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Is the Expression ‘White Trash’ Racist?

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Clarissa

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For those progressives who like bandying around the expression ‘white trash’, I think a reminder is in order that the expression originated from and was extremely popular on slave-owning plantations. It is a product of the system that considered only people who owned slaves to be valid human beings. According to Harriet Beecher Stowe, slavery created “not only heathenish, degraded, miserable slaves, but it produces a class of white people who are, by universal admission, more heathenish, degraded, and miserable.”

I also want to remind everybody that between 1907-1927 eugenicists insisted on forced sterilization of many ‘white trash’ people who were deemed unfit for procreation on the basis of their supposed promiscuity and in-born criminal tendencies.

I suggest that everybody consult White Trash: Race and Class in America before bandying about this offensive term.

29 responses to “Is the Expression ‘White Trash’ Racist?”

  1. Melissa Avatar
    Melissa

    Yep. And even if people don’t consider the term racist, it’s never ok to call another person “trash” in any context!

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  2. Spanish Prof Avatar
    Spanish Prof

    It is racist, and it is also an expression of an American taboo: classism. But we all know that social classes do not exist in the United States.

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    1. Rimi Avatar
      Rimi

      Yes, precisely what I was going to say. People might be up in arms saying this isn’t racist, since mostly only white people use the term for other white people (I don’t think that makes a diff, but whatever). However, the classist vitriol is absolutely undeniable.

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      1. bloggerclarissa Avatar
        bloggerclarissa

        How can anybody seriously say this is not a classist society? Unless they never visited the country, never seen a single movie or TV show or lived under a rock this entire time?

        Of course, it isn’t as classist as the society of the Soviet Union, but it’s running a close second.

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        1. Spanish Prof Avatar
          Spanish Prof

          This is NOT a classist society, and you are engaging in CLASS WARFARE by merely suggesting it!!!

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          1. bloggerclarissa Avatar
            bloggerclarissa

            Yes, I’m one huge threat to democracy.

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  3. Shedding Khawatir Avatar
    Shedding Khawatir

    I think it’s more classist than racist, but both ways it’s totally unacceptable. Although, like other racist/classist/sexist slurs you will also see ingroup use for solidarity purposes.

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  4. Isabel Avatar
    Isabel

    Thank you for this. I do get tired of being the lone protester on this issue on the science/academic blogs. “Redneck” has an ugly history also.

    Yes, this is a huge problem with liberal progressives in the US. Most are from the upper middle classes and despite their love for “people of color” they are unable to hide their contempt for the white lower classes. When we complain we are told that 1. We deserve it, so we should check our privilege, and 2. We are imagining it and are just repeating a talking point we heard on Fox News.

    All other criticism, stereotyping and mockery of groups is now taboo, so lower class whites are taking the brunt of it. Not only that, they are blamed for all the problems in the entire world! The “tea-baggers” are holding back all social progress! All the people in power are actually completely powerless! Joe six-pack supposedly holds all the cards, so “progressives” feel justified in using these terms constantly, making jokes about inbred, goat-fucking West Virginians openly, and so on. It’s very bizarre, and reveals an extraordinary hypocrisy.

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    1. bloggerclarissa Avatar
      bloggerclarissa

      I think you just verbalized perfectly the reasons why the progressives in this country are so often failing to connect with the very people whose interests they claim to defend. It is absolutely true that there is a huge vein of contempt towards working class people from underprivileged backgrounds. You have no idea how this supercilious attitude bugged me when I tried collaborating with a quasi-progressive organization at my former university. Those folks couldn’t even conceive of an existence that wasn’t very comfortably middle class. The speeches they made were all right and nice-sounding but the generalized attitude of badly concealed contempt was always there.

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    2. Rimi Avatar
      Rimi

      “The “tea-baggers” are holding back all social progress! All the people in power are actually completely powerless!”

      Absolutely true. They are, and they are. Denying or mocking this truth will not make it go away or make the radical conservatives emerge lily-white and blameless.

      Those seeking to redirect entirely justified blame should perhaps look at the *process* by which a vibrant nation was lowered to its lowest common denominator, because shouting “It’s not THEIR fault!” is a weak and inaccurate defence.

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      1. Isabel Avatar
        Isabel

        This is completely ridiculous. All the people in power are actually powerless? Either radical conservatives are to blame for all the problems of the world or they are completely blameless? Who said that? And who was shouting?

