Being a Brit I doubt he even knew what the word cracker meant. It's not a word used here.
So much for being offended.
Precisely my guess, at least for his first reaction.
Now, he does know what the word means ... but if he finds it offensive, then he doesn't really understand how inoffensive the word, as used, really is.
The word may not carry the same degree of damage as the other but that doesn't make it inoffensive.
If someone asks you if they're attractive, surely you're aware that while a disinterested, "M'eh", while lacking the same impact as, "You're fugly" is still going to be hurtful.
No one ever said it had the same weight. The point is that she hurled a racial epithet at someone, regardless of how harmless it may appear to anyone. Her intent was to berate someone with specific mention of their race.
Bingo. And this is particularly egregious from someone who was so quick fault others for any hint of same directed toward blacks.
But the injury has everything to do with the connotation.
Honky and cracker just can't be classed with nigger.
"Ah, but they're all 'racial epithets.'"
At a stretch, yes ... but not in any sense equally insulting or equally injurious.
Someone who doesn't understand their use might indeed be insulted ... but that would be the result only of their own incomprehension, not of the intention of the speaker.
No, Rubi, the offensiveness of a remark does not rest with comprehension of the person it's aimed at.
When I was around 12 there was a boy on my street who always called me jungle bunny. I wasn't aware it was a racial slur. All of us kids played in the woods behind the street (jungle?) and I was pretty agile, plus bunnies are cute, right? My lack of comprehension of the slur at the time did not make his use of the term acceptable. He fucking knew what he meant.
Around the same time there was a boy in my church who used to hiss at me and spit the epithet "Jap" at me. I'm not Japanese, not even a smidge, so his slurs were way off the mark (I never did find bigots to be particularly smart).
That doesn't make his behaviour
any less offensive.
I really loved NJ. I feel I knew her heart. I am quite sad. Totally confused how any confabulation of racism got involved with her ban. I passionately hate that word as does NJ.
For someone who hated the word she used it often enough. It was her favorite accusation to throw around any time there was a disagreement vaguely around race, even managing to work it into a discussion of thread merges that had nothing to do with it.
You see, in this debate, this is just when I would want the opinion of a strong-willed american black woman. I might not agree with her, but I'd respect her point of view and benefit from her contribution.
I think it's sad we've lost that resource.
You're confusing loud for strong.
If you want the opinion of a strong-willed American black woman seek out AlteredEgo or Abernathy and you'll get the bonus of intelligent reasoning thrown in. Add TinyPrincess if non-American black intelligence of interest.
If anything that resource has been refined.
As a Canadian who is merely 15/32 black
,and who used to get PMs from NJ linking to her own posts where she called someone stupid for something or other as though she were proud of it and wanted it recognized, I found her offensive.
I was offended by her delight in shitting on others she disagreed with, slinging insults willy nilly then being outraged that they'd
dare respond in kind.
I was offended by the frequency with which she'd start racially charged threads then resort to accusing people of racism when her point wasn't fully supported.
I was offended by her stance of "black people can't be racist" while dishing out race based slurs.
As far as I'm concerned all we've lost is an angry hypocrite.
^Spladle's famous catch phrase, which amused me at times, was actually "I don't care if you die".
I thought it was YSSCKY - "You should seriously consider killing yourself".
