Is "redneck" a racial slur? - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

politicophile · 07-26-2005, 10:51 AM

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?

maleficent · 07-26-2005, 10:54 AM

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

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...

politicophile · 07-26-2005, 11:08 AM

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

StanT · 07-26-2005, 11:20 AM

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

Johnny Pyro · 07-26-2005, 12:18 PM

Quote:

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.

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!

maleficent · 07-26-2005, 12:23 PM

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.

ngdawg · 07-26-2005, 12:33 PM

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.

07-26-2005, 12:52 PM

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.

Jinn · 07-26-2005, 01:18 PM

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?

Quote:

_________________

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

_________________

Ya, I never heard of a "nigga" (and I know a shitload) getting offended when called one. They love it. Its almost like a badge of honor. "Nigga" is not a racial slur where I come from. Those crazy "niggas"!
__________________

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

Hmm.. strange..

Ruse · 07-26-2005, 08:54 PM

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.

Johnny Pyro · 07-27-2005, 12:54 AM

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.

Ustwo · 07-27-2005, 04:51 AM

Moral of the story.

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

politicophile · 07-27-2005, 05:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ustwo

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.

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.

maleficent · 07-27-2005, 06:20 AM

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.

Bill O'Rights · 07-27-2005, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ngdawg

I...have...a 49 Cadillac that's rusting into the driveway

That's enough to make me cry real tears.

Jinn · 07-27-2005, 06:26 AM

Quote:

The defition I'd use is uneducated, rather than stupid, uncultured is pretty good, or more better,...

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

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.

maleficent · 07-27-2005, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JinnKai

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

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)

canuckguy · 07-27-2005, 07:21 AM

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.

politicophile · 07-27-2005, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brian1975

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.

Charlatan · 07-27-2005, 07:31 AM

Etymology of Nigger:

Quote:

nigger
1786, earlier neger (1568, Scot. and northern England dialect), from Fr. nègre, from Sp. negro (see Negro). From the earliest usage it was "the term that carries with it all the obloquy and contempt and rejection which whites have inflicted on blacks" [cited in Gowers, 1965]. But as black inferiority was at one time a near universal assumption in Eng.-speaking lands, the word in some cases could be used without insult. More sympathetic writers late 18c. and early 19c. seem to have used black (n.) and, after the American Civil War, colored person. Also applied by Eng. settlers to dark-skinned native peoples in India, Australia, Polynesia. The reclamation of the word as a neutral or positive term in black culture, often with a suggestion of "soul" or "style," is attested first in the Amer. South, later (1968) in the Northern, urban-based Black Power movement. Variant niggah, attested from 1925 (without the -h, from 1969), is found usually in situations where blacks use the word. Nigra (1944), on the other hand, reflects a pronunciation in certain circles of Negro, but meant to suggest nigger, and is thus deemed (according to a 1960 slang dictionary) "even more derog. than 'nigger.' " Slang phrase nigger in the woodpile attested by 1800; "A mode of accounting for the disappearance of fuel; an unsolved mystery" [R.H. Thornton, "American Glossary," 1912]. Nigger heaven, "the top gallery in a (segregated) theater" first attested 1878 in ref. to Troy, N.Y.
" 'You're a fool nigger, and the worst day's work Pa ever did was to buy you,' said Scarlett slowly. ... There, she thought, I've said 'nigger' and Mother wouldn't like that at all." [Margaret Mitchell, "Gone With the Wind," 1936]
Used in combinations (e.g. nigger-brown, nigger-head, nigger-toe) since 1840s for various dark brown or black hues or objects; euphemistic substitutions (e.g. Zulu) began to appear in these senses c.1917.

more

Quote:

Etymology
From Latin niger, "black".

[edit]
Pronunciation
nĭg'ə(r), /ˈnɪɡə(r)/, /"nIg@(r)/
Rhymes: -ɪɡə(r)
[edit]
Usage Note
Although this word comes from the Latin word niger, which simply means black, the use of this word to refer to a black or a person of African descent is normally considered pejorative (most often extremely, highly, or strongly so). The word is, however, used by some black people as a neutral or even affirmative term when used in the form of "nigga".

