The harsh reality behind Here Comes Honey Boo Boo (TLC comes to the UK)

[Cirque du So-What]

21. And as you mentioned earlier

poor white people are fair game. 'Twas ever thus. Although Li'l Abner had some other redeeming values, it would never have passed muster if any other ethnicity had been portrayed - even in the dismal pre-Civil Rights era when it was first syndicated. The 'Slobbovians' in that comic strip were transparently Russian, but there wasn't anyone to protest on their behalf either. Despite its social relevance, I recall some degree of dissent when The Jeffersons was spun off from All in the Family, based on its fish-out-of-water depiction of an African American family who become nouveau riche (bigots would substitute another n-word for nouveau, of course). I don't recall anything in the way of protest against The Beverly Hillbillies, although I was fairly young when that show debuted. Speaking of 'hillbilly'...is there any other ethnic group which is freely referred to with such a pejorative in polite company? Their melanin level notwithstanding, I believe that no group of people deserves offensive tags, even though they share their complexion with the rich and powerful in their society. It's derogatory because it makes assumptions about their economic status; race is secondary. As I said, it's not tolerated with any other ethnicity.