[armand.kay]

Originally Posted by Maru

Considering that a lot of people here living in poorer neighborhoods tend to enjoy and emulate more "ethnic" music, that's not surprising either... the ethnic "look" is considered as part of that core aesthetic.

I don't consider ghetto in US, particularly in the southern metros like Houston and Miami where race relations are more relaxed, to be a steady term at all. I've seen it in a variety of uses in our community... that's why I don't really associate it with black/brown-ness... I think a lot of urban poor neighborhoods tend to be on the black/brown side, but if there's white trash living in a trailer park someplace, we tend to class them in as part of the ghetto... maybe it is completely different in the UK and those are terms that are used more sparingly. In the poorer neighborhoods here, a lot of the younger folk have taken back ownership of the word to refer to the type of lifestyle and neighborhood they were born in... so maybe once upon a time it had a racial history to it. Now it doesn't seem to be used that way.. but rather an upbringing that we're all "proud" of, in a weird sort of way...

I think Hispanics and Blacks here like to use "hood" and "barrio" separately when specifically speaking about their own neighborhoods... but in general, a ghetto is a class of neighborhood in which all types of poor folk generally reside in... (where I live anyway...)

I think though the existence of words like white trash help in separating lower class white people from lower class black people. So we end up with words like ratchet and ghetto being associated more with African Americans. Also I think from the outside looking in you don't really see how different areas might use the words differently depending on racial makeup of the area. You kind of just see it as black and white...

I'm not saying that it's not possible for the word to become a universal term but at the moment for me its still way too heavily associated with black people for me not to consider that when a black woman is called ghetto for being opinionated.

[MB.]

Originally Posted by poppsywoppsy

Has anyone noticed Jordan didn't spell Ghetto correctly

It's almost as though he's... uneducated trash

[JoshBB]

Natalie is educated, and I love that she speaks out for BLM, the Flint water crisis, and against Trump.. but sis never heard of satire before???????? maybe it's an American thing?

[GoldHeart]

Originally Posted by Marsh.

I didn't say it was as bad as the 'n' word. In fact I didn't make a comparison on the words at all. READ what I wrote!

You think James Jordan called her ghetto because of her background? Does he know her that well? Or did he think "Oooh, angry black girl"? He's very vocal about all kinds of housemates in CBB and not once has he called a mouthy white girl "ghetto". In fact he's friends with Helen Wood!

Natalie Nunn is famous for being a bad girl and getting into fiery arguments and fights. I never watched Helen's year , but prior to her entrance did she have a bad reputation? or did that only come out when she was in the house being loud and obnoxious? .

I'm not a fan of James Jordan , that's his business if he's friends with Helen . He himself was no angel when he was in the BB house so it's irrelevant who he's friends with and who he's not .

I still think it's more to do with Natalie's notorious background and the fact she's American why he used that word . But i guess it's left to interpretation.

As i've said i've seen undertone racism especially regarding the whole "angry black woman" shtick . But i don't know with James' comment .

[armand.kay]

welp he blocked me for replying with Ghetto!??

[GoldHeart]

Originally Posted by armand.kay

I think though the existence of words like white trash help in separating lower class white people from lower class black people. So we end up with words like ratchet and ghetto being associated more with African Americans. Also I think from the outside looking in you don't really see how different areas might use the words differently depending on racial makeup of the area. You kind of just see it as black and white...

I'm not saying that it's not possible for the word to become a universal term but at the moment for me its still way too heavily associated with black people for me not to consider that when a black woman is called ghetto for being opinionated.

What about when people get called "trailer park trash" surely that's less offensive than "white trash" . I never understood the need for people to bring up someone's race in a derogatory way.

[rusticgal]

Originally Posted by JoshBB

Natalie is educated, and I love that she speaks out for BLM, the Flint water crisis, and against Trump.. but sis never heard of satire before???????? maybe it's an American thing?

The Americans have a completely different sense of humour and I don't think they get satire or sarcasm...mind you I find Kirstie very funny with her sarcasm.

[Marsh.]

Originally Posted by GoldHeart

Natalie Nunn is famous for being a bad girl and getting into fiery arguments and fights. I never watched Helen's year , but prior to her entrance did she have a bad reputation? or did that only come out when she was in the house being loud and angry? .

I'm not a fan of James Jordan , that's his business if he's friends with Helen . He himself was no angel when he was in the BB house so it's irrelevant who he's friends with and who he's not .

It is relevant in the context of what I'm discussing.

For James Jordan, mouthy black girl gets a racial slur, mouthy white girl gets praised as an awesome housemate. The irony being he was one of the nastiest of the series he starred in.

Did Helen have a bad reputation prior to BB? Well, I shan't get into it as it would fill its own thread. But yes, she did.

Originally Posted by GoldHeart

I still think it's more to do with Natalie's notorious backgroud and the fact she's American why he used that word . But i guess it's left to interpretation.

In that case I guess it's up to James Jordan to explain why he's never used it to describe a white American in the past. He was very vocal about another mouthy American in the form of Farrah Abraham. Not once did he use the word ghetto to describe her though.

Edit - He's defended himself on twitter saying "It's a word people call white people too" yet, he hasn't.

[JerseyWins]

I don't think James is racist for using the word ghetto unless he's only ever used it to refer to a black person (which idk and I won't assume one way or another).

It's like when a black or white person says "I grew up in the ghetto" they're NOT saying they grew up in a black neighborhood. They're talking about the environment, the lifestyle, usually the crime rates and poverty that they grew up in. And people get tough/abrasive/etc. personalities in that situation and that's what the term has come to describe.

It's associated to the way people act OR where they're from and I've seen it used a ton for all races... white, black, asian, etc.

[JoshBB]

Originally Posted by rusticgal

The Americans have a completely different sense of humour and I don't think they get satire or sarcasm...mind you I find Kirstie very funny with her sarcasm.

It comes across cold and blunt to me rather than funny, but i'm glad someone can enjoy it

[Marsh.]

I don't think it's clever enough or funny enough to be labelled "satire".

But, yes, it seems to be a kind of attempt at it.

[Maru]

Originally Posted by armand.kay

I think though the existence of words like white trash help in separating lower class white people from lower class black people. So we end up with words like ratchet and ghetto being associated more with African Americans. Also I think from the outside looking in you don't really see how different areas might use the words differently depending on racial makeup of the area. You kind of just see it as black and white...

I'm not saying that it's not possible for the word to become a universal term but at the moment for me its still way too heavily associated with black people for me not to consider that when a black woman is called ghetto for being opinionated.

I grew up in the ghetto. My yearbook is probably blacker and browner than most people's here, I was 1 of maybe 5 white folk in a school of 2800ish. This is not me from the outside looking in. Houston is majority-minority.

(Edit) Anyway this is not me discounting your POV. But clearly other people have a right to their own...

[Captain.Remy]

Not only is she educated but she knows how to act around it. She's not stupid, she knows what she is doing and she felt uncomfortable and spoke about it
Natalie a few years ago would have went wild already but she aged since. She talked about what she felt openly and that was a good thing to do. She keeps it real, whether you agree or not.