        First of all there are six billion people on the earth. Second of all, we have a democratic president, and even in the US you are complaining about a small minority, most of whose followers are not in the powerful classes. Third you, like others, are flatly refusing to look at the causes of this movement, which Clarissa wisely hinted at directly above. You’ve accepted the official liberal progressive viewpoint hook, line and sinker. “Our saintly, well-intentioned hands are tied because of these bad, bad, RACIST people!”

        I also find the term “lily-white” to be annoying, if not racist. How do you define the term? Specifically?

        Please frame your reply in a clear understanding of cultural movements in the US, something you seem absolutely sure, for some inexplicable reason, that I am not capable of doing (or willing to do). Then I will kindly explain the cultural movements in your own culture to you.

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        1. Priyanka Avatar
          Priyanka

          Clearly if you find ‘lily-white’ racist, you are a hysterical and irrational person not capable of logical discourse, and without any sense of the etymology or the history of what is apparently your mother tongue, or at any rate a language you speak with considerable fluency.

          I notice you also jab your finger at “the causes of this movement”, which is precisely what I pointed to as well ,when I said one must look at how such a minority attitude has gained such ascendency in American politics, such that relatively successful presidents and politicians have been dragged through the mud for something as utterly politically irrelevant as having affairs, and leaders are chosen on the basis of their support for abortion and gay rights.

          You could try the old hat of “And how would you like it if I explained your own culture to you?”, but that is even more asinine that the rest of your argument, because by virtue of its political dominance and cultural capital most English-speaking people not completely cut-off from the world knows a considerable amount about US politics, and absolutely no one in the US outside South Asian expats or specialists — know anything approaching useful about the Indian subcontinent. So next time you think you’ve come up with a blistering come-back, think twice before you make such an entitled, privileged fool of yourself.

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          1. Isabel Avatar
            Isabel

            I think you are the entitled, privileged fool here.

            “most English-speaking people not completely cut-off from the world knows a considerable amount about US politics”

            And what might these sources be? How do they help you to understand a culture that you are not part of?

            And you did not define “lily-white”

            Please, I am hanging on to your every superior word.

            “I said one must look at how such a minority attitude has gained such ascendency in American politics”

            Wow, such insight! An irrational, lily-white American such as myself would never even think of such a thing! Since you’ve had such a head start over a simple-minded rube such as myself, why don’t you enlighten me as to the causes of this movement? Please, I am all ears!

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            1. Priyanka Avatar
              Priyanka

              Isabel, mocking my superiority does not stop me from actually being your intellectual superior by far, and a much less bigoted, open-minded and hysterical person.

              It may cause you deep discomfort to come to terms with your own subtle racism in refusing to acknowledge your own countries political capital and dominance over the world — after all, it allows you to pretend inequity in accessing information (and resources) don’t exist, and that overtly racist white people [which is obviously not all white people] are merely the victim of vicious reverse racism. But your discomfort does not make any of your biases less real, nor you more conducive to other points of view.

              You may be all ears, Isabel, but you’re clearly very little brain.

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              1. Priyanka Avatar
                Priyanka

                *a much less bigoted, open minded, and non-hysterical person.

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              2. Isabel Avatar
                Isabel

                Haha you were right the first time. And here we have been treated to yet *another* nasty comment with no content. We are still waiting…

                How does anything I said (be specific) imply that I am not open-minded? And that I am bigoted? Because I did not accept your assessment of trends in my own country and meekly discard my own opinion, as a mere person living that reality? That makes me a bigot, eh?

                “that overtly racist white people [which is obviously not all white people] are merely the victim of vicious reverse racism. ”

                *Who* is overtly racist, and *where* did I make such a claim? Wow this is some intellectual conversation we are having here. It would be much more fruitful if you would be specific, answer my questions or comment on my specific points. Instead, you are out of control in your bizarre imaginings and ugly accusations. You are the obvious bigot here, because you are making all kinds of assumption about me that you have not a shred of evidence for!

                And bragging about your “superior intellect”? How pathetic.

                Yes, working class Americans like me have no right to an opinion about their lot in life, intellectuals from the other side of the globe have all the insights. Yes, I know the drill.

                It took no time at all for someone to call me a racist. With ZERO evidence. Thanks for providing a textbook example of the hypocrisy on the left.

