[Jennifer31076]

It seems to me that those who use the term 'white trash' depend on criteria other than ethnicity. I think the epithet is meant to imply more about habits than ethnicity.

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Name : Jennifer31076, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 31, City : Saint Paul, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Non-profit, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Brando]

I'm Italian. Since Italians are white, I could be called white trash if I were poor, right?

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Name : Brando, City : Athens, State : NA Country : Greece, 

[ACC25057]

The term is largely used by middle- and upper-class Anglo Americans to disparage poorer whites or ones they think are acting 'low class.' In much of the United States, especially the South, you have to be Protestant to be considered 'white,' especially by older white Protestants. So if you're an Italian Catholic (or if they assumed you were Catholic because you are Italian), no, you could not be 'white trash.' They might use the derisive terms for Latinos for you if you are dark-complected enough to be mistaken for Latin, though.

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Name : ACC25057, Gender : M, Race : Mexican and American Indian, City : Phoenix, State : AZ Country : United States, 

[Brando]

What do you mean you have to be Protestant to be White? I have never heard that before. Everybody in my family considers everybody from non-hispanic Europe to be White. I have never heard of such things as Catholics not being white. There are more Catholic Whites in the World, than there are Protestant whites. Look at the French, they are almost completely all Roman Catholic, look at the Eastern European Countries. Ireland, Wales......and many others. So Please respond. I come from Indiana, but I have never heard of such things as the ones that you just described.

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Name : Brando, City : Athens, State : NA Country : Greece, 

[Seamus28209]

I live among alot of poor or working class Italians. Many of whom live up to the stereotype people of all races label on them to various degrees like Camaros, violence, 'wifebeater' undershirts, etc. While there are a multitude of deragatory names for Italians, the most common being Guido, Guinea, and Wop, I have heard them, as well as the Irish and Polish kids, called White Trash dozens of times from upper class Whites, or people of color from all economic backgrounds. I myself am Catholic, and I've been called White Trash many a time. Infact, it's the most common insult for us.

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Name : Seamus28209, City : Charlestown, State : MA Country : United States, 

[Charlene32239]

I am a beautiful black female possibly considered of the lower class because of my income, but I have never thought of myself as a nigger. I feel that any type of derogatory slang that society used to labels people is a form of ignorance. Your income, class, ethnicity and complexion of your skin do not determine who you are. Only we can decide the kind of person we want to be. Good or evil, intelligent or ignorant, and even beautiful or ugly is determined by our frame of mind, not what society labels us.

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Name : Charlene32239, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 35, City : Durham, State : NC Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, 

[Kaite]

I would have to disagree with the first response to your question. I hate to admit it, but I have used this term often. I don't limit to certain relgious affiliations, and it's not necessarily a money thing, either. There are many people with low incomes who I would never refer to as white trash. When I think 'white trash,' I think of someone with no sense of culture or class. Think Ricki Lake or Jerry Springer talk shows, if you've ever seen those. There are prime examples. Generally, they have horrific grammar. That's another qualification. And you don't have to be poor. Have you heard anything in the news about the two lawyers in San Francisco whoes dogs mauled and killed their neighbors. Those two are lawyers, and they're definitely 'white trash.' So no, it doesn't matter if you're from Italy or Ireland, really.

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Name : Kaite, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 26, City : San Francisco, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Allan31417]

I have to agree with some of these statements. Being 'White trash' or a 'nigger' has nothing to do with financial status. What matters is how vulgar, rude, anti-social or ignorant the people are. Whether these terms actually encourage these people to improve themselves is a bit of knowledge that escapes me.

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Name : Allan31417, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 22, City : Halifax, State : NA Country : Canada, Occupation : Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[LUVVY]

FIRST OFF, I SMILE AND SHAKE MY HEAD IN WONDER WHEN OTHER RACES SUCH AS, ITALIANS , ARABIC, OR OTHER NON ANGLO SAXON PEOPLE CALL THEMSELVES WHITE. THE REASON IS NOT RACIAL ITS FROM A PERSON EXPERIANCE WHILE WORKING IN A MAJOR COMPANY. I AM AN AFRO-AMERICAN WOMAN AND IN THE CORPORATE WORLD WHERE WHITE ANGLO-SAXONS ARE AT THE HELM AND WE AFRO-AMERICAN NO MATTER HOW GOOD AT THEIR JOBS OR ASSERTIVE THEY ARE ARE SEEN BUT NOT SEEN WHEN OTHERS ARE TALKING. ONE DAY A FREIND AND I WHO IS ITALIAN OVER HEARD 6 OF OUR CO-WORKERS (WHITE) LAUGHING AT HER AND SAYING , ' SHE MUST THINK SHE IS WHITE LOOK AT HER NOSE, TYPICAL D*G* NOSE AND SHE CALLS HERSELF WHITE SHE'S NO BETTER THAN THOSE Ni***S WHO THINK THEY NO EVERYTHING' mY FRIEND CRIED AND HAD TO TAKE 3 DAYS OFF OF WORK TO RECOVER. I WAS CONFUSED BECAUSE I ALSO THOUGHT WELL SHE WAS WHITE , THEN I HEARD THAT CONVERSATION. GO FIGURE!

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Name : LUVVY, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 30, City : DETROIT, State : MI Country : United States, Occupation : BUSINESS OWNER, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, 

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