# Just when you think that people are decent... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 26, 2011, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-think-that-people-are-decent/594167 "2011-08-26T12:26:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-think-that-people-are-decent/594167/221 "2011-08-29T18:54:25Z")
Jeff Foxworthy defines “redneck” as “having a glorious lack of sophistication,” and has made millions off of the definition. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-think-that-people-are-decent/594167/222 "2011-08-29T19:00:02Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The term as applied to [farmers predates its use by coal miners](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=redneck). Interesting Fact - here in South Africa, the direct Afrikaans equivalent, Rooinek, is a (mild) pejorative applied to White South Africans of British descent…but \*only \*by White South Africans of (mostly) Dutch descent. Because the Boers were generally already pretty tanned from being farmers and all, while the Brits were more recent arrivals, usually. There’s also the slightly more caustic “Soutie” (“Salty”) - short for “soutpiel” (salt-dick)…because they have one foot in Africa and one in Britain so their dicks dip into the Atlantic. I don’t think the dumb Boers figured out that, while \*mildly \*insulting in one way by implying a certain lack of commitment to country, in _another way_ they’ve just said Brits have massive penises. Blacks have their own, much more inclusive pejorative for White folks… ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-think-that-people-are-decent/594167/223 "2011-08-29T19:08:10Z")
If racism ends, what others term will the left sling at the right? Well, I guess there’s still always ‘terrorist’ and ‘misogynist’ 😃 Edit: Redneck is only applied to white folk. Blacks and Hispanics have their own terms. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-think-that-people-are-decent/594167/224 "2011-08-29T19:21:10Z")
Which are, oh enlightened one? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-think-that-people-are-decent/594167/225 "2011-08-29T19:46:23Z")
I’m gonna throw out “blackneck” and “brownneck,” just as a guess… ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-think-that-people-are-decent/594167/226 "2011-08-29T19:52:34Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > If racism ends, what others term will the left sling at the right? Well, I guess there’s still always ‘terrorist’ and ‘misogynist’ 😃 > > Edit: Redneck is only applied to white folk. Blacks and Hispanics have their own terms. I’m sorry, but you are wrong. Where do you live? Seriously, there is a guy in my old neighborhood who has a sticker on his truck that says something like “Redneck Brother” (I forget the exact term) because he is a black redneck. I’ll try to take a picture if I see it, but I probably won’t. I know a lot of people who self-identify as rednecks who aren’t white. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-think-that-people-are-decent/594167/227 "2011-08-29T19:58:16Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > If racism ends, what others term will the left sling at the right? Well, I guess there’s still always ‘terrorist’ and ‘misogynist’ 😃 > > Edit: Redneck is only applied to white folk. Blacks and Hispanics have their own terms. Also, I just have to say, when we are discussing an anti-Obama (again, not explicitly right wing, but certainly implied) sticker that is unabashedly racist and disgusting, it might not be the time to trot out the lines about how the left wing is just out looking for things that “seem racist”. No one is out making this up. It’s real, it happens, there are places making these stickers, and making decent money off them (presumably, else why sell them?). It’s not just fantasy land or something. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-think-that-people-are-decent/594167/228 "2011-08-29T19:58:44Z")
> [@miss\_elizabeth](#): > > I know a lot of people who self-identify as rednecks who aren’t white. For a semi-famous example, comedian Henry Cho identifies as a Korean redneck. He was born in Tennessee, though his parents are native Koreans. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-think-that-people-are-decent/594167/229 "2011-08-29T19:59:34Z")
But it CAN’T be racist! He laughed, and he’s black. (He probably has some black friends too. Nah.) ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-think-that-people-are-decent/594167/230 "2011-08-29T20:36:17Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I’d kiss you if I weren’t married and you were handcuffed and couldn’t run away. Technically, you could kiss me even without the handcuffs, assuming you could get close enough and catch me off guard. The question is, can you outrun the fist afterwards? > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There are differences that we have to accept. And there are differences that are unacceptable. > > I would not fire somebody for believing the earth is flat or being a Dallas fan or being gay or voting for Michele Bachmann. I would fire somebody for being a racist or a child molester or a wife beater - I don’t have to respect these as different ways of life. But what you keep not understanding is that **people have different definitions of what constitutes “unacceptable differences.”