Should "Cracker" be a racial slur?

[GoodEyeSniper]

If I remember correctly the term wasn't originally an anti-white pejorative, but an anti-American pejorative used by the English upper-classes to describe the oafish, backward-thinking colonists. I don't think it carries much weight as a racial slur anyway, mostly because its use is more often met with confusion than consternation.

That said, This Troper lives in a country where neither this term, nor the Afro-American equivalent carry little clout except in an odd way: None of peeps here that are of European descent feel comfortable using the N-word, yet for some reason it is considered all right for the indigenous peoples (of which I am part) to use the term, and that is simply because we have darker skin. I don't understand this attitude at all considering that we originate from South East Asia and have no connection whatsoever with Africa.

Racial politics are a minefield in a junkyard.

 

[Coldster]

Cracker doesn't sound offensive to me. If someone actually called me that then I'd probably start laughing at how stupid it sounds.

 

[Daveman]

I just find it hilarious. It's like British racist slang in that it's shit and unoffensive.

 

[googleback]

I guess so, its what white people get for being so apologetic these days. It's not like THEY were slavers is it? although the generation who was alive and racist during the Martin Luther King days are still around, so maybe it'll become a little more balanced when the REAL guilty ones die off.

 

[zombieeater6000]

i was pretty sure it was :S ?

 

[InnerRebellion]

Racism, and political correctness, are both stupid things.

what I hate is all these black people-mind you, I'm not racist-who are allowed to use the N-word freely to talk to each other, and many Asians are allowed to say it. I hate this whole, "It's only racist if a white guy said it", thing.

 

[FallenJellyDoughnut]

It is a racial slur, just because white people pretty much aren't allowed to be offended due to the whole "white guilt" thing, doesn't mean it isn't derogatory to a race.

 

[Dogstile]

Meh, given that white people have a good 500 years' history of oppressing everybody that isn't white, I think we can take it on the chin for a little while.

Given that I did none of this oppressing, I think anyone who uses that as an excuse to get away with it can go shove it.

 

[ultimateownage]

Well it won't be, because these days 'racism' is thrown about randomly just so people who aren't white can make white people who, you know, don't care about what race you are feel guilty about doing so as well as get some sympathy.

 

[TheHitcher]

No, it shouldn't, because quite frankly, it's just funny. As a black guy, I've never met any white person who finds that offensive. Most of them just laugh at the use of it.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

It is a racial slur, or at least it can be and I've heard it used as a racial slur.

But seriously, why would anyone argue for the inclusion of more racial slurs into the language? Are we so divided and hate filled nowadays that there aren't enough ways to insult each other, we have to start finding new ones?

Racism is one of the worst hang ups humanity is ever had, and the only way out is education and possibly nuking the Deep South of America (if you can't tell that that was a joke get your head out of your arse). Not some petty childish 'you called me a bad name so I'm going to find a bad name to call you back.'

Tell them both to fuck off and stop adding to the problem.

 

[Kenko]

'Cracker' just makes me laugh... Especially when Chris Rock says it.

"Really? You're comparing me to a snack wafer now? I'm not sure whether or not to feel insulted or laugh at how stupid it sounds."

It refers to the cracking of whips, not a little snack im afraid.

 

[Grickit]

No. Under no circumstances should "cracker" become a racial slur. Namely because it already identifies a group of people.
See the Hollywood "hackers" who break into computers? Those are crackers.
Real hackers are just tinkerers. They like to change things.


I had never even heard of this "racist" alternate meaning actually. Reading this thread, it's supposed to apply to white people? Well I don't give a rat's hat what anyone calls me.

 

[Titan Buttons]

I always thought it was just an insult, desribing a person that is either psychically weak or has deterimination that crumbles at the first sign of trouble and runs away

 

[tehroc]

It IS a racial slur. Granted, I haven't actually heard anyone use that phrase in at least 5-6 years.

You obviously don't live in Florida then. Yes it's a slur when used in that context.

 

[Jerious1154]

I'm not the biggest Daniel Tosh fan, but I think he nailed this one:
"Oh no, someone called me a cracker. That reminds me of when my people had power and land! Well that just ruined my day."

 

[nightwolf667]

Meh, given that white people have a good 500 years' history of oppressing everybody that isn't white, I think we can take it on the chin for a little while.

And they had a long history of oppressing anyone who was white. What exactly is your point? That racisim is okay so long as it's directed at people who are white, seeing only the color of their skin, ignoring their ethnicity and their socioeconomic background? White indentured servants (practically slaves) worked the plantations before the taking of African slaves became popular, and was still a common practice in the north even after that. The Irish and the Scottish were oppressed by the British long before Africa was ever discovered.

White culture is not the only culture with a history of oppression, slavery was a common practice amongst many African tribes, and we don't need to look further than the Japanese to see that persecution is not a trait restricted to one single race. Their treatment of the Koreans and the Chinese long before WWII is indicative of that. Look at Libya or is it Liberia? A colony created by abolitionists and former slave owners, given in reparation to freed African slaves. Returned to their homeland after generations of oppression, only to turn around and inflict the same kind of oppression on those Africans already living on that land. We could say that they learned it from "the whities" but that would be taking too much credit.

People practice oppression, prejudice, and hate. It doesn't matter what race they are, it doesn't make it okay. People should be judged as individuals and their treatment of other human beings. There's a great deal of resentment that is born simply from statements like that. No one likes to be accused of something, especially something that they had no control over. We can say, "Well, your ancestors persecuted them, now it's their turn to persecute you and you can't say anything about it. HA!" But it only becomes a driving force for people too turn back to those ways. Look at the Germans. There's a rising movement there right now that's calling for a return to Nazism. It's small but it's there. Why? Because they are tired of being treated like they are the root of all evil. Because they are tired of being called to account for and be guilty for something they could not control. They are tired of not being allowed to have any national pride. Especially when they look around and see that no other culture is any better than they are.

*gets off soap box.