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          2. Isabel Avatar
            Isabel

            “look at the *process* by which a vibrant nation was lowered to its lowest common denominator”

            Please, I am waiting to hear your reply! And no code words like “lily white” okay? Starting with “vibrant nation” – when was that?

            Spell it out, with dates and alleged processes. How can I argue when you will only make vague assertions and insinuate that I am an irrational racist?

            Your comments perfectly illustrate the attitude I was complaining about, the irony of which seems to have completely escaped you.

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  5. Danny Avatar
    Danny

    Oh it most certainly is racist. Its a insult targeted at a specific subset of white people.

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  6. Politicalguineapig Avatar
    Politicalguineapig

    I don’t see how you can come up with this idea, Clarissa. White people cannot be racist against other white people, at least, not now. I second Priyanka, those people are holding Americans back. We could’ve made so much progress after the Civil War if the South had been demoted to the status of-oh, say, Puerto Rico. We wouldn’t have to deal with their whining every time a natural disaster hits, when they want help for their lilly-white town that they’d cheerfully deny a liberal melting pot city like New York. We wouldn’t have to hear the chorus of ‘teach the alternatives’ every time someone brings up Darwin. We could actually make some scientific progress if the Republican’s constituency weren’t so opposed to adequately funding public schools and gleefully hamstrung every scientific program they possibly could.
    I’m sure Texas is very happy that NASA will be dissolved, because doing science invites G*d’s wrath or something. I’m sorry, I’m just out of patience with the teabaggie crowd. Calling them what they are is NOT a racial slur. I’m tired of these guys, and I can’t believe you’re defending them.

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    1. bloggerclarissa Avatar
      bloggerclarissa

      Are Pennsylvania and Cincinnati considered the South then? Because here you can find two truly barbaric stories from those two places.

      “I’m tired of these guys, and I can’t believe you’re defending them.”

      -I’m not sure who “they” are in this statement. Ultra-conservative religious fanatics? They are a disgrace and a threat to humanity at large. The problem is that they can be found in all geographic areas and all social classes.

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    2. Isabel Avatar
      Isabel

      “those people ”

      those people?

      Oh for crying out loud people, black people use the phrase all the fucking time! “House Negroes” used to travel around the countryside with their masters and shake their heads over the “poo’ white trash”.

      And when white people use it it is despicably classist. Satisfied?

      “We could’ve made so much progress after the Civil War if the South had been demoted to the status of-oh, say, Puerto Rico.”

      Yes, the south wasn’t abused enough both during and after the civil war. Now the poorest part of the country is ruling it! Ruling the world in fact!!! Hey, I have an idea – let’s tell some more inbred pig-fucking jokes! That’ll teach ’em.

      “when they want help for their lilly-white town ”

      Lily-white??? The South??

      When I was growing up only a few decades ago, the country was very pro-science. Now you are back to the civil war?

      “that they’d cheerfully deny a liberal melting pot city like New York.”

      Any evidence for this? Any at all? No. You are foaming at the mouth. Look in the mirror. There’s your problem.

      Scratch a “liberal progressive” and you will always find a raging bigot, like this guy.

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  7. Politicalguineapig Avatar
    Politicalguineapig

    Isabel: You must have been away from the States for quite some time, or you don’t read newspapers or watch the nightly news. This country is not pro-science anymore, and teaching Darwinian theories has become controversial. Ever heard of the Creation Museum in Kentucky? Rick Perry, a few months ago, was talking about seceding, so yeah, the Civil War’s definitely alive and well in the South.

    This serves to prove my point about New York:

    http://pressrepublican.com/saturday/x43729898/Fight-over-FEMA-money-continues-in-Washington

    And of course, Texas happily accepts aid for the wild fires, and a Congressman from Missouri pleaded for funds after Joplin got hit by a tornado. But of course, both those places are populated by good, heterosexual Christian men and women, while the East Coast deserves to be walloped by hurricanes and snowstorms. (Big ol’ heaping of sarcasm there, for the oblivious.)

    Finally, I’m as much of a woman as you are, mmkay? And I’m not a bigot: I don’t care what color people are, really. I’m just very annoyed that Clarissa is defending people who wouldn’t think of her as a person, and aren’t worthy of her time and energy.

