I'm just going to put that question out there first, because I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this. I do know that I've started talking to a self-declared redneck online, and so far almost everything about him is so repellent to me that I don't understand why I'm still interested in him. He's nice enough, and not extremely cute, so it's not alpha-male attraction situation. . . . . yeah, I think that's enough babbling for now.
Something is sparking, and so long as that is present within two people, it doesn't really matter .. maybe what is drawing you to him is that he intrigues you because he's redneck. Have you ever dated one before?
What actually MAKES someone a red-neck? If riding horses, whooping & hollering, wrestling goats, chasing and spanking cows, spitting, and pissing off bulls makes someone a red-neck..then WHOOOOO!!!! I'M A REDNECK!! AWESOME!! 🙂
Let's see . . . he's a rabid hunting and fish enthusiast, loves country music, lives in a small town in Illinois, has relatives in Alabama, is a Republican, and indicated on his profile on the dating site where we met that he wants whomever he dates to have conservative political leanings. I haven't heard his voice yet.
would you consider Billy Currington a redneck? if so, I'm IN !! ooohhh....or rodney atkins, trace atkins, Tobey Keith, Luke Bryan.... "ladies love country boys"
I'm not sure redneckism is a word - but in truth the term "redneck" is a derogatory term for people from the south. So their life style s are irrelevent.
but that's what I'm saying - anyone from the south is considered one... but I think the negative connotations people have are that they consider people from the south stupid - usually because of their slow speech and mannerism. People have this idea that everyone from the south is a beer guzzling bufoon who has sex with their siblings..... they think people from the south have no manners - which is ironic when you consider the terms southern gentleman and southern lady......
It's the whole idea of a "backward" life style ..... have you ever heard the song "what do ya think about that" ? that is precisely what people mean when they talk about "redneck" but tell me honestly - what is wrong with a man like that? I don't see a problem... I don't need a man who wears a suit and tie to wrok and owns more haircare products than I do..... faded jeans, a flannel shirt, ballcap and a pickup truck are okay with me!
Well, apparantly my interpretation is much different than others, probably because I am so close to the West Virginia border that the behaviour/life style described by many is common around here.
To me what makes a person a redneck is one who wants to get drunk and then go find butts to whip, for no reason except because the beaters want to feel like bad-ass muther fukcers. They want to be able to wake up in the morning, look at their battle-scars, talk about the ones they inflicted so they have something to laugh/boast about for the next drinking session to get them pumped up for another night out of proving thier manliness of being tough.
lol thanks angelfish for making your point. I'm sorry, but they're not always quite that appealing. My former neighbors for instance . . . Anyway, I wasn't sure when I started this thread whether he falls into the appealing category. Now I know he does, and how!
FROM Answers.com: A slang term, usually for a rural white southerner who is politically conservative, racist, and a religious fundamentalist (see fundamentalism). This term is generally considered offensive. It originated in reference to agricultural workers, alluding to how the back of a person's neck will be burned by the sun if he works long hours in the fields. [http://www.answers.com/topic/redneck]<BR> As a 7th generation Southerner (on my Mom's side), I am not the least bit offended to be seen as a redneck. Those of us from south of the Mason-Dixon Line have endured a lot worse from Yankees than name-calling, and we really couldn't give a rat's ass what the Tundra dwellers have to think about us in God's Country. We know we have it great down here; so let them shiver in their pasty-white skins, and commute for 2-3 hours each way, and skedaddle to Florida just as soon as they can after retirement... and then b1tch about how HOT it is! If you don't like it, then get your frozen cracker asses back up to Chicago! All this Yankee emigration has zapped our water supply, so the fewer of you transplants, the better...
"I'm sorry, but they're not always quite that appealing. My former neighbors for instance . . ."
so one bad apple spoils the bunch? that could be said about ANYTHING. Take blonde jokes for instance - oh yes....don't think there aren't still people out there wqho truly think all blondes are stupid..... so maybe SOME people who are described as "rednecks" are losers....well some people who are rich are losers, some people who are goodlooking are losers.... if you knew a gorgeous guy who beat his wife would you say all gorgeous men beat their wives? Just because someone is called a redneck doesn't always mean they're larry the cable guy - and incidentally he turns out to be the lovable hero in the movie so :0p
I know she was only using them as an example....it was more of a reference to the origin of the thread...
but why not? being proud of being a redneck in the context you used it is just saying "yeah I'm poor southern white person -so?" in other words declaring that that doesn't make them bad people or worthless or whatever else.... just proud of who they are.
