Why is name-calling the poor still okay even among "progressives"?

[theHandpuppet]

I'm posting this rant on the Poverty Forum because I don't dare post it on GD. I've brought this subject up before only to be met with outright hostility. Am I the only person who is sick and tired of a certain kind of name-calling that goes on throughout the "progressive" community here? Why is it that folks who otherwise identify themselves as politically enlightened think it's okay to refer to their political foes as "trailer trash", "stupid hillbillies" et al?

This is really, really bothering me and I'm having a hard time keeping a lid on my anger. I am Appalachian and a proud Scottish/German Jewish, college educated, progressive lesbian "hillbilly" who grew up as a "river rat" but has been an activist since I was involved in publishing an anti-war newsletter at 15 and helped lead a mass walkout of my high school to protest the Vietnam War. I am DAMNED SICK AND TIRED of every bozo Repuke being dismissed as some "toothless, ignorant hillbilly" when a majority of the people throwing those perjoratives around wouldn't know a hillbilly if they woke up next to one in the morning.

If you dare to object to this kind of name-calling you're called thin-skinned or told to "lighten up". Well, I'm not going to "lighten up." The poor are not our enemies, the powerless are not our enemies, the hungry or uneducated are not our enemies. The ones pulling the strings in this country can be found among the uber rich and their corporate allies. They can have Ivy-League educations. They live in the best homes. They're still scumbags. I'll proudly take my poor hillbilly neighbors any day over their kind of trash.

I had to grow up with that kind of hurtful name-calling and I'm totally sick of hearing this on DU. It's a kind of class warfare that turns my stomach. So what can you do?

[SteppingRazor]

1. good book for you that addresses these concerns:

http://www.foxesinthehenhouse.com/

[theHandpuppet]

2. From the description I read the book sounds very interesting

I'm seriously going to consider picking up a copy. In the meanwhile, I just wish to hell I didn't have to brace myself every day for someone on DU to throw out some comment about "stupid hillbillies" and know that I'm just supposed to ignore them.

[SteppingRazor]

3. It is sad, but just remember...

such comments likely stem from sheer frustration at poor, rural Republicans voting against their own self-interest, rather than a true out-and-out loathing of the lower class, like, for example, the stuff said yesterday by conservative radio host Neil Boortz:

“I want you to think about this, folks. You know, most of the people that earn minimum wage are teenagers. They're in the job market for a short period of time, they're learning some job skills, they're learning workplace skills. Most of the people who aren't teenagers that have a minimum-wage job, it lasts about three to four months, and they're off making more money. I want you to think for think for a moment of how incompetent and stupid and worthless, how -- that's right, I used those words -- how incompetent, how ignorant, how worthless is an adult that can't earn more than the minimum wage? You have to really, really, really be a pretty pathetic human being to not be able to earn more than the human wage. Uh -- human, the minimum wage.”

http://mediamatters.org/items/200608030007

See the difference?
If anything, you can take some consolation in that. But I know it can be frustrating.

[theHandpuppet]

6. Why are there no equivalent names for wealthy GOP voters?

After all, since they are in a position to make "educated "choices from their perches of comfort, shouldn't we hold them just as responsible as poor GOP voters? Even moreso, I would say. They are the ones stuffing GOP coffers, they are the lobbyists, the Bush "pioneers". Who threatens us more? The poor or rural person who votes for Bush out of ignorance or from being misled, or the well-heeled GOP voter who knows EXACTLY what they are doing and why, all the while providing those who will fashion a government suited to their greed with pocketsful of campaign cash? Why don't we have dismissive names for those folks, ones that reflect their economic status? You know why? Because in this country poverty is considerd a moral failing. If you're poor you must be lazy, a loser. Boortz, hatemonger that he is, probably reflects a more widely held belief among Americans than we will ever admit, even to ourselves. If that wasn't true I wouldn't be seeing that very attitude reflected on DU, day after day. No wonder there are those who would call us "liberal elitists" when there are too many within the party who continually ridicule people who may lack an education or a decent place to live. As the old saying goes, if the shoe fits, wear it. They mock the way the poor dress, talk, walk, eat, vote. "Rednecks, hillbillies, trailer trash.." Yes, we've heard them all. I'm just not sure how much more of it I can take before I lose my temper and end up getting myself kicked off DU.

