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Does the term redneck refer to a culture or race?

What does redneck refer to

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Of course it doesn't refer to race, how the hell could it? It's purely a cultural thing.
 
apdst said:
You just said that in another post that aren't all racists. Now, you say that entire culture promotes racism.
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I think knowing what is rascist should be based on common sense and a sense of fair mindedness, rather than a nit picking definition. A defininition makes it easy for some, to push on the boundries while claiming not to be rascist.
 
Culture seems too nice a word to use about unflattering generalisations such as red neck. Isnt red neck just name calling? Wouldnt it be a bit like calling me a Mick, because I am Irish and assigning a list of characteristics that Micks have to me, even if I dont fit into all of them?
 
If redneck does mean race then what is the "redneck" race? White people? If this is true, then wouldn't all white people be rednecks? If it's a racial term what is the difference between a redneck white person and a non-redneck white person?
 
Centrist77 said:
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Yep thats what i took from your post. Then I also posted the same and aggreed with you. Then you thanked me for my post. It seemed pretty clear to me but as I myself type fast, leave words out and spell bad bacause of speed, sometimes things do get lost on here.
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Well I was responding to adpst, but his sentences didn't make sense to me and I tried to interpret them as best as I could. But yeah, it looked like he forgot to type a few words.
 
digsbe said:
If redneck does mean race then what is the "redneck" race? White people? If this is true, then wouldn't all white people be rednecks? If it's a racial term what is the difference between a redneck white person and a non-redneck white person?
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this is common sense at its finest
foreample if we ignore common sense and redneck refers to race and means ALL WHITES how silly would a person feel calling someone like say Eminem a redneck? Mark Walberg? John Stewart? hell even Bii Gates

Thats a different group of white people with different personalities and cultures, none which are redneck
 
megaprogman said:
Well I was responding to adpst, but his sentences didn't make sense to me and I tried to interpret them as best as I could. But yeah, it looked like he forgot to type a few words.
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I know I was just offereing up my two cents on how I thought you made it pretty clear what you meant and how you felt. Then I just offered that I myself type like crap sometimes and also make mistakes.
 
megaprogman said:
There seems to be some confusion about this word. I tend to use it to refer to a culture, where others seem to want to use it to refer to a race.
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It doesn't matter which it refers to.

It's, usually, used as a pejorative to describe people of The South and people not born/living in metropolitan areas.

Either way whenever it is used like that, you're sure to find a bigot using it.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
It doesn't matter which it refers to.

It's, usually, used as a pejorative to describe people of The South and people not born/living in metropolitan areas.

Either way whenever it is used like that, you're sure to find a bigot using it.
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Oh I agree, its not a nice word. However, this thread is related to a side thread about whether the word was racist.
 
megaprogman said:
Oh I agree, its not a nice word. However, this thread is related to a side thread about whether the word was racist.
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Generally speaking, it's a race based word.
It can be used to describe black people though.

Kind of like calling a white person a "wigger," the same reference to cultural practices of some black people being applied to a white person.
 
Not all whites are rednecks. Some whites are rednecks. It's a colloquialism coined to describe blue collar, low-income whites.

You want to see a lot of rednecks in one place, a NASCAR race is a great place to start.*





*I'm a fan, so don't get your panties in a wad. But, if you go to a race, you will see more redneckery than you ever knew existed in this country.
 
Catz Part Deux said:
Not all whites are rednecks. Some whites are rednecks. It's a colloquialism coined to describe blue collar, low-income whites.

You want to see a lot of rednecks in one place, a NASCAR race is a great place to start.*





*I'm a fan, so don't get your panties in a wad. But, if you go to a race, you will see more redneckery than you ever knew existed in this country.
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I actually don't have a problem with people calling others pejorative names, it makes it easier to spot people to don't want to associate with.

With that said, what's good for the goose is good for the gander.
If it's all fine and dandy to make remarks about some white people, it should be the same for all people of any color.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
I actually don't have a problem with people calling others pejorative names, it makes it easier to spot people to don't want to associate with.

With that said, what's good for the goose is good for the gander.
If it's all fine and dandy to make remarks about some white people, it should be the same for all people of any color.
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I agree.

Its okay for all or not okay for anyone.

That is the true meaning of racial equality.
 
Caine said:
I agree.

Its okay for all or not okay for anyone.