MsPisces .. you pretty much described the poeple up here in the mountains of West Virginia .. it's not uncommon to see inbreds from incest .. no teeth, eyes-crossed and they are damn proud of their heritage.
well that IS what most people think when they think redneck.... but I think that's where the pride comes in - saying just because I'm poor southern trash doesn't mean I sleep with my sister and don't bath.... basically people think the two go hand in hand.... they see the guy I described - baseball cap and a pick up truck and think redneck....and the conotations that go with it... so it's kind of circular reasoning... most people who listen to country [or at least the people I know who do] think the song "good directions" gives country a bad name.... I disagree - I think it's exactly the kind of thing we're talking about here and I think it shows the "redneck" from his point of view....
I understand what you're saying - but what I'm saying is a lot of people see "country boy" and automatically think they are a redneck in the sense you're saying it.... they think if he's a country boy he must be a redneck. See what I'm saying? they not confusing the two terms they just think if you're one you must be the other - I've known some self proclaimed rednecks who have all their teeth and wash regularly - but they call themselves rednecks because they like beer and hunting and wouldn't be caught dead in a suit and tie.....
but that's a personal problem.... not necessarily something ALL poor white southerner's do - and you may find some yankees who'd be just as proud.... it's a mental thing....
I'm not entirely clear why anybody would be proud of any label .. it promotes discrimination.
The same thing could be said about races .. this labelling crap. And to own something like that, is essentially saying that it's alright for people to have a certain opinion of you, according to what this particular label means.
Just say, "country boy" .... the word redneck is derogatory.
well.... in a way being proud of your "label" can diffuse the negative conotations.... it's like my mom used to tell me about my big sister picking on me - she does it to get a rise out of me..... if you say "I'm a redneck and proud of it" then what fun is there for the jerk that wants to put you down by calling you that?.... sort of like that I suppose... but I have a movie to catch and I'm all caught up in this conversation....later!
It just makes the word acceptable .. if another person called a black person the N word .. it is no longer a positive.
But, if such a word is allowed to be used .. then people will use it, and not every person will use it nicely.
It's like, "Hey, I'm a redneck" .. but, then when somebody else uses the word in a negative tone, then all of a sudden this positive feeling person about themselves, gets offended.
When in reality .. the person who called themself that made the word acceptable.
I don't know .. I just think that it's best not to label ourselves like that, because we just set ourselves for trouble.
"in a way being proud of your "label" can diffuse the negative conotations"
Well, I just see that as pure nonesense, to be truthful. If a person walked around saying, "I'm (this) and proud of my shit" .. then if they are so proud of it, then they shouldn't have a gripe if another person called them that .. but, they do, because they should .. it's wrong to be called a name. "Hey, I'm a slut and proud" .. are you going to let another person call you a slut?
Let me hear someone calling a proud black person a nigger and there will be hell to pay .. I don't care HOW proud that person is of their label. Shit will hit the fan.
So, to be proud of it, means absolutely nothing positive if another person uses the word in a tone .. it can't be both ways.
hmmm.... I think I worded that poorly.... not necessarily that it makes it OKAY - but the people TRY to make it that way by making it seem like no big deal...
it's like laughing when someone teases you.... the more you make a big deal out of it the more they want to do it to get to you... the HOPE is that if you laugh with them that will take all of the fun out of it - but in reality it usually just makes people think they can get away with it....I said my mom told me sis was teasing me to get a rise - doesn't mean it stopped just because I took mom's advice and ignored it - it just made my sister think she could get away with it. When people call you anything in a negative way it's because it makes them feel better about themselves....I'm not talking about telling someone something to help them improve themselves - I'm talking about just flat out being nasty.....and basically if they can get away with it they will.
So what I was meaning to infer was that people who call themselves things like that aren't necessarily trying to say "it's okay to call me that name" it's more like "you call me that because I do this - well I'm okay with the fact that I do this and you can call it anything you want you're not going to make me feel bad" but it does backfire....
. . . . yeah, I think that's enough babbling for now.