker", but I don't feel it has anything to do with me, so if someone called me that, I would shrug and walk away.

Just dumb I guess.
:shrug:

[JuniperLea]

108. Any word used in hate is hateful, period

I don't want to hear either of those words. I don't want to hear that "I can say it but you can't".

If you can bring yourself to say one but not the other, you just don't get it.

[LittleClarkie]

112. Personally, regardless of which one is worse, both kids should have

been taken to the principal's office.

Relative badness of the words used shouldn't have been the criteria for the kid getting in trouble or not. They shouldn't be calling each other names at all. The point shouldn't have been which was more offensive, but the behavior that needed correcting.

And for the record, I do find the "n" word to be worse. But do you see what I mean?

[Skip Intro]

114. Isn't it more about the level of anger, the intent, than the actual word?

I called my sister a bitch once. I did it to hurt her. We were arguing and she had hurt me and I was damn sure going to hurt her worse. Its the worst think I could think of.

I assume we're all talking about, to some extent, the Richards debacle. He said what he said, and deserves everything he's getting for it, but its clear he was called "cracker ass" by someone angry who was trying to hurt him back. I'm not talking about justificiation of either slur, I'm talking about intent.

At any rate, words are no more than idle tools. And its not so much, imho, what you do with them as it is why you do it, that matters.

[Mr_Spock]

115. I always thought it was kinda cute being called a "cracker"

I also think it's hilarious that the Freepers call us "Demonrats".

I've always given a little on the insults as it was clear while growing up in an integrated neighborhood who had it easier. I think it's a little bit better today, but still not close to equivalent. I always felt lucky being a white male so I really never took the insults seriously.

[Why Syzygy]

129. Cracker doesn't offend me,

like if it's used in a comedy routine (Chris Rock). But if someone was trying to incite me and used that word, I would take the same approach as with anything. Try to work it out and see what common ground we have. Did I offend first, without meaning to? etc.. Name calling back solves nothing. I would never call a 'real' Redneck a 'Rword' to his face. Then I don't go around trying to insult anyone. We are so much more than where we live or what color we are.

Both children should have been taken to the office. Name calling is name calling. A missed lesson for the child who called "Cracker".

edit: I never use the 'Nword', and if anyone around me does, I ask them to stop. It is insulting to me even though I am Caucasian. When I was in high school, our neighbors were Black and had small children that called each other that all the time. While walking home from school one day, I was telling my friends about this. It took about a block for me to realize our friend walking with us was Black. This was in the 70's. Am I that color blind? Guess so.

[porphyrian]

120. Context, context, context.

All of the answers are true in different contexts.

[WinkyDink]

121. there is no cultural depravity by the majority towards anyone called

"Cracker", which, IMO, is a REALLY little-known term.

[jelly]

123. Call me crazy but does belief that "n" word is worse expose societal racism?

Just a thought, but both terms are used to insult a person purely on account of his race. To say the "c" word is not as bad as the "n" word may reflect an attitude that Caucasians are clearly superior and so efforts to insult them by picking on their race are benign and even silly, while there is something shameful about being black, and thus to pick on a person for being black consitutes a more hurtful and offensive act.

Personally I think both are terrible. My boys (who are white/hispanic) attend a lovely school attended by children of all races and cultures and where Caucasians are a minority group. I was beside myself when one of them disclosed that he was being bullied and called "cracker" and put a stop to it without delay.

[VOX]

126. No one remembers the classic SNL bit with Chevy Chase and Richard Pryor?

It points out, with hilarity, that the "N" word has no reciprocal rival.

http://snltranscripts.jt.org/75/75ginterview.phtml
Racist Word Association Interview
Written by: Paul Mooney
Interviewer.....Chevy Chase
Mr. Wilson.....Richard Pryor

Interviewer: Alright, Mr. Wilson, you've done just fine on the Rorshact.. your papers are in good order.. your file's fine.. no difficulties with your motor skills.. And I think you're probably ready for this job. We've got one more psychological test we always do here. It's just a Word Association. I'll throw you out a few words - anything that comes to your mind, just throw back at me, okay? It's kind of an arbitrary thing. Like, if I say "dog", you'd say..?

