NYTimes.com: For years people have tried to find a slur for white Americans as evocative and offensive as the N-word is for African-Americans. And, frankly, there aren’t many classics to choose from. Honky, whitey, cracker, hillbilly: they all fall flat.
The problem is, “white” refers to so many different types of people that a reference to it as skin color has no negative historical relevance in this country. Sure, calling someone white implies that he or she is a bad dancer, not cool or watches too much “Downton Abbey.” But to find something even close to the power of the N-word you have to use well-known slurs that refer specifically to heritage or race. I’m lucky. I’m half Greek and the only slur I could find about my people was “olive picker,” which, honestly, I think is nice. At least it means I’m employed.
7 comments:
I completely agree with the author's assessment that there really isn't an obvious singular racial slur that applies to white people. However, his idea that calling a white person "racist" is in the same vein is quite interesting to me. In a way, I agree that pointing out a person's potential racist tendencies can cause them them a measure of discomfort similar to calling someone a racial slur. Where I disagree however, is in the seriousness of the discomfort caused and reasons behind the discomfort. When a black person gets called the n-word, the discomfort they feel is most likely due to the terrible connotation the word has been given over the centuries. When a white person is called a racist, the discomfort is most likely because of guilt or shame. The difference is between the connotation of a word and inner shame.
I enjoy people or work of arts that engage in the discussion about racism openly, without being apologetic or awkward. Racism exists - let's talk about it, dissect it, ridicule it! There's no use in denying its existence; by making it less of a taboo topic and making fun of it, Kalleres makes a strong and valid statement. I love the idea of having a pill that cures racism in a play. It portrays racism as an absolute concept, where you're either all good or all bad, and that is the way that most people like to think about racism. The thing is, racism is everything but that, it's just one big grey area. By showing how ridiculous the absolute view of racism is, Kalleres makes his audience realize just how blurry the definition of racism and its boundaries are.
Like Dan, I agree with the author's assessment that there really isn't a single racial slur that comes to mind when I think of white people. The only word that comes to mind is extremely outdated and never-used. "Cracker" was considered a racial slur at some point in history, but it didn't come across as offensive like typical racial slurs do. I think it is interesting to think about how there really are no slurs for the white race, but that calling a white man racist is definitely as offensive as any racial slur a white man could be called. It is actually very interesting to see that interaction when a white man is called racist for something he said. There are so many views on what is and what isn't racist, that there we tend to not know where the line is. It becomes even blurrier when it comes to what is racist towards a white man.
As our resident "black" DP, here's how I see it. When it comes to racial slurs, there are obviously the big ones like the N-word. I've been called that before and yeah it sucks but in the scheme of things, I often find my friends who aren't african american, black, or whatever you decide to classify yourself as, the ones who get the most offended. Racism is terrible, I really truly hate how some people treat me because of my skin tone but when it comes down to it, the words mean nothing. It's really the actions and emotions behind it. People will worry about how they say things and will someone think they're racist if they say this or that. And yes, there aren't really offensive racial words for white people. But all these are just smaller facts in a big issue. I really don't mind if someone says black girl problems to me of tells me " that's because your black". It's when there is hate behind it that it becomes an issue. Let stop focusing on the words we are saying and focus on the meaning behind them. Because I'm telling you, if accidentally say something that might possibly be construed as racist in an attempt to explain something, well thats life and I won't care. Life isn't polite, especially when talking about stereotypes. People need to stop saying "thats racist" or "your racist", every time someone says something that isn't completely politically correct. It actually make really racism seem less harsh, and I have more of a problem with that then someone calling me "black girl". Saying I have a big butt or that I'm better at communicating with "my people" because I'm black, well not entirely polite or true, is not racist so stop calling it that. Racism is when someone spits at your feet and calls you a F-word N-word. See the difference?
I think the reason there isn't a racial slur for white people is that we are not one people or even a small group. White describes a vast amount of cultures and peoples all very different there is no word positive or negative that describes them all except maybe white. I think its the inherent difference in ethnic background. While African-Americans have the name of their culture in their background each person in a group of white people is likely from somewhere different. If describing myself I would consider myself Romanian or Jewish but saying I am white does not really tell anyone anything about my heritage. The racial slurs exist in those cultures for Judaism and Romanian I can think of a ton. The reason there is no slur for white is you can not apply the word white to any one culture.
I have never really thought about this concept. As I was reading this, I tried to see if I had any knowledge of a word that he was looking for that was demeaning beyond proportions for white people, however, I just couldn't think of one. It is actually kind of sad to even think about how such a powerful word against a race, such as the n word, can be contorted into something that is casual and referred to as "friendly." I really love when people dive into works that make you question things such as things in society, like this play seems to do. I really hope that by putting on this production, his goals were met in having his audiences question what society has done with language.
Being offended by theatre shouldn't be a thing. Art which brings you outside of your confort zone, that's great, that's necessary. Offended to the point of not enjoying the work because of it, that's too far. While there may not be one singular word that can be used to offend a white person, there are certainly many words and may situations that will offend certain groups. There is a way to offend everyone if you're looking hard enough, not to say that you should. But the real issue lies in people not being open to what they are seeing. The reason any word which could be considered offensive is used is because someone thought it was important to use that word there. So, instead of focusing on being offended, let's focus on why we feel that way and form a better understand of all of ourselves and all of our histories, no matter what our racial background may be.
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