White trash. Trailer Trash. People of Wall mart.

[Chemisse]

209. I think when white people are dirt poor it is more likely to be because they have other problems.

These terms conjure up the trailer park I lived in when I was in my 20s.

-The next door neighbors beat their babies - we could hear it (yes, I called child welfare, to no avail).

-The man down the road molested several of the little girls on the street.

-One neighbor would get drunk quite regularly and shoot off his gun.

-Most were home all day and literally had nothing better to do than watch the comings and goings of their neighbors, pass around horrendous gossip, and create that all-entertaining drama.

-Several of the trailers were occupied by the town's drug dealers.

-Packs of dogs roamed the park, terrifying my young children.

-A three-year-old wandered the park regularly, looking dirty and sad.

Of course there were good people too, elderly folks who could afford nothing else, families (like mine) who were there as a stepping stone to other life situations.

My point is, that while nonwhites are poor for a variety of reasons that are often outside their control, whites - who have such advantages in our society - are more likely to be downtrodden because of low intelligence, mental health problems, or behaviors that sabotage their lives. Thus the labels - trailer trash or poor white trash - were created.

I admit I use the term 'trailer trash' occasionally, but have the grace to inwardly grimace when I do so. After all, no human being should be considered 'trash', and there should be no shame at all in living in a trailer.