Mr. Wilson: "Tree".

Interviewer: "Tree". < nods head, prepares the test papers > "Dog".

Mr. Wilson: "Tree".

Interviewer: "Fast".

Mr. Wilson: "Slow".

Interviewer: "Rain".

Mr. Wilson: "Snow".

Interviewer: "White".

Mr. Wilson: "Black".

Interviewer: "Bean".

Mr. Wilson: "Pod".

Interviewer: < casually > "Negro".

Mr. Wilson: "Whitey".

Interviewer: "Tarbaby".

Mr. Wilson: < silent, sure he didn't hear what he thinks he heard > What'd you say?

Interviewer: < repeating > "Tarbaby".

Mr. Wilson: "Ofay".

Interviewer: "Colored".

Mr. Wilson: "Redneck".

Interviewer: "Junglebunny".

Mr. Wilson: < starting to get angry > "Peckerwood!"

Interviewer: "Burrhead".

Mr. Wilson: < defensive > "Cracker!"

Interviewer: < aggressive > "Spearchucker".

Mr. Wilson: "White trash!"

Interviewer: "Jungle Bunny!"

Mr. Wilson: < upset > "Honky!"

Interviewer: "Spade!

Mr. Wilson: < really upset > "Honky Honky!"

Interviewer: < relentless > "Nigger!"

Mr. Wilson: < immediate > "Dead honky!" < face starts to flinch >

Interviewer: < quickly wraps the interview up > Okay, Mr. Wilson, I think you're qualified for this job. How about a starting salary of $5,000?

Mr. Wilson: Your momma!

Interviewer: < fumbling > Uh.. $7,500 a year?

Mr. Wilson: Your grandmomma!

Interviewer: < desperate > $15,000, Mr. Wilson. You'll be the highest paid janitor in America. Just, don't.. don't hurt me, please..

Mr. Wilson: Okay.

Interviewer: < relieved > Okay.

Mr. Wilson: You want me to start now?

Interviewer: Oh, no, no.. that's alright. I'll clean all this up. Take a couple of weeks off, you look tired.

< fade >

[Ninja Jordan]

128. You ask a different question in your thread title than the ones in the poll (nm)

[Bluebear]

135. exactly true. nt

[Crunchy Frog]

132. Poorly worded poll.

I consider both to be unacceptable, but I see the "N" word as being much worse, just because of the associated history and traditional power differential.

The student who used the word "Cracker" should have been reprimanded though.

[DemBones DemBones]

133. "Cracker" has been made into an insulting racist term, like

"redneck."

It's obvious that the kids know it's an insult or the first kid wouldn't have called the other a "Cracker." Your relative should have taken both kids to the office, especially since the one who said "Cracker" made the first insult. She gave those kids a message that racial insults aimed at whites are permitted but racial insults aimed at blacks will be punished.

I had a principal who sent those kinds of messages and caused racial unrest in a school that hadn't had any in the five years I'd taught there. By the end of the year, we had armed police and metal detectors in the halls and death threats were made against the principal.

[LWolf]

138. Any word used to indicate disrespect is not okay. n/t

[DoYouEverWonder]

140. Around here in North Florida

I have a lot of friends who were born and raised here and are very proud of their 'cracker' status. We even have 'cracker' houses, which is a very popular style designed for places with hot, humid weather.

[clyrc]

163. Exactly. My husband is from North Florida, and he calls his family Crackers

He says it's a different term from redneck, and he has never been ashamed of the name. He also happens to be one of the least racist people I know.

I've told my daughters that they have cracker ancestors, and that on my side we had hill billies, share croppers, and that my great grandpa was one of the original hoboes, who caught trains to help harvest crops for money. One day, I might have to tell them why all these people got a bad name, and why I am proud to be a descendant, anyway.

[THUNDER HANDS]

142. i've never heard the word cracker used in real life

in that context.

Ever.

But I've heard the n word used many times.

[cynatnite]

157. Same here n/t

[mattclearing]

144. I said no, and here's why:

Racism, sexism, and any other kind of discrimination is defined by power. That's why black people can make fun of white people for talking the way they talk, eating the things they eat, etc., on television, and nobody gets too upset about it.

