‘Redneck’ Ruckus (Redneck humor offensive)

abc ^ | 10-29-03 | geraldine sealy

[wheelgunguru]

Oct. 29 — Rachel Rubin collects what offends her, such as a "Fight inbreeding, ban country music" bumper sticker. "Let's see: Incest, funny or not funny?" she says.

She has salt-and-pepper shakers shaped like poor whites in rags. And perhaps the worst item in her cache, Rubin says, is a set of rotting costume "hillbilly" teeth. "I can't think of any instances where it's OK to make fun of someone who lacks medical care," says Rubin, an American studies professor at the University of Massachusetts in Boston.

Rubin belongs to a steadily growing group of academics and activists who want politically correct consideration for poor and rural whites. They see a double standard at play that makes phrases like "hillbillies," "rednecks," "hicks," "white trash," and "trailer trash" socially acceptable, unlike epithets aimed at other groups.

"The reason they are acceptable is that they're about white people and not seen as racist and derogatory," says Anthony Harkins, history professor at Western Kentucky University and author of the forthcoming book Hillbilly: The Cultural History of an American Icon. "We tend to degrade people of lower class in general."

Expressions like "redneck" and "white trash" are interchangeable these days, although they have different origins. "Redneck," for example, once described people who work outside in the sun. "That doesn't apply anymore," Rubin said. "What it really means is class."

[patton]

Funny that you mention it. My son played his last Freshman game tonight - his team finished the season 8-0.

And yes, he is a lineman.

He is also a straight-A student at the #6 academic school in the US.

[Possenti]

southeastern KY, about 30 minutes from Louisville

Ever been to Knob Creek?

I'm up north - 40 miles south of Cincinnati. If you take I-75 into Ohio, it goes across a "double decker" bridge, where the south-bound traffic going into Kentucky is on top.

Legend is, when you go north, the people above throw their shoes over to the lower level so the hillbillies can put them on to go to the city. KY visitors don't need them where they're going...

[patton]

We have a guy at my boatyard called "Bub" - bad news, unless you need a dock.

[Severa]

Never been there but am familiar with that story *L*

[patton]

The real hate crime is surpressing everything one finds offensive. It is like, so Nazi.

[patton]

Who is us, bub?

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

I is a edumacated redneck.
I dont pi$$ in the sink if there are clean dishes in it.

[GeronL]

exactly, and thats where we are supposed to keep the clean dishes IMO. I mean why stack them in the cabinet, where the hens are, since they'll just get dirty again?

"We take baths once a month, whether we need them or not" used to be a joke we told often

[Mr. Lucky]

Kin such as you is why we have an outhouse; I don't want nobody taking a dump in the same building where I eat.

[Atlas Sneezed]

I'm a Metrosexual working on getting in touch with his "inner redneck".

[Atlas Sneezed]

LOL!!!

[Atlas Sneezed]

The proper answer is:

"You mean what do I earn, or what does the IRS think I earn after my accountant finds all my legitmate deductions and business expenses?"

[razorback-bert]

Their first house.

[wku man]

Not to be overly nitpicky, but 30 minutes from Loserville would put you smack dab in Central Kentucky. That's where I grew up, in Lexington and Nicholasville.

Do you remember the band Government Cheese? They had a song called "A Man From Kentucky is Lucky", the first line of which went "Look 'em in the eye and tell 'em you're from Kentucky, and they'll look at your feet". Yes, there is a difference between rednecks and white trash, and Kentucky is full of both of them. I count many rednecks among my close friends, and never associate with white trash.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[JoJo Gunn]

Ain't you got a porch?

Or is it covered up in dogs?

[Akira]

Every family has a Virgil, don't they?

[baltodog]

Well, like my father used to tell me:
"Anyone can laugh at themselves, but it takes a real man to laugh at others."
Doesn't the punchline of just about every joke we know benefit from political incorrectness?
Think about it: What would be funny if everyone was covered?

[Born Conservative]

Hillbilly Joke (with apologies in advance to the freepers living in Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, West Virginia, and Florida):

After having their 11th. child, an Alabama couple decided that was enough, as they could not afford a larger bed. So the husband went to his veterinarian and told him that he and his cousin didn't want to have any more children. The doctor told him that there was a procedure called a vasectomy that could fix the problem, but it was expensive. A less costly alternative, said the doctor, was to go home, get a cherry bomb, (fireworks are legal in Alabama) light it and put it in a beer can, then hold the can up to his ear and count to ten. The Alabamian said to the doctor, "I may not be the smartest man in the world, but I don't see how putting a cherry bomb in a beer can next to my ear is going to help me." "Trust me," said the doctor. So the man went home lit a cherry bomb and put it in a beer can. He held the can up to his ear and began to count:- 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5... At which point he paused, placed the beer can between his legs, and resumed counting on his other hand. This procedure also works in Kentucky, Mississippi, West Virginia, and Florida.

[Freemeorkillme]

here, here! Though, perhaps, you haven't ventured up north the Mason-Dixon in a spell, but good ole Americans(if you want to attach the label "redneck") can be found north as well, ma friend.

tha best,

KMOKM-btw,the 'neck in redneck is a superficial label imposed improperly on the wrong parts of the body--->heart, mind and spirit would be more apt. Don't know what the term is...

[Severa]

Yeah I was born in Louisville, when I was five we moved to Spencer County (YAY Taylorsville Lake). And before you ask, I went to UofL (briefly) but am a true blue UofK fan.