It's actually kind of a fucked up term but a lot of people don't consider it, it's both super racist and classist. I don't really think less of anyone for saying it because it's such a common term but I personally don't like using it.
The original implication is that poor white folks are "trash", comparing them to enslaved African Americans.
I always read it as referring to people who are (a) white and (b) trash, without either adjective implying all A are B or vice versa. Like: I've got a red cup on my desk, but that doesn't mean everything red is a cup or that all cups are red.
You make a good point, but I don't think that holds in the case of combining insults with people groups. Consider "jedi scum" or "filthy thieves" for example.
I've heard the term, but the only meaning for it I can think of is that they're trash because they're white.
It's actually kind of a fucked up term but a lot of people don't consider it, it's both super racist and classist. I don't really think less of anyone for saying it because it's such a common term but I personally don't like using it. The original implication is that poor white folks are "trash", comparing them to enslaved African Americans.
I always read it as referring to people who are (a) white and (b) trash, without either adjective implying all A are B or vice versa. Like: I've got a red cup on my desk, but that doesn't mean everything red is a cup or that all cups are red.
You make a good point, but I don't think that holds in the case of combining insults with people groups. Consider "jedi scum" or "filthy thieves" for example.