Muhammad Rasheed - “Ghetto” is used synonymously with “low brow/low culture,” and the term refers to the unsophisticated among the black poor specifically (“trashy” being the equivalent term for unsophisticated poor whites). Typically reflecting behavior tropes that are raunchy, crude, and even naively stereotypical, “ghetto” is often considered a form of mass appeal humor, as the black poor are used as the butt of jokes by other races, and up the socio-economic ladder. Blacks who aspire to a higher cultural standard typically get offended when confronted by “ghetto” behaviors/traits, as they are obsessed with drawing a clear line between themselves and the unsophisticated among their own race. Upper class whites however, secure in their privileged perch, gleefully mine the “ghetto” sub-culture for new tropes to rapidly turn cliché within the popular culture mainstream, springing forth initially as a mischievous humor category among themselves.
Interestingly, as the common basics of “ghetto” behaviors (promiscuity, an aversion for conventional work, quick tempers, empty bravado, petty crime, etc.) were originally picked up by Black slaves from the poor whites they were often in close contact with, it’s highly possible that the unconscious reason the upper class whites find the “ghetto” sub-culture so amusing, is because it actually reflects the inherent humor in watching someone poorly mimic behavioral traits more precisely performed by the originator.
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