Disclaimer & Brief Note to the Reader: This article will investigate some sensitive ideas, concepts, and language that many people will find offensive as it relates to race relations. For the candid purpose of this article it is necessary to use and discuss this language without attempting to sensor it. It is my sincere hope that you will still continue to travel and take this challenging, and at some points uncomfortable journey with me as we might explore the question of race and racial oppression.
“Man, you ain’t nuthin but a cracker!” “A CRACKER!” “A CRACKER!” “You hear me!” The sixteen year old black male aggressively says, as he attempts to insight fear in his white counterpart at the lunchroom cafeteria.
For the ninth consecutive day, the fifteen year old white male from South Georgia has endured aggressive remarks from his schoolmate. After attempting to bottle up his emotions, he yells back, “You Nigger, You!” The cafeteria erupts in a tortured, unnerving silence.
Words like “cracker” and “nigger,” are filled with a great deal of hatred and negative energy. The discussion of racist, cruel language is necessary in order to provide clarity, seek understanding, and eventually end racially motivated offenses. Which brings up a rather interesting question, when it comes to racial slurs, and word s that are meant to intentionally offend, demean, and hurt another individual, are they all created equal?
Let’s first begin by examining what “Mr. Webster “has to say about these two words. According to Webster’s dictionary, the term “cracker” has several meanings, including: “a bragging liar,” “a dry thin crispy baked bread product,” “(usually disparaging) a poor usually Southern white,” and “(capitalized) a native or resident of Florida or Georgia—used as a nickname.” The term “nigger” is defined as “(usually offensive) a black person,” “a member of any dark-skinned race,” and “a member of a socially disadvantaged class of persons.”
When attempting to understand the word “nigger,” one must be mindful of the extensive history that this word carries. It encompasses hundreds of years of enslaved individuals that were treated as property and second class citizens. The term was used by whites in power, as a derogatory expression to describe people of color (non-white), but specifically people of any type of African descent. As time progressed out of this troubling era of slavery, the word still managed to survive into the 1920’s, through the civil rights movement, and is still visibly present in 2009.
In attempting to gain an understanding of the word “cracker,” (as a hurtful, racial slur), is most often used by people of color when discussing whites in a condescending context. The term “cracker” is in many ways equated to “poor white trash” or the notion of “trailer trash” all of which have a stereotypically negative image associated with whites. This presents whites as being of low-class, unrefined, and “dirty.”
Which brings up the question, are these two damagingly harmful words created equal? Are they, indeed, the same thing?
Despite the fact, that both of these words have a wide range of similarities, they are not at all “equal” or the same. The words “nigger” and “cracker” when used are both highly offensive, intended to be harmful and demeaning, and ultimately are rooted in negativity and hatred. However, the severe difference between these two words, that must be acknowledged, is that the term “nigger” has an extensively oppressive history behind it. It was used by a group of people (whites) that had social, political, and economic power over blacks. That being said, when a person of power and privilege uses such a degrading term that goes back hundreds and hundreds of years ago, can it really be comparable to a word that was created as a reactionary measure by a group of people with no social, economic, or political power?
These two terms simply cannot equate to each other. No matter how much time has expired since the disproportionate era of excessive oppression (as in slavery), when whites choose to use the word “nigger” towards a black person, it simply cannot be understood that: “Nigger” = “Cracker.”
Now, I haven’t forgotten to examine the usage of the difference between “nigger” vs. “nigga,” however, that will embody quite another lengthy discussion, which I’m sure we will have in the near future.
The essential key to remember is that BOTH of these words are highly offensive, dreadfully insulting, and should NEVER be used! As we continue to move forward in the new millennium, and race relations begin to strengthen and get better, it’s important for people to be considerate of others. To treat someone differently because of their race (whether they are White or Black or Latino or Asian), because of their gender (whether it’s a man or a woman), because of their perceived class (and how much money they make or don’t make), or because of their sexual orientation (gay, straight, or bisexual) is wrong. Diversity is beautiful and should be celebrated. It is what makes our lives, relationships, and the world in which we live in uniquely exquisite. “We are of course a nation of differences. Those differences don’t make us weak. It is those differences that make us strong,” according to Jimmy Carter.
- Dedicated to and Inspired by Mrs. Emily Anne Smith and Ms. Mallory Dumford!! Inspired by our heartfelt conversations that never cease to exist! I love you very much! Emily and Mallory, I hope you will continue to share with me your meaningful experiences and your candid degree of insight as we continue to walk down this road we call life.
-I’m sure many may find this song choice a little cheesy, but I actually LOVE it!! It’s blissfully happy and celebrates diversity!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNCvdxyPplc (The Song: Ebony and Ivory; The Artists: Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder)