[otherlander]

26. I guess the equivalent term...

would be "Robber Baron".

[Naturyl]

29. OMG... that is incredibly disgusting.

I had to re-post it at another board, so people there can see what we're up against. That is one of the most vile and ignorant things I have ever heard anyone say in America. Truly a new low.

[madmom]

4. I grew up in Appalachia also, but I tend to look at it differently....

when I hear "hillbilly" or 'white trash" or "trailer trash" I more often than not think of it as people who refuse to learn, or refuse to listen to another opinion other than that of fox news or their republican representative. It's almost like they are hypnotized. I don't think it has anything to do with their station in life,other than what they themselves make it have. The tape shown of bush chewing with his mouth open like a cow chewing cud says "white trash hillbilly" just like his dear mummy saying she doesn't want to clutter her beautiful mind with the thoughts of body bags etc. I think of it as the way they present themselves ,their attitude toward their fellow man that makes them any of these things. There are a lot of poor people out there that have more on the ball than a lot of these "cultured" rich folk.

[theHandpuppet]

7. But you and I grew up in Appalachia

So to us these subtleties of semantics hold entirely different connotations than to those who simply use them to dismiss a class of people about whom they have no firsthand knowledge. To me, it still hurts.

[On the Road]

5. I Completely Agree with You

It is so fundamental that I can't believe DUers engage in it so much.

Discrimination is looked down on against certain groups but not others. Using derogatory terms for poor white people -- whether they're Southern, Appalachian, etc, is just as bad as any other group. It should be based on principles, not on what you can get away with in your social circle.

And guess what? It filters through. People from those backgrounds are aware how many Democrats feel. It hurts the party, it hurts all the people the party is allegedly supporting.

I know a lot of people from those backgrounds. When I was poor and virtually homeless many years ago, poor white and black accepted me when I couldn't get the time of day from anyone else. Despite all the rough edges, in many ways I prefer that company to that of white-collar people like me.

[truedelphi]

19. I'm sure that a certain type of DU'er has to put down

The poor.

My best friend in a very middle class area of Chicago grew up to be quite rich.

She was a Dem growing up and she is probably a Dem still.

But think about this: her husband who managed the company they inherited ran it into
the ground.

He quickly declared bankruptcy for this company that previously had been in business fifty years.

With that bankruptcy went the pension monies of the people who had worked there. Money down the drain. Money they had helped put aside that is now just lost forever.

While the owner and the top two executives take the Golden Parachute on the way down - guaranteeing themselves hundreds of thousands.

So there have to be perjoratives in place so that people like this couple can sleep at night. They need to keep in mind that the "poor" are poor because they are shiftless, because they refuse to work,because they never bothered to get an education. If they stop to REALLY think about why so much of the poverty in this country exists, they would have to point the finger right at themselves.

That ain't gonna happen. Especially not while they have their portfolios to beef up. i hear that the banking industry stocks are a good buy.

A lot of people on their way down the economic heap need those big shiny fat ol' credit cards.

And that is keeping the Banks and the class that can afford stock in banks very rich.

[sinkingfeeling]

8. I really don't think DUers think that 'trailer trash' or 'hillbilly' is a

designation for the 'poor'. I think that most associate such terms with an attitude and a lack of education...people who berate non-whites and feel superior. I have been known to refer to some of the wealthiest people in Arkansas as trailer trash!

My apologies if I have ever offended you. I can only recall one post I made where I used the term 'hillbilly' to refer to my neighbor who houses his guests under his house, in a crawl space.