When used by someone who is not black, nigger is almost invariably considered offensive. In its pejorative sense, it arguably ranks as the most offensive and insulting racial/ethnic term in English, carrying with it strong connotations of cultural, aesthetic, and intellectual inferiority or deficiency (such connotations of deficiency extending to a perception of exoticism). Indeed, the term can be callously cruel: with its most conceivably creatively pejorative uses (e.g., if a non-black were to hurl the term at a random black in a wincing and forceful way), the term can be loaded with meanings that all exude a perception of a highly deficient and exotic thinghood at its target, as unfair and false as the perceptions may be.

Changing attitudes and realizations towards those of black origin (e.g., realizing that blacks are not intellectually, or in other ways, inferior to other races; acknowledgement of highly significant cultural contributions made by blacks; civil rights advances made by blacks) has made the writing of this word taboo in many instances, or if it is written, it is often obfuscated as "N_____", "N****r", etc.

Lebell · 07-27-2005, 07:57 AM

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.

Charlatan · 07-27-2005, 08:18 AM

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.

roachboy · 07-27-2005, 08:22 AM

from the oed (my favorite):

redneck:

Quote:

1. U.S. a. A member of the white rural labouring class of the southern States; one whose attitudes are considered characteristic of this class; freq., a reactionary.
Originally, and still often, derogatory, but now also used with more sympathy for the aspirations of the rural American.

1830 A. ROYALL Southern Tour I. 148 This may be ascribed to the Red Necks, a name bestowed upon the Presbyterians in Fayetteville. 1893 H. A. SHANDS Some Peculiarities of Speech in Mississippi 53 Red-neck,..a name applied by the better class of people to the poorer inhabitants of the rural districts. 1904 Dialect Notes II. 420 Redneck, n., An uncouth countryman. ?The hill-billies came from the hills, and the rednecks from the swamps.? 1913 J. DAVIS Life & Speeches iii. 42 If you red-necks or hill billies ever come to Little Rock be sure and come to see mecome to my house. 1936 W. FAULKNER Absalom, Absalom! 122 Rich and poor, aristocrat and redneck. 1959 Times Lit. Suppl. 28 Aug. 491/4 The ugly faces and, under prompting or provocation, the uglier actions of a handful of red-necks, crackers, tar-heels and other poor white trash here and there in the South. 1960 Spectator 15 Jan. 83/2 The old patrician families who are opposed to the graft, blackmail and demagogy by which the Boss, the tribune of the rednecks, keeps himself in power. 1969 Observer 7 Dec. 25/3 They [sc. communes] all shared two experiences: the search for new values, and attention from local rednecks and the police. 1971 J. BISHOP Days of Martin Luther King, Jr. IV. 329 The fearful Southern red-neck, committed to the credo that the black man is a bridge between the animal kingdom and the human, derided the speech as typical ?coon shouting?. 1973 Black World Mar. 56 Carload of rednecks came with the darkness to Slim's house. Blew the horn until Slim's daddy opened the door. 1975 Daily Tel. 15 Oct. 17/7 Was it because they might think his [sc. Govenor George Wallace's] reputation as a Right-wing ?red neck? a political embarrassment? 1976 Time 27 Sept. 47/1 That was the point Carter was attempting to make when he said in 1970 that Maddox ?has compassion for the little man?, and when he said that a Humphrey-Wallace ticket in 1972 ?would do well in the South?, and when he called himself ?basically a redneck?. 1977 D. JAMES Spy at Evening x. 71 Middle-class rednecks like you..get all worked up about it. 1978 J. UPDIKE Coup v. 192 Her momma's a washrag and her daddy's a redneck.

b. attrib. or as adj.

