I just had the most interesting conversation with a black man, about several things really, but one in particular I thought I'd share. We started talking about my book, and he asked me the title. When I told him "Southern Fried White Trash," he was mortified and said "Please, anything but that." It puzzled me.
I couldn't for the life of me understand why that title would offend a black man. Then he explained to me that, coming from a background in which stereotyping and name-calling were givens, he thought calling anyone "white trash" must be terribly offensive. I get that. I do. Just as I am horrified to hear one black person call another the "n" word (see? I can't even type it, it so offends me), he doesn't like the term "white trash."
I tried to explain to him that, just as the "n" word is used as a term of endearment among blacks and is therefore not offensive at all COMING FROM ANOTHER BLACK PERSON, sort of the same is true when a white person calls another "white trash." As I have pointed out in the book, real white trash people are as proud as can be to be called "white trash." The only people whom I can think of that might be offended would be whites who really aren't white trash, but have been called that anyway.
Wow, I do believe racism is pretty much eradicated from our society, but I am reminded every now and then that color words are still loaded guns when pointed at people here in America.
It's offensive to blacks because it suggests that most trash is non-white, so it takes special effort to point out that this time around the trash is white, if you can imagine such a thing.
ReplyDeleteIt would also be offensive to make a point of calling a black person who is a genius a black genius, as if most geniuses are white, but this time around we are talking about a black one.