** There \*are \*going to be people who think that being gay or Muslim or a Democrat is an unacceptable difference. They are \*not \*going to do it because they \*want \*to be bigoted or close-minded, but because they genuinely believe that these things are 100% wrong, just as you genuinely believe that being racist is 100% wrong, and you are \*not \*going to be able to explain to them how there is a difference. Very few evil people are \*intentionally \*evil. Most of them \*think \*they’re doing the right thing, just like you are. That’s exactly why they’re so fucking dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-think-that-people-are-decent/594167/231 "2011-08-29T21:35:22Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > Which are, oh enlightened one? Well, let’s see… Assuming you’re Black, there’s: Nigger Spade Coon Crow Darkie Jigaboo Porch Monkey And many others I really can’t think of at the moment. Assuming you’re Hispanic, there’s: Wetback Spic And many others I really can’t think of at the moment (someone who is Hispanic/Latin could probably provide more). Looking up [redneck](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/redneck) in the dictionary, it clearly mentions it as being someone of the WHITE _Southern rural labor class_. Point being, you guys are wrong. Redneck is a term applied to Whites (more specifically, those in the South). It’s not an “all-encompassing word” which translates to people of different races. When someone says ‘redneck’, the first image that will pop into your mind is that of some uneducated White person, just as when someone says ‘nigger’ the first image that will pop into your head is one of a Black person. These words are aimed at a specific group of people. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-think-that-people-are-decent/594167/232 "2011-08-29T21:40:19Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > But what you keep not understanding is that **people have different definitions of what constitutes “unacceptable differences.”** There \*are \*going to be people who think that being gay or Muslim or a Democrat is an unacceptable difference. They are \*not \*going to do it because they \*want \*to be bigoted or close-minded, but because they genuinely believe that these things are 100% wrong, just as you genuinely believe that being racist is 100% wrong, and you are \*not \*going to be able to explain to them how there is a difference. > > Very few evil people are \*intentionally \*evil. Most of them \*think \*they’re doing the right thing, just like you are. That’s exactly why they’re so fucking dangerous. I understand the point you’re making. But the point I’m making is that it doesn’t matter whether or not somebody believes racism is wrong. It simply is wrong. It’s wrong for all the people who know it’s wrong. And it’s wrong for all the people who think it’s right. They’re not right just because they believe they’re right. And I understand the paradox here. How is my belief that racism is wrong objectively different than their belief that racism is right? Objectively, it isn’t. I can’t prove racism is wrong, I’m just declaring it is wrong ipse dixit. But having declared that I believe racism is wrong, it’s now logically valid for me to oppose racism. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-think-that-people-are-decent/594167/233 "2011-08-29T21:46:32Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > Well, let’s see… Assuming you’re Black, there’s: > > Nigger > Spade > Coon > Crow > Darkie > Jigaboo > Porch Monkey > > And many others I really can’t think of at the moment. Assuming you’re Hispanic, there’s: > > Wetback > Spic > > And many others I really can’t think of at the moment (someone who is Hispanic/Latin could probably provide more). > > Looking up [redneck](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/redneck) in the dictionary, it clearly mentions it as being someone of the WHITE _Southern rural labor class_. Point being, you guys are wrong. Redneck is a term applied to Whites (more specifically, those in the South). It’s not an “all-encompassing word” which translates to people of different races. When someone says ‘redneck’, the first image that will pop into your mind is that of some uneducated White person, just as when someone says ‘nigger’ the first image that will pop into your head is one of a Black person. These words are aimed at a specific group of people. None of those words are the equivalent of “redneck” and “redneck” is not an “all-encompassing word” that applies to all whites. In other words, you continue to be unsurprising. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-think-that-people-are-decent/594167/234 "2011-08-29T21:48:16Z")
