China studies 'White Trash' to understand Trump

[LynpheaStar 886]

[Ziggy 14,010]

Just now, xoxo Human said:

No, I'm from Europe

Ok! Then I'll break it down because from the outside I could see it sounding racist. Essentially, "White trash" are white people in the Midwest, south or south east of the United States, live in poverty or are not financially well-off, and most importantly exhibit traits people would deem "improper" or "trashy" to use this terminology. That could mean, like, eating dinner on paper plates, a fancy meal being at a nation-wide chain restaurant, cutting tons coupons from the paper and actually using them, buying off-brand anything, etc. Essentially, it's rooted in the idea that we expect more of white people and them exhibiting this behavior makes us look bad. It's crude, but that's the way it is. I say that it is classist rather than racist because the fact that they are white is only important insofar as they are demographically in the same group as other "proper" white folk, but the shame of the word stems not from being white, but from the behavior they exhibit as a white person. Essentially, they are going against how we've deemed white people should act (i.e. exhibiting status, wealth, superiority, etc.). With this, comes a lot of really heinous jokes like incest jokes, eating rodents, imitating accents in offensj]ive manners, etc. because they're uneducated hillbillies and apparently them doing their thing and the very real lacking education that they receive is something to be mocked rather than seen as a legitimate problem. It comes down to superiority as it always does.

 

Related to Trump, this was a lot of his base and voting bloc (though a large number of wealthy white people voted for him as well so small misconception). This book is essentially analyzing how Trump managed to galvanize a group of voters who had long given up on government helping them and actually turning out to vote for him. Because in American political history that is HUGE. Voting rates are always very low so people look at spikes like this with genuine intellectual interest. The book being called "White Trash" is a reference to this class of people, the term that America has condescendingly branded them with, and what happened historically and this year to make them support Trump. It's more like an intellectual using a colloquial word to study the language academically if that makes sense.

[Vitleysingur 13,790]

45 minutes ago, Galagala said:

I'm Taiwanese and I feel really sorry our neighboring country did something ridiculous as well as dumb AGAIN. 

The audacity

[Melech 9,900]

1 hour ago, Fable said:

Not really, especially in this context. This isn't saying "White people in Ohio are lazy and don't want to work". They are saying "White people in Ohio have faced unemployment due to economic displacement and they tend to believe China has "stolen" U.S jobs"...

This is a discussion on "White America" who voted Trump in, how their attitudes led to the rise of Trump. I don't know how you discuss the rise of Trump without talking about the demographics of those who voted for him, the attitudes of those who voted for him and the conditions that led to those attitudes being popular.

The economic conditions of black people in Washington and their attitudes are not really relevant in the discussion of Trump's rise. Discussions of the economic conditions of White America and the attitudes of White America are  If there was a reason to discuss the economic conditions of black people in Washington and their attitudes - I don't see how that would face a ****-storm.

Then why name it “white trash” the majority of white people dont even live in the US. 

The majority of Turkish people voted Erdogan in Europe. So someone writing a book called Turkish trash is completely fine? Cause otherwise it would ignore the demographic. 

[Bebe 17,289]

1 hour ago, Melech said:

Then why name it “white trash” the majority of white people dont even live in the US. 

The majority of Turkish people voted Erdogan in Europe. So someone writing a book called Turkish trash is completely fine? Cause otherwise it would ignore the demographic. 

I mean now you're switching what your problem is  

Firstly: "White Trash" is a popular American term with American roots used colloquially to describe the very demographic the book is about. The entire book is about this weak, powerless and stigmatised group and the book places them front and centre. This book is about America's white underclass, the history of these people and the modern day implications.

The title "White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America" is a very clear statement itself on classism. The book isn't about all white people... The fact that the majority of white people live outside the U.S is irrelevant... The term "white trash" is used towards to refer to America's white underclass... To the 'rednecks' and 'hillbillies'. The author is talking about the group the term "White Trash" refers to, not to white people as a whole...

As a user above, Ziggy, eloquently wrote, this is an academic using a colloquial term in order to refer to a group that she is telling the history of and is using that term in order to unpack the language and history behind it. 

Your Turkish example is just a false equivalency... The terminology doesn't have the same history... In this instance the author is using a colloquial term that has historically been used to describe poor, white, southern American people - who this book largely sympathises with... It's not a term pulled out of thin air to describe an entire race, it's a term that was coined and used by rich white U.S slave owners to describe the poor, rural white lower class in the U.S.

The fact it was coined and used by rich white people is also helpful in understanding why the term is more classist than racist. The term was coined and used by rich white people to describe white people who where poor, uneducated and more like the 'black' community. The term 'white' was historically tacked on to 'trash' to signify that they were not talking about the "usual" "default" trash people (who in those times, where of course the black community) - but in fact where referring to the WHITE trash that were regarded as almost just as bad, if not as bad. The term carries more racist connotations in regards to black people - as they where regarded as the default trash... "White" needed to be added to "white trash" in order to make it clear they where talking about the poor white people not the black people.

The term "White Trash" also just happens to be useful in this situation - not because these people are "trash" but because the term is a term used to refer to a particular group of people that don't really have another name... Not all white people where (or are) "white trash" not all white, rural Americans are "white trash", not even all poor, white, rural Americans are "white trash" (there are many reasons why a modern day white rural American might be poor... the history of this book might not apply to them)... This book is about tracking this history of a very particular group of people - the 'rednecks', the 'hillbillies', the 'white trash'. 

I actually think it would be impossible to accurately refer to these people without using specific terms like "White trash". Yes, it's a classist term, but the entire book is about unpacking classism in the U.S and due to the classism in the U.S that's the name this group of people are popularly referred to by. There just isn't a term for this group of people that isn't rooted in classism. Other terms like "cracker", "hillbilly" or "redneck" mean the same thing but they also have classist connotations and are terms specific to certain states ("crackers", used of people in the backcountry of the Southern states; "hillbilly", regarding poor people from Appalachia; "Okie" regarding those with origins in Oklahoma; and "redneck", regarding rural origins; especially in the South). "White trash" is the more universal term for these people.

Secondly: Your previous problem was that you thought this sentence "In Ohio, "white people" haven't worked for several generations and don't leave Ohio" was problematic and asserted that if it was about another race it would have caused a "shitstorm". 

I guess you've now abandoned that point, but you can't just keep shifting the goal posts and finding new ways to be offended...

I'd also point out that the book isn't actually about Trump - like at all - The book is about the same Demographic that voted for Trump, now that Trump is president it's a useful resource to understand the rise of Trump. 

[Born Brave 2,072]

I live in Tennessee, if they need someone to testify Id be happy to help 🤓

[JazzGa 14,652]

It is misleading to believe that Trump's supporters were all your typical poor trailer park type. Many people who voted for Trump were middle class and above. It's a yuppie white problem just as much as it is a poor white problem.