Is "redneck" a racial slur?
 

After I found out about this board's strict policy on racial slurs and such, I was surprised to see that nobody really seemed to care about the use of the word "redneck", a word which many people consider a racial slur. I personally don't feel that the use of any derogatory group terms is a good thing, although I also think that this particular one is not exactly "racial"...

Anyway, does anyone here think that this word should be banned from polite discourse?

When someone asks about the term redneck, my pat answer tends to be - well I prefer the term Springer-ite... :D

Is the term redneck racist? The vast majority of rednecks are white, I don't think Al Sharpton is going to take to the streets protesting the word.

Is it a slur? I don't know... It's an insult for sure... but it's probably an insult based on what ever a person's own definition of redneck is...

I think that white trash is a slur of sorts, and redneck definitely isn't that different...

Most rednecks that I know revel in the word. While it might be an insult to some, a real redneck considers it a compliment.

Ya, I never heard of a redneck (and I know a shitload) getting offended when called one. They love it. Its almost like a badge of honor. Redneck is not a racial slur where I come from. Those crazy rednecks! :lol:

Rednecks who know they are rednecks would not be offended... I have a friend who would be very insulted by the term redneck - she insists that she is a hick... however, her husband - is a redneck :) but only when she's annoyed at him.

Don't Use It to Put Me Down
 

I'm a redneck pseudo-piney (NJ's version of hillbilly). Pseudo because I was born in the Pinelands but raised in an outlying suburb.
Like some other names, it's the intent with which it is used that can be insulting. But as for me labelling myself thusly, I'm proud of it. I don't put on airs, I don't act like what I am not and I will never talk down to someone.
I do watch NASCAR, think Ron White is a god and Dale Jr is hot, have a beat-up porch with a parkbench and plastic sofa, weeds in the yard, a 49 Cadillac that's rusting into the driveway and two very nice looking PT's and my main wardrobe consists of jeans, freebie tshirts, lots of tanktops and 5 pairs of flipflops ..yep, I'm a Redneck. :thumbsup:

Is it possible to call someone who isn't caucasian a redneck? I would guess so; It seems (today) to be more a statement about someone's attitudes than being strictly based on their racial heritage.

I don't find it offensive, but it is certainly a racial slur if you apply this litmus test.

Some black people like to call each other "nigga".. they might not find it offensive in that context, but if the aformentioned "redneck" said it?

I did a text-replacement with "nigga" instead of "redneck" in these posts. Is it our bias, or is it really a slur?

Hmm.. strange..

In my opinion its not racial. Having moved to the south a few years ago, I've been educated on certain things...one is that the term redneck crosses racial barriers ( another is that sweet tea - pronounced swee tay - is the only type of tea. ) Though I must admit, when you refer to a redneck, more often than not someone is going to picture a white male.

Google Search on Definition of Redneck

Redneck
noun {C} MAINLY US INFORMAL
a poor white person without education, especially one living in the countryside in the southern US, who has prejudiced ( unfair and unreasonable) ideas and beliefs

red·neck
n. Offensive Slang
1. Used as a disparaging term for a member of the white rural laboring class, especially in the southern United States.
2. A white person regarded as having a provincial, conservative, often bigoted attitude.

redneck
n : a poor white person in the southern US [syn: cracker]

Those are just three from online dictionaries. I was trying to backup my recent post by getting evidence of how the term redneck is not a racial slur, but it backfired. I am shocked. :eek:

Moral of the story.

Its still ok to be non-PC to white people.

You definitely have a point there. After all, I don't see anyone calling for affirmative action in the NBA to increase white representation on the court. :lol:

But seriously, when I think about the way the term "redneck" is used, I think about derogatory stereotypes that are based partially upon whiteness. Redneck is roughly equivalent to "racist, uncultured, stupid, messy, white southerner" in most contexts, I think.

I honestly wouldnt even qualify it with southern... I've seen plenty of Yankee types that could be considered rednecks... or rather, Springerites.

The defition I'd use is uneducated, rather than stupid, uncultured is pretty good, or more better, not aware that there is a world around them, and I think that would also include racist as well.

That's enough to make me cry real tears. :(

Sorry mal, but I had to get a little chuckle outta that line... :D :lol:

I think the definitions above pretty much indicate that it's a racial slur:

"a poor white person "

"n. Offensive Slang"
1. Used as a disparaging term for a member of the white rural laboring class, especially in the southern United States.
2. A white person regarded as having a provincial, conservative, often bigoted attitude."


