Hehe. :) Well its interesting to think about language. And how words are connected with certain emotions. We make noises with our mouths or write letters with our fingers, and that can create massive reactions in other people.
I mean it’s been a slur for a few centuries, even though the exact meaning changed to mean what it does… also a few centuries ago at this point. 19th century IIRC (cracker = someone who cracks a whip = white person).
But also it’s pretty easy to tell from context that cracker here doesn’t mean “white people”. Similarly to how when you calculate a slope in math you don’t usually associate it with the slur.
Not originally, but some people started using a perfectly normal word as a slur.
It happens a lot. The word bitch was also a completely normal word for a female dog.
Probably many examples if anyone cares enough to find them.
That was more serious of a reply than I was expecting
Hehe. :) Well its interesting to think about language. And how words are connected with certain emotions. We make noises with our mouths or write letters with our fingers, and that can create massive reactions in other people.
I mean it’s been a slur for a few centuries, even though the exact meaning changed to mean what it does… also a few centuries ago at this point. 19th century IIRC (cracker = someone who cracks a whip = white person).
But also it’s pretty easy to tell from context that cracker here doesn’t mean “white people”. Similarly to how when you calculate a slope in math you don’t usually associate it with the slur.
Thought it referred to southerners so poor they had to eat cracked corn like livestock
IIRC the original meaning was about poverty and then it became about whip cracking, which meant white people in general
Yeah, context is very important, and also ability to see through propaganda and brainwashing.