If white people were to mock black people the way Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, etc., mock white people, it would be a big deal.

The reason is that white people in general have power, and it is always acceptable to mock those in power. That's comedy.

Mocking people with no power isn't comedy, it's just mean. So when right-wingers try to paint black people as all lazy, on crack, or on welfare, it's not only wrong and funny only to people like Ann Coulter, it's fucking mean.

To that same extent, I don't see the harm in calling white people cracker. At the end of the day, white people are still going to get their car loans, still get hired for their position, and still get ignored by the police. White people who get offended by being called cracker really need something better to do with their free time.

Whereas, with black people, using the n-word is a verbal attempt to perpetuate 400 years of bloody, hateful, downright evil oppression. It says that person is less than a human being, suited to do one's dirty work but not to be acknowledged as an individual with character, intellect, heart, and soul. It says that killing them is no more offensive than killing an insect.

Calling someone a whitebread cracker just means they don't have SOUL. It's not the nicest thing in the world to do, and I don't really endorse it, but it's nowhere near as bad, imho.

[aikoaiko]

145. I play poker with a guy nicknamed Cracker.

yep, I live in the deep South.

[DemBones DemBones]

148. My black students frequently called each other "the n word"

and were not offended. If a white kid had used the word, they would have been offended.

Any word can be turned into an insult by the intent of the person using it and "cracker" is widely used as a racial epithet now , equal to "white trash."

[BlooInBloo]

149. Your own choice of phrasing answers the question definitively. Duh.

[Tony Soprano]

153. I still wanna know....

....about Peckerwood and Redneck.

[slaveplanet]

168. Wiki is your friend

sometimes...

Peckerwood (or simply Wood) is a pejorative slang term coined in the 19th century by southern blacks to describe poor whites. Blacks saw blackbirds as a symbol of themselves, and the redheaded woodpecker as a representation of working class whites. They considered them loud and troublesome like the bird, and often with red hair like the woodpecker's head plumes. This word is still widely used by southern blacks to refer to southern whites.<1>

In the 1940s, the term "wood" entered California prison slang, originally meaning an Okie; but in about 1970 it became applied to white inmates as a whole, regardless of background. This has caused the symbol of the woodpecker to be used by white power skinheads. Many white supremecists self-identify themselves as peckerwoods, with women referred to as featherwoods. It is usually drawn with a long beak, sometimes drawn to resemble Woody Woodpecker. Sometimes the letters "PW" or "APW" (Peckerwood and American Peckerwood) is used. The peckerwood gangs are concentrated in California, where they trade in methamphetamine.<2>

The exact etymological relationship between "peckerwood" and "woodpecker" is unclear. It is reported that in some Appalachian dialects, "peckerwood" is the normal word for "woodpecker" (possibly as part of a larger grammatical pattern); from this, it is speculated that speakers of other dialects may have applied this word to speakers of that dialect as a form of metonymic derision. (Cf. the speculated etymology of spic from "no spic English"; and cf. the etymology of zalama.)
---------------------------------------

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redneck

Redneck, in modern usage, predominantly refers to a particular stereotype of people who may be found in many regions of the United States or Canada. The word can be used either as a pejorative or as a matter of pride, depending on context.

Usage of the term redneck generally differs from hick and hillbilly, because they reject or resist assimilation into the dominant culture, while hicks and hillbillies theoretically are isolated from the dominant culture. In this way, the term redneck is similar to the word cracker.

(more)...

[spacelady]

159. Context, for one thing. For another thing, either is unacceptable with

regard to referring to a person. Third thing: A cracker can be a flat biscuit, but a nigger is directed only at a person in a derogatory manner.

[Guaranteed]

160. I'd say that if they're both meant to dehumanize, they're equally offensive.

On the other hand, being called a cracker would never really make me feel dehumanized.

[omega minimo]

161. How many "crackers" were ever enslaved, chained, whipped, hung from trees & dragged behind trucks?

[slaveplanet]

164. I'm assuming

you're referring to James Byrd jr. of Jasper , Texas, when you reference dragged by trucks.

