Regular Americans
November 28, 2020 3:50 PM Subscribe
55 Ways White People Say ‘White People’ Without Actually Saying ‘White People’ (Very Smart Brothas/The Root)
"What’s the matter with this? I call this representative government. You’ve got Salvatori, Feldman, O’Reilly, Nelson–that’s an Italian, a Jew, an Irishman and a regular American there. That’s what I call a balanced ticket."
--Archie Bunker
I had to call a guy out the other day for saying that the Star Trek captains were "Two Americans, a French guy, a Black guy, a woman, and an alien." He honestly didn't see the problem of not counting "the Black guy" and "the woman" as "American" even though they were, you know, canonically American, until I pointed it out to him.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 4:51 PM on November 28, 2020 [65 favorites]
--Archie Bunker
I had to call a guy out the other day for saying that the Star Trek captains were "Two Americans, a French guy, a Black guy, a woman, and an alien." He honestly didn't see the problem of not counting "the Black guy" and "the woman" as "American" even though they were, you know, canonically American, until I pointed it out to him.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 4:51 PM on November 28, 2020 [65 favorites]
Two Americans, a French guy, a Black guy, a woman, and an alien." He honestly didn't see the problem of not counting "the Black guy" and "the woman"
Two "Americans": Kirk, Pike, Archer?
The French Guy: Picard
The Black guy: Sisko
The Woman: Janeway
An Alien: Saru? Spock?
?????? What kind of crossword puzzle nonsense is this?
posted by Kitchen Witch at 5:02 PM on November 28, 2020 [17 favorites]
Two "Americans": Kirk, Pike, Archer?
The French Guy: Picard
The Black guy: Sisko
The Woman: Janeway
An Alien: Saru? Spock?
?????? What kind of crossword puzzle nonsense is this?
posted by Kitchen Witch at 5:02 PM on November 28, 2020 [17 favorites]
I know I’m going to get in trouble for this but here goes:
55. Cracker
56. Moron
57. Snowflake
58. Upper Middle Class
59. YUPPIE- do they still have yuppies?
60. Policeman
61. Senator/congressmen
Speaking as a member of like 10% of the top 54 and probably 2-3 of these.
posted by Farce_First at 5:07 PM on November 28, 2020 [9 favorites]
55. Cracker
56. Moron
57. Snowflake
58. Upper Middle Class
59. YUPPIE- do they still have yuppies?
60. Policeman
61. Senator/congressmen
Speaking as a member of like 10% of the top 54 and probably 2-3 of these.
posted by Farce_First at 5:07 PM on November 28, 2020 [9 favorites]
"Snowflake" in its more recent derogatory usage most definitely includes non-white people.
posted by eviemath at 5:18 PM on November 28, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by eviemath at 5:18 PM on November 28, 2020 [4 favorites]
Mayonnaise Americans...
I lolled.
Though if you're talking to me, I prefer the Spanish "Bolillo."
posted by Devils Rancher at 5:34 PM on November 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
I lolled.
Though if you're talking to me, I prefer the Spanish "Bolillo."
posted by Devils Rancher at 5:34 PM on November 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
One example from New Zealand that I didn't see above but has a similar meaning: "Mainstream New Zealanders".
posted by Pink Frost at 5:57 PM on November 28, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by Pink Frost at 5:57 PM on November 28, 2020 [9 favorites]
Ugh this isn't unique to the USA. My church in Melbourne was pretty white, and a Chinese congregation approached us to ask if they could join us and use one of our rooms for Mandarin services. Sometimes they would join us for singing (both sets of words projected) then go to the other room for a Mandarin sermon.
One day the (white) MC used "Chinese" and "Australian" - on complaints then referred to the congregation as "Anglo" - I pointed out that I was offended by this being mostly Celtic. I think they've settled on "English service" and "Mandarin service" which is factual and non offensive!
More broadly some people use "Australian" (or worse, Aussie) to mean "white" and it's a good tell about the rest of their beliefs.
posted by freethefeet at 6:19 PM on November 28, 2020 [23 favorites]
One day the (white) MC used "Chinese" and "Australian" - on complaints then referred to the congregation as "Anglo" - I pointed out that I was offended by this being mostly Celtic. I think they've settled on "English service" and "Mandarin service" which is factual and non offensive!