Omg a Black Conservative, let me ask outright - are you black? Obviously, your username would imply that you’re black. But my username implies I’m little and that’s not true. I’m pretty sure AlienVessels, purplehorseshoe, Starving Artist, Shot From Guns, and Vinyl Turnip are also not literal descriptions of the posters who use those names. So are you black or did you just choose “Omg a Black Conservative” for other reasons? ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-think-that-people-are-decent/594167/235 "2011-08-29T22:10:02Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > None of those words are the equivalent of “redneck” and “redneck” is not an “all-encompassing word” that applies to all whites. > > In other words, you continue to be unsurprising. You have to be kidding me. Number one, learn to read. I didn’t say that redneck was an all-encompassing words that applies to all Whites. I said that redneck was **not** an all-encompassing word that translates to people of different races. It applies **only** to Whites, more specifically those rural Whites who live in the South. Number two, and probably most importantly, how can you be this ignorant? Not all of the slurs given to you encompassed _everyone_ of that race. For example, ‘crow’ refers specifically to Black women while ‘wetback’ refers specifically to Mexicans. Are these terms any less slurs or any less racist than words which are aimed at the entire group (i.e., ‘nigger’ or ‘spic’) instead of simply a subset of that group’s population? That’s a rhetorical question, of course, because they aren’t. Blacks don’t get called rednecks because redneck is a term applied to certain groups of Whites. Your argument of there not being a straight equivalent to redneck so redneck not being a term aimed at Whites, more specifically those in the South, is ridiculous. Here’s another (rhetorical) question for you. What’s the White equivalent for, say, wetback? If there is none, then does that make the term all-encompassing? But like you said, I shouldn’t find this conversation all that surprising, really. And yes, I’m Black. Blacker than Black, actually. So Black, in fact, that I disappear at night\*. (\*Okay, not really.) ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-think-that-people-are-decent/594167/236 "2011-08-29T22:41:25Z")
What is your answer, then, to people of other races self-identifying or being called rednecks? And can you answer my question, where do you live? Because I think that makes a real difference in this discussion. All this redneck stuff is a bit of a hijack though. There are white specific slurs, it’s just that redneck isn’t one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-think-that-people-are-decent/594167/237 "2011-08-29T23:04:25Z")
My response to that; some people choosing to identify as \ doesn’t mean \ applies to them. If I, for example, decided to start referring to myself as a ‘cholo’, I’m pretty sure that’s not going to change the definition of ‘cholo’. Same principle here. Where I live doesn’t make a bit of difference. The simple fact is that redneck is a term aimed at a specific group of Whites (ural, southern, socially conservative, undereducated). Open up a dictionary (or Wikipedia) and you’ll find that the definitions given for redneck include ‘White’. And just as any term which is aimed at some specific group of minorities is racist so, too, is this. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-think-that-people-are-decent/594167/238 "2011-08-29T23:38:39Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Someone doesn’t live in the Redneck South, where “No Bitch, No Bama” bumper stickers grace all sorts of vehicles. And by all sorts I mean pretty much pickup trucks. > > -Joe I confess to living in a conservative pocket of the liberal north, and to having no idea whatsoever as to what “No Bitch, No Bama” means. Can anyone translate this phrase for me? The only Bama I know of is the Alabama Crimson Tide football team and I’ve no idea how it relies on bitches. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-think-that-people-are-decent/594167/239 "2011-08-29T23:41:51Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > I confess to living in a conservative pocket of the liberal north, and to having no idea whatsoever as to what “No Bitch, No Bama” means. Can anyone translate this phrase for me? The only Bama I know of is the Alabama Crimson Tide football team and I’ve no idea how it relies on bitches. 😃 I believe it’s referring to Hillary Clinton as the Bitch and Barack Obama as Bama and the message is that neither is an acceptable candidate for the Presidency. I would assume it was displayed during the 2008 campaign when they were the two top competitors for the Democratic nomination. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-think-that-people-are-decent/594167/240 "2011-08-30T01:02:35Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > My response to that; some people choosing to identify as \ doesn’t mean \ applies to them. If I, for example, decided to start referring to myself as a ‘cholo’, I’m pretty sure that’s not going to change the definition of ‘cholo’. Same principle here. > > Where I live doesn’t make a bit of difference. The simple fact is that redneck is a term aimed at a specific group of Whites (ural, southern, socially conservative, undereducated). Open up a dictionary (or Wikipedia) and you’ll find that the definitions given for redneck include ‘White’. And just as any term which is aimed at some specific group of minorities is racist so, too, is this. So… you have no idea about any of this, and no first hand experience of Southern culture? Just what I thought. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-think-that-people-are-decent/594167.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-you-think-that-people-are-decent/594167.md?page=13)