Rednecks, hillbillies, southerners, cowboys, country, etc..... what do those things mean, and is there really any differ (how much, school)

[GunnerTHB]

Originally Posted by ellemint

Myself I know surgeons, lawyers, artists and writers who grew up in the coal-mining country of Eastern Kentucky---Harlan County, Hazard County, and places like Punkin' Patch KY (which is a holler) , places you can't even find on a map. Not to mention of course that there are many famous singers from that region.

Well I would say that growing up in a place like that, especially if your family sticks together but is still economically poor can provide an extremely strong motivation to better yourself. The movie October Sky comes to mind.

I don't agree with you on much , but I definitely agree here.

[ellemint]

Originally Posted by ellemint
Myself I know surgeons, lawyers, artists and writers who grew up in the coal-mining country of Eastern Kentucky---Harlan County, Hazard County, and places like Punkin' Patch KY (which is a holler) , places you can't even find on a map. Not to mention of course that there are many famous singers from that region.

Originally Posted by GunnerTHB

Well I would say that growing up in a place like that, especially if your family sticks together but is still economically poor can provide an extremely strong motivation to better yourself. The movie October Sky comes to mind.

I don't agree with you on much , but I definitely agree here.

There are many fine people in those places.

[Wapasha]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

Here's my southern, hillbilly, redneck, cowboy family - on the farm in Arkansas, cooking a ham together in a big cast iron kettle for our Thanksgiving dinner.

Look closely.



Now. We're all gathered together in Arkansas, but when the photo was made a couple of years ago, we lived in Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Virginia, and (random) Korea. My cowboy husband and I aren't in the photo - I was taking the photo and I don't remember where he was! LOL

This very southern family includes, in the generations shown:

Three successful business owners, five combat veterans, fluency in five languages, five distinct ethnic groups, two animal rights activists (and I do mean activists, not just animal lovers), three artists, three people with college GPAs of 3.5 or higher, four children who are under age 10 who are learning Latin, 55 years combined overseas living in Europe, South America, New Zealand, Africa, and Asia, and numerous college degrees and professional certifications.

We also go to gun shows, rodeos, Lynard Skynard concerts, hunting trips, small town Christmas parades, WalMart, church dinners and prayer breakfasts, and Friday night highschool football games. Oh, and art exhibits, video game expos, winery tours, classical music concerts, Ethiopian and Lebanese restaurants, and vacations to Europe and Asia.

But if you saw, say, my dad at WalMart in rural Arkansas, you'd probably think "What an old fart redneck." You wouldn't know that this man owns four homes, has a successful business, and has paid cash for every vehicle he's ever bought. If you saw my husband in the grocery store in Texas, you'd probably categorize him as oilfield trash, because you'd note his steel toed boots and coveralls. You might not realize that some of these good ol' oilfield boys are in the top 1 percent of wage earners - even though their boots are covered in red clay. You might look at one of my daughters while she's walking down the street in Louisiana, and assume, because she's got three little kids hanging on her and a couple of tattoos on her arms, and because she's a woman of color, that she's unmarried and on food stamps. You wouldn't realize that she's got a top secret military clearance and she's just home on vacation - she actually lives in England.

Stereotyping is ignorant.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to look up the directions to the next gun show. After that, I'm going to order that new Darius Rucker CD...and then I'm going to get online and price plane tickets to England for this spring.

Does not quite fit the template that some people carry around in their heads, as they make declarative statements about who they think certain groups of people are like.

[KathrynAragon]

Originally Posted by Wapasha

Does not quite fit the template that some people carry around in their heads, as they make declarative statements about who they think certain groups of people are like.

True dat - which is why I learned very early on that making assumptions and embracing stereotypical thinking impedes logical thought processes!

[Starman71]

Originally Posted by ellemint

Myself I know surgeons, lawyers, artists and writers who grew up in the coal-mining country of Eastern Kentucky---Harlan County, Hazard County, Pike County (home of the Hatfields and McCoys), and places like Punkin' Patch KY (which is a holler) , places you can't even find on a map. Not to mention of course that there are many famous singers from that region.

My dad was born in Jenkins, KY. I was raised on the NE TN/SW VA border and could literally throw rocks into Virginia whenever I got the chance. My wife's dad was a coal miner in SW VA. Wife's mom thought the dad was rich 'cause they had indoor plumbing - in 1972!!