[theHandpuppet]

10. I just want people to be aware without dimissing our feelings

Part of that process is letting folks such as yourself know where I am coming from. I grew up with the name-calling, being made to feel ashamed of and dismissed for something I feel is a real part of my identity. Some of my most vivid memories from childhood have to do with being called those hurtful names, of actually having been spit upon for being a "hilljack". For instance, I once remember a band trip I took with my school to the white, middle class suburb of Upper Arlington, Ohio, a Columbus suburb. It was a real treat for a bunch of poor kids who rarely got to take trips of any kind. Uniforms -- UNIFORMS! -- were a big deal, even though they were only old and borrowed. Well, we got to participate in a parade through that town and I WILL NEVER FORGET those people lining the streets and shouting names at us like "hillbillies!" and "river rats!" and actually throwing garbage at us while we passed. I went home that night and cried myself to sleep. I WILL NEVER FORGET. I will never forget the snickers when that first day of college I walked in with my clothes in a paper sack because I didn't own a piece of luggage, only to be given the clothes closet with one bare bulb as a studio while every other young person in my class was given an airy space with studio windows. I WILL NEVER FORGET.

I am proud of my Appalachian heritage. Proud of my beautiful, talented mother, the daughter of German Jewish refugees and who grew up in little more than a shack next to the railroad tracks; my mother who had a poor piece of meat to eat once a week if she was lucky and kept warm by collecting bits of coal from the loads that dropped off trains traveling through to somewhere else. Proud that she valued every one of us and exposed us to everything she believed would make us whole human beings -- art, music, dance, literature. Of walking hand in hand with my mother, day after day, to a wondrous public library (which to me seemed like a palace) and coming out with another armload of books. Mother would then make tea, sit her children around a rickety old card table and read to us. Never once did I ever hear my mother disparage another human being for their religion, for their race, for how much money they might or might not have in their pocket -- and she would never have allowed that in her home. Yes, we were and are hillbillies. Oh, I could tell you stories.

I am proud of my father's family, whose first American patriarch came to Virginia as an indentured servant and whose children and grandchildren trekked into the wild Appalachian mountains as free men. Proud of those who, to a man, served in Union regiments from Kentucky to free women and men who were worse off than themselves. (The fact that Appalachia was the bedrock of Southern Unionists is a neglected fact of history.) Proud of my large, strapping father who wrote reams of poetry and gave up his dreams of becoming a writer to toil all his life on the railroad to support his large family, who sacrificed much to send us all to college and never doubted our worth as human beings.

So you'll have to pardon what has turned into something of a rant here. I just want folks to know where that hurt comes from and no matter where you go those demons will follow. "Judge not, lest ye also be judged." I'm a hillbilly, not a dirty word.

[AbbyR]

21. And proud you should be

There is no shame in being poor - I'm poor right now and yet I have books galore and two children out of college and one still in. I can't afford to heat my house this year - my husband died and left nothing, after suffering for six years with ALS and finally dying of colon cancer (a blessing.) I have nothing. I'm taking a couple of college classes (scrounged the money) so I can renew my teaching certificate (I've been a news writer, but can't afford the luxury any more.) There will be no Christmas gifts this year, and as much as I hate to say it, I hope global warming stops completely NEXT winter, because it's awfully cold in my house. If I pay the mortgage, I can't afford the heat, so I am using one small space heater in the bedroom.

I am not ashamed of who I am. I am college educated, I work hard, and if I have to wear worn clothes and can't afford a fancy car (13-year-old Toyota), I'm still standing and moving forward. I love the people here in Southeast Arkansas who work so hard, who try, who believe in their children and hard work and farming. I'm going to make it. Just give me time. And woe betide the person who puts down a poor person in my presence.

[theHandpuppet]

11. BTW, sinkingfeeling, thanks for sharing with me

I appreciate the fact that you took the time to tell me where you're coming from and I hope we've opened up a new line of communication here.

Be well!

[Laughing Mirror]

9. Because a lot of them didn't come out of poverty...

and in their wonderful lives growing up on Easy Street and with all their fabulous schools and diplomas and educations the one thing nobody ever taught them was empathy. It is laziness too, and insecurity. Picking on somebody who is worse off than them makes them feel better I guess.