That is the true meaning of racial equality.
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Exactly, it seems perfectly acceptable to a lot of people to talk down about Southerners/rural people and they do it so openly.
Why not everyone else?

The way I understand it is that in New England states, it's pretty common for people of Southern Heritage to be discriminated against.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
Exactly, it seems perfectly acceptable to a lot of people to talk down about Southerners/rural people and they do it so openly.
Why not everyone else?

The way I understand it is that in New England states, it's pretty common for people of Southern Heritage to be discriminated against.
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While they are accepted as neighbors when they all flee down here.

Then they turn around and take over the local newspaper and write front page article pretty much "dissing" sweet tea.
No respect, no respect....
 
megaprogman said:
There seems to be some confusion about this word. I tend to use it to refer to a culture, where others seem to want to use it to refer to a race.
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Cultural.
It was a term that Southern whites invented to refer to other whites of lower social classes (ie, those who worked in the fields and got sunburns on the backs of their necks) and it was already in use before the Civil War, although I don't know the exact year it came into popular usage.
 
1069 said:
Cultural.
It was a term that Southern whites invented to refer to other whites of lower social classes (ie, those who worked in the fields and got sunburns on the backs of their necks) and it was already in use before the Civil War, although I don't know the exact year it came into popular usage.
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While your historical analysis of the term is both correct and appretiated,

We are talking about its current use.
 
1069 is correct about it's origin and original meaning. Basically it referred to working-class Southerners, particularly farmers, and was originally a pejorative implying poverty and ignorance.

It's useful to know how the term originated, because a lot of people use it in a very similar way in modern times. It implies someone who is a low-class, low-paid, uneducated laborer, particularly if they are rural.

In modern times many rural Southerners have taken up the term and used it as a label of pride. WE know that those who think we are poor, bigoted, ignorant and uneduated wretches with five teeth, THEY are the ignorant ones. They're speaking of things they have no knowlege of.

In modern times, a perfectly reasonable proportion of rural white Southerners go to college... yes, even a lot of farmers who intend to stay farmers. Running a modern farm is not something that a brainless ignoramus is going to succeed at, it has become a complex venture that is heavily mechanized and requires careful business management.

Nor are we unsophisticated bigots. I'd say that a larger proportion of rural southern whites get along just fine with their black neighbors, and I base that on personal experience.

The ignorant wretches who can't hold down a job and whose highest ambition is a twelve-pack on Saturday night, we refer to as white trash.
 
If memory serves me, the original rednecks were miners who wore red bandanas around their necks.
 
Goshin said:
The ignorant wretches who can't hold down a job and whose highest ambition is a twelve-pack on Saturday night, we refer to as white trash.
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EXACTLY! And they seem to be proliferating rapidly.;)
 
The term redneck isn't a racial slur. It's a cultural reference. It's a term some people even use as a badge of pride. I live in Georgia, and I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone call someone a redneck, and have them reply "Damn straight!"
 
Your Star said:
The term redneck isn't a racial slur. It's a cultural reference. It's a term some people even use as a badge of pride. I live in Georgia, and I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone call someone a redneck, and have them reply "Damn straight!"
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Dern tootin'
 
I give y'all,

A white redneck,

miss_redneck_contestant1.jpg


A fat redneck,

redneck_1.jpg


A redneck-ass-nig**,

lil-jon.jpg


A chinky-ass-redneck,

2992460619_6d957e4093.jpg


And finally, a nasty-ass-redneck.

redneck_pics_tattoo4.jpg


It is clearly a culture thang.
 
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Redneck is clearly a cultural slur. I mean is anyone seriously going to tell me Jeff Foxworthy is a racist because of his "you know you're a redneck ..." jokes? Redneck is used to refer to blue collar, working class whites - usually ones with Southern or rural origins. It's used generally used as a slur, but I know plenty of Southerners who are proud to call themselves rednecks.

Anyone trying to argue redneck is a racial slur is simply trying to stir the pot and play the part of a faux victim of racisim. That said, it doesn't mean it should be an acceptable to slur an entire culture anymore than it should be acceptable to slur an entire race. I personally don't object to using the term redneck or white trash towards the truly ignorant and worthless. And I love a good redneck joke (just like I love a good joke at anyone's expense) But labeling everyone from a certain geographic region (or everyone with a certain political view as some folks tend to do around here) with the slur isn't cool.

As Harry Guerilla said, the one thing it is handy for in those cases is making it easy to point out the intolerant a-holes.
 
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