White trash

White trash, literally "white trash / white scrap," is an American slang term originally for the poor white population, an insulting way of referring to poor and poorly educated whites, they came from garbage.

The term dates from the mid-19th century. It was then particularly used by the dignified and hardworking American to designate whites who were judged to be between the beast and the slave, but without their self-serving advantages, because they were unproductive. What is called white waste is regularly portrayed by progressive urban circles as poor, with low education levels, bad manners, and a general lack of interest in societal and cultural issues. They are often stereotyped as overweight people with lots of children, poor hygiene, and problems with alcoholism, drugs or smoking.

So white waste really comes from notions of rural poverty. And it goes back to British car ideas, to colonial times and throughout the 19th century, the hallmark of being a successful American was being a homeowner. The term white trash is close to redneck which more specifically means the inhabitants of the countryside, but it is much more insulting. White trash, literally "white trash / white scrap," is an American slang term originally for the poor white population, an insulting way of referring to poor and poorly educated whites, they came from garbage.

The term dates from the mid-19th century. It was then particularly used by the dignified and hardworking American to designate whites who were judged to be between the beast and the slave, but without their self-serving advantages, because they were unproductive. What is called white waste is regularly portrayed by progressive urban circles as poor, with low education levels, bad manners, and a general lack of interest in societal and cultural issues. They are often stereotyped as overweight people with lots of children, poor hygiene, and problems with alcoholism, drugs or smoking.

So white waste really comes from notions of rural poverty. And it goes back to British car ideas, to colonial times and throughout the 19th century, the hallmark of being a successful American was being a homeowner. The term white trash is close to redneck which more specifically means the inhabitants of the countryside, but it is much more insulting.

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