1961 D. ALEXANDER Bloodstain xi. 134 You should never have come out here alone. This is redneck country. Every man in every one of these houses is a Night Rider. 1965 Listener 20 May 730/2 His general manner and accent suggest a person who might hold the racist views of a red-neck Southern bigot. 1971 B. MALAMUD Tenants 60 ?I? grows up in redneck Mississippi in pure black poverty. 1972 R. BLOCH Night-World (1974) vii. 43 See how far you can march through Georgia today before some redneck sheriff busts you for vagrancy. 1973 Freedomways XIII. 52 Even Faulkner's ability was distorted by the pervasive racism of his redneck traditionalism. 1974 New Yorker 25 Feb. 102/3 He seems Southern rednecka common man who works outdoors in the sunto the soul. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 17 July 4/1 Quite possibly Mississippi's only self~avowed redneck Republican. 1979 Arizona Daily Star 22 July 1. 5/4 Carter..ran on a virtually redneck platform for the 1970 nomination... After running a redneck campaign, [he] pledged an end to discrimination in his inaugural address.

2. (See quot.)

1900 Westm. Gaz. 25 Apr. 2/3 ?Red-neck? used to be applied to Roman Catholics in Lancashire as a term of opprobrium.

3. S. Afr. = ROOINEK.

1900 A. H. KEANE Boer States p. xviii, Rooinek, ?Red~neck?, in reference originally to some merinos introduced by an English farmer into the Free State, and marked with a red brand on the neck. These were spoken of as red-necksan expression afterwards extended to the English themselves, and then as a term of contempt to the British troops in red uniform. 1921, etc. [see ROOINEK]. 1936 R. CAMPBELL Mithraic Emblems 111 To find a red-neck cheap upon this day You do not need to wander far away. 1972 J. MCCLURE Caterpillar Cop ii. 18 What's with this Red~neck?.. Another bloody English immigrant?

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

Jinn · 07-27-2005, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charlatan

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...

Again..

Quote:

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

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

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

Charlatan · 07-27-2005, 11:30 AM

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

07-27-2005, 11:42 AM

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

07-27-2005, 11:43 AM

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

Jinn · 07-27-2005, 12:07 PM

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.

Charlatan · 07-27-2005, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JinnKai

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.

Charlatan · 07-27-2005, 12:50 PM

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.

Robert_XX · 07-27-2005, 01:44 PM

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

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charlatan

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).

...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.

doodlebird · 07-27-2005, 02:39 PM

Quote:

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.

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

IC3 · 07-27-2005, 04:59 PM

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.

Gilda · 07-27-2005, 06:00 PM

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.

Jinn · 07-27-2005, 07:15 PM

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.

Johnny Pyro · 07-27-2005, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JinnKai

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

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!

analog · 07-27-2005, 08:47 PM

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

Tophat665 · 07-28-2005, 05:00 AM

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.

tecoyah · 07-28-2005, 05:44 AM

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.

ngdawg · 07-28-2005, 07:31 AM

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

07-26-2005, 10:51 AM	#1 (permalink)
politicophile Addict	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? __________________ The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error. ~John Stuart Mill, On Liberty

07-26-2005, 10:54 AM	#2 (permalink)
maleficent Junkie Moderator Emeritus Location: Chicago	When someone asks about the term redneck, my pat answer tends to be - well I prefer the term Springer-ite... 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... __________________ Free your heart from hatred. Free your mind from worries. Live simply. Give more. Expect less.

07-26-2005, 11:08 AM	#3 (permalink)
politicophile Addict	I think that white trash is a slur of sorts, and redneck definitely isn't that different... __________________ The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error. ~John Stuart Mill, On Liberty

07-26-2005, 12:23 PM	#6 (permalink)
maleficent Junkie Moderator Emeritus Location: Chicago	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. __________________ Free your heart from hatred. Free your mind from worries. Live simply. Give more. Expect less.

07-26-2005, 12:33 PM	#7 (permalink)
ngdawg peekaboo Location: on the back, bitch	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. __________________ Don't blame me. I didn't vote for either of'em.