"n : a poor white person in the southern US [syn: cracker]"


Good catch Mr. Pyro. I guess I have to go with the crowd in this case, and say that.. well.. it's okay to be non-PC to white males. Males I mention, because it is certainly not "accepted" to be non-PC to white females.

maybe i should have put a disclaimer in that poor grammar was intentional... (I'd like to go with the claim that my poor spelling is intentional too, but that'd be a baldfaced lie)

i always thought a redneck originally meant - someone who got a red (sunburnt) neck from working in the fielda all day. more or less a complient for someone who is a hardworker.

Didn't "nigger" originally just mean someone from Niger? You may be right that that was the original meaning of the word, but it sure isn't what it means now.

Etymology of Nigger:
more

It's an interesting question.

I personally haven't figured out if it should or shouldn't be.

I suppose I really need to work on some sort of personal litmus test.

What about when I white person calls another white person a "redneck" or a "cracker"? This can hardly be construed as racist.

I think this is more likely a slander or stereotyping...

The word nigger is used to describe *all* blacks.
The word kike *all* jews.

The list goes on.

Redneck is not universally applicable to *all* whites.

As a result, I feel it falls into a different category than a racist word.

from the oed (my favorite):

redneck:
here it seems that the thrust of the term is about reactionary politics.
ethnicity seems an element, but is not necesarily primary.

Again..

Seems like a double standard -- again arising from the fact that it's OK to make fun of whitey..

I don't see a double standard here... please expand.

No, I don't see the double standard either.

But let's try and avoid mentioning Chris Rock in this thread, ok?

I went to re-explain those quotes, but I realized they really didn't show jack shit.

nigger:
"Used as a disparaging term for a member of any dark-skinned people. "

redneck:
"Used as a disparaging term for a member of the white rural laboring class, especially in the southern United States."

Two opposing terms with extremely similar definitions. One is "OK" and one is Not. That's the double standard I was not-so-clearly referring to.

Thank you. Much clearer than your last post.

I may be nitpicking but the point I was trying to make was that redneck refers only to a small potion of whites and not the whole race. Where as nigger is universally applicable.

Add to this that I find it difficult for the dominant culture, in this case a white culture, to be open to racism. I'm not saying descrimination isn't possible just that those who are in the position of power (culturally speaking) loose nothing by labels such as cracker (racially speaking).

The same is not true of such labels as nigger, kike, spic, etc. They are labels meant to underscore the difference from the dominant culture. A difference underscored in an effort to isolate them from said culture.

A black man calling a white man a cracker or a redneck is, in my mind, very different from a white man calling a black man a nigger.

In most cases anyway. It could be argued that we are in a transitional phase where cultural dominance is slipping... When I look at who largely holds political and economic power in the west I tend to think the transition, it if it exists, is in the *very* early stages.

I will have to think about this some more.

I sympathise with much of what you say but....

...a lot of white people on the receiving end of these insults certainly cannot be said to be, as individuals, in positions of power, just because they have the same colour skin as those that are.

Nevertheless I personally cannot see what is racist about the term redneck. Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought was used to refer to someone's political outlook not their race.

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

I work with a couple guys that are "Rednecks" And if you tell them that they are a Redneck, They are proud of it.

The first clue that told me they were Redneck, The one guy said that "Soccer isn't a sport, I'll tell you what a real sport is, Shooting beer bottles off of tree stumps..Now that's a real sport" That made me laugh, Real hard.

Nope, don't see "redneck" as racist, as it isn't used to describe a group of people based solely on ethnicity, but instead takes into account political affiliation, level of education, region, and lifestyle, and is often intended to be merely descriptive rather than derogatory.

If a black person called me a redneck, I'd take it as an insult to my race as well as my intelligence.

Show me a black redneck and I'll buy that.

Oh wait, only WHITE skin burns red..


That.. is a racial slur.

At the factory I work at, there this guy Roy, who loves nascar(Jeff Gordon), hunting, fishing, country, a stereotypical redneck. He also is African American. His wife is too. She's also a redneck. They go line dancing on fridays! Theres just more white rednecks than black. Bet you'll find some down south. I can't wait to tell him about this thread! Buy that! :thumbsup:

considering redneck has nothing to do with race, but character traits of individuals, no. /succinct dismissal

Is redneck a race? No! Don't be silly.
So it may be a slur, but it can't be a racial slur.

Quack Ergo Duck.