And, hey, my wife and I weren't related UNTIL we got married! How 'bout them apples?!

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

There's an epidemic of SUBSTANCE ABUSE nationwide. And don't even get me started on how widespread binge drinking and heavy drinking is in general with people under 35. I'm not easily shocked and I'm shocked.

It's already moved to other Countries like Mexico. It's pretty back in Cabo and the mainland.

[Blue Grass Fever]

Originally Posted by Starman71

My dad was born in Jenkins, KY. I was raised on the NE TN/SW VA border and could literally throw rocks into Virginia whenever I got the chance. My wife's dad was a coal miner in SW VA. Wife's mom thought the dad was rich 'cause they had indoor plumbing - in 1972!!

And, hey, my wife and I weren't related UNTIL we got married! How 'bout them apples?!

Grew up by Dione Baptist Church...

[ellemint]

Originally Posted by Starman71

My dad was born in Jenkins, KY. I was raised on the NE TN/SW VA border and could literally throw rocks into Virginia whenever I got the chance. My wife's dad was a coal miner in SW VA. Wife's mom thought the dad was rich 'cause they had indoor plumbing - in 1972!!

And, hey, my wife and I weren't related UNTIL we got married! How 'bout them apples?!

I have a special place in my heart for coal miners, especially the old guys who really had it tough.

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by Oldglory

Or how about those Hispanics who wear comboy boots and big white cowboy hats?

Mexico is where most of the clothing, hats, tack (saddles,bridles, spurs, chaps, etc.) and manner of working cattle on horseback using a rope came from. Most of the early herds were Mexican cattle as well.

The Mexican vaquero culture runs deep in the west, and the cowboy culture and style eventually moved eastward. The old way still survives in the Intermountain West, where 'vaquero' became Americanized into 'buckaroo'. The true buckaroo disdains ground work; if it can't be done off a horse's back, they won't do it. Their style is different from what folks think of how a cowboy should look, and they still exist, but are fading out a little more every year.

[mateo45]

Originally Posted by Oldglory

And your point is? There are certain demographics predominent all over the country. When someone outside of that demographic ventures into that demographic the radar goes up. I have been thru towns that were predominantly Hispanic and I have gotten that same look and I am sure they are thinking the same thing.

True, but then I was replying to someone making sweeping claims like ''Rural America, is more diversified living in harmony, than any metropolitan area.'' Uh yeah, maybe, as long as you're a ''local''! Heck, I can think of some ''rural'' places where even as another ''anglo'', I've felt more ''welcome'' in Watts! And even that's fine, but let's not try to pretend that either rural or urban folks can lay claim to sainthood and ''tolerance''!

Originally Posted by MOKAN

You bet, and I think that's un-American. I think segregation is un-American, by race like it used to be or social class like it is now. Downing somebody and not letting them come up in society (not taking a Southern lawyer or law student with a country personality seriously because they don't adhere to an elitist idea of how to be) - I think that's un-American. I think what America stands for still exists on the ground in certain places, which is basically the geography of the "huge demographic" the original poster in this thread alludes to. I think the reason there is no term for said demographic is because said demographic is simply American. It's kind of like when people say, "if there's BET - Black Entertainment Television, why isn't there White Entertainment Television?" Well, it's because white is the majority - so the default or mainstream is WET. And I think the classic, all-American demographic being discussed feels the term 'American' is trying to be re-defined. And I would agree, it seems outsiders of that demographic do take issue with "American" being used to define said demographic. On the flip side, there have always been ethnic enlclaves in NYC and the NE and other areas that are just as 'American'. I think it's just nowadays that classic Americana demographic being discussed has lost its proportion of the population is is teetering on not being the majority anymore.

Speaking of ''diversity'', am a little confused by your post. On the one hand, you're complaining about ''segregation'' and ''elitism'' (whether by race or social class). Yet you also seem to be complaining that whites, who you feel are the ''default Americans'' and the ''majority'', are slowly losing their ''majority' status'... is that correct?

So getting back to the OP, am basically getting the idea that ''country folks'' (for lack of a better name so far) tend to define themselves mostly by what and who they're not (aka, ''real Americans'' who aren't immigrants, elites, gays, black, lib-rul, city slickers, feminists, yankees, muslims, atheists, hippies, etc.)...??!!