Growing up in the “olden days” in the middle of the U.S., it was not a deragatory term - but a descriptive term for primarily men who worked outside, such as farmers, and had every part of their anatomy except for the area on the back of their neck between the bottom of their cap and the top of their collar. It was always exposed to the sun in the summer and was forever red. Interestingly, in our part of the country these people also went to the local car races on Saturday night, always went to church on Sunday, helped their neighbors, did not tolerate laziness and cherished and respected God’s earth which provided them with their total livelihood.
You and I must have grown up in the same area.
I’m familiar with the historical interpretation and development of the term. And I would much rather hang out with one than a lawyer.
In the “well educated” parts of the country, the term is used to describe poorly educated whites, and there is more than a small nuance of “racist” in it.
Just a quick Google search gives this definition:
red·neck (rdnk)
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.