Personally.....I try not to use either one....not for PC reasons, but because they just dont seem nice. It would seem from the above posts that its really a matter of context. I will admit to my own bigotry towards the "Jerry Spriinger" mentality, but it is far from a strictly white attitude. I think this takes it out of the racism realm, and drops it squarely in the world of Ignorance. While I see my own personal dislike of ignorant people , and accept it as a Bias, I am hard pressed to define this lack of imagination by color of skin.

These perceptions of a "Type" of person are my own.....and I have my own discriptive terminology for differing levels of brain challenge, Redneck simply isnt part of the mental list I use.

The consensus would appear that this term describes a level of education and political leanings, but that is a very broad and largely erroneous view. Among my 'redneck' friends are: a retired army sargeant who specialized in bomb diffusal, a quality assurance auditor for the department of defense, a sys admin, an airline manufacturer shipping coordinator(who is almost radically left-leaning), a witch and a wealthy autobody shop owner..
To me at least, the term describes someone, not just 'from the south, white and politically right', it is someone who is proud to be American, hard working if at times struggling, true to themselves most of all, appreciative of what life offers and puts the love of family, friends and, in many cases, their faith before all else. More of you are rednecks than you would probably care to admit ;)

You raise another interesting point Dawg... terms like Cracker and Redneck are, to my knowledge, only used to describe North Americans.

I just have a hard time imagining a Russian, an Italian, a French, a Brit or any European being called Redneck.

And yet, any Chinese person, anywhere can be called a Chink, or black man a Nigger, etc.

Again, as others have pointed out, Redneck just doesn't hold up as racist under scrutiny.

Slur yes... Racist slur... not so much.

The concensus seems to be that "redneck" is a term that is often used in a derogatory fashion to refer to a particular demographic of people that may or may not necessarily be all white.

Soooo, should the word be tolerated on these boards when used in the derogatory context (George Bush is just a redneck from Texas, eg), or in polite conversation in general?

Perhaps it would be better stated that, "George Bush is a Texan with a provincial, conservative and often bigoted attitude" ;)

Ultimately when used in the context as described above it is a shorthand for a stereotype... it would be just as easy for the person to say George Bush is an idiot but it just doesn't have the same, depth of imagery as redneck.

I think it is stretching things to suggest it is offensive.

I once knew a man who liked to say that he hated niggers and bigots.

It's not racist in connotation, but clearly it is describing a white person (harder to have a visibly red neck if you're black or Asian or brown). It is describing a certain type or group of white person, and hence not a racial slur; it is simply limited to a certain race.

since we've visited the definitions of the words redneck and nigger (partially, because older dictionarys define "nigger" as an ignorant person {no flame war please, it is offensive to me as well, just rounding out the definition for us all}) I'd like to inject another definition... that of "race" I will include all of the iterations and then point out what I think is important here... Short attention spans, or bored folks skip the middle, go straight to the end :-)


RACE n.

1. A local geographic or global human population distinguished as a more or less distinct group by genetically transmitted physical characteristics.
2. A group of people united or classified together on the basis of common history, nationality, or geographic distribution: the German race.
3. A genealogical line; a lineage.
4. Humans considered as a group.
5. Biology.
1. An interbreeding, usually geographically isolated population of organisms differing from other populations of the same species in the frequency of hereditary traits. A race that has been given formal taxonomic recognition is known as a subspecies.
2. A breed or strain, as of domestic animals.
6. A distinguishing or characteristic quality, such as the flavor of a wine.


[French, from Old French, from Old Italian razza, race, lineage.]

Usage Note: The notion of race is nearly as problematic from a scientific point of view as it is from a social one. European physical anthropologists of the 17th and 18th centuries proposed various systems of racial classifications based on such observable characteristics as skin color, hair type, body proportions, and skull measurements, essentially codifying the perceived differences among broad geographic populations of humans. The traditional terms for these populationsCaucasoid (or Caucasian), Mongoloid, Negroid, and in some systems Australoidare now controversial in both technical and nontechnical usage, and in some cases they may well be considered offensive. (Caucasian does retain a certain currency in American English, but it is used almost exclusively to mean “white” or “European” rather than “belonging to the Caucasian race,” a group that includes a variety of peoples generally categorized as nonwhite.) The biological aspect of race is described today not in observable physical features but rather in such genetic characteristics as blood groups and metabolic processes, and the groupings indicated by these factors seldom coincide very neatly with those put forward by earlier physical anthropologists. Citing this and other pointssuch as the fact that a person who is considered black in one society might be nonblack in anothermany cultural anthropologists now consider race to be more a social or mental construct than an objective biological fact.

now, from a medical standpoint, Race: An ethnic stock or division of humans. Naturalists and ethnographers have long divided humans into a variable number of distinct races. However, DNA and other genetic studies have revealed that that most genetic variation, about 94%, is within so-called racial groups while these racial groupings differ from one another only in about 6% of their genes. This means that there is greater genetic variation within racial groups than between them. The concept of race is a superficial and subjective one. All of humankind is a single species.

and lastly, from an anthrolopological view: 1) The term "race" is used in different senses by both the public and by
professionals. The uses often overlap and result in substantial
misunderstanding and conflict.

