Racist or Prejudiced?

I clearly heard the word "Cracker" yelled in my direction. It was a sweltering day out in the Everglades and I was in a familiar yet rough area, so the word - said with such venom and purpose brought me to attention immediately.

The word cracker can be used in several ways. In Florida, it's used in reference to white people but more specifically it was used to refer to the early cowboys of the 1800's who used whips to drive their cattle. They were famous for the snap of the whip that produced a sharp CRACK and thus were called crackers. This snippet of history is somewhat debatable but whether this usage translates to the modern derogatory term is unknown. Either way I don't like being called a cracker.

It should be noted that it was a Scarlet Macaw that called me a cracker. My friend insisted that it was a question more than offensive epithet, but I maintain that there was no upturn in tone at the end and the word like there should be if it was a query and it was certainly said with animosity. The bird was not asking for a snack. He was calling me out.

My friend, incredulous over my accusation asked if I thought we were dealing with a racist bird. Not at all. For the bird to be racist, he would somehow have to produce behavior that exhibits superiority of his species or race as it were over mine. He's caged so that won't be happening. I maintain that this feathered fiend is just displaying prejudice - a preconceived judgment of my "whiteness" and has directed his hostility in the form of a word that in truth hurts as much as stick, stones or his beak would. I'm sensitive.

After being calmed, I decided I was behaving irrationally (most likely due to the media's inability to differentiate between racist and prejudiced) and needed to walk away. No sooner had I turned my back did the offending bird give a resounding wolf whistle. Now I've been harassed as well....