Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 13 replies, 14 voices, and was last updated 22 years, 10 months ago by
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When I moved to the United States (from the Caribbean) I was surprised to hear the term ‘white trash’ used by whites to describe other white Americans upon whom they look down. My assumption was that white people stick together and wouldn’t make derogatory comments of someone within their own race. I guess I was wrong. Why is this?
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Name : Natasha, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Afro-Caribbean, Religion : Christian, Age : 29, City : Washington, State : DC, Country : United States, Occupation : administrative assistant, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class,First, I abhor the use of this term, simply because I have religious and moral principles that don’t allow me to call any people ‘trash.’ Nobody is garbage. Having said that, though, most white people have no problem with pointing out the shortcomings of other white people because we don’t perceive ourselves as a tribe. There are exceptions, such as clannish ethnic groups (e.g., Poles or Greeks) or people who take extreme pride in their own city, state or region of the country, but as a rule, white people don’t consider themselves as part of a group – they are just ‘people.’ I don’t consider the race of a person in my assessment of their character. This was Dr. King’s dream, and the ideal to which we should all aspire.
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Name : Augustine23541, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 41, City : Columbia, State : SC, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,This is not about race, it’s about class. Whether we want to admit it or not, Americans look down on other Americans who do not live the same lifestyle they do. White people who call other whites ‘white trash’ are knocking them for their lack of wealth,attitudes and behavior. Where I live, someone who is ‘White Trash’ is not just white, but is poor, has bad manners and lives in a trailer park, drinks too much and marries his cousin. You get the idea, it’s about snobbery.
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Name : Susan27470, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, City : Reseda, State : CA, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College,I have more in common with my black and Latino neighbors than I do some white guy living in Appalachia, despite the fact I’m white. To suggest that ‘whites stick together’ is to believe we’re all racist. Educated people of all races have learned to define themselves in terms beyond merely the color of their skins. To imply that I would back or defend another Caucasian who was doing something harmful or wrong solely on the basis of a shared pigment (or lack thereof) is offensive. You will soon see, if you haven’t already, that Jamaicans and African Americans in this country detest each other, and they’re all black. What gives with that?
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Name : Emma25379, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, City : Los Angeles, State : CA, Country : United States,As I’ve been called ‘White Trash’ many times in my life – by white people and other races, from foster parents, employers and prison guards – I feel I can provide some further insight on what others have said and why their prejudices stand. Plain and simple, in order to unite, a group needs someone to separate themselves from. While privately these same white people condem the actions of blacks and every other race, that is not an acceptable way of thinking in most middle-class talks. However, there is no social faux pas against condeming White Trash, usually rural but not always. They are perceived as poor because of stupidity or alcoholism rather than institutional discrimination. Their stereotypes are either silly and untrue, like incest, or nothing to be ashamed of, like living in trailers. However, the common joke of hillbillies and bumpkins in American humor is as old as the hills they are from, and can be directly traced to treatment of the rural population in Europe.
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Name : Mickey M., Gender : M, Religion : Catholic, Age : 18, City : Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : Longshoreman, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class,Emma, I realize I offended you with my use of the term ‘stick together’ and I apologize for using it. I wasn’t implying that caucasians defend people of their own race when they are wrong. I was simply commenting on the fact that it really surprised me to hear whites calling each other ‘WT’. I thought whites were nicer to each other than that. As for Jamaicans and African-Americans detesting each other, you may have seen some instances of that where you live but generally (both black and white) Americans especially musicians, rap artists and fans are enjoying and copying the Jamaicans’ dialect and reggae music. The late Bob Marley (Jamaican) is known and his music is liked in this country. Americans like Jamaican music, food and culture and they go to Jamaica on vacation all the time. For the record, I am not Jamaican. I am from Trinidad, another Caribbean country much further south than Jamaica. And I, as well as many other African-descended foreigners, have been well-accepted here by African-Americans. Black American men have been asking me out ever since I got here! And it’s not hard to find African-Americans who are married to Jamaicans and other Caribbean people.
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Name : Natasha20090, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Religion : Christian, Age : 29, City : Washington, State : DC, Country : United States, Occupation : administrative assistant, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class,Your message surprised me – how could you not know that white people are horribly divided? The class system is one expression of this, but we also divide along religious and even sports-fan lines. I assume you mean that when black people are divided, they show loyalty to their race by keeping quiet about it when with whites. Personally, I never thought of people being divided into races until I heard about the black ‘race’ struggle. I always thought people just had skins with various shades of brown and pink. Did you know there is no scientific basis for race? According to studies, the DNA differences WITHIN ‘racial’ groups are actually larger than those between them. Anyway, no single group of people deserves the label ‘trash,’ black or white. It is just lazy stereotyping.