This guy made a lot of complaints to RW supremacist groups that he was called a "cracker" before being chained to a pickup and dragged.

http://www.hartsvillemessenger.com/City/050916_citydesk4.php

Then there is the case of Ken Tillery, also of Jasper, Tx.
he was dragged to death.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Tillery

So were these "crackers":

# Jake Robel, Crime occurred on 22 February 2000 in Independence, Missouri. The victim was a six-year-old boy. Kim Davis, age 34, stole a car belonging to Jake Robel's mother. Davis attempted to push Jake out of the car, but did not halt when it became clear that the boy was caught in his seat-belt. Davis dragged Jake along the road for about four miles at speeds up to 80 miles per hour, causing the child's death.
# Sandra Roberts, was a forty-one-year-old woman from Kansas City who, in 2000, was dragged to death after becoming entangled in a seatbelt when a man named Sean Adams attempted to steal her car.
# Patricia Stansfield, Crime occurred on 1 August 1998 in Streator, Illinois. Patricia, a 46-year-old woman, was abducted by a man who had stolen a car belonging to one of her friends. The man tied Ms. Stansfield to the car's rear bumper and proceeded to drag her across a two-mile stretch of Highway 18 as he drove from Streator into the countryside. The dragging caused Ms. Stansfield to die.
# Brad Young, Crime occurred on 25 August 1999 on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation near Martin, South Dakota. Brad , age 21, struck up a conversation with some men, an argument began - the subject of the dispute seems to have involved Brad's wife - and the men chose to settle it by trying to kill Brad. They tied him up, kicked him in the face with steel-toed boots, and then they put a rope around his neck and dragged him behind a pickup truck. Brad survived, but the men believed that he was dead when they left him in some weeds on the Reservation. The local sheriff (Russell Waturbury of Bennett County) called it a hate crime.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragging_death

and then there was Don Deveo, Don was beaten to death by a group of Blacks who used the word "cracker" repeatedly while kicking and punching him. Witnesses claim the attackers also shouted, "Let's kick this cracker to sleep".

The Irish, when not victim to one of Britain's many genocidal schemes, were often made into slaves. Many were even shipped to the Americas and the Caribbean.
White slavery still exists today, mostly former eastern block women.

Slavery is still practiced on every continent save for Antarctica, (though it wouldn't surprise me if it was going on there as well), mostly in the form of indentured servitude as the result of trickery.

The world is a lot more complicated than we'd like to believe, basically, there are very evil asswipes that belong to each race.
Sometimes broad-brushing style questions don't work out so well. Though, I never fault people who ask them, I do wonder why more haven't heard of some of these horrific crimes?

[omega minimo]

180. Percentages don't add up. "Depends on which end of the rope you're on"

rope or whip or chain......

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2809606&mesg_id=2809629

Comparisons may be made. But "cracker" was one end of the whip/chain/rope -- "nigger" was the other.


FWIW I did not vote in this poll.

[G Hawes]

162. I see it as a matter of intent

If the intent in using a word, any word, is for purposes of espousing racial prejudice, then it matters little what the actual word is, they are equally wrong.

If it were up to me, I'd have sent both kids to the principal's office, and I'd have expected both of them to get the same punishment in the circumstances set out in the OP.

Just my $0.02 of course.

[donheld]

171. Call me cracker all day long, I really don't care

Maybe it depends on where you grew up. Call me a cracker and I'll ask what kind?

[ChazII]

172. Neither are acceptable

but I did vote that C was acceptable while N was not. It is just one of the double standards in our society. Sigh.

[Spider Jerusalem]

174. It's very simple:

either it's ALWAYS wrong to insult someone on the basis of his/her ethnicity, or it isn't. I personally think it IS, because if it ISN'T, then there's no difference between calling someone a "cracker" and calling them a "nigger" (or "spic", "mick", "Kraut", etc). Either they're all bad, or they're ALL acceptable (because it's just hypocrisy to say it's okay to insult SOME people on the basis of their ethnicity and not others).

[izzybeans]

175. I think millions of Cracker Barrel customers agree on this one. nt

[everythingsxen]

178. OH FFS...

Why don't you have "Totally Irrelevant" as a Poll Option?