More broadly some people use "Australian" (or worse, Aussie) to mean "white" and it's a good tell about the rest of their beliefs.
posted by freethefeet at 6:19 PM on November 28, 2020 [23 favorites]
"Haole" kinda says it all. I just call myself a haole from Hawai'i.
posted by kikaider01 at 6:49 PM on November 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by kikaider01 at 6:49 PM on November 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
While yes, “cracker” is a way to refer to whites people, the point of this list (at least to me) is all the ways folks say “people” but really only mean “white people.” It also also a way that white people talk that excludes BIPOC from the conversation without being honest about it.
posted by raccoon409 at 7:02 PM on November 28, 2020 [61 favorites]
posted by raccoon409 at 7:02 PM on November 28, 2020 [61 favorites]
Bingo, raccoon409. It's exclusionary and protects white people from being called out on it.
posted by ichomp at 7:16 PM on November 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by ichomp at 7:16 PM on November 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
I can't agree with #52, "essential workers"—I feel like that's usually code for "the people, generally not white, who make sure that white people are cared for and not inconvenienced." Perhaps we can replace it with "anti-maskers" for now and, eventually, "tourists."
posted by babelfish at 7:24 PM on November 28, 2020 [32 favorites]
posted by babelfish at 7:24 PM on November 28, 2020 [32 favorites]
Shoppers.
That's everyone we help at work.
If we want to be more specific, whites are given the "goddamn shoppers" and an eye roll.
posted by markbrendanawitzmissesus at 7:28 PM on November 28, 2020 [9 favorites]
That's everyone we help at work.
If we want to be more specific, whites are given the "goddamn shoppers" and an eye roll.
posted by markbrendanawitzmissesus at 7:28 PM on November 28, 2020 [9 favorites]
While yes, “cracker” is a way to refer to whites people, the point of this list (at least to me) is all the ways folks say “people” but really only mean “white people.”
As the list goes on it asymptotically approaches the conclusion that any way white people talk about a group of people sometimes just means white members of that group of people. Which I assume is the point of the list, because it’s true, though it’s hard to tell because there are also a few terms thrown in there that really exclusively are ways to say “white people.”
posted by atoxyl at 7:32 PM on November 28, 2020 [8 favorites]
As the list goes on it asymptotically approaches the conclusion that any way white people talk about a group of people sometimes just means white members of that group of people. Which I assume is the point of the list, because it’s true, though it’s hard to tell because there are also a few terms thrown in there that really exclusively are ways to say “white people.”
posted by atoxyl at 7:32 PM on November 28, 2020 [8 favorites]
Or looking at the comments maybe that’s not what he means in which case:
so i feel like in the beginning of the pandemic, it was a shorthand for nurses, bus drivers, etc—basically the sort of public facing jobs often held by black people (and other people of color) that put them in harm’s way. but now the connotation seems to have shifted to include anyone who feels like any sort of government shutdown is wrong, and those people are mostly, well, you know.
I dunno, man, I’m not sure I have ever heard “essential workers” used to mean that. The damning thing about the way I hear people talking about “essential workers” nowadays is I don’t.
posted by atoxyl at 7:39 PM on November 28, 2020 [13 favorites]
so i feel like in the beginning of the pandemic, it was a shorthand for nurses, bus drivers, etc—basically the sort of public facing jobs often held by black people (and other people of color) that put them in harm’s way. but now the connotation seems to have shifted to include anyone who feels like any sort of government shutdown is wrong, and those people are mostly, well, you know.
I dunno, man, I’m not sure I have ever heard “essential workers” used to mean that. The damning thing about the way I hear people talking about “essential workers” nowadays is I don’t.
posted by atoxyl at 7:39 PM on November 28, 2020 [13 favorites]
I always read the "essential workers" title as a sop. We're not going to pay you anything decent, in fact not even any more than we did before the pandemic, but white people will put lawn signs out thanking you and sometimes someone on TV will give you a shoutout like they do the troops.
posted by axiom at 7:42 PM on November 28, 2020 [17 favorites]
posted by axiom at 7:42 PM on November 28, 2020 [17 favorites]
Eventually people cotton on to the respect included in the phrase "essential workers" and replace it with "frontline workers" - ie: people who can be sacrificed.
posted by pompomtom at 7:48 PM on November 28, 2020 [18 favorites]
posted by pompomtom at 7:48 PM on November 28, 2020 [18 favorites]
Thanks for this. It's good to see highlighted the ways "regular" is coded to mean white.
posted by medusa at 8:21 PM on November 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by medusa at 8:21 PM on November 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
The term "Southerners" often makes me livid. When white people say Southern(ers) they are almost never including Black Southerners. I want to scream "WHITE Southern, be fucking specific" cause you're not talking about Black Southerners.
posted by shoesietart at 12:57 AM on November 29, 2020 [23 favorites]
posted by shoesietart at 12:57 AM on November 29, 2020 [23 favorites]
That list looks like it's not so much about the content as the structure around it. You could in theory add, say, “beekeepers” or something and, spoken in the same context, it would function as a euphemism for White Folks.
posted by acb at 4:17 AM on November 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by acb at 4:17 AM on November 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
This is something that I’ve been trying to explain to someone I interact with in a professional setting. Unfortunately, due to hierarchy and stuff, I can’t just send them this article.
