This weekend I attended at White Trash Prom party. Though the costumes and outfits were not lacking in humor, there is something slightly disturbing about rich people (I am in no way rich, and this was the family of a friend who had the party) dressing as "white trash." I felt sort of uneasy as I put on my Dale Earnhardt cap and spread blue eye-shadow over my eyelids.
Basically the entire party was making fun of people less fortunate than the people throwing the party in a nice part of town with their Jaguar and Escalade parked out front. Is that not evil? I seemed to be the only person that had a problem with it. Yes, it is hypocritical of me to go and dress up with the rest, but I went as a favor to a friend and there was free beer there (Maybe that makes me white trash?).
But I will admit that not everyone that I consider white trash is poor and unfortunate. For example: There were a few dead-on outfits that would define my view of white trash. There was a woman well into her forties wearing a mini-skirt about 3 sizes too small, big hair and an age-inappropriate shirt. The woman said the entire outfit was her 15-year-old daughters. Another man was dressed as Bill Clinton. I think that was a perfect portrayal of white trash.
The Confederate flag was also a guest at this party. That is something that I just don't get. I am from the South. I have southern pride and all and I get pissed off when people label us as stupid, dirt-eating, barefoot inbreeds. That is why I don't understand why someone would sport a flag that puts the south back in that bad era that people don't like to talk about. The issue of slavery is the only thing that makes me ashamed to be a southerner and thats I why I don't understand why people want to bring up old shit and wave the confederate flag. But hey, to each his own. I won't protest to make it come down or to make schools change their mascot or symbol, I just won't wear it. However, this may sound horrible to some of you, but it does make me slightly happy to see the confederate flag worn as a costume of white trash. Bring on the hate mail.
I have also found that the line between 80's flash back and white trash is a thin one. Then I thought to myself, "Maybe these people are just stuck in 1983? Does that make them white trash?"
I will obviously never get a set definition of the degrading term "white trash." And it certainly makes me an asshole to even be thinking about this. But I had to share.