2) Race, as a term of biology - applied to the natural world generally,
focuses on minor genetic differences, resulting from population isolation,
and normally manifested in minor differences of colouring, behaviour, or
form. It is not a formal division within the standard bi-nomial
nomenclature of biology, which recognises divisions into genera, species
etc. In this system the term "sub species" is preferred.

Sub-species are somewhat arbitrary, subdivisions of "species", the
narrowest, formally defined division of taxa. Sub-species tend to be
defined in terms of recognisable, but minor, local characteristics of
populations within species. Genetic variation between sub-species is very
limited. When geographical boundaries between two sub-species break down,
the utility of the term disappears, as the two groups interbreed.
Generally the dividing line between "sub-species" is a very moveable
feast, as variation within any two "sub species" results in an overlap
between the genetic and phenotypic characteristics of the two groups. The
differences between sub species, then, are primarily statistical rather
than absolute.

In the terms of biology, given the (increasingly) extensive intermingling
of the people of the earth, the comparatively recent (in biological terms)
earlier isolation of the groups, and the absence of any clear genetic
separation the concept of human sub-species has little utility or meaning.
The genetic differences between human groups, beyond trivial matters such
as body coloration and the frequency of particular blood groups, is
extremely limited. The greater differences which exist are cultural or
environmental rather genetic in origin. Hence the concept of human
"races" is of little importance in biological terms.

3) Race, as understood by most people, is a socially derived concept based
on an over-estimation of the extent of biological differences betwen
different populations of humans. It is often used in an attempt to provide
a false legitimising "scientific" explanation of the diversity of human
cultures, and to justify heirarchical or discrimatory action aimed at
ensuring the dominance of one cultural group over another. For this
reason, when discussing differences between groups of people, the term
"ethnic group", which recognises the cultural rather than biological
differences between people, is preferable to "race" in almost all
situations.



CONCLUSION! (FINALLY)
Having little objective relevance from a scientific standpoint, current usage of the word race is used to indicate a group of people, this can me with similar physical characteristics, similar cultures, close geographic proximaty, OR they may have chosen to identify themselves seperately. Redneck IS a racial term, but like many other general blanket terms, is typically offensive based on usage. Intent means a lot on this.

sorry for the extended post....

toxic: I didn't read your whole post as far as defining race and all of that, so forgive me if I appear ignorant from that standpoint (I have a short attention span). Race, to my understanding as a sociologist, is based exactly on the colour of someone's skin as well as certain physical traits, and is not interchangeable with other defining characteristics. When speaking of cultural or other shared non-superficial characteristics, the term used is generally ethnicity.

Redneck is an odd word, a mix between insulting or and a badge of honor depending who the recipient is, though I've never thought of it as a race thing more like a location and education thing. So maybe its locationist ;)

I disagree toxic, using that logic geeks, nerds, jocks, punks, etc, would be a race of their own.

There's only one race, the human race. Redneck is no more than a term to describe a social class of an ethnic group.

Bitch is a word that describes a subset of the female gender, characterized by anger and bitter resentment. Does that mean that using a term like bitch, applied to the larger set (women) should not be offensive?

You're using the same flawed logic for redneck if you say that because it applies to a SPECIFIC subset that it's not offensive when applied to the larger set. Some women wear "bitch" like a badge of honor, yet it doesn't define all or even most women. Call a random girl on a street a "bitch" and don't expect it to be taken rudely? Naive. (Thank you whomever corrected my spelling of this word earlier)

I'm offended when someone calls me a redneck, because it denigrates my race (yes, race), my intelligence, my political ideology, and my attitude towards life. Bitch, nigger, and cracker all fall into these same categories. I don't see how you can justify it as NOT being a racial slur because it applies to a subset of a larger set; you've seen above that it is flawed logic. By this logic, calling a white man a nigger would mean that nigger isn't racial because it applies only to your status is a hierarchy and not a race.