07-26-2005, 11:20 AM	#4 (permalink)
StanT © Location: Colorado	Most rednecks that I know revel in the word. While it might be an insult to some, a real redneck considers it a compliment.

07-26-2005, 12:52 PM	#8 (permalink)
zen_tom Guest	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.

07-26-2005, 08:54 PM	#10 (permalink)
Ruse Crazy	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.

07-27-2005, 12:54 AM	#11 (permalink)
Johnny Pyro Hey Now! Location: Massachusetts (Redneck, white boy town. I hate it here.)	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. __________________ "From delusion lead me to truth, from darkness lead me to light, from death lead me to eternal life. - Sheriff John Wydell

07-27-2005, 04:51 AM	#12 (permalink)
Ustwo Pissing in the cornflakes	Moral of the story. Its still ok to be non-PC to white people. __________________ Agents of the enemies who hold office in our own government, who attempt to eliminate our "freedoms" and our "right to know" are posting among us, I fear.....on this very forum. - host Obama - Know a Man by the friends he keeps.

07-27-2005, 06:20 AM	#14 (permalink)
maleficent Junkie Moderator Emeritus Location: Chicago	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. __________________ Free your heart from hatred. Free your mind from worries. Live simply. Give more. Expect less.

07-27-2005, 07:21 AM	#18 (permalink)
canuckguy I read your emails. Location: earth	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.

07-27-2005, 07:57 AM	#21 (permalink)
Lebell Cracking the Whip Location: Sexymama's arms...	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. __________________ "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." – C. S. Lewis The ONLY sponsors we have are YOU! Please Donate!

07-27-2005, 08:18 AM	#22 (permalink)
Charlatan Getting it. Super Moderator Location: Lion City	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. __________________ "My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars." - Old Man Luedecke Last edited by Charlatan; 07-27-2005 at 11:47 AM.. Reason: edited for greater clarity

07-27-2005, 11:30 AM	#25 (permalink)
Charlatan Getting it. Super Moderator Location: Lion City	I don't see a double standard here... please expand. __________________ "My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars." - Old Man Luedecke

07-27-2005, 11:42 AM	#26 (permalink)
zen_tom Guest	No, I don't see the double standard either.

07-27-2005, 11:43 AM	#27 (permalink)
zen_tom Guest	But let's try and avoid mentioning Chris Rock in this thread, ok?

07-27-2005, 12:07 PM	#28 (permalink)
Jinn Lover - Protector - Teacher Location: Seattle, WA	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. __________________ "I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

07-27-2005, 12:50 PM	#30 (permalink)
Charlatan Getting it. Super Moderator Location: Lion City	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. __________________ "My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars." - Old Man Luedecke

07-27-2005, 04:59 PM	#33 (permalink)
IC3 Poison Location: Canada	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. __________________ "To win any battle, you must fight as if you were already dead" -Musashi

07-27-2005, 06:00 PM	#34 (permalink)
Gilda 32 flavors and then some Location: Out on a wire.	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. __________________ I'm against ending blackness. I believe that everyone has a right to be black, it's a choice, and I support that. ~Steven Colbert

07-27-2005, 07:15 PM	#35 (permalink)
Jinn Lover - Protector - Teacher Location: Seattle, WA	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. __________________ "I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

07-27-2005, 08:47 PM	#37 (permalink)
analog Banned	considering redneck has nothing to do with race, but character traits of individuals, no. /succinct dismissal

07-28-2005, 05:00 AM	#38 (permalink)
Tophat665 Minion of the scaléd ones Location: Northeast Jesusland	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. __________________ Light a man a fire, and he will be warm while it burns. Set a man on fire, and he will be warm for the rest of his life.

07-28-2005, 05:44 AM	#39 (permalink)
tecoyah Illusionary	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. __________________ Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. - Buddha

07-28-2005, 07:31 AM	#40 (permalink)
ngdawg peekaboo Location: on the back, bitch	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 __________________ Don't blame me. I didn't vote for either of'em.