The Battle of N-Word vs. Cracker

One of my favorite drunken revelations came when the oh-so-touchy topic of the N-word came up. I grew up in a place called Land O’Lakes (literally named after the butter) where there was an equal population ratio between cows and people. So I have been listening to the N-word vs. Cracker debate since I learned what the two words meant. I’ve always wondered how someone could possibly defend using a word with such hate behind it. Then, 4 years and 3 beers later, it randomly hit me, and the reasoning is incredibly ironic.

Let’s face it, you mostly hear this argument from Southerners who happen to not be considered the smartest people in the world, so it peaked my interest that they were arguing for the literal definitions of the words (especially when many sound like they have never opened a dictionary.) Some people approach the N-word and cracker without applying any social context to it. They are both racial slurs, so they are therefore equal in offense.

To be fair, we have all become rather desensitized to the N-word, making it a more regular part of our vocabulary through mainstream movies and music and such. This piece is not referring to the random white kids mimicking the media and calling each other the N-word, instead of just sticking with bro; I’m referring to when it is used in a white power sense. Believe it or not, there is a difference.

No matter how much anyone wants to pretend these two words are the same, they are not. I was never warned as a child that people would inevitably call me a nasty word that encompassed what they thought of me because I was born white. I have never walked past a group of black people who hissed cracker as I went by, knowing there was nothing I could do about it. No cop has ever ended up calling me a stupid cracker after he/she stopped me. Fuck, the fact that I am only comfortable typing the N-word, while I freely use the word cracker, proves my point. There is something inherently evil about the N-word to our society, and we try to avoid it in adult conversations.

At the end of the day, it is just a word. Six letters that formed random sounds we connected to different things at different points in time. The word is only given meaning by the way society defines it, but American society defined it back when we agreed to be a part of the slave trade.

When someone says the N-word, this is what I hear:

“I believe black people are inferior to me in every way, all because of their skin.  I believe they are dumber, weaker, and are only fit to clean my toilet. I don’t see them as human or individuals.”

Whether or not that is what you believe, that is what I hear. I cannot say I speak for everyone, obviously, but I feel like those who don’t like the word have similar reactions. I only wrote this rant as an observation. I don’t actually think this will change they way anyone speaks, but I thought I’d throw this thought out into the universe. Sometimes, we just expect people to consider something wrong, but that’s not how the world works.

A person is free to call anyone anything, but if you are going to use the N-word, then you have to accept that many people will not be okay with it. There is no convincing the entire African American population (or anyone who is against the word) that when you say it in a certain context you are not being racist. Use your First Amendment Right, dammit! You just have to take the risk of being labeled an asshole.

“Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy.”

― Frank Sinatra