Rednecks (Warren: real estate, gated, travel)

[ab8mi]

Hmmmm......I don't smoke and only drink occasionally, but I do own a pickup truck, some fairly conservative views, love NASCAR, own a few guns, love to keep my yard in order, help my neighbours, go to church....love and respect the outdoors. Hmmm does that make me a half-blood redneck?????

[carolinajack]

hhmmm, i dont smoke either, drink a glass of wine, beer or bourbon occasionally, do drive a pickup, ultra conservative views, love NASCAR, have a few guns, love to keep the farm in order, help my neighbors and community, vote, go to town meetings, go to church each week, love the outdoors, hunt and fish, went to the Ivy League, and wouldnt call myself a redneck but wouldnt look down on others who call themselves that either

[opelske]

Originally Posted by carolinajack

perhaps russia, where there is no diversity. sounds like prejudice to me. I am a black american and if someone talked about poor blacks like this person talks about rednecks-poor whites, they would be labeled close-minded, bigoted racists.

many hispanics, blacks, and whites all over the country live like this person describes. i guess we should round up all undesirables, who dont live the way she/he does and put them in camps like they did with the japanese.

wow, theres your liberal racism for ya

It wasn't just the Japanese; Italians and Germans were put into camps, too! I agree with what you are saying, though. It takes all kinds to make a community, and we're not all loaded with dollars, and for the most part, probably don't want to be. I feel the soil is richer and lasts a whole lot longer. Farmers are the spine of this nation, small, large, rich and poor ones. Yet, they are sometimes referred to as uneducated hicks. All it takes is respect, right? Even a "redneck" is human and deserving of it.

[opelske]

Originally Posted by carolinajack

hhmmm, i dont smoke either, drink a glass of wine, beer or bourbon occasionally, do drive a pickup, ultra conservative views, love NASCAR, have a few guns, love to keep the farm in order, help my neighbors and community, vote, go to town meetings, go to church each week, love the outdoors, hunt and fish, went to the Ivy League, and wouldnt call myself a redneck but wouldnt look down on others who call themselves that either

Good for you! Just love those farmers! I have ultra conservative views, too, and guess what, I smoke cigarettes! -- boy, he'd hate me!

[opelske]

Originally Posted by spunky1

Maybe you should try and go back and reread his post. He was NOT targeting "poor whites". There are MANY "poor whites" (and many other groups) that do not have a lot of money who have immaculate yards and homes and have pride in ownership regardless of how humble. There is a difference between not having a lot of capital and not having any pride in your own space. I for one appreciate beauty and understand what the poster was getting at. He certainly has a right to his own opinion and if wants to live in an area where people take care of their land and property then others should not criticize. And there is a huge difference than wanting to live in a planned cookie-cutter community than just wanting to live next door to a trailer with rusting apliances and cars on bricks etc.

You're right -- pride of ownership, respect for neighbors, with or without money; these are always good things. Many people work hard, have a strong work ethic, don't earn a ton of money, would probably be considered poor by many, yet they take care of their property. So I agree with that. I never could understand all those name calling words: rednecks, hicks, uneducated hicks, unsophisticated rural people -- just a bunch of words. A neat person is a neat person, and a sloppy one is a sloppy one. And they might all be very nice people. Communities are just a mix of all sorts. And some, believe it or not, prefer it just that way.

[opelske]

Originally Posted by Jason_Els

Yeah, I don't mean to say it's ONLY Vermont that has places like this. There are plenty of others. Within 30 miles of New York City, up in the mountains, are a group of similarly isolated people who have little contact with the outside world. They can see the skyline from their aerie but nobody goes up there. Not the tax assessor, not the cops, not anyone. Nor do I mean to say these people are scary hicks. On the contrary, for all their problems, most are genuinely kind and gracious people who just live their lives away from the world.

My sister had an old lady who was in her mid 70s but hadn't received any social security because she had never been enrolled in it. She lived like Blanche DuBois, off the kindness of family and strangers, but it didn't bother her. My sister offered to get her enrolled in services but she refused because she knew people would take care of her. They brought her wood, fixed her pump, took care of her house, and in turn she'd teach cooking and wifely skills to the girls in the community. She taught them how to can, clean and dress game, make sun jams, cook on a wood stove, find mushrooms and medicinal plants, sew, weave, and mend, clean, and whatever else. When people needed babysitting she'd take home a pie or a casserole in return. She wasn't thrown away like so many old people are. She was respected for her knowledge and the contributions, such as they could be at her age, and the community repaid her for services past and present. My sister was blown away by this. Far from being a nursing home throw away, this woman was a vital part of their community. She saw this in many elderly people. Those that weren't healthy enough to live on their own went with family. They usually had a great quality of life and whether my sister bent the rules with some of these people I don't know, but her primary concern with everyone she assisted was the quality of life. There are good things, some very good things, in these isolated communities as there are some very scary things. It's not black and white.



Yes, she's tough even though she's blonde, blue-eyed and weighs about 115 lbs. You don't make me feel any better about her safety though. What she tells me she doesn't dare tell our parents for fear of worrying them silly. I worry too, just pretend not to.

You know what the sad part is? Before Social Security this is the way it was in a lot of rural areas. People helped people. The young cared for the old when age slowed them down. Knowledge was passed down from one generation to the next. People's lives had meaning. This loss of meaning is what causes so much angst in the world -- young and old. No farmer was ever poor by his standards, only by others.

[Jason_Els]

Originally Posted by carolinajack

perhaps russia, where there is no diversity.

Actually... Russia is the most diverse nation in the world. From Abazians to Yukaghirs, Russia has more than 70 cultures living within her borders including the only Buddhist republic in all of Europe, comprised of Mongols left behind by Genghis Kahn; Uralic peoples who are Europe's only remaining continuously-practicing pagans who remain such because Christianity never reached them; and some of the most remote and isloated peoples anywhere outside of the Andamans. Russia is a fascinating panopoly of ethnic groups of all colors and appearances, religions and histories. There's a great website where you can learn about some of them:

The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire

[carolinajack]

thanks jason, i knew that but thanks for reminding me but that was not the point of the discussion but whatever.

all: yes, it is sad and pathetic that the same people who often talk about Vermont and new england being so educated and democratic attack poor people because they dont conform to the way some progressive, close minded people like. Hmmm, I wonder if Organic farmers are called rednecks too, or hippies? they dont clean up their surroundings, often do not bathe much, have old broken down rusting cars, etc. Are they rednecks too?

[carolinajack]

opelske:

i am not attacking your right to smoke, that is your choice. and i love the farmers, i dont think you read the post correctly i am standing up for the farmers against those who condescend to them calling them rednecks

[OREGONRAIN]

Originally Posted by Dwatted Wabbit

Thank you.
It seems rednecks are the only group it's PC-acceptable to beat up on nowadays.
Some of the finest and most patriotic Americans I've ever know would surely be labeled rednecks. But they would give all for God and country.

Actually I think gays are probably beat up more on the pc's though fewer and fewer are putting up with anymore, No one should be beat up on the pc's for who they are, but you should consider who your neighbors are going to be when you move someplace new.