Derogatory Terms for Whites

[Ladeeda]

Has anyone ever been offended by the terms "cracker" or "honky"? Serious question. I've never known or even heard of someone being offended by those terms.

My theory: because those terms lack action.

N****r has been used during lynchings, attacks, murders, rapes, used to vandalize a victim's home, all kinds of horrible, physical things. F****t and d**e have been used while attacking, raping, beating someone to or near death.

Has anyone ever had "honky" graffiti-ed on their walls? Or been called such while being beaten, raped, or killed? Far as I've seen, derogatory terms for white people are just that: terms. Words. No pain, humiliation, or death to force the concept that "you are less" into a person or group.

I get that both are meant to be as derogatory as any other, but they lack impact as far as I can tell. Which is a GOOD thing, since all of the above crimes are terrible and need to be stamped out completely, and derogatory terms should lose the threat of pain and suffering that comes with them.

Anyway, just my thoughts. What do you think?

[insertNameHere]

It really depends, I don't get as offended as someone who calls me a cracker out of the blue and I respond with "I didn't call you an X now did I?" if that doesn't knock some sense into them, I usually go, well you must be a Y because of stereotype, I mean if they gonna try and insult and offend me, I have no reason to be proper and PC

[Ipecac Drano]

I've never been called either of those words. But when I hear them, I almost laugh at how outdated they sound.

[DrFaroohk]

Yeah I never thought it was really fair. We get Nigger. Just the sound of it is a truly angry and hurtful word.

But honky? Why not just call us doodoo heads?

I always wondered why no one ever thought of caucasion...CAW -KAZHIN....CAWK-ASIAN....COCK. I mean seriously. The joke writse itself.

[blas87]

Not offensive at all. I think honky is hilarious.

I've heard some creative terms for some of the heritage that I have....Germ, Schnitzel, WOP, Dego.......and it's like...someone actually thought they'd hurt someone's feelings saying that?

[aurelemsrealm]

My theory on such matters is that you damn well better be able to take it if you dish it out. Call me a honky or cracker, don't be surprised if I call you a name in response. Those terms don't bother me, but fair is fair. To be honest, I find political correctness to be so stupid and pointless. It's all a bunch of nonsense. I believe in calling a spade a spade. In fact, I find off color humor funny. Then again, I have a sarcastic, sadistic sense of humor. I tend to laugh at things that would offend many because society is often just plain ridiculous.

[Ginger Tea]

Being a white male english hetrosexual, I find these 'insults' laughable, yet change my gender skin colour or sexuality and even nationality if you so fancy and there are words out there to describe people.
Limie or limey or however its spelt, more offencive than being called a pom, but then again a pom isn't that offencive and neither is limey.

Cracker I had not heard of till a few years ago, we in the UK use crackers as another term for crazy and the phrase you crack me up means you make me laugh, so its power if any was lost on me.

Im reminded of a Chevvy Chase and Richard Pryor saturday night live sketch Chevvy calls out a derogitory term for him to word associate, his responce to all was honeky one or two got more honkies till he came to nigger then it was dead honkey.

[DGoddess]

Frankly, I think if that's the best people can come up with then they must be really bored.

I usually get hit with "white bitch" . . . . and personally, yes I am one when provoked, so yes I am one and proud of it.

[blas87]

I've gotten "white bitch" before, too. Yeah, it's a pretty correct title.

[Amanita]

I don't like racial slurs no matter who they're aimed at, or who's saying them. If it's not cool to trash on people of color, then it shouldn't be cool to trash on whites either.
And while "Honky" and "Cracker" may lack action, there are lots of other words aimed at specific varieties of whites which aren't so funny. Dago, wop, polack, spic, kraut, and others. Those words have been used in connection with the persecution of, and violence against various groups of people.
And I don't think it's only whites who have used them.

The bottom line is, I don't believe in "reverse racism". No matter who's doing it or who it's being done to, racism is racism, and it sucks. If somebody called me a racist term for white, hell yes I would be offended and angry. I've never treated anyone badly because of their race or ethnicity, I don't appreciate being trashed because of mine. And I don't believe I should tolerate it because of the sins of other white people, who have been racist to others. Because those people aren't me. Because I don't like being blamed for things I didn't do, or thrown in with the guilty due to some arbitrary factor like skin color. Nobody should have to live with being trashed, shamed, or abused in any way because of their color, whatever the race they belong to.

[Boozy]

My theory: because those terms lack action.

And more specifically, they lack power.

I have the privilege to be unoffended if someone calls me a cracker, because it doesn't mean a damned thing to me or my life. I'm white. I can get called all the slurs in the world and it doesn't matter, because I've still got it made.

[Andara Bledin]

When you live in the middle of what is, charitably, a ghetto dump filled mostly with black people, those same people spewing racist, anti-white froth that includes the words "honky" and "cracker" have a lot more power behind them than if, say, you live in a quiet little middle-class community.

But when you get down to it, the words aren't important but the intent behind them, and how far the person spewing the hatred is willing to take it. The high schooler throwing around racial slurs and trying to emulate his thug idols is laughable and, quite honestly, rather sad. The walking bag of rage who wants to blame everyone else for his problems, with his neck and arms covered in jail tats who also happens to be discussing picking up his hidden cache of guns now that he's out on parole... from him, they carry something akin to real weight.

^-.-^

[Lace Neil Singer]

Frankly, I think if that's the best people can come up with then they must be really bored.

I usually get hit with "white bitch" . . . . and personally, yes I am one when provoked, so yes I am one and proud of it.

Yup; had that given to me before. XD I find cracker and honky to be funny, rather than insulting. What do they even mean, anyway?

[Ginger Tea]

Yup; had that given to me before. XD I find cracker and honky to be funny, rather than insulting. What do they even mean, anyway?

Do they even get used in the UK? I only heard Honkey from American shows growing up and Craker only a few years ago (without this it would just be a robbie coltrain TV show)

Kinda like in my "never made it across the pond" thread, they have little to no power over here cos they are forign words (albeit from an English speaking country) with no real grounding here. I don't think there are any English based insults towards white people, just those two borrowed infrequently from America.

[Andara Bledin]

Interestingly enough, it appears that 'cracker' as a slur was originally about poor, ignorant backwoods folk, particularly Scottish, Irish and blacks.

'Honky', meanwhile, originated in Chicago where the two largest labor groups in the '50s were blacks and Hungarians. It has the same root as the latter half of the term 'bohunk.'

Otherwise, the only other slur I can think of in heavy use is 'the Man,' which almost always refers to white men with power. And when it refers to non-whites, those people are usually considered traitors to their race.

^-.-^