There are wealthy Rednecks and Middle Class Rednecks too. Rednecks are the same as "Good Ole Boys" as I understand it. "Hick" seems to be the slur if you want to insult someone's education and class. Personally, I think people are too politically correct and too sensitive. Makes my skin crawl to see people shy away from words like "black" and "poor" and "stupid". :) It's amazing how many darn names we over-moral, over-sensitive people can think of. :) We should be impressed with our creativity! However, we should also think about seeing a collective psychologist to help undo the last thirty years of cultural brainwashing that has taken place in the West. :) Of course, mature and reasonable people should be respectful of others; and often are. I just hate to see otherwise intelligent people resorting to totally ridiculous language for the sake of other people's sensitivity.

Yes, i believe so. If used with the intent to make another person feel less than or as a put down. So, in most cases, since it is meant in a negative stance, i think it is.

Sweetpea

My experience has been that "bitch" is generally used to mean "a woman I dislike" for whatever reason, or is used as a generic insult for any woman. "Nigger", and "cracker" are good parallels, as they are again, used as insults for groups the speaker dislikes, or as generic insults for, respectively, black people and white people.

"Redneck" isn't really parallel, as it doesn't refer to any specific ethnic group,
nor is it used as a generic insult for all white people or for that matter, any specific ethnicity. It refers to a group of people based on attitudes, belief systems and lifestyle.

A better parallel would be, say nerd or geek. Like the words nerd or geek, redneck is frequently used as an insult, particularly by outsiders, but can also be merely descriptive of a given set of behaviors.

I can't begin to believe that there is anyone taking this thread seriously. Nuff said.

and I cant find white niggas?

I think the term is racial.

each subdivision of poor, uneducated people gets their own racial slur. whether it be blacks, whites, or mexicans.

I dont think that anyone would call Tiger Woods or Colin Powell a "nigger"

and I doubt that anyone would call George Bush a....nevermind.

but they wouldnt call Bill Gates a redneck!

Because it doesn't use race as grounds for insult? It might be negative, it might be hurtful to some, it might be a lot of things, but one thing it is not is racist. People are not called rednecks because they are white; they are called rednecks because they come from rural areas, have less than cosomopolitan viewpoints, and speak with an accent. People who are called niggers are called niggers because they are black (or in some instances, a certain "type" of black person).

The term "nigger" may have evolved of late to classify a certain type of black person, ie the thug life epitomizing, "negative" one, or poorer black people, but it still has connotations to many (most I would say) as referring to all black people. Redneck never has been used, to my knowledge, to refer to caucasians as a whole group.

Really? I don't believe that for one second you can't find a relatively large number of people who would call them niggers. Heck, there are still golf courses in the US where Woods can't play because he's black.

It has, and is. Especially here in Colorado.

Interesting. So even if I were a Swedish businessman, blond hair, blue eyes, sharply dressed, with the Swedish accent, someone in Colorado would call me a redneck?

It all depends on who is using the words... In my neck of the woods, racism is very bad. Normally when a black person is using the word redneck in reference to a white person, it is in a derogitory manner. On the flip side of the coin, when a white person uses the word nigger, it is usually meant in a derogitory manner as well.

The exceptions are...a white person can call another white person a redneck, and the person on the receiving end won't be offended...some will consider it a compliment, others won't...but there is no offense taken usually.

If a Black person calls another black person a nigger, or nigga then there is no offense taken usually, unless the person is a little older or educated. I know plenty of black people who don't subscribe to the use of nigger or nigga as a term of endearment.

I have heard a black person call a white person a redneck....and when the two know each other well, or are on friendly terms the white person usually doesn't get offended. But, the reverse is usually not true... I haven't witnessed an incidences where a white person would ever get away using the word nigger towards a black person...

I think how people react to the word "redneck" and "nigger" depends on who is doing the name calling, who is on the receiving end, and what part of the country it takes place in. I am "from" the more central part of Texas, just north of Austin...yet I reside in SE Texas, north of Houston, and where racism isn't bad where I am from, where i reside it is extremely bad. For the first 6 months I lived here, it felt like I was stepping back to the 60's or 70's as far as racial tolerance goes. Growing up I never saw a black guy, or woman, ride a horse, drive a truck, wear wranglers or a cowboy hat either... I saw all of that in the first couple weeks I lived here, and see it fairly regularly. Back where I am from, most blacks wouldn't be caught dead on a horse or wearing a cowboy hat.


Oh really? I am not doubting what you are saying, but could you be specific? What are your sources? I find it interesting, that after all he has contributed to the sport, there are dumbasses that won't let him play on their course.

Being from Montana, redneck is a very common word here. We use it as a joke. But then again, if I lived in a larger city, it wouldn't be a word I would use very often.