    Clarissa: I’m aware that fundamentalists occur in all regions, and in all religions. Fundamentalism in the States just seems to be more concentrated in the South, rural areas, and suburbia. I for one am sick and tired of the idea that one cannot be a real Amuri’can if one lives in an urban area.

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    1. bloggerclarissa Avatar
      bloggerclarissa

      “And I’m not a bigot: I don’t care what color people are, really. I’m just very annoyed that Clarissa is defending people who wouldn’t think of her as a person, and aren’t worthy of her time and energy.”

      -I still can’t understand who it is I’m defending? People who are called “trash” just because they are poor and uneducated?

      “Fundamentalism in the States just seems to be more concentrated in the South, rural areas, and suburbia.”

      -I don’t think it is really important where it is concentrated geographically. This divide between large cities and the rest of the country is fostered by conservatives. I don’t see how it is useful to any progressive cause. In this country, the universities, which are the centers of culture, education, and progressivism, are predominantly located away from cities.

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  8. Politicalguineapig Avatar
    Politicalguineapig

    Clarissa: You are defending people who for the most part choose to remain uneducated, will cheerfully vote to shred the remains of the public school system and any other public system that smacks of socialism (like Medicare, food stamps, etc.) and want to let their preacher or Limbaugh do their thinking for them. Ignorant people annoy me, as it’s a condition that’s easily fixed.
    Secondly, what country are you talking about? Certainly not the United States. Most universities that I know of are located in cities- I’m within biking distance of one.

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    1. bloggerclarissa Avatar
      bloggerclarissa

      ‘You are defending people who for the most part choose to remain uneducated, will cheerfully vote to shred the remains of the public school system and any other public system that smacks of socialism (like Medicare, food stamps, etc.) and want to let their preacher or Limbaugh do their thinking for them. ”

      -I’m defending them from being called trash. Calling ignorant people ignorant is perfectly fine. 🙂

      “Secondly, what country are you talking about? Certainly not the United States.”

      -Three years ago I applied to over 90 universities in the US. A year before that, I had applied to over 80 universities in the US. Exactly 5 schools out of those 170+ places were in cities. Right now, I work at a university located in a tiny little village. Before, I worked in Ithaca, NY. That’s anything but a city. Before that, I worked in New Haven, CT. A nasty, tiny ,little crime-ridden racist place. My husband did his PhD in Lafayette, IN. Also hardly a city. Another tenure-track position I was offered was in the middle of nowhere in Oklahoma. And there were also middle-of-the-woods places in Vermont and Louisiana. Oh, and a school in Illinois that was described during the interview as a “VERY rural area.” Also, a place in Montana where I was warned that people rarely get cell phone signal.

      I’d love to work and live in a big city. However, if you want to be a college professor, you have to accept that it’s hugely probable that you will end up living in a place that hardly even merits the name of a “town.” This is a very tragic sacrifice I had to make to my career, so please don’t tell me that it is impossible or isn’t happening.

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      1. bloggerclarissa Avatar
        bloggerclarissa

        I also would like to recommend this old post of mine on the annoying condescension to the “low-class folks” on the part of some people who consider themselves highly educated: https://clarissasblog.com/2009/05/04/bar-talk/

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    2. Danny Avatar
      Danny

      Feel free to call them ignorant all you want but calling them trash (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste) is uncalled for.

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  9. Isabel Avatar
    Isabel

    “This country is not pro-science anymore, and teaching Darwinian theories has become controversial. Ever heard of the Creation Museum in Kentucky?”

    I am well aware of, and involved in, the Creation Wars.

    YOU said that the cause of anti-science attitudes in the US was the fact that the South was not demoted to the status of Puerto Rico after the Civil War. I pointed out that the US was very pro-science, producing scientific leaders and innovators, only a generation or two ago. What happened? Why the need to go all the way back to the civil war and say we just haven’t had time to make progress?

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  10. LIBERTY Avatar
    LIBERTY

    It Has become laccecptable in our society to use the term “white trash”, but, of course, “black trash”, for example, is not tolerated. Jay Leno even does a weekly “white trash home repairs” which features pictures of white people fixing things themselves, eg: a man who made his own toothbrush holder out of the empty box the toothpaste came in (real recycling, imo) instead of buying a plastic toothbrush holder from Walmart (clever). It is an insult to poor people, as well as being a racial insult (by the fact other races are not called “trash” the way wites are.)

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A conservative literary critic and college professor

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