Poll: Is Cracker a derogatory term? And can one be racist against white people?

[zumbledum]

well i guess its technically not actually racist because not all slavers where white , but its use probably is as ive never seen a black person called it.

but yes its definitely derogatory and yes you can be racist to white people. its called being pro active

 

[Darks63]

Its a derogatory term towards white people, but like Honky its not one i've heard outside of a Dirty Harry movies and other 70's and 80' cinema.

I have heard it a couple times in passing, the interesting insult I had hurled at me once was "Pinky" but only once.

Did you retort by exclaiming Narf?

Yeah I heard of that one too it supposed to be a play on how white people as far as our skin tone is that same as pigs. In effect its saying you look like a pink little pig, but much like the other two slurs its so dumb sounding you can laugh it off.

 

[Proto Taco]

Spoiler: I and I'm sure many others will always think of:

When someone says the word 'cracker', regardless of what else it may mean.

I also firmly believe that racism is simply racism and to say otherwise is inherently racist. Defeating racism is about acknowledging that we're not so very different from each other, and the only way to do that is to erase as many lines in the sand as humanly possible.

Truthfully I would find the term '****** lover' more racist, if leveled against me, than 'cracker'.

Spoiler: And some levity

 

[Politrukk]

Yes it is. It's not very offensive though. I prefer the term honky myself lol

Where did honkey originate?
I'm curious now!

And the people here often seem quicker and more accurate than google...

 

[Politrukk]

I'm not even sure there's a solid unified theory on what "race" really is. Seeing how so many people hold other ethnic groups to different standards, it's hard to understand if there are such things.

Americans, for instance, are seemingly revolted at the notion of slavery. For the most part, they still condone it as long as it's not in their own backyard. But that's not the kind of caring that sells in America, where they are removed from the problem. It's selective ignorance that nobody is being forced to confront, or even acknowledge.

As for that dude's comments...it's hard to know whether or not we're dealing with trolling, so I'm hesitant to take it seriously.

I do seem to remember from some books I read in school about something like this. There were some people who some other people considered, somehow, less than human and yet "all powerful" and "manipulative" at the same time. Some folks who apparently ruled the world, yet seemed unable to help themselves after 9 million or so of them took a train ride to nowhere and practically disappeared off the face of an entire continent. As I seem to remember it, it ended with some jerk killing himself and a bunch of other folks being vaporized.

Oh no he is serious, if it isn't for the shitstorm you get when this guy replies (saw it happen to my friend, that's how we got to this thread in the first place) I would be pointing him directly here.

He seems to be one of these TumblrFeminist EQUALITY FOR EVERYONE EXCEPT WHITE MEN kinda people.
Then again this is a white guy who's hair looks like a rainbow got sick on it, but still even those we have to take seriously.

I for one am not poking that beehive, but feel free to if you have the time!

 

[Saltyk]

Well, I think it can be. I'm sure there are some racist black people who would use it as an insult.

However, if someone called me (and probably anyone I know) a Cracker, I'd just laugh. It's so not insulting to me and angrily yelling "Cracker" just makes you seem like a pathetic joke. In other words, it can be an insult and a racial slur if that is one's intent, but I don't think anyone would take it seriously.

And yes. You can be racist against white people. Anyone who says otherwise is playing fast and loose with the definition. Or, and I've seen this, trying to justify their own racism. Stating that they can't be racist as they don't have power (even if this is the literal definition it's not what the word means anymore) and therefore their own hatred of white people isn't racist.

Yes, I had someone tell me this. I simply stated that, "Then, by your definition, you're a bigot. What a huge difference."

 

[lowtech redneck]

Its a derogatory term towards white people, but like Honky its not one i've heard outside of a Dirty Harry movies and other 70's and 80' cinema.

Its usage was extremely common among black students in Savannah, GA High Schools in the early to mid Nineties....its generally derogatory when used by anyone other than Southern whites, it could be either derogatory or a form of defiant cultural pride otherwise. 'Honky', on the other hand, I've never heard outside of 70's movies/comic books, Country Western (honky-tonk) bars, and (bizarrely) as a substitute for 'bullshit' (bull honky) in metro Seattle in the mid eighties.

 

[DANEgerous]

I have always found it a comically stupid insult, but as it is a term intended to insult a race, well yeah it is by definition. As to whether you can be raciest to white people, yes absolutely. You can also be sexist against men and if you for some reason hate all straight people you are some term I can not be bothered to make up right now. the Social Justice "Die Cis Scum" is also derogatory

Would I take offense to it personally? No. Then again I am predominantly gay and have not cared about the use of the term ****** in over a decade.

 

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

A lot of people saying yes its racist, but it doesnt have any bite or feel very insulting.I wonder if in a couple of hundred years or so people will laugh at how calling someone a ****** lacks bite and isnt really insulting but cracker is considered terribly insulting. The white man cant be on top forever. It seems like rap music is well on the way to changing the word ****** into something more like a black exclusive 'bro'.

 

[jklinders]

There are so many smarmy reasons to dislike that guy based on his feed. Why pick one factual fallacy out of the mix?

Just file him under "tumblr idiot" and move on.

 

[MrOmen]

If intended to offend and/or segregate an individual, of course it's racist. If you are talking about the snack I'm eating right now with cheese, don't be a dumbass, it's about as racist as Black Sabbath for having 'Black' in the name.

 

[Flames66]

I don't know whether to consider cracker a racist term, I am not personally offended by it.

On to the second point, of course you can be racist against white people. Racism is "Discrimination or prejudice based on race." Any time anyone discriminates against anyone else based on their race, that is racism.

 

[Politrukk]

There are so many smarmy reasons to dislike that guy based on his feed. Why pick one factual fallacy out of the mix?

Just file him under "tumblr idiot" and move on.

Picked this because he was publicly shaming a friend of mine, otherwise wouldn't have ever come across it.
He was using cracker in the sense as mentioned above and when said friend retorted that it could be racist he got nailed to the cross instantly so their argument was filling up my feed.

My friend played smart though and redacted his earlier tweets as you can see the tweets this guy is responding to have been deleted.

It honestly made me wonder if people really thought about it in that sense.

 

[Passive Aggression]

http://www.700wlw.com/articles/local-news-119585/man-accused-of-pushing-jogger-into-13652640/

Oh boy, I sure am glad white people can't be victims of racism, or that racism against them is "Less important". I mean, after all, if you can't push people into traffic for being white, what -can- you do?

Now, I'm pretty black, perhaps not the blackest, there's probably a white guy/gal in my linage somewhere, but, I really think black culture in general would be improved by not constantly harping on about shit that happened generations ago. Not to say it wasn't terrible, and not to say there aren't still terrible people, but, the whole thing just creates such a divide that only breeds more resentment and racism.
I guess as people, we still want to put some barrier between "Us" and "Them", we struggle to relate to anyone who looks or acts too different from us, be it race, ethnicity, political stance, hell even console preference.