Ok, look, it's like this;

I am white, I am from the South, I don't call people niggers and I could give less than a fuck if someone calls me a cracker.

Cracker is, IMHO, the STUPIDEST of all the racial slurs. It ranks up there with honky and peckerwood. Technically of course, honky is a slur for Italians, as is wop and dego (sp?). Peckerwood at least has some originality to it, and said with enough hate, might not make me bust out laughing. Cracker on the other hand, is just too stupid. You are either calling me a) a 1" square piece of flatbread. or b) You are saying I am a white southerner, so named because of the cracking sound of "my" ancestors whips. (In point of fact I was only a second gen southerner, previous ancestors having moved from Pennsylvania)

So the insult there is supposed to that at some point, in the past, my ancestors owned black people and whipped them. What, is it supposed to guilt me into a fistfight? Actual conversation I had as a kid, age 15ish:

Walking home from school, with a classmate. We were both in ROTC, wearing our uniforms. Our school was on the south side of town, we lived on the north and had to walk. On our way we get pseudo jumped by like 10 black kids (oh yeah, we were both white) the lead kid went off on us about how we were crackers and had to pay to get through their turf or some such nonsense. I looked him in the eye and replied with that he should really use something better than cracker, since cracker was the name the slaves gave the masters who whipped them. Cracker came from the sound of the whips snapping. Then I suggested he use something better like peckerwood or jive-turkey, since that at least sounds a little more insulting. He was sort of stunned, I and my classmate pushed our way past and kept walking.

I don't think anyone uses peckerwood anymore though, cause it is too old. I wish we would go back to those 50s slurs. Peckerwood and Spook sound at least a little better than Cracker and Nigger.

[Hobarticus]

190. Is that really the origin?

Interesting...

[Jed Dilligan]

194. "Peckerwood" is alive and well

and living in California!

[htuttle]

195. Sorry, but...

..."Peckerwood" would make me bust out laughing. I laughed when I read it. I'd never heard that one before.

Most of the insults that don't make me laugh when I'm called them are race-neutral.

[slaveplanet]

198. Hungarians

honky is a slur for Italians, nope, It a slur for the Eastern Europeans or Ukrainians.

Bohunk was the original, then Bohunkie, then Hunkie, then Honky

also spelled "honkey" or "honkie"
(U.S. blacks, UK) a white person (derived from "hunkie" or from "honky-tonk", or possibly from the perceived nasal quality of white speech as compared with black speech) offensive. Also used in S.E. Asia in reference to people from Hong Kong, mostly by people from Hong Kong. Also used in reference to Croatians or people of the Hungarian empire in the early 20th century - spelled "Hunky"

This list is a pretty good read, the etymologies are interesting-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_slurs#H

Bohunk
A person of east-central European descent. Was commonly used toward Ukrainian immigrants during the early 20th century.

[everythingsxen]

201. Yeah I just looked up the origin of it..

I was told a long time ago by my grandparents that Honky was slang for Italians. :shrug:

I stand by the origin of cracker though. ;evilgrin:

[mac56]

183. It's hard for me to view the word "cracker" as insulting to white folks

since white folks made it up themselves and applied it to each other.

Same with "honky". If I understand it right, it's a derivation of "bohunk", which is a derivation of "bohemian", or alternately "hunky" for "Hungarian". All words that white folks made up and applied to one another.

[Jed Dilligan]

184. I'll briefly come out of "retirement" for this one...

I don't think "cracker" is the word black people use when they really want to disparage a white. In my experience, the word "peckerwood" or more often simply "'wood" is used. This may be a regional thing or not. In CA race relations trickle up, quite nastily, from the penal system, where inmates are organized into race-based gangs. "Peckerwood" is used proudly by racist white skinheads and derogatorily by black gang members to refer to all whites.

As a white(ish) person, I've always thought cracker sounded funny, and I've only heard black friends use it as a joke. Also, my Jewish mom always called rural Americans, whom she suspected of being universally anti-Semitic, "cracker barrel." On the other hand, when I've walked past a group of black youths at night on the streets of Oakland, as they chanted "wood... wood... wood..." I daresay I felt at least as threatened as any comedy club patron has ever been.

