define redneck??? (California, Florida: restaurant, eat, trailer)

[Lake Junkie]

Originally Posted by bbriscoe

If you really want to know what truly defines a redneck, then the questions you need to be asking are who considers themselves rednecks and why? I personally consider myself a redneck and I'm very proud of it. I'm not uneducated...I'm 19 years old and I'm certified in business and computer sciences...I'm not poor...I have a nice car...being a redneck is way more complicated than it seems. I live in a town with a population of 93...does that make us rednecks? No...that makes us country folks. It's a farming community...what do you expect? Being a true redneck is something to be proud of because you have a quality that most people don't have. It means you grew up with nothing so you know how to live with nothing. You don't need money to be happy. You stay true to your roots. You fly the dixie flag proudly because you understand it doesn't resemble hate...it's herritage! I grew up living on a campground in a tent...on the way home at night if we ran over an animal, it was good news...that meant supper! We lived on the river with nothing...being a redneck is not about having an accent, or driving a 4X4 truck, or being uneducated...or anything else that was posted in this forum. My family lived in a house with no indoor pluming for 7 years...we had no electricity...not because we couldn't afford it but because we didn't need it. Jeff Foxworthy has nothing on us...come spend a day in my life..you'll see what a redneck is...so you ask for the definition of redneck? Here it is: a huge stereotype. Want a description? Here you go:

Backwoods country folk that work for everything they have...choosing to have just enough money to get by with...having their own little peice of land away from this new way of life dubbed "civilization"...hunting and growing the food they eat...driving a 4X4 truck not because of a stereotype but because if they don't have 4-wheel drive they can't get out of the driveway...using state aid not because they are lazy but because they are required too...<---yes in some cases it's required...I know..I've been there...listening to music that describes life...just because you listen to country doesn't mean you are a redneck..I listen to everything from country, classic rock, modern rock, metal, heavy metal, classical piano, jazz, the list goes on and on...

Ask those who believe they are...I like that.

[Darlynn0217]

Originally Posted by ShadowCaver

lol, kinda of a good point here - how two separate yet highly quoted entities are evidently so different in their claim of the origin of a term. True, wiki is not highly scholastic, yet, it does receive a lot of attention and corrections. On one hand, History Channel, per your post, puts much credence towards the red scarf origin of the term, whereas wiki claims that is hogwash, as the term existed much before that occurrence. Sorry, not picking on you, just a geek that loves the history of words...

I think it interesting , as well, how words can have so many different meanings to people from varying parts of the country and be interpreted in so many different ways. Especially when the words have been in use for thousands of years.

One of my favorite things to do is "debate", (or argue, as my Grannie said.) I even do that with ME. LOL Thus, the conflicting definitions....

[Lake Junkie]

You know I couldn't get away with claiming the title of redneck.
But.
I did indeed make up the title of pinkneck to describe those of us who are slightly redneck but love sushi & tofu.
I haven't been happier than when I was sittin' at a creek party with my trunk up 'n Creedence blaring as the deep fryer delivered catfish & fries & hush puppies.

Ya know?

[radiodude1962]

Here's yet another definition of a Redneck, from one of my college professors at Ole Miss: Rednecks were followers of James K. Vardaman, a populist and VERY racist Democrat who was elected governor of Mississippi in 1903, and later served one term in the U.S. Senate from 1913-1919. His supporters often wore red neckties, and were thus referred to as "Rednecks."

More info on Vardaman: He identified himself with the poor white sharecropper, as opposed to the wealthy descendants of plantation owners. The wealthy Whites viewed Blacks as inferior, but they liked them (as much as a white person in the South could like a Black person, at least...they thought of African-Americans as little children who needed their benevolence). Vardaman, however, HATED Blacks and was said to have supported lynching as a way to maintain White supremacy.

This may be one explanation as to why "Rednecks" are sometimes equated with racists.

[LowboyTZ]

"If you purchase a new home and call a member of your immediate family over to help you take the wheels off of it....you may be a redneck."

"If the front porch falls off your house and kills more than 3 dogs in one shot.., you may be a redneck."

"If your family tree goes STRAIGHT UP...you may be a redneck..."

Redneck definitions. Sensuous. "Honey, sence you was up, fetch me a beer..."

Asenine. "I give 'er face a 2, and 'er a** a nine..."

Hope this clarifies any curiosity.

[northbayeric]

Yep, Jeff Foxworthy's come out with a couple of additional redneck dictionaries that I've gotta read. My favorite from the first one goes something like:

Mystify: To lament a situation where you do a poor job of hunting and know you might have done better under different circumstances: "Ah wouldn't've mystify hadn't've been so druuunk."

[LowboyTZ]

Originally Posted by Darlynn0217

Here is a lengthy definition.... Redneck - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There was a show on the history channel this morning talking about the Hatfield's and McCoy's and the labor disputes in West Virginia in the early 1900's....the "Anti-Union" people wore red scarves around their necks for identification.

Proud to be a "modern" redneck!

I gotta agree on this one. I'm a direct descendant of the Hatfield family through my mother's West Virginian roots. I happen to have a little knowledge on the history of the coal mining disputes, and that is true that the non union workers wore red bandanas around their necks, hence the term..."redneck".

In addition to that, I have been known to barbecue in a blizzard (under the woodshed roof, I ain't stupid,) use duct tape for a number of repairs, and have a good collection of brand name heavy equipment hats. I certainly qualify now, huh?

[Darlynn0217]

Yup lowboyTZ, you qualify and maybe even should have a degree, due to yer (in)famous lineage!!

[Northwoods Voyager]

Oh, it must be nice to know who you are. Reading these posts hasn't helped me a bit. I still don't qualify as a 'redneck'. I was born and raised in St. Louis. Lived in other big cities. Then we built a 125 acre lake development in the boonies and have been here for many years. I hunt, fish, feed the birds, walk around my woods. Wear jeans, hunting boots, tennis shoes, sweats. Also wear skirts, dresses, heels, p.hose. makeup, earrings. Love to dance, sing, party, barbeque, used to drink more than my share of brews, ride in the back of a truck around the back roads holding onto a cold one.

So, still haven't come up with a definition. Hmmmm...not even LJ's pinkneck seems to apply. Just a concrete jungle woodsy, I guess.

[southernnaturelover]

Originally Posted by jessaka

I lived in the Panhandle of Florida for a while, and before I moved there I laughed at his jokes; after moving there I thought that he wasn't funny anymore. The panhandle was called The Redneck Riviera. It was poor, people lived in trailers, and so did I, but their yards were trashed out; they were highly uneducated, their only interests were hunting and fishing, and they didn't make their kids go to school and were proud of it. (Not all uneducated people to me are rednecks.) I couldn't relate to any one of them, and I tried. We made friends with a couple, and his wife flat out told me that she was inbred. I also found out that they were really racist. The week we were moving our African American friends came to visit, and they happened to have shown up, and the eyes rolled. Now if that is what a real redneck is, I don't know, but to me that is the closest thing to it.

I live in the "redneck riviera" (aka "gay riviera") and I think you are exagerating a bit. True, some people here live in trailers, but I have family who live in Osage Beach, MO and there are just as many "doublewides" there. I sure didn't see any difference. I have never seen an inbred person, nor have I come across children who don't go to school (unless they home school). Most of the racism here comes from blacks towards whites, are they rednecks too?
In todays day and age, there is no definition of "redneck", it can mean anything you want it to, good or bad.