race and class slurs

Check out this post at Rachel's Tavern on the word cracker. I've seen a remarkable willingness of self-described, allegedly "anti-racist" folks who are always screaming how evil "Zionists" are to use words like redneck. Even alleged Trotskyists. (These "rednecks" are a big part of that whole working class thing). These words are slurs used against the poor, and no one dedicated to equality of any kind should be using them.

I have to admit that I, like a lot of Americans, hadn't put much thought into such words - until a friend of mine looked at me funny for using one. I figured that out pretty quick once it was pointed out to me. But it might be fair to say that someone who gets a perverse thrill from using words like redneck hasn't been very serious about egalitarianism for very long.