RE; and note the source of the term was an Uncle Remus story
while many of the stories that fall under the catagory of "uncle remus" stories, are americanized versions of classic african folk tail (a large percentage are ashanti in origin) the Disney production of the Uncle Remus Stories (Tales of the South) was a very racist.
if you know the Tar Baby story from reading, you know it in one context. if you know the Uncle Remus stories from the disney production (or if your parents knew them from the disney movie --since its not shown any more, nor is tales of the south available on tape/dvd--you might have a totally different view.
in New England, 'cracker barrel' is a term for a farmer, or rural person, but old yankie farmers are considers wise..(or wily or canny)
in the south, a 'cracker' can be a term for a farmer or rural person but they are often not considered wise.
Is cracker an insulting term? could be, depends on context, tone and who's using the word (and who its being used about)
language is fluid, and sometimes there are words that are like quicksand.. its hard to know when a term is safe!
