Rednecks is People Too!

The BBQ Pit
1

I unfortunately helped hijack a separate thread on gay marriage, so I want to make an effort to keep it out of that discussion and in here in case anyone thinks it genuinely merits argument. Everything quoted is in the thread linked above.

Dude, please. I’ll admit I was more terse than is normal for me back there, but it’s because the hijack on the semantics of the word “redneck” was going on long enough. But try to follow along:

Y’all want to try to “take back” the word “redneck,” knock yourselves out. You’re going to have a hell of a time of it. The word is derogatory slang, and it’s intended to be derogatory slang. That’s why Crunchy Frog used the word in his OP, because this is The Pit and you’re allowed to be completely dismissive and make generalizations. He even made a concession/apology for using it, which in my opinion, was completely unnecessary. It was supposed to be offensive. It’s an insult.

“Redneck” is not the same as “cracker,” which is just a generic derogatory word for white (usually rural) people. “Redneck” is not a slur against white people, or working class people, or people who grew up and/or lived in rural areas. It’s a slur against people from rural areas who are ignorant and bigoted. Read the definition again until it sinks in. “Often, not always” is nonsense – I’ve been called a redneck enough times to understand what it means, and it definitely is not “good ole boy.”

I have never, ever, heard the word used in a context that wasn’t a negative, and it was most often in reference to racism. Saying “Hey, wait a second – I’m a redneck, and I take offense at your use of the term!” is exactly the same as saying, “Hey, wait a second – I’m an undereducated bigot, and I take offense at your use of the term!”

What “redneck,” “yuppie,” “JAP,” and, to a lesser degree “mincing faggot” (which admittedly was a bad example), are:

  1. They’re all offensive
  2. They DON’T refer to one characteristic, but at least two: one pre-determined (white, predominantly white, Jewish, homosexual) and one that is a personality trait (bigoted and stupid; shallow and wealth-obsessed; shallow and obsessed with flashy possessions; foppish and obsessed with sex).
  3. They are not points of pride
  4. They are not deserving of protection under the rules of polite conversation. If someone calls you one of those, it is because they were trying to offend you.

And as for my “authority” on this topic: don’t start. My parents put Coca-Cola in my bottle when I was a baby. I’ve lived in two places that had a car up on blocks in the yard. Most places I lived in had at least one hound dog. In summers I worked on a farm. And I still know that “redneck” is nothing to be proud of.

2

Not to side with those you is complainin’ on, but 'round these parts, “redneck” is indeed a much lauded about and prideful term. Of course, we don’t have farms, and while we have more than enough bigotry and hatred to go around, it’s nothing like other parts of the US. So running into a real redneck is difficult.

Around here, Truck driving, country music listening, beer drinking, boot wearing and tobacco chewing will qualify you for “redneck”.

Sam

3

Wow. San Jose sure has changed…

4

Unfortunately, yes. Why do you think 50% of all of our produce comes from South America? Now it’s all homes and office space.

Sam

5

This was recently (and tangetally) discusses in White Trash, the only people left to insult.

6

While I have no quibble with your reasoning for “Redneck” being derogatory, I will quibble about “cracker” as being generic. Round these parts (Baton Rouge LA), “cracker” is used by black folk to insult white folk a lot more frequently than “redneck” and is said with more venom. “Cracker” has a much more negative conotation.

But, being a coonass, I couldn’t care less.

7

I for one am not offended at the use of the terms redneck ,hoosier or cracker. I know at times I am a redneck and often act like a hoosier my version of a hoosier and someone elses may vary. Hell Jeff Foxworthy says that “thars a lil’ bit of redneck in us all” and can be applied to everyone at one time. This generalization is thrown around alot I’ll admit, but the meaning for me is different than for someone else. For me it is an attitude not a lifestyle.

To quote one of my favorite lines by Mr. Foxworthy…

“If the most common phrase used in your house is “Someone go jigggle the handle!” You might be a redneck.” This term is used in my house on an hourly basis.
As far as being called a cracker, this doesn’t offend me in the least. When I get called it, which is quite often, I just laugh it off. Why get upset?? I know I’m white. And this summer my tan looks that of a cracker. Lightly toasted on one side and pasty white on the other. Our trip to Florida last month…but thats another story.

8

Why can’t we all just a long neck?

9

Wonderful.

My very first pitting…and I feel so…cheated. :dubious:

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So, let me get this straight, people are being bigoted and disparaging about what they are calling…bigots?!?

Honestly, I never thought of “redneck” as a disparaging term. I always thought of it as what it described…which is having a red neck from working outdoors probably on a farm or some other rural or working-class job.

That was it.

And since when did yuppie become an offensive, derogatory term? It’s an anacronym for y(oung) + u(rban) + p(rofessional) = yuppie. Yeah, yeah, we’ve all seen the “die yuppie scum!” t-shirts which were around in the late 80s and were derisive of the affluent lifestyle.

And you’ve never heard the word redneck not used in a way that wasn’t negative? Then I assume you’ve not heard the country song “Redneck Woman” by Gretchen Wilson which was/is at the top of the country charts (or at least it was the last time I drove to Pittsburgh through the Allegheny mountains and country stations were the only ones coming in and I heard that song 5,000,000 times).

11

You have a striped tail? :eek:

12

Just out of curiosity, does anyone get offended by the term coonass? I’ve never seen anyone get insulted by it, but I’ve always wondered.

13

I, on the other hand, have heard the term used in a non-derogitory fashion.

I used to work at a mom & pop rental store, renting tools and Ryder trucks. I knew a guy there who affectionately referred to himself as a “redneck” . When asked why, he said, “My wife’s got two jobs, I’ve got two jobs, we got two kids, and I like Nascar! Go Jeff Gordon!”

Make whatever use of this information you can.

14

I figure everyone is offended by something. This guy is probably a nut because he is proud to be from Sulphur, Louisiana. Sulphur is one of the worst shithole places to live in the United States.

15

I grew up in Oklahoma. There Redneck was not a derogatory term at all. It meant that you were a hard working farmer, love God and country.

I moved to Atlanta. Redneck is a bad thing here. It pretty much means you’re listening to southern fried rock, have a mullet, and probably smoke pot, drink too much beer, and get into fights all the time.

~sigh~ I like the Oklahoma version better.

Maybe it’s more of a population thing. If you’re living in a bigger city and you’re a redneck, it’s a bad thing, but if you’re a redneck in a small town it’s not a bad thing. Who knows?

E3

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It depends on the context. As long as you aren’t using a derogatory tone and don’t say “damn coonass”, it’s not an insult.

The same goes for “redneck” or “cracker” in this neck of the woods.

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When visiting the Florida State Fair, be sure to take in the Cracker Country exhibit. I’m guessing Floridians are OK with the term.

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Not only are Floridians ok with it, it is, in fact, the unofficial nickname for white native Floridians. When I was growing up in central Florida, everyone knew that (except the people who’d just moved down from New Yawk). Doesn’t apply to blacks, Asians, people of Hispanic ethnicity - only whites, and technically, your family has to have lived there for many generations to qualify. And it was not understood to be a synonym for redneck (though one could be both) or bigot (ditto).

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Do a search on the origin of the word, and you will find that there are Cajuns that find offensive. Some won’t. And some will only be offended if used by a non-Cajun, epecially if, like the original poster here and in the Missouri thread, they use it as an intentional ethnic slur.

20

Hmmm.

Should I be insulted?

I did sit on my front porch to listen to Chet Atkins’s funeral broadcast live from the Ryman Auditorium on the radio. I know which county in West Tennessee has the best sorghum. And I did graduate from Vanderbilt. Other than that, there is nothing redneck about me.