Why White People Use This Racial Slur to Describe Brazil Nuts

 

As a Southerner, the type of nut I'm most familiar with is the pecan. They are sweet, buttery, and plentiful, dropping from massive trees in backgrounds and local parks. My sister and I grew up picking pecans, using one to crack the other, and relishing a quick snack. Before us, my father picked pecans in his yard and sold enough to buy his first Superman comic book and a telescope. Of course, almonds are America's favorite nut, but for many Louisianians, the pecan takes the cake.

Nuts, like all food, mean something different depending on the culture someone belongs to. For instance, one man, a descendant of the Chitimacha tribe, plays an instrument made from Brazil nuts. The nuts in his instrument are hollowed out and connected with strings, which makes a beautifully unique, hollow, clinking sound, like a tambourine with more baritone. For him, the Brazil nuts represent joy, strength, and love for nature. So, before reading an online thread about the history of White people calling Brazil nuts "nigger toes," I had no idea that these nuts were associated with anything other than airy sounds and tasty treats.

The meme asked, "want to see if your grandparents were racist? Ask them what they called these as a kid," with a picture of Brazil nuts as a backdrop. After examining the picture, I was curious to learn what racism had to do with a pile of nuts. One White man confessed Brazil nuts were his favorite, and his "dad calls them that." Likewise, a White woman said, "my grandparents were both from the South, and they always call them 'N…' toes," though it's "horrific to think about now." Another person chimed in to say their grandmother taught them to "call them…That…And" they "didn't know any better until [they were] ten years old," something they feel guilty about.

Many White people confessed to having used the phrase "nigger toes" themselves or heard family members use the term to describe Brazil nuts. Of course, Black people's toes look nothing like Brazil nuts. 

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