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Originally Posted by StanT
Most rednecks that I know revel in the word. While it might be an insult to some, a real redneck considers it a compliment.
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right on. my 9th grade english teacher called me "a male chauvanist redneck" in front of the entire class. that was over 15 years ago. i still remember it like it was yesterday. it stung. male chauvanist aside, perhaps it was the embarassment of being called out in front of the whole class. perhaps it was because most of the other kids there (in kentucky) called me a Yankee (i was born 90 miles north - in ohio). or at the time i was a dyed in the wool preppie (i've since seen the error of my ways). what could worse (or more confusing) to a fledgling preppie than to be called a redneck.
more on topic, i do believe it is just as racist to say redneck as it is to say spic or kike or nigger. and here's my reasoning....
have you ever heard "oh him? he's black, but he's not a <i>nigger</i>." meaning he doesn't act ghetto or that he does act just like a member of high white society. so i don't believe that nigger applies to all blacks, spics to all hispanics, etc... and i'd venture to say that these non-nigger blacks don't see themselves as niggas either. whereas there are probably a lot more white kids who dress / act in the hip hop style of today who call themselves and each other "nigga."
i DO agree that these terms were created and are used to create and deliniate class stratification. redneck is no exception. but this delineation is only a negative if we let it be one. hooray to those who embrace the difference of their culture.
xoxo
slacker