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Name : Sean-H, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, City : London, State : NA, Country : United Kingdom,Just as blacks, Hispanics, Jews, Asians, etc., can readily see differences among themselves that others can’t, whites regularly distinguish themselves from each other. To lump all white people into one box would be just as much a ‘generalization’ as it would with any other group. An African-American doctor probably doesn’t want his daughter dating a drug pusher from the ghetto any more than a white doctor wants his daughter dating a drug pusher from the trailer park. Personally, I’ve found blacks with money and whites with money have more in common than either of their poor counterparts. Conversely, poor whites and poor blacks have more in common than they realize.
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Name : Brian22982, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 26, City : Peru, State : IN, Country : United States, Occupation : journalist, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,White trash exists. I am a firefighter/ems and get just about everywhere.
A young mother will call the ambulance for one of her kids for a very minor condition. We say to her, “You really don’t need an ambulance, can you find a ride from someone else?” She says, “Oh, my boyfriend is in jail, and we don’t have a car.” We say, “Well, this is more of a job for a taxi.” She says, “I don’t have no money for a taxi.” We say, “Well, how are you going to pay for the ambulance?” She says, “Oh, I got a medical card, it pays for everything.” We say, “Have you called his pediatrician?” She says, “I don’t have a phone.” We say, “How did you call us?” She says, “I used the neighbor’s phone.” We say, “OK, get his coat on him.”
She scrounges around the heaps of trash and dirty clothes on the floor, looking for a coat. I say, “What the hell have I stepped on?” It’s dog s***. Right in the living room. “You need to train that dog,” I say. She says, “Hey, I been trying for eight months, he just don’t listen.” We say, “You need to have the landlord fix those holes in the drywall, critters will come in.” She says, “Oh, my boyfriend has a bad temper, he punches the wall.” We say, “You really need to keep a cap on that pill bottle with all these kids around.” She says, “Oh, they ain’t drugs, they’re just Tylenol.”
Well, time is wasting, step over the mess, out the door, into the ambulance. My partner in back notices someone following, right on our back bumper, and tells me to stop. The kid’s mom strains against the unfamiliar seatbelt to peer out the ambulance’s back window. “Oh, that’s just my sister,” she says. I say, “Why didn’t you get a ride with her?” She says, “I’d have to wait in the waiting room, this way is faster.” Tell me there isn’t white trash.
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Name : Roh, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 47, City : Cincinnati, State : OH, Country : United States, Occupation : Firefighter, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class,I realize that emergency service workers see things the rest of us do not. But the next time someone looks down on you because of your income/education/whatever, check out your own behavior. You might find that you don’t behave as well as you might. Stretch that out across a lifetime and you will probably find that there will be things you are not proud of. Ignorance can be educated, hygiene can be taught. Self-worth is something we get from family, friends and from how strangers treat us. I wonder how many others have looked at this woman with a look that says ‘trash.’ I wonder when she gave up trying to prove otherwise.
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Name : David Williams, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black Caribbean/British, Religion : Christian, Age : 44, City : London, State : NA, Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : trainer, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,I agree with everyone in saying that ‘white trash’ is more of a class or status issue that it is anything else – and it does exsist…. But,I would also like to contribute another example which I have witnessed, and believe it to fall in this category…to include all of the welfare recipients – who have children just for that purpose (I know of several families in this area who would fall into this category)- who will not work – but sure do enjoy the fruits of my labor, and taxes paid to support their way of life…
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Name : AMC, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 25, City : Richmon, State : KY, Country : United States, Occupation : Office Manager, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,People like that don’t deserve to be called names. She lives like that because no one ever taught her how to live correctly. There also issues of self-esteem. So what did you do? Drop the lady and kid at the hospital, promptly forgetting them until you saw this post? Did it occur to you to tell the lady how to get help? Did you call child protective services? Sign up to be a Big Brother? Don’t thumb your nose at people like this when you had the luxury of a decent family.
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Name : Kristan Hall, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Methodist, Age : 32, City : Lampasas, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : writer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower class,Emma, Jamaicans and African Americans detest each other? Where DO you get your information?
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Name : Michele-Holly20741, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 36, City : Chicago, State : IL, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,These are the same people who call you nigger. Everyone is trash to them. All people as a human race are supposed to stick together, not just white with white or black with black, but thats not the case. You shoudl probably be more concerned with Black people in america, and how far apart we are all from each other since you are our Afro-Caribbean sister…white people will be okay, just as long as they rule the planet.
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Name : alex, Gender : F, Race : *poweRpuFF greeN*, Age : 19, City : houston, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : *maDsCienTist*,
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