Wal-Mart Worker Trampled to Death in Long Island, NY

[beretta8]

You have an excellent point about white trash being a classist comment, Kali. The emphasis is on "trash" supposedly distinguishing some white people from other white people.

My question, (not specifically to you but in general) then becomes why is "black trash" not read the same way? A classist statement distinguishing some black people from other black people.

Why is 'black trash' a racist remark if 'white trash' isn't?

Worth thinking about.

I agree with you that both would have been better left unsaid.

Very good point...good eye!...

It's very sad people were more interested in getting a "deal". Especially when some of them don't sell so well, then after Xmas the prices a lot of the time go even lower....will any of these people question if this ordeal was worth it??? Or just have the mindset that it wasn't me..so oh well...

 

[Gillette]

Black already has so many negative connotations. Not to mention it doesn't have the euphony the word 'white' carries. Black sounds harsh (Bl and ck).

I don't get it.

Does that mean "black & beautiful" carries some negativity just because of the way the word 'black' sounds?

 

[SyddyKitty]

I don't get it.

Does that mean "black & beautiful" carries some negativity just because of the way the word 'black' sounds?

It means that anything paired with it seems to sound stronger, positive or negative. My choice in using harsh my not have been the best but it's still the same point.

Edit:
I'll add that it's important to understand the difference between connotation and the sound of a word's letters and syllables.

 

[kalipygian]

You have an excellent point about white trash being a classist comment, Kali. The emphasis is on "trash" supposedly distinguishing some white people from other white people.

My question, (not specifically to you but in general) then becomes why is "black trash" not read the same way? A classist statement distinguishing some black people from other black people.

Why is 'black trash' a racist remark if 'white trash' isn't?

Worth thinking about.

I agree with you that both would have been better left unsaid.

I personally don't use the term white trash. If it is used by some white people to refer to other white people, who they regard as poorer or cruder, it is within the 'white race', part of the same 'race', not part of another 'race', or referring to another 'race', which would seem the usual definition of racist. Originally it referred to some white people, who were looked down on, similar to how most black people were usually looked down on. So, to that view 'no better than black people', it could be considered racist in a broader sense. I consider 'race' to mostly be a construct, anyway.

I did not encounter the term 'black trash' before this thread, so don't have a context for it, and would just be speculating. If it is used by a person presumably of western european ancestry to refer to people of presumably African ancestry, it would seem to be considered racist.

The post where it was first used seemed to reflect a racist attitude, from what the poster has said in his recent posts, I don't think that is his outlook. He and the poster who used 'white trash' just put their feet in their mouths, which I have sometimes done. (maybe even in this post)

 

[Principessa]

Urban areas are so violent in the US.

And where do you live Mr. Perfect? :irked:

You have an excellent point about white trash being a classist comment, Kali. The emphasis is on "trash" supposedly distinguishing some white people from other white people.

My question, (not specifically to you but in general) then becomes why is "black trash" not read the same way? A classist statement distinguishing some black people from other black people.

Why is 'black trash' a racist remark if 'white trash' isn't?

Worth thinking about.

I agree with you that both would have been better left unsaid.

I've been called everything but a child of God in my day but I have never heard of black trash. I think he just used it to make some kind of point. Unfortunately it was ill received.

Historically, in the United States there have been many derogatory names for black people; but not so many for white people. Cracker, trailer trash, white trash, and honky come to mind. The first 3 denote a person of caucasian ancestry who is dirt poor, uneducated, has poor hygiene and in many cases lives, looks, and acts worse than the poorest black person. I have never understood the etymology of the word honky or why it is deorgatory to whites. I just know not to say those things to people.

I don't get it.

Does that mean "black & beautiful" carries some negativity just because of the way the word 'black' sounds?

Excellent example! No, it does not. Possibly irrelevant, but worth noting is that until the 1960's if anbody called an American person of African heritage black it was a huge insult. To call a person African could get your ass whipped. The frequent saying was that "White makes right", the belief was that anything white was good and anything black or close to it was bad.

It means that anything paired with it seems to sound stronger, positive or negative. My choice in using harsh my not have been the best but it's still the same point.

Edit:
I'll add that it's important to understand the difference between connotation and the sound of a word's letters and syllables.

:wtf1: I'm sorry SK but I'm gonna have to call bullshit on this one. Your nebulous definition of black is incorrect. First of all it's not a true pre-fix. You don't change the meaning of a word by putting black in front of it.

 

[B_JasonDawgxxx]

Another reason to not shop in wal-mart.

 

[musclebutt2]

Actually, if you read post #11 the black race card was already insinuated but nobody commented.

Hey BigBull29, like the new Avatar pic. But to address an earlier concern, I do stand up and shout people down when they slur American Indians or any other group with less power than them (in real life and on LPSG). However, that's just me, I cannot speak for another's inaction.

There was a race discussion a long time ago on LPSG (somewhere in the archives) about terms being racist or inappropriate. Certain slurs become racist or inappropriate when used by a member of the dominant group to diminish an already disempowered subgroup. It's an abuse of power. The reverse doesn't really work to equalize the power/status differential. An African-American may consistently put down as many Caucasians with racial slurs as possible, but at the end of the day, it does not reduce the inequalities between blacks and whites in American society. However, when a Caucasian uses a racial slur against an African-American it compounds the problem and reinforces the inequalities.