I’m going to keep trying.
posted by sciencegeek at 5:22 AM on November 29, 2020 [4 favorites]
I’m going to keep trying.
posted by sciencegeek at 5:22 AM on November 29, 2020 [4 favorites]
Skiers?
posted by fido~depravo at 5:24 AM on November 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by fido~depravo at 5:24 AM on November 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
Is "stay-at-home protesters" real? If not, hilarious to come up with that. If it is...
posted by Emmy Rae at 6:10 AM on November 29, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Emmy Rae at 6:10 AM on November 29, 2020 [3 favorites]
The very white suburb next to the city I live in has a motto of “It’s easier here.” I wish they would just be honest and change it to “It’s whiter here.”
posted by rockindata at 6:20 AM on November 29, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by rockindata at 6:20 AM on November 29, 2020 [3 favorites]
OMG stay-at-home protester resonates with me like someone banging a gong next to my head. They’re why I left social media for good. Also, totally disagree with essential worker. To me, essential worker means any poor person who has no other option than to be sacrificed on the cross of capitalism because they have no other options. In my neck of the woods that means Brown, Black and the elderly who make starvation wages in service and retail jobs.
posted by photoslob at 7:06 AM on November 29, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by photoslob at 7:06 AM on November 29, 2020 [4 favorites]
I was surprised not to see variations on “good”. Good people, good kids, from a good family, good neighborhood ...
posted by anshuman at 7:19 AM on November 29, 2020 [11 favorites]
posted by anshuman at 7:19 AM on November 29, 2020 [11 favorites]
Karen.
posted by thecincinnatikid at 7:33 AM on November 29, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by thecincinnatikid at 7:33 AM on November 29, 2020 [4 favorites]
Mayonnaise Americans
Nah, Mayo is in Yukon. The Mayonnaise are Canadian.
posted by oulipian at 8:51 AM on November 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
Nah, Mayo is in Yukon. The Mayonnaise are Canadian.
posted by oulipian at 8:51 AM on November 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
Yinzer hit hard, because it's both accurate (the Pittsburgh accent it describes is pretty much exclusive to white people) and often used to refer to Pittsburghers in general (thereby excluding natives who wouldn't have grown up with that accent).
posted by xthlc at 10:09 AM on November 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by xthlc at 10:09 AM on November 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
This is a thing in Vermont where there are a lot of anti-racists and also a lot of ignorant/clueless folks who really need Racism 101 classes (but might be on board if they knew what was going on). I am on the board of a cultural heritage organization that has a newish anti-racist director and one of the things he's been really pushing on is ferreting out the way we refer to "Vermonters" that implies White people without saying that, and how we have to undo that so that the organization is clearly working for ALL Vermonters. At the same time we need a way to refer to the people who fit this White-Vermonter stereotype so that we can at least address some anti-racist education in their direction. So we've moved from saying "traditional Vermonters" (i.e. white people, even though OF COURSE there are many longtime Vermonters who are not White) to Traditional White Vermonters and got some gentle but expected pushback from some of the older board members who don't quite get it.
posted by jessamyn at 10:14 AM on November 29, 2020 [16 favorites]
posted by jessamyn at 10:14 AM on November 29, 2020 [16 favorites]
The term "Southerners" often makes me livid. When white people say Southern(ers) they are almost never including Black Southerners. I want to scream "WHITE Southern, be fucking specific" cause you're not talking about Black Southerners.
The same thing about "Midwesterners" -
It's especially frustrating when it comes from people who are pissing on red states and telling us why we shouldn't care about the things that happen to the people in them. They did it to themselves, after all!
I lived in an extremely liberal northern city for several years. I encountered a lot of people whose default image of a Southern person is a white Republican. They thought that they were from some sort of diverse cosmopolitan place, a place that contrasted with the hegemonic whiteness of "flyover" states. And yeah, the entire country has issues there. And some Midwestern states are very, very white. But their city was more white and more segregated than the city I live in now!
I don't care much about Southern white Republicans either, but they aren't the only people who are being effected by the policies that they enact.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 10:38 AM on November 29, 2020 [10 favorites]
The same thing about "Midwesterners" -
It's especially frustrating when it comes from people who are pissing on red states and telling us why we shouldn't care about the things that happen to the people in them. They did it to themselves, after all!
