little stuff that bothers me

[chronovore]

I dislike the phrase "white trash" intensely. It's racist and manages to get classism in at the same time.

Comments

[epiphaniesrus.livejournal.com]

The truth is, it's difficult to separate politics from the financial situation. You don't think "white trash" just because of the fact that someone lives in a trailer park... you think it when someone fits a stereotype of the blue-collar worker who makes $18k a year while voting according to what Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage have to say and giving their money to the local 100,000 member megachurch.

As for the usage of the term itself... it's ok to despise people who shoot themselves in the foot economically while ruining things for the rest of us, without saying "white trash". I'm not fond of the term myself. You just need to separate out what it is that's distasteful about the person's behavior and use a term more directly linked with that. The opposite of you and me being branded a liberal - now there's a word you can unfairly stigmatize with a clear conscience!

[chronovore.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but it's hard to shout, "You inconsiderate, wasteful, ill-educated, hopeless, underachieving LOUT" in one breath, especially if you're already worked up.