 

[Principessa]

Actually, if you read post #11 the black race card was already insinuated but nobody commented.

Hey BigBull29, like the new Avatar pic. But to address an earlier concern, I do stand up and shout people down when they slur American Indians or any other group with less power than them (in real life and on LPSG). However, that's just me, I cannot speak for another's inaction.

There was a race discussion a long time ago on LPSG (somewhere in the archives) about terms being racist or inappropriate. Certain slurs become racist or inappropriate when used by a member of the dominant group to diminish an already disempowered subgroup. It's an abuse of power. The reverse doesn't really work to equalize the power/status differential. An African-American may consistently put down as many Caucasians with racial slurs as possible, but at the end of the day, it does not reduce the inequalities between blacks and whites in American society.

QFT! Well stated.

 

[B_JasonDawgxxx]

How did race even become an issue here?

 

[Principessa]

Walmart is a just a store for white trash? It looks to me that black male trash was responsible for this.

How did race even become an issue here?

Big Bull29's inflammatory statement which I referenced above is what started the conversation about race. Apparently many of the consumers at that Wal-Mart were black.

 

[B_JasonDawgxxx]

Big Bull29's inflammatory statement which I referenced above is what started the conversation about race. Apparently many of the consumers at that Wal-Mart were black.

Black, White etc. I think if your up at 3am to shop in a wal-mart your a dunce period, lol.

 

[SyddyKitty]

It's not bullshit or fact. It's opinion.

 

[Principessa]

Black, White etc. I think if your up at 3am to shop in a wal-mart your a dunce period, lol.

Word! I agree. Unless Harry Winston is giving out diamonds, my ass is staying in bed at 3 AM. :tongue:

 

[D_Aston Asstonne]

At least Walmart will face a huge lawsuit. This may end these crazy overnight lines at stores on Black Friday.

It could have happened to a customer who falls during the stampede too.

Yea,im hopeful this will put an end to this bullshit.

 

[B_Cegro27]

I think we're all missing the bigger picture here. The lesson to be learned from this is that we're getting to a point in our society where we value possessions more than we value each other's lives. And the lesson is being learned at the most appropriate time, "Christmas". That's not a race issue, it's a human one. "Hopefully", nothing like this will ever happen again, and not because there should be law against it...we shouldn't always have to have laws to tell us when we're doing something we already know we shouldn't be doing.

 

[D_Aston Asstonne]

How did race even become an issue here?

As always..RACE IS AN ISSUE IN EVERYTHING!

 

[midlifebear]

Hmmm . . . wasn't the original point that someone died in the name of Jesus, the patron saint of fourth quarter earnings, because the media has everyone trained to believe sales and possibly exchanging gifts all for the purpose of celebrating christianity is -- as Martha would say -- "A Good Thing."

Obviously LPSG-ers have many issues that supersede the tragic loss of life because of the behavior of pre-conditioned crowds.

Cosmic abbitoir, indeed.

 

[Dave NoCal]

If the tapes can be used to mount some prosecutions, great. However, I believe the individual retailer bears considerable responsibility for, if nothing else, not planning for crowd control.
Dave

 

[223790]

A poster said he referred to Walmart as 'White-Trash-Mart', it was classist, not a racist comment. It would IMHO have been better left unsaid.

I didn't see anyone say that white trash was responsible for this incident.

The pics do show a majority of dark faces. That doesn't justify IMHO saying 'black trash' was responsible.

It was me that made that comment and you are correct that it was classist. I am as white as the come - total 100% WASP. The town that has the Wal-Mart (adjacent to the town where I live) is about 98% white (versus my town which is about 99% white). The people shopping at the Wal-Mart that I was in that one time were predominately white. The behaviour I witnessed there was low class, rude and uncivilized. Hence the comment. If people read the post carefully before jumping to conclusions (quite common around here), you would have noticed that I was commenting on the people who shop at MY nearest Wal-Mart in CANADA - not even in the same country where this tragic incident happened. My comment had nothing to do with the people that were around or involved in the incident that occurred in the U.S. Jeez! There was nothing racist about it as I AM WHITE!!!!

BTW - I don't feel I put my foot in my mouth by using that term because there is nothing racist about it. It's a classist term that white people use to refer to lower class uneducated, uncouth and vulgar white people. Would trailer trash make you feel more comfortable? No wait - we might offend the trailer park community! Come on people, this is just politically correct B.S. gone awry. Now please, back to the original subject...

 

[B_Nick4444]

I think we're all missing the bigger picture here. The lesson to be learned from this is that we're getting to a point in our society where we value possessions more than we value each other's lives. And the lesson is being learned at the most appropriate time, "Christmas". That's not a race issue, it's a human one. "Hopefully", nothing like this will ever happen again, and not because there should be law against it...we shouldn't always have to have laws to tell us when we're doing something we already know we shouldn't be doing.

well past that point in the blue states

you do recall college students throwing keg parties on being released early from class on 09/11?

part of the same cultural phenomenon