I lived in an extremely liberal northern city for several years. I encountered a lot of people whose default image of a Southern person is a white Republican. They thought that they were from some sort of diverse cosmopolitan place, a place that contrasted with the hegemonic whiteness of "flyover" states. And yeah, the entire country has issues there. And some Midwestern states are very, very white. But their city was more white and more segregated than the city I live in now!
I don't care much about Southern white Republicans either, but they aren't the only people who are being effected by the policies that they enact.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 10:38 AM on November 29, 2020 [10 favorites]
I think if you change it from "essential workers" to "essential businesses" you get a meaning closer to the article's intent.
As in: "my jetski dealership is absolutely an essential business in these trying times, I can't believe the [mayor/governor/other liberal boogeyman] is making me close it."
posted by turbowombat at 11:57 AM on November 29, 2020 [7 favorites]
As in: "my jetski dealership is absolutely an essential business in these trying times, I can't believe the [mayor/governor/other liberal boogeyman] is making me close it."
posted by turbowombat at 11:57 AM on November 29, 2020 [7 favorites]
I suppose the Officer Corps are still white-dominated, but the military as a whole is not.
posted by SemiSalt at 12:48 PM on November 29, 2020
posted by SemiSalt at 12:48 PM on November 29, 2020
"Old Stock Canadian" did a lot of dog whistlin' work here in Canada a few years ago at election time.
There's no way I'm going to search if it's still a thing.
posted by chococat at 2:11 PM on November 29, 2020 [9 favorites]
There's no way I'm going to search if it's still a thing.
posted by chococat at 2:11 PM on November 29, 2020 [9 favorites]
I like the Cantonese slang gwailou
posted by Saxon Kane at 4:17 PM on November 29, 2020
posted by Saxon Kane at 4:17 PM on November 29, 2020
I suppose the Officer Corps are still white-dominated, but the military as a whole is not.
There's a breakdown here.
posted by biffa at 4:23 PM on November 29, 2020
There's a breakdown here.
posted by biffa at 4:23 PM on November 29, 2020
Yuppie and dink. That was 20 or 30 years ago, tho
posted by waving at 8:47 PM on November 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by waving at 8:47 PM on November 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
I always like reading Damon Young. Always something to make you think.
posted by Barbara Spitzer at 2:05 AM on November 30, 2020
posted by Barbara Spitzer at 2:05 AM on November 30, 2020
From an International perspective, for some reason Black, Latino Americans are somehow not perceived as American. So "American" means "white American"
I encountered this in my Dutch class here in the Netherlands. The class had people from all over (Indonesia, China, etc) and also included me (born and raised in the US) and an American girl from the Midwest. There were times, when talking about cultural differences and the like when the teacher would turn to her to ask "So was it like that in elementary school in the US?" and questions of that sort. At some point, she answered and then turned to me "...so Richard was it like that for you in California too?" at which point the teacher does a double-take as he realizes, yes, I can answer this question too. Yes, I too am American in every way.
The teacher wasn't a bad person. I liked him a lot. But its a good example of how these things become ingrained and sometimes automatic.
posted by vacapinta at 2:40 AM on November 30, 2020 [19 favorites]
I encountered this in my Dutch class here in the Netherlands. The class had people from all over (Indonesia, China, etc) and also included me (born and raised in the US) and an American girl from the Midwest. There were times, when talking about cultural differences and the like when the teacher would turn to her to ask "So was it like that in elementary school in the US?" and questions of that sort. At some point, she answered and then turned to me "...so Richard was it like that for you in California too?" at which point the teacher does a double-take as he realizes, yes, I can answer this question too. Yes, I too am American in every way.
The teacher wasn't a bad person. I liked him a lot. But its a good example of how these things become ingrained and sometimes automatic.
posted by vacapinta at 2:40 AM on November 30, 2020 [19 favorites]
Main Street Americans.
posted by nickmark at 9:16 AM on November 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by nickmark at 9:16 AM on November 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
in our style guide at work, we include the word "all" often as a prefix to these words. "all americans", "all southerners", "all fishers" it simply fixes the problem while elucidating it.
in college, the way to write about how this happens and to write it out if you wanted to be specific about it was "(white) americans"; but that was a long time ago now
posted by eustatic at 3:55 PM on November 30, 2020
in college, the way to write about how this happens and to write it out if you wanted to be specific about it was "(white) americans"; but that was a long time ago now
posted by eustatic at 3:55 PM on November 30, 2020
Just simple farmers
People of the land
The common clay of the new west
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 3:59 PM on November 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
People of the land
The common clay of the new west
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 3:59 PM on November 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
Dudes
posted by a humble nudibranch at 1:20 AM on December 1, 2020
posted by a humble nudibranch at 1:20 AM on December 1, 2020
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