In terms of politeness, you're probably not going to get a "Thanks!" when you call someone either white trash or a cracker. But "white trash" is generally used by whites to describe other whites, and "cracker" is generally used by persons of color as a derogatory racial term for whites. I've heard "cracker" in the north, though infrequently, and "white trash" tends to have a rural bent along the lines of "trailer trash." Either one will get you bodily damaged by the folks so named.

If you're going to denigrate your own family, I suggest insults tailored to them personally.

I'll agree with you, but offer a possible explanation as to why it's not feasible in most instances. If you're in a hotel/catered place, they probably already have the beer purchased, and bring a load of it. They then charge based on actual consumption, and take the remainder back for the next wedding. A keg doesn't permit that--all you have is the keg, and the rest is wasted. With bottles, you're buying only what you're using (more or less--don't they charge by the case or so). Also, when the drunks start coming off the dance floor, it's a lot quicker to open a bottle than to pump, pump, pump the keg for some beer.

White trash
 

To the extent it is racist, it is reverse racism (it implies the denigration of something besides its target), unlike cracker, which directly denigrates its target.

To put a more positive spin on the term, if you are white and live in squalor, you really can't blame it on descrimination, so you really must be a talentless, lazy piece of crap, unlike with poor people of other races, who have a rebuttable presumption of having been systematically kept down by the Man.

The more PC term would be "trailer trash," as trailer dwellers are not a protected class.

Draft beer gives me a headache (I think from the gas) and I agree with Former Gov't that kegs need to be given up once your school loans are no longer in forebearance. My hubby, who comes from a family that would have qualified as "trailer trash" had they been able to afford a trailer rather than building their own plumbing-free home, insists each time we have a party that we should just "get a keg." I, of course, explain each time that it just won't happen and then head down to the package store myself to ensure (a) that no keg is purchased and (b) that beer in adequate amounts and varieties is purchased. My husband also does not understand why it shouldn't be BYOB -- I am being tested, aren't I? I buy bottles unless it is a pool party in which case his buddies are trusted only with cans. His friends continue to throw BYOB parties or ones which require a sign-up sheet at work along with a fee so that the host can save you the trouble of toting in your own -- I refuse to attend these parties until the hosts grow the fuck up.

I only drink beer from bottles and believe that it is a waste of time to pour it into a mug (why pour from one piece of glass to another?).


Edited to add that under-the-bar keg beer at a bar or reception is not a problem (thought I won't drink it because of the headache thing). It is the kegs with hand pumps that I find disturbing post-college.

Some hotels/restaurants dont bother with actual drink count. They charge by anticipated head count - $30.00 per head for the bar or whatever the bar charges. Often different rates based on the "premium" level that the couple wants for the reception.

The restaurant figures that some will really belly up and drink a ton of Glenfiddich while others are lightweights and will have a single glass of chard.

Good points. I'm not sure, but it may be cheaper to buy an entire keg and waste half of it than buy by the bottle. As long as you pay for it, the caterer should care less if it's wasted. And of course the kegs wouldn't be tapped with pump taps, but with the pressurized taps found in bars/kegerators (although I think you're kidding about the pumping)...

Horror Flicks
 

Can some of you fright-flick fans please explain the allure of scary movies? I watched a friggin' documentary about the making of "Alien" last night, which included a play by play of the special effects of the face-sucker-breathing-in-and-out-while-latched-onto-some-shmo's-face-and-ramming-monster-eggs-down-the-guy's-throat scene, and I was still so freaked out I almost hurled watching it. What the hell is the fun of getting the crap scared out of you? What am I missing here?

Added to note, I don't find any of those Exorcist/Omen/other possessed-by-demons movies scary, as I'm an atheist.

The real difference post law school is that if you throw a party, buying a keg is too much. Every party I've had since then I've ended up with massive surpluses of beer afterwards. Most people bring a six pack. Some folks even bring two. Few, if any of them, drink that much themselves. So now it's like sourdough starter . . . I just chill a couple of the left over beers from the last party and wait for the party to come to me.

Yeah, I know, get heavier-drinking friends.

Kegs are much cheaper than bottles/cans.

And yes, bars/restaurants/hotels will have a CO2 canister to go with the keg to ensure constant flow - until the CO2 bottle is empty or the keg is dry.

The restaurant would be sorely mistaken at my family weddings, where everyone must drink in order to get through the night in close proximity to one another. And it is NOT hard to drink through $30 so that is a preposturous upper figure in my view.

The only time the roommate and I get a keg is for our St. Patrick's Day party. And we only do it for two reasons: (1) stores sell kegs of green beer; (2) it starts at 8 AM.

Dollar Dunce
 

Very well, thanks. I just got back from a wonderful vacation (camping/kayaking in northern Canada) and my new (inhouse) job is fantastic. Looking back, I almost chuckle with my long-ago disagreement with Hidecki re: QOL.

I'm still a raging insomniac, but at least I'm home and not at the office.

Horror Flicks
 

Exorcist would have been much more frightening (especially the green puke) if you were living in the early 1970s and special effects was limited to whatever you could do on paper with coloring pencils and crayons. Much more psychological.

Which reminds me of the last time I partied with a few of my out-of-town buddies. We went to a place that served no less than 16 excellent microbrews in addition to bottled beer. So one of my friend's friend order a Heinekin and was severely verbally punished by all of us for the rest of the night. Skunk beer, piss water and other fine descriptions of what he was drinking were hurled at him, but he insisted that he liked it. Poor stupid sap.

Hmm, where might one find such people?