So I guess I'm saying that, for the world I'm familiar with, this poll is about the wrong word.

[omega minimo]

185. Interesting. So white people with PECKERS are seen as oppressors

:think:

[Jed Dilligan]

188. I don't think that's the origin of the term

IIRC it refers to poor whites who harvested tree sap to make turpentine in the old Upland South. It's not really like saying "The Man," it refers to whites of low social and economic status.

[Hobarticus]

189. Seriously? eom

[Jed Dilligan]

193. I don't know

There are lots of different versions:

http://www.adl.org/hate_symbols/peckerwood.asp

http://plateaupress.com.au/wfw/pecker.htm

http://www.myleftwing.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=7654


Consensus seems to be it comes from "woodpecker" and refers to that bird's red neck.

Here's the turpentine connection: "peckerwood mills" were small lumber operations.

https://www.utexas.edu/utpress/excerpts/exsitnam.html

[omega minimo]

192. Never knew about that or (whip) "cracker"

[Hobarticus]

186. I just don't see how they're comparable...

If I were called "cracker" I'd probably bust out laughing. I doubt that's the reaction wanted, but it's hardly the same, and can't be called "hate speech" in this context. No way.

[Eugene]

187. They are both offensive. "Cracker" in that context is hate speech.

I am black. My parents taught me early on not to refer to white people as "crackers."
They also strongly disapproved of the n-word even among black people.

[Hobarticus]

191. Is it really meant to be as demeaning as the n-word?

I've never heard of "cracker" used in such a dehumanizing and insulting manner, as the n-word can be. I suppose it's antagonistic, if nothing else.

[dogday]

196. If both words are used to denigrate a race

then both words are unacceptable.. In fact all racial slurs, meant to be slurs are unacceptable...

[Karenina]

199. The FUNNY THNG

is that there is such controversy on what the "slurs against whites" mean or where they come from while "NIGGER" is just so CRYSTAL CLEAR.

[dogday]

210. Why is that, do you think?

Why is there such a controversy if the word is also meant to denigrate. Peckerhead, Peckerwood, cracker, white-ass cracker, honky, fucking honky, white mother fucker? Any of those things offend? Are they used to offend... Are they said because you don't like the white race?

Does it not constitute bigotry? I see denigration in all it's ugly form here...

[sniffa]

200. not even fucking cLose

[Tony Soprano]

202. This thread still going?

Sooooo, what about "peckerwood" or "redneck"

[10 Dollars]

205. As a matter of course older white people avoid using the term "nigger"

But rap is so pervasive among younger people and the term is so used to excess that you can almost forgive kids from thinking its ok to call a friend, 'my nigga' and not think twice about it.

How far is it from there to responding with "nigger" when someone else say "cracker". Or as Chris Rock would say - "Cracka ass Cracka!" Or "Cracka ass mothuhf----a"

[jeffrey_X]

211. PLEASE READ THIS ARTICLE

Fresh from Alternet...

http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/44867


Nigger.

Without question, this is the most loaded word in the English language. Six letters. Say it three times and you've got the number of the beast. Forged white-hot in the fires of hell, that word has, for half a millennia, been seared into the collective psyche of black people in America. N-I-G-G-E-R. Though buried under layers of keloidal scars, those letters still ache and throb like a recent burn, a painful, disfiguring memento of our past -- an unhealed wound on the souls of black folk.

This is "hate speech" -- an entirely different category from your garden-variety cuss words. When you get down to it, there's very little inherent rationale for the taboo status of words like "shit" and "fuck." They're just combinations of letters, rarely used literally, that we've learned to be offended by. Nonetheless, I try not to piss people off without a good reason, and so, heretical linguistic leanings aside, I tailor my speech to the sensibilities of the reader/listener.

What makes me really uncomfortable, though, is "nigger" and its cousin, "nigga." I generally don't F wit' the N-word(s). I'm quick to playfully deride those who euphemize regular curse words (saying "Darn" when we and they know damn well they meant "Damn"). But I'm so self-conscious about ni**er that even when writing it, I generally self-censor, adding asterisks. As if that makes a bit of darned difference.

<snip>