Lost in translation: 'cracker' republican suspended from Twitter

by Gillian McDade

Prominent republican Danny Morrison, who briefly represented Mid-Ulster in the 1980s, was suspended from Twitter over the weekend.

The 24-hour suspension was in response to a reply to a tweet which included two pictures of the singer Adele.

The ex-Sinn Fein man said of the second picture: ‘It’s a cracker.’

However, a user complained and Mr Morrison was suspended from the social media site for 24 hours.

In the USA, ‘a cracker’ is a derogatory term for a white person.

It is not known who reported Mr Morrison’s comment.

'That’s a cracker' was the catchphrase of the late Belfast comedian Frank Carson and it's become part of Ulster slang.

Mr Morrison tweeted: "I followed links on an email to appeal the suspension and what showed up is that someone had complained about my comment. I've been using the term 'cracker' for years. There are biscuits called 'cracker' and even a TV series."

It’s led to a debate on the site with one user stating: ‘I think you're the innocent victim of a transatlantic misunderstanding Dan. "Cracker" has racial connotations in the USA.’

I was suspended from Twitter for a day until yesterday morning. Here are the facts. I've written to Twitter asking for an explanation. pic.twitter.com/3whsLFKrP6

— Danny Morrison (@molloy1916) July 30, 2017

I think you're the innocent victim of a transatlantic misunderstanding Dan.
"Cracker" has racial connotations in the USA.

— Phil MacGiollaBhain (@Pmacgiollabhain) July 30, 2017

I would think we're having a crossing of the wires here regarding the very different meanings of "cracker" in Belfast vs the U.S.

— Niall Stanage (@NiallStanage) July 30, 2017

It's a spiffer! pic.twitter.com/pX7tOEJ5eA

— Danny Morrison (@molloy1916) July 30, 2017