[terminal_concept]

12. You might not be a redneck

It's because the red states are mostly rural.Even voting districts can be split with rural voting red and city voting blue.I think this comes from the whole "redneck" thing. Jeff Foxworthy tells them they're all rednecks ,then the president says he's a redneck ,then they all vote for him.A lot of those poor are voting against their best interest.I'm a rural person and I would rather be called trash than redneck.I feel that all the "redneck" crap that started in the 90's and peaked around election time 2000 is what started the division in this country.But then you are right and that kind of language shouldn't be used at all.
But aside from that I think that rural people are proud of their farm heritage even if they live in an apartment or trailer.They need to realize big farmers don't give a crap about them .Repealing the Inheritance tax benefits those owning a lot of land.Also farms are just family operated businesses and probably benefit from other Bush policies as well.I don't feel sorry for someone with over a million dollars in real estate when people are paying 2/3 of their income for rent,or worse homeless.
"what can you do?"you asked.God knows.

[theHandpuppet]

14. Maybe it's time to reclaim the word "redneck"

Once upon a time the word "redneck" had totally different connotations. It was a source of pride among union miners, including miners of color, who fought for justice against mine owners and government troops during what is known as "The Redneck War of 1921". Just do a Google search for the West Virginia miner's strike of 1921 or "The Redneck War of 1921" and you will find many links of historical interest. Miners who chose to take up arms in the struggle identified one another by the wearing of red bandanas around their necks; hence the term "rednecks". Of course, those who looked down upon the miners used this term in a derogatory fashion to describe anyone who was poor, perhaps lacked education or polish. Ironically, too many today who supposedly take pride in being called rednecks play right into the hands of those who used that term as a slur rather than as a source of pride, for the history of the "Redneck Miners" is one that has been lost to American History books. You have to look to the history of labor battles in this country to realize just what the redneck miners contributed to the labor movement and to justice in this country.

For just a glimpse into the "Redneck War of 1921" here are a couple of links.

Photo which includes African-American "rednecks" of the 1922 coal miners strike in West Virginia: http://cgi.ebay.com/WEST-VIRGINIA-UNION-COAL-MINERS-1922-STRIKE-PHOTO-1298d_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ41511QQitemZ4454605938QQrdZ1

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/coal-mine.htm

http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:LnJ1FUZMAH4J:www.rfets.gov/uswa/News%2520Articles/THIS%2520MONTH%2520IN%2520LABOR%2520HISTORY-September.doc+redneck+coal+strike+West+Virginia&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=4&client=safari

[FILAM23]

13. I so hate the term " trailor trash",

I am college educated, work in the health care field,
make a decent living and live in a trailor out of choice.
The neighbors are great,a diverse group and the term trailor
trash has always seemed like a slur to me. But I now realize
that people who use the term are just narrow minded bigots.

[Gormy Cuss]

15. Most people who use the term have never set foot in a trailer.

At least that's been my experience. Heck, I would hazard a guess that many of them haven't even driven by a trailer park.

[Jamastiene]

25. I live in a trailor as well.

I liked trailors when I used to live in a brick house. I just thought that some of them seemed so cozy and so economically efficient in terms of heating/ac and I liked them. I'm living in one now. The main difference between living in a brick home compared to living in a trailor to me has been the storms. Other than cheaper energy prices, I have noticed that strong winds scare me a little more than before. That's the only thing bad I can say about living in a trailor and it's the only real difference other than the cheaper energy costs. Otherwise, it's just living quarters, nothing else. I love it here.

If someone calls me trailor trash, I just say one person's trailor trash is another person's treasure. I'd rather be a treasure to a kind person and trash to an unkind person any day of the week. I'd just like to see how they react to a hurricane staying in a trailor. That's what separates the humanity from the snobbery. You can't beat the humanity from people who live in trailors.

[Naturyl]

30. I am "trailer trash"

With an IQ high enough that mentioning it would make me look egotistical and a 7-year record of smacking down regressive people of every variety, all the way up to PhD's, in debate. I have been reading and writing philosophy for years and have formulated ideas that are on Wikipedia and in college classrooms. My writings have been read by over a million people worldwide in total and I am a recognized authority in at least one field, as well as a director in a 32 year-old 501(c) non-profit corporation.

