I'm a slow typer. The accompanying story does a general breakdown. What isn't noted is it is a black guy that is rightfully upset but then cedes the moral high ground by calling Richards a "cracker" and "whgite boy." Ironically this was one of the few instances where I would agree in a black guy calling a white guy a cracker. Obviously the n-word is worse in a historical context while "cracker" is indeed a racist word (and I hate both) but in this exchange I see the "cracker" label being justifiably used to counter. Wow. And what a bummer.
Cracker is a term that identifies a region of the South, along the coast, from the Carolinas through Georgia to Florida.
When I grew up, being a Georgia Cracker was a good thing.
The term comes from the fact that all we had to live on was hardtack bread, otherwise known as a cracker.
In recent times Yankees have tried to turn the term into a negative racial stereotype.
Cracker refers to rural Southerners in FLA/GA, and the interesting character called the FLA cowmen. Most folks in the South laugh it off or accept it as a friendly description. Part of the Southern culture is humor and colorful tales - folks not from the South do not understand the use of Cracker.
Man...where have I been.