Okay, Charlotte. What does redneck mean to you? (Wilson: transplants, live)

[anifani821]

okay - getting lots of descriptions about rednecks . . . but no real definition.

Back to my original question - I think people from other areas use redneck as code for "locals" or in a condescending way to refer to "blue collar workers," wh/ I object to.

For example: I know people in Missouri who I think would qualify as rednecks here in NC, but they don't think they are rednecks - they point to people from Indiana - and call them "Hoosiers" and when I asked what that actually meant - they explained - a redneck from Indiana.

So what is a really succinct definition of a "redneck?" At least, what do people in Charlotte think it means to be a "redneck?"

[muffinman]

Here we go again.......

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by muffinman

Here we go again.......

Wasn't interested in "here we go again" type discussions - was interested in something new, as it seems people from other areas define people here as rednecks when they are actually not rednecks at all.

I am not interested in the Jeff Foxworthy kind of humorous banter.

I want to know why people from other regions of the country seem to think the South is full of rednecks. I want to know what locals here think defines a redneck. Not silly descriptions of rednecks or "tests" to determine if you are a redneck.

In other words, I think people from urban areas seem to think anyone who has a Southern accent is a redneck. I think they believe "redneck" means basically - all Southerners - and they think we are overall uneducated, unsophisticated, ingrown, isolationist, gun toting, narrow-minded, beer guzzling, slow talking dummies.

So, no, I hope, Muffinman, that someone will actually tell me what they think, and not make this into another silly thread w/ quotes from Jeff Foxworthy.

[the 7 oh 4]

When your house is movable and your car isn't. When your home has wheels but your car doesn't....just kidding....this is a tough one. Don't want to step on anyones toes!

[lovesMountains]

Ani, here is the definition of rednecks by people I know who consider themselves rednecks:

The nickname "redneck" has for generations in the south been used to describe the man who physically works hard to feed his family - either laboring in his fields or out on off shore oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

Basically, rednecks got sunburned on the back of their necks from being bent over their work in the sun all day long. To have a red neck was a sign of being a hard worker, not some lazy bum content to live off of welfare or other assistence. Rednecks take pride in their hard work, take care of their families no matter what, acknowledge God and practice their faith without fear of being politically incorrect. Rednecks are just salt of the earth people - the first to help out in a time of need.

Now... unfortunately, other folks from other regions of the nation have co-opted this name and turned it into something it isn't - which is where some of the confusion comes from on the part of non-southerners. Outsiders now use this term as a way to stereotype anyone they see as ignorant, lazy, uneducated, etc. The reality of who rednecks are is actually just the opposite.

[the 7 oh 4]

I have lived other places than the South. There are rednecks EVERYWHERE you go!

EVERYWHERE!

[mullman]

From OH to FL, & MA to GA, I have heard locals call someone or a group of people 'rednecks' or 'white trash'.

At the root level it seems to be an elitist way to refer to someone one views as inferior for nearly any reason.
Just more proof that name calling is so very shallow.

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by the 7 oh 4

When your house is movable and your car isn't. When your home has wheels but your car doesn't....just kidding....this is a tough one. Don't want to step on anyones toes!

HEE HEE. Well, you won't be stepping on mine.

I am a Southern girl, all the way. I grew up b/n tennis at country clubs and baseball games in pastures, using cow patties as bases, LOL. NO, you did not want to slide into third.

That young man who helped me dig out the septic line up at our mountain house- I suspect someone from "up North" would call him a redneck. But to me, he was a delightfully funny, good natured Southern boy w/ excellent manners and an impeccable character. We talked shootin' turkeys and how to tell if moonshine is a high proof, Hee Hee. I didn't care that he drove an old truck, had a gun rack (wh/ he uses to deer hunt) and chews skoal.

He even brought his wife back to meet me later, b/c she wanted to thank me for the cook book I had sent her. And not only that, he brought me some peach brandy to try out . . . now was he a redneck? His children were tagging along and they all said "yes ma'am" to me and even hugged me b/f they left.

Now were they rednecks? This young man was the only person willing to come out and help my DH and me on a weekend, when we had to replace some sewer pipes. What a nasty job! But no one would agree to help us - at any price - no one except this guy.

So you see, I have a real problem understanding what others mean when they label someone "redneck' and mean it in a disparaging way or to suggest that just b/c someone is perhaps somewhat "country" that they are not worthy.

See what I mean?

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by lovesMountains

Ani, here is the definition of rednecks by people I know who consider themselves rednecks:

The nickname "redneck" has for generations in the south been used to describe the man who physically works hard to feed his family - either laboring in his fields or out on off shore oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

Basically, rednecks got sunburned on the back of their necks from being bent over their work in the sun all day long. To have a red neck was a sign of being a hard worker, not some lazy bum content to live off of welfare or other assistence. Rednecks take pride in their hard work, take care of their families no matter what, acknowledge God and practice their faith without fear of being politically incorrect. Rednecks are just salt of the earth people - the first to help out in a time of need.

Now... unfortunately, other folks from other regions of the nation have co-opted this name and turned it into something it isn't - which is where some of the confusion comes from on the part of non-southerners. Outsiders now use this term as a way to stereotype anyone they see as ignorant, lazy, uneducated, etc. The reality of who rednecks are is actually just the opposite.

Now that makes sense to me. That is what we used to refer to as a "farmer's tan." Hard working people who will give you the shirt off their backs.

[superk]

I don't know, really. I grew up in Northern CT, and I don't remember ever hearing the term or someone using it to describe someone else. Ever since I can remember everyone had a deep admiration for almost everything Southern - the music, the lifestyle, the food, and racing. Most everyone in town spent a part of the winter vacationing in places like SC, GA, or FL, so I don't think that were unfamiliar with the Southern accents and mannerisms.

I'll gladly take the title of either Yankee or Redneck or both. I think it just means someone who's laidback, easy-going, hard-working, conservative, and unpretentious.