Rachet Behavior Assigned Solely to Black People?! << I Know They Didn't!

First, lets take a look at some of the various definitions of the word, "ratchet".  I was under the impression that it came from a rapper by the name of Hurricaine Chris back in 2009, but I found no actual definitions that traced it back to him even though that's where I thought I first heard the term.  However, I did find two interesting  definitions, listed on a blog which explored where the writer thought it came from. The blogger mentions that it may be possible that the first use of the word came from a character in the book "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest". The character's name was "Nurse Ratchet". For those who hadn't read the book or need their memory refreshed, Nurse Ratchet was described as not a very nice woman. She was cold, calculating, manipulative, and controlling especially when things didn't go her way.  Some may go out of their way to describe her as a "bitch" but I'll get to that term a bit later.

The second idea the blogger had was that it came from the word "wretched", which can be described as deplorably bad , miserable or distressing.  It seems that the author was on to something here.

I looked a bit further and I couldn't help but start to see a pattern. Urban Dictionary.Com, Ny Mag.com, YahooAnswers, all imply that ratchet is a term meant to be applied to "ghetto",or "urban" people,(read Black people) in particular.  When I saw that, I said, "Get the fuck outta here!". One must not simply deem a whole section of people as "ratchet" just because the term was heard in a couple of songs by a particular group of people within said group who coined the term to describe generally tacky behavior. If all Black people are ratchet based on that, what does that make everyone else?  The real difference is what each sub culture calls this type of behavior, and how it is presented. For example, many movies have been centered around that behavior. Some television shows often have mean girls (or women in this case) nicely tucked into the story to keep things going.  In these cases, we are likely to watch these kinds of shows and are quick to give the character with ratchet behavior the title of "bitch" if she's a woman, or "mean girl" if she's not classified as a woman yet. Do we go around and label all women in the subculture represented here as ratchet ass females, or ratchet hoes? No, they get to be called mean girls, or bitches. And what about the guys? If they are ratchet, we call them douchebags, assholes,dicks (see 2nd definition) or alpha males. Don't front like this behavior is not celebrated in America by one sub culture of people verses the majority.  Not taking the time to look at both sides of the coin in attempts to demonize an entire culture is ratchet in itself.  America as a whole LOVES that crap. Why do some people reward this behavior? Why does the ratchet person get rooted for in the movies by some people? Why are people getting rewarded with the chance to be on a reality tv show with the promise of fame and money as long as they act as sorry as possible?  Why do we have ratchet cartoons? I can't act like I'm not guilty of enjoying a bit of ratchetness, in fact, that cartoon I listed is something I watch in small doses when I'm in the mood. Others watch Family Guy, South Park (which has some good social commentary sometimes), and many more. I just find it very interesting when Black people came up with the term, all of a sudden, all Black people get assigned to being ratchet.  Get the fuck outta here with that.

Not only can ratchet behavior be celebrated on TV, but it is also lauded as a sign of leadership in some circles (hence the alpha male title).  I already mentioned the Washington Post article  about what happens when mean girls grow up. The article also points out ratchetness in the work place and how the behavior may not necessarily be a bad thing. Let's be honest, we have all had a boss or co workers (male or female) who acted crazy from time to time. That behavior may include passive aggressiveness, snarkiness disguised as sarcasm,general bitchiness, and quite possibly verbal abuse. Last time I checked, that kind of behavior makes for a caustic workplace environment, and yet, some people can still get ahead using those tactics and are seen as straight forward, assertive and bold.

Maybe it really isn't like that for some people. Maybe we can blame their ratchet behavior on genes rather than poor parenting. Maybe they had O.D.D as kids and didn't grow out of it. Maybe we can come up with all kinds of euphemisms to describe otherwise tasteless behavior while ignoring the fact that it exists in this country. This way, we can sit on our high horses and call every Black person ratchet all day and every day while turning a blind eye to The Dunkin' Doughnuts incident sort of thing, this lady going batshit crazy over Obama's re election, the Huntington Beach Riots, the entire cast of Jersey Shore, Lindsy Lohan, Cory Monteith's death, and Heath Ledger's death. But waaaait. Celebrities don't coooouuunnnt. They're entertaaaaainers, and some of them are troooooubled. It's really haaaard to be a star. They have so much pressure put on them and some handle it better than others.  <<Get the fuck outta here and tell that to Whitney Houston especially after reading all of the comments on any article pertaining to her eventual death after the discovery of her drug use that was strewn all across the internet. Let Amy Winehouse know about it also. I guess she was different since people judged her anyway because she was White and from the UK. I just never heard anybody refer to her as ratchet.

That is all.