is this a racial slur?

[rayen020]

After i watched clerks two i had learned two things.

1)kevin smith is one of the greatest film makers ever
2)porchmonkey is a racial slur.

Is porchmonkey a racial slur? I had never heard before that movie and after asking around most black people i know didn't know the term either and didn't feel it was a racial slur. if anything they thought it would be against mexicans(since you you know they hang out on porchs alot.) This got brought up in conversation last night thats why i'm thinking about it.

so do you believe porchmonkey is a racial slur, and if so is it as bad as ******?

 

[RabbiiFrystofsk]

I think it's an old, possibly redundant racial slur.
Needless to say you're probably best not going around greeting or referring to every black person you meet as a 'porchmonkey'

 

[WhiteRat07]

It is an older racial slur. Honestly it was never a popular racial slur anyways. So yes it is a slur but a very obscure one.

 

[Rabid Toilet]

Do you use it in a negative manner in regards to a specific race of people? Then it's a racial slur.

Not one that people have heard of, but a slur none the less.

 

[Dags90]

Yes, it is. Have you asked any older black people?

Porchmonkey is up there with coon, bluegum, mulingnan, jungle bunny, etc.

 

[Lord Legion]

Yeah, it is...
But, I think it is nice that many are apparently falling out of the public consciousness.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

Given that you seemed to automatically equate it with Mexican people I think it at least has the potential for it.

It was originally for black slaves though. Monkey being the derogatory part and porch because that was where they were forced to stay sometimes. So in the popular lexicon you had your own little porch black person, or porch monkey.

 

[rayen020]

Given that you seemed to automatically equate it with Mexican people I think it at least has the potential for it.

It was originally for black slaves though. Monkey being the derogatory part and porch because that was where they were forced to stay sometimes. So in the popular lexicon you had your own little porch black person, or porch monkey.

i don't automatically equate it with mexicans. Trystan and John (two black guys i work with) equated it to mexicans.

 

[JaredXE]

It just means lazy person. Not necessarily a lazy BLACK person. I was like Randall, my grandma called me one all the time.....because I was LAZY!

 

[Adam Galli]

Words are not bad. It's only the way its used along with who is saying it. "That guy is queer." How do you first take that sentence. I didn't intend it in a negative way. "In my mind I was thinking. "That guy is odd." Its the connotation that makes words bad, not the denotation.

 

[jawakiller]

Oh its definitely racist... Wait, what was the term? That is how many uh, whacha call em? 1st world countries? Well them. In America if it has ever offended someone, its racist (unless you say it to a white male for some reason). In England you can go to jail for offending someone who is different from you (better known as hate speech). If I lived there I would right now be writing this from a cell cuz I like to kid. I think people to need ta jus chill yo.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

Given that you seemed to automatically equate it with Mexican people I think it at least has the potential for it.

It was originally for black slaves though. Monkey being the derogatory part and porch because that was where they were forced to stay sometimes. So in the popular lexicon you had your own little porch black person, or porch monkey.

i don't automatically equate it with mexicans. Trystan and John (two black guys i work with) equated it to mexicans.

Sorry, misread, but the point still stands. They automatically equated a term they had been told was offensive with a certain group, and the reasons they did it are (assuming they said it exactly as you stated it) stereotypical and generalised.

In general racism is stereotyping. And if there is a term or phrase that is predicated on that steroetype, then the term is probably racist.

Porch monkey used to be about black people, because black people were seen as sub-human and forced onto porches. If you tell someone the term and they come up with a different ethnic group, that doesn't make it less racist because the implication is still, 'this group is sub-human and hangs around on porches.'

Also, arguing 'but the people I know aren't racist' is usually a doomed argument. The way to find out how people really are underneath isn't by what they do or say but by what they don't do or say, the things they take as read for whatever reason.

 

[complete_absolution]

Wait a min... jungle bunny is a slur? My friend started using it in reference to snipers in CoD that were not snipers, like a snow bunny. They just liked to run around with the outfit and would shotgun everything on the map. The "jungle" part maybe I could see... but the bunny... where does that fit in? Boggles my mind.

 

[Zaverexus]

I haven't heard it until now, but I definitely see how it could be

 

[BonsaiK]

so do you believe porchmonkey is a racial slur, and if so is it as bad as ******?

Yes and yes.

It amazes me that after watching Clerks 2 you actually still are seeking clarification on this issue. I thought the film spelled it out pretty clearly.

 

[Not PvP Flagged]

It can be, but I see it on the same line as cracka, yeah it is suppose to be offensive but most people just laugh.

 

[Hader]

I guess it's an old racial slur, cause I never hear it used anymore, seriously or in good humor.