Beaner is a derogatory slur originally from the United States to refer to individuals from Mexico or of Mexican American heritage.
The word was first seen in print in 1966, although the term has reportedly been in use at least since the 1940s, having evolved from previous slurs such as bean-eater (1919) and bean-bandit (1959).
[2] In May 2018, about two weeks before Starbucks initiated a racial bias training program for its American employees, a Hispanic customer in La Cañada, California, received his order with the name Beaner written on it.
[8] Because the term originates from a common English word, there are other pre-existing or unknowing uses of beaner.
Awareness about the offensive meaning of the word is resulting in its usage being criticized and phased out of mainstream use: The word has been used by Tommy Chong in Cheech and Chong's Next Movie,[17] by Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino and The Mule, by Hank Schrader in Breaking Bad, by Al Pacino in Donnie Brasco and by Jeff Bridges in The Morning After,[18] and in the movies 30 Minutes or Less by Fred Ward and Lone Star State of Mind by David Semel.