Sooooo... want to say "trailer trash" again, classists? Oh, and by the way, it's paid for and I live rent-free and mortgage-free. Can the classists say the same, or are they up to their ears in debt for which they will pay dearly their entire lives?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

16. I don't like terms like "trailer trash" or "white trash" either

First of all, "white trash" is racist, in that it implies that all non-whites are naturally trash and that a white person who is "trash" is betraying his or her race by acting like one of the "inferior" races.

Second, while I lived in a small town for seven years and recognize the behavior that is said to characterize "trash" (getting drunk every weekend, living in a shack with a yard full of old cars and appliances, having babies as soon as physically possible), I also realize that such dysfunctional behavior is the result of hopelessness. People need something to strive for, and if they don't see anything but their immediate dreadful surroundings, it's easy to live for the moment.

[Odin2005]

17. That classist crap is why rural people tend vote for the Pukes

Working class rural people are viciously bashed by urban upper-middle class social liberals who call us "hicks" and "knuckle-draggers."

And, yes, this DUer would be accurately descibed as "trailer trash." :evilgrin:

[ballaratocker]

18. Being a redneck (in it's currently acknowleged meaning)...

is a state of mind, not one's economic position. I feel that there are rich rednecks and poor rednecks.
If you choose to spend your life hating blacks, gays, the disadvantaged (including the poor) and anyone not of your own tribe, you are a redneck. However, not all people who live in trailers, in an apartment or who are from the South can be described this way. I believe one should be judged by the content of their character.
No one should ever be written off as an inferior person regardless of whether they are rich, poor or middle class. I have met complete knobheads who are poor and some wonderfully generous people who are exceedingly rich. I think the elimination of class discrimination like this should come from an acknowledgement that people cannot be classed into black and white but shades of grey.

[rollopollo]

23. Language

Then we need different language because "redneck" is associated with poor Southerners. You may not perceive it that way, but that's how most people do. The people you describe sound like 'bigots'.

[musical_soul]

20. As somebody who grew up in a trailer.......

I completely agree. I've always found this stuff to be offensive. When I try to explain it to other libs who talk a certain way, they just don't get it.

[Naturyl]

31. Nope, it's blocked out.

Talking to some Democrats about classism and poverty-based bigotry can be as bad as talking to Repukes about it. This is one area where Democrats have a lot of work to do.

[bobbolink]

22. Why is it allowed, is another question....

Thanks for bringing this up. I, also, am very sick of it. Yet, it doesn't seem to be against the rules, so it will continue.

:nuke:

My pet peeve is "prgressives" who still want to be so certain that all homeless people are crazy. Really, how does this country keep growing people like this????

[closeupready]

24. Dems have done a poor job of

looking after the interests of the poor. (no pun intended) This is probably symptomatic of a couple things: 1) the fear of poverty which is greater today because fewer people have been there (unlike in previous years when people who lived through the Great Depression were still around); and 2) the Dem party has (in the long-term) been corrupted by its own success, attracting not those committed to dem constituencies but rather career politicians interested in triangulating if faced with a choice between a few more votes in exchange for compromise or leading on issues that matter to your party.

[DarkTirade]

27. The biggest (little) redneck I've ever met hates Bush.

Or at least he did when I worked with him, back in 2003ish.

[Naturyl]

28. Bingo, you're so right...

I got run out of a community on a rail for raising a fuss over someone's use of the bigoted classist term "trailer trash." Everyone else thought I needed to lighten up and get a life, etc. But had someone used a racist or sexist slur, everyone would have been jumping all over it along with me.

I also get tired of the "look, it's a freeper" threads where mockery photos of "freepers" are posted which look like scenes from my life, LOL. It's all quite regressive and backward, but nobody raises a peep. My sense of humor is as good as the next guy's, but apparently my tolerance for classist bigorty is not.

What can you do? For now, not much. This kind of thinking is everywhere. At the moment, the poor are still very much relegated to the back of the cultural bus.