KC ranked #2 on "redneck city" list (Kansas City, St. Louis: transplants, homes)

[MOKAN]

Originally Posted by todd00

Just another stupid list. This person is from Texas, but notice the two Texas cities listed come in at 6th and 7th place. Must be blind to the cowboy hats and pick up trucks around him.

Funny that Walmart is part of the criteria. Look at the number of late model cars in their parking lots, their shoppers are not much different than that of Target. Though the folks that go to Target might want to see themselves as a cut above the slobs only clientele they think frequent the Super Walmart, there is not much difference between the two stores or shoppers. Lots of stuff from China in both places. Target just adds a bit more gloss to their trim is all, which must make some feel better about being in a discount type store.

Yes, the Target superiority thing is kind of pathetic.

[MidWestCityNative]

Originally Posted by nullterm

Kansas City is definitely redneck, once you get out of the urban core. I've lived here since 1990, in all areas from Blue Springs to Liberty to Olathe to Roeland Park to downtown to the plaza and Brookside. It's redneck.

This criteria used seems like a pretty good indicator of redneckedness in my opinion:

• Percent of population that didn’t complete high school
• Number of gun and ammo stores per capita
• Number of taxidermists per capita
• Number of cowboy boot stores per capita
• Number of country radio stations per capita
• Number of NASCAR race tracks close by
• Number of Walmarts per capita
• Number of riding lawn mower/tractor repair shops per capita

If you think that this list is full of good stuff, you might be a redneck. Don't be offended, it's not an insult, just a perspective.

Funny how you mention Liberty and Roeland Park (hardly redneck at all anymore), yet you didn't mention Northmoor and Sugar Creek which are better suited for that category. And Brookside?! The Plaza?!...give me a break.

On top of that, Kansas City didn't lead any of the criteria listed:

• Percent of population that didn’t complete high school Cleveland
• Number of gun and ammo stores per capita Mesa, AZ
• Number of taxidermists per capita Minneapolis
• Number of cowboy boot stores per capita Arlington, TX
• Number of country radio stations per capita Nashville
• Number of NASCAR race tracks close by Charlotte
• Number of Walmarts per capita Las Vegas
• Number of riding lawn mower/tractor repair shops per capita Arlington, TX

Somehow, Kansas City made the #2 spot. But I almost think it was placed there for satirical purposes, because "KANSAS" City (due to its name and location) seems like an easy target for all the "middle-america, cowtown, walmart" stereotyping. Not only that, but Atlanta made the #1 spot, despite not being at the top of any of the criteria. They only placed Atlanta at #1, because Jeff Foxworthy (not a real redneck mind you) is from there. Anyone who's been to Atlanta (including myself) would know it's not redneck, not even remotely. And neither is Kansas City.

[northbound74]

The list was comical, lighthearted, and non-scientific. Nothing to be offended about.
The term 'redneck' is different things to different people, obviously. I wouldn't automatically equate it with southern, blue collar, or even rural, even though many traits are often, but not always, interchangeable.
That being said, Kansas City has strong influences from the south and surrounding farmland, as well as being pretty industrial, historically speaking. Plenty of room for rednecks in all of that.
There are a lot of people there not far removed from their rural/farming roots. Country music seems fairly popular, and don't forget the steady stream of traffic towards "the lake" on any given weekend instead of soaking up the cultural amenities the city has to offer. Also look at how the metro is built. Large yards almost everywhere and sizable suburbs far, far away from the city center. They seem to desire to be more connected to the countryside rather than the urban city.
Not an insult, just an observation... you have to say that when necessary on the net in case someone misreads your tone...

Of course KC also has a lot of white-collar types, artsy types, and even some old money. There's a good bit of socioeconomic diversity and folks are sometimes segregated to where they aren't exposed to the other side very much, which might explain the varied responses in this thread.

But yeah, Kansas City certainly should make the top 25 or so on any such list, but it's not #2 in my opinion. I can think of 10 others way more redneck just off the top of my head.

[nullterm]

My point exactly, don't be offended. Some guy wrote this on his blog and people are freaking out all over the Internet. Sounds like something a bunch of rednecks would do.

