The current recipe is a far cry from their original one a mild, unsweetened biscuit made of unbleached flour with bran and wheat germ added. The 1911 edition of the encyclopedia britannica, notes that cracker is a term of contempt for the poor or mean whites, particularly of georgia and florida. The high prices of slaves during the 1830s and 40s made it efficient to use a cracker rather than a slave. The word was used especially of georgians by 1808, though often extended to residents of northern florida.
Where does the term cracker come from, and how disparaging. So mtv has a new series of social justice focused lectures hosted by franchesca ramsey called decoded. I never heard the word cracker, nor if i had, would i have understood it to be the equivalent of the vicious moniker attached to individuals of their culture. Nabisco is one of the brands most often associated with the crackers, but today, any type of cracker with salt on the top can be called a saltine cracker. The latter explanation makes sense, because in piney. That word has no history of of violence, abuse, discrimination, rape, mental and physical abuse etc like the n word. People of color for example african indentures and slaves and men of property repeated what they heard from white male elites and wrongly white historians racialized it. Apr 12, 2017 this one realy jostled my jimmer jammers because people actulay belive calling white people cracker isnt racsit while call a black person nigger isi see some hypocrisy there. Cracker means something entirely different in florida. Cracker the white man with the whip chancellorfiles. The social origins of a stigmatype is an excellent analysis of the term white trash and underscores and elaborates on much of what spikepine july 14, 2014 anyone who agrees to people being called trash really need a wake up call. Honky also spelled honkie or sometimes honkey is a insult for white people, predominantly heard in the united states. A whole mess of white people like to get worked up about the word cracker, some. As you might have gathered from our blogs title, the code switch team is kind of obsessed with the ways we speak to each other.
It recalls the grit and tenacity of laboring cowboys who came generations before them, from which the nickname, florida cracker, is derived. The word is thought to have either derived from the sound of a whip being cracked by slave owners, or because crackers are generally white in color. Why white people saying the nword isnt the same as black people saying cracker. Although scientists are coming to the conclusion that race cannot be divided by skin colour, few would disagree the success of white people have had in being racist, just ask the washington. Even when black people and northern antislavery empathizers started using the term to describe whip crackers, ramsey explains, the slaves using the term werent oppressing poor white people, by using the term because they were still slaves. In 1792, john pearson of newburyport, massachusetts, made a crackerlike bread product from just flour and water that he called pilot bread. Why crackers are called crackers today i found out.
To a florida native, being called a cracker is a compliment. I grew up with black friends when it still was not cool to have black friends. Jan 16, 2007 the white man and the whip, the origin of why white people are called crackers by chance kelsey, chance. Will you white crackers please stop whining for the love of god. Bent was also the one who pioneered the cracker as a snack food, not just for sailors rations as his competition were selling them as. Why white people saying the nword isnt the same as black. It has been suggested that white slave foremen in the antebellum south were called crackers owing to their practice of cracking the whip to drive and punish slaves. This is where the expression crack a joke originated. Crackers were poor white folk who lived in the south during the antebellum era. Ill have to look for some sources before including it in the article. The term became derogitory when slave traders used it to refer to a subset of people from that particular area and the slaves started to take offense to the. What is the origin of cracker as an ethnic slur for. The latest one was about the origins of words used to insult white people like cracker, redneck etc. Jul 01, 20 as you might have gathered from our blogs title, the code switch team is kind of obsessed with the ways we speak to each other.
Cracker, sometimes white cracker or cracka, is a racial epithet for white people, used especially for poor rural whites in the southern united states. Heres another definition that may have been overlooked. Lets examine miz crackers drag name and whether its a. For example, if a black man calls a white man cracker, it is not usually considered a compliment. It was all about them being poor, not about them being white. Cracker is not the same as the n word comedy, tragedy or me. I should explain to your lordship what is meant by crackers. Weve all heard the terms cracker, white trash and redneck in reference to poor white people living in america. It wasnt and isnt derogatory or equating white people to a cracker that people eat. White people seemed to be up in arms because michael che who is a part of the weekend update team on saturday night live used the word cracker in reference to president trump. Jun 01, 2012 the graham cracker is a cookie of sorts, common in the united states, which is typically sweetened with sugar, honey, andor cinnamon.
