No, I’m not talking about those of a Confederate cultural orientation in the UK or Australia. I’m wondering what the equivalent of American rednecks are in other countries. Is there a blue collar subculture in … oh, Germany, that is generally looked down upon by the middle class? As in the US, are they obsessed with stock car racing, hunting, fishing, mullets and Wal-Mart? What about other traits?
Don’t know about rednecks, but Germans are extremely fond of country music for some reason.
I’m pretty sure there aren’t any overseas walmarts…
Yeah, there’s certainly a subculture in Canada, though of course in some respects it’s quite similar. Country music, 80’s hairstyles, cheap applique sweatshirts with dolphins and wolves, you even see an El Camino now and then. Mostly in small towns. It’s sort of similar to what you’d see in Minnesota; instead of NASCAR, it’s snowmobile racing. Stuff like that.
If you want to find an equivalent subculture in England, I bet you’d find it at a soccer riot.
Cannot assemble a complete redneck, but I can offer some disparate German parts. They are not usually combined in the same person, though.
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young men who like to drive fast cars but cannot afford a real sports car. I imagine they are also the stock-car audience demographic. Stereotypical girlfriend’s job is hairdresser, so that’s the mullets taken care of also.
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others who drive all-terrain vehicles and pickup trucks (usually in the city)
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rural yokels (who usually are not much more into the outdoors than city people are). In the more remote villages they can be pretty conservative of outlook and incomprehensible of speech. Leisure activities, for those above the age of hanging out at the bus shelter and driving to the disco on weekend nights, tends much to involve local associations like fire brigade, shooting club, soccer club, fools’ club (Swabia/Baden)/carnival club (Rhineland), choir, etc.
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country-music fans
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Wal-Mart seems not to have gained much ground her, but there are hardcore fans of the Aldi chain (go to groups.google.com and look for the newsgroup de.alt.fan.aldi). For some reason they call the cashiers “priestesses”.
Fishing is more of a middle-class hobby. Hunting is middle middle class and above because of initial investment and ongoing cost (you need to take a demanding exam and then you must lease the hunting rights to a piece of forest, with associated duties such as keeping down the numbers of deer, shooting animals wounded in traffic accidents, etc)
There isn’t really a direct equivalent to “redneck” in Ireland. Probably the closest would be “culchie”, which has the same connotations of backwardness, thickness, etc. But it’s a geographical rather than a class term - it refers to any Irish person from outside of Dublin.
Well, there’s West Auckland for all of your kiwi rednecking needs. Unfortunately it’s cleaned itself up a bit nowadays.
I believe in Spain the term used was “hortero,” which had some connotation to working in an orchard, but also the redneck connotation of a hick with no taste.
I am 99% sure there are overseas Wal-Marts. I remember reading an article about difficulties Wal-Mart had adapting to the German market. Things like shoppers not wanted the cashiers to bag their purchases.
I used to tease my ex-girlfriend who grew up in Vietnam about eating cats and dogs and the response she would give me didn’t use the term redneck, but from the description of the kind of person who would eat cats and dogs, I’d say that Vietnam had 'em as well.
Brazilians have the “Nordestinos”, or Northeasterners, whom everyone in Brazil assumes are like folks from Cracker Holler.
I had a long rant written out, butthe interweb ate it. This may be a good thing.
Ontario has rednecks. Many are like Bob and Doug Mackenzie. They are called hosers. But more and more are being influenced by southern redneck culture. The are into NASCAR and pickup trucks and the guys have mullets and the girls have bad ealry-80’s perms straight out of “Rock’n’Roll Parking Lot.” But they are also into confederate flags, and some sport really bad fake southern accents. I grew up in the south. Those last two items really piss me off. Billy Ray Cyrus wannabes are scary.
Here in Sydney Australia they’re called Westies (Western suburbs), Townies (Bankstown, one of the western suburbs), or Hoons (any idiot in an overpowered car). But these are more your suburban white trash stereotypes, there isn’t really a rural equivalent - we don’t really have a hillbilly district, for instance.
Addendum:
In NZ/Aust, Bogans are similar to Hoons. Might be some subtle differences I’m not appreciating though.
Minor hilarity with confused young townies confusing it with Bouganville in PNG.
Also, you know, we have urban white trash to a much greater extent than the U.S. (where the bad neighbourhoods in cities tend to be mostly black or Hispanic). In Scotland these folks, specifically the young ones, are called “neds” (short for “non-educated delinquent”). These kids’ fashion accessories are tracksuits, tacky gold jewellery, and prams.
We have them in Ireland, too, of course. We just don’t have as catchy a name for them.
I’ll try not to hijack this thread any more than to say that this is true. I have been to a Wal-Mart (a Super Wal-Mart, at that) in Kunming, China. As if that wasn’t a sufficiently mind-blowing experience, the city was also home to a Sam’s Club, which I unfortunately didn’t get a chance to visit - I was quite curious whether my US membership card would work. If Wal-Mart can get a toehold in China, of all places, I’m sure they’ve opened stores elsewhere too.
They’ve taken over ASDA here in the UK, and the store is now known as ASDA*WALMART
I think the closest we have in the UK is White Van Man, who is usually married to Essex Girl. 
(I can say this 'cos I was born on the Essex border …)
Julie
Well speaking as a culchie [ye bleedin’ Dubliner], it’s the other way round, us refined types outside of the city look down our noses at the ruffians who live in the city 
[MST3K]In my work for a blood-thirsty cult I depend on my El Camino.[/MST3K]
Sounds like a clone of the River Rats you’ll find in Buffalo, New York. River Rats, who live in the Riverside and Black Rock neighborhoods, are known as being “groders” or “heshers” – stoned out motorheads – who are culturally trapped in the 1980s. A diploma from one of the city vocational high schools (usually Burgard or Seneca), demin jackets, ripped or black jeans, black heavy metal concert t-shirts, work boots, long scruffy hair, fanaticism for 1980s era metal bands, and driving a large, 1970s era American car with at least one body part painted in exposed primer. The female of the species looks and acts similar, and is coiffed with feathered, dyed blonde hair. Marlboros, of course.
You may be from Riverside if –
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You consider abandoned grain mills and factories as places of worship.
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Your car has at least two body panels that are painted in grey primer.
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Your house smells like feet and “oregeno.”
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You consider “Fuckin’ a!” to be a complete, gramatically correct sentence.
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You ever lived within walking distance of at least three adult book stores.
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You own more than five bongs.
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“Glass pack muffler” is a regular part of your vocabulary.
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The most prized item in your wardrobe is a Quiet Riot concert t-shirt.
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You know the current market price for “an ounce.”
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You hear someone talking about “nickels” and “dimes,” and you know thay aren’t talking about pocket change.
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You still consider feathered hair and the mullet to be up-to-date styles.
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You don’t have a cellular phone, but you have at least three CB radios, one of which is illegally modified for “extras.”
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All the buttons of your car stereo are set to “97 Fuckin’ Rock, man!”
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You ever spray-painted your significant other’s name on a railroad bridge.
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You ever spray-painted “Slayer” on a railroad bridge.
Buffalo has few rednecks of the Confederate sort. Folks living in rural areas outside of Buffalo tend to resemble the urban middle class, only they’re a bit more into the huntin’ and fishin’ scene. More flannel, but that’s about the only major difference.