[LittleJon]

Originally Posted by MidWestCityNative

Somehow, Kansas City made the #2 spot. But I almost think it was placed there for satirical purposes, because "KANSAS" City (due to its name and location) seems like an easy target for all the "middle-america, cowtown, walmart" stereotyping.

It really is absurd. I dread telling people where I'm from, and might start saying St. Louis to
avoid all the ignorant questions like, "did you raise cows and chickens?" or "there's a city there?"

(((SIGH)))

The people out here though are obsessed with NYC and think everything between LA & NY is farmers and Amish people.

[thriftylefty]

I was once in the Northeast and was asked where was I from. I replied Kansas City. The response was "I've never in the south" ?? Its all a matter of perspective.

[TabulaRasa]

Originally Posted by thriftylefty

Its kind of hard for the area to live down its roots as a cow town. KC was known for packing house and industrial jobs that attracted lots of uneducated people . Its seems the FFA used to have their national meeting there for a while. Red neck is a city where a person can drop out of high school and still be middle class. There are some pockets of unreality like;Westport, The Plaza, and JOCO but if you venture too far out of those areas you will find you are still in Missouri and Kansas and everything that comes with that reality.

Chicago was known for stockyards, too, and they don't anymore exist than KC's do. All cities once had a multitude of unskilled labor professions that attracted those with limited education but the ability to work physically hard, not just KC.

FFA is an academic organization, and I'd classify it as rural, but not redneck. It's a career-focused org that is centered around things like leadership skills.

It's hard to maintain a middle class lifestyle anywhere as a HS dropout. Are you arguing that KC is full of high school drop-outs enjoying middle-class lifestyles? I don't know those people. I do know a lot of college educated folks struggling to maintain middle-class lifestyles, given the economy.

[MOKAN]

^Most people aren't using the fine-tooth comb you are, probably because they don't have your perspective. From what you've written in this thread it's like you're trying to respect and protect a certain part of rural culture, while going without saying that the rest deserve the negative implications of "redneck".

I don't think HS dropouts has anything to do with what most people think of as "redneck". HS dropouts tend to be white and ghetto trash, not rednecks. But the rest of the criteria is spot on. From my experience, "rednecks" tend to go to college and often have lots of toys and aren't poor. Lots of family raising, close friends that are like family, boating, jetskiing, 4-wheeling, fishing, hunting, Nascar, concerts, etc. It seems to be a culture about working hard and enjoying life hard, kind of really taking advantage of what's out there like you were talking about in the KCMO vs KCK thread, but the "rural" version, all while being kind of ad odds and opposed to the more urban "this is how you have to be and what you have to be interested in" elitist culture that downs them.

Redneck, as I understand, is kind of like "screw all these effing affectations, I just to enjoy my life and screw what anybody else thinks. I'll do my job and shop at Walmart and do what interests me. Sure, I'm college educated, but I don't give a flyin' eff who knows it and don't feel the need to intentionally portray myself as sophisticated or smart or go out of my way to seem intellectual." and they may even be a little judgemental themselves and say the other folks need to get a life.

My verison of "redneck" might be off, I don't know, but that's what I've gathered from knowing people who live in rural AR, OK, KS, and MO, and who I think urban elitist would quickly label "rednecks".

What do you think a real redneck is if it's not just rural, TabulaRasa? You've kind of isolated out what you think is rural but not redneck, but what is redneck?

[SyraBrian]

Even though I've never been there, I've always had a soft spot for Kansas City. I have never considered it an area full of rednecks.

[MOKAN]

^And we're not a hardcore redneck city. Never really have been. KC has always been a very diverse and liberal (not sure if that's the right word) city. The #2 thing is completely bogus, even if their criteria adds up. Even if the whole metro were included, we're far from #2. Even though all of their criteria except one makes sense, their methodology is obviously flawed. It might be all in fun, but even then it seems stupid (except for maybe the fools who decided to come up with the criteria and rank the cities, I would imagine the reaction and stir they've caused is funny). I think they could come up with a better list of cities who have the biggest inferiority complex.