Is cracker a racist word when used to describe white people. The curious history of graham crackers and corn flakes. Folk etymology claims the term originated either from their cracking, or pounding, of corn rather than taking it to mill, or from their use of whips to drive cattle. But dare compares corncracker kentuckian, also poor, lowclass white farmer of georgia and north carolina 1835, u. The epithet cracker has been applied in a derogatory way, like redneck, to rural, nonelite white southerners, more specifically to those of south georgia and north florida. Remember that slave owner who was yelling the nword while beating that slave.
I think its funny when they call me that not offensive at all. Lewis, played by burt reynolds, derisively refers to the rural people they encounter as being crackers, implying that they were slowwitted hillbillies who lived in a world much. Top 10 underrated racist names for white people the. Nov 22, 2016 why white people saying the nword isnt the same as black people saying cracker. I was called a cracker by an african american woman, while i was working with my african american friend. As the crackers burned, they made a crackling noise, which inspired the name. This one realy jostled my jimmer jammers because people actulay belive calling white people cracker isnt racsit while call a black person nigger isi see some hypocrisy there. Why are some white people offended by the word cracker. Contrary to popular belief and the 3 false previous answers, crackers is a term originally use by white people for other, lower class, white people. Because they use to crack that whip on those niggers. A term in southeastern united states english to describe poor white trash, derived from the scottish meaning of the verb to crack, which, in this sense denotes ostentation. In this context, cracker is a word that refers to the oppressor. It recalls the grit and tenacity of laboring cowboys who came generations before them.
How did the slang term cracker come about to mean white. It was in the late 1800s when writers from the north started referring to the hayseed faction of southern homesteaders as crackers. Todays graham crackers are made with bleached white flour, a deviation that would have. White people does it bother you when blacks call you honky, cracker, and whitey. Its believed that term referred to what white people did with whips, cracking them on the bodies of livestock and slaves. Jul 03, 2018 to a florida native, being called a cracker is a compliment.
The origin of cracker is to be found in the word craic. The term cracker originated in england, it was used to describe a person was a braggart or who told jokes. According to the old farmers almanac, a source of yankee prognostics and wisdom since 1792, both crackers and their predecessors were born in new england. I asked him what that meant, he said it was the n word for white people. The white man and the whip, the origin of why white people are called crackers by chance kelsey, chance.
Then there are people who are very offended by the term. It is sometimes used in a neutral context in reference to a native of florida, georgia or texas see florida cracker, georgia cracker or texas cracker. One theory holds that the word derives from corncracker, a traditional slang name for poor white people from certain southern states. It all depends on who is doing the calling and who is doing the hearing. Saltine crackers are one of the bestselling types of crackers in the world, but the history of these crackers dates back to the early 1800s when a bakery came up with the original recipe. However, the term white cracker is not always used selfreferentially and remains a racist term to many in the region.
Theyre both really racist words directed towards white people. Even when the name is being used in a positive context, some notions about exactly who is cracker are just plain wrong, says ste. Black people began calling white people crackers because of them cracking the whip at us during slavery. A history of the florida cracker cowboys tampa magazine.
I thought the term came from the fact that white people s skins was similar in color to saltines, hence the name crackers. It is a word for bigot, and is very derogatory in that sense. Those writers decided that they were called that because of. Given their name because of their staple diet of crackcorn, crackers were often hired by plantation owners in order to replace a slave in dangerous jobs. With a single phrase, rachel jeantel, that friend of trayvon martins, may have lit a fuse in the trial of his accused killer. Is calling someone a cracker as bad as calling someone. The only difference is, when black people call white people honkeys or crackers, they can get away with it. Redneck, cracker and white trash are all terms created, or, in the case of white trash, popularized by wealthy white people to dehumanize white people living in poverty, particularly. I thought the term came from the fact that white peoples skins was similar in color to saltines, hence the name crackers.
Cracker, sometimes white cracker or cracka, is a sometimes pejorative expression for white people, especially poor rural whites in the southern united states. The first recorded use of honky in this context may date back to 1946, although the use of honkytonk occurred in films well before that time. But when a white person uses the n word, its basically the end of the world. White people seemed to be up in arms because michael che who is a part of the weekend update team on saturday night live used. Here in the midwest i know the term as derogatory to white people from african americans. Apr 23, 2007 theyre both really racist words directed towards white people. Racism can be traced back tens of thousands of years to cave paintings in france, where early homosapiens are depicted in neanderthal face. Every monday in word watch, well dig into language that tells us. White people does it bother you when blacks call you honky.