Posted on 08/03/2007 5:21:20 AM PDT by Red in Blue PA
Along with the participants in the ultimate fighting volunteering to beat each other up, the loser isn't executed after the fight.
Thank you.
“Keeping it real” is a phrase meaning to be “street” or “down to earth”. Liberals like this saying. In fact, saying “keep it real” is really an act of fakery.
“Do you believe what he wrote about rednecks and country boys”?
I obviously don’t believe that about myself. When my family was young, and money was hard to come by, I hunted and fished. I never was tempted to torment and torture.
Do you know the difference between white trash and rednecks? You should learn it, if you don’t.
I hope you have some sort of perimeter fence and cloaking device, because if folks see "rural central Florida," someone will come along and put condos on it.
They [rednecks] are generally very outgoing and friendly, always willing to help. They are also the kind of people I love dealing with. You ask them something and they answer right off the top of their head. Tell you instantly what they think. Very likable and very easy to get along with.
This is where we run into some inconsistent use of terminology. To me, the folks you're describing above are good ol' boys. Good ol' boys have taken possession of the word "redneck," just as gays have taken possession of the word "queer" -- wearing a slur as a badge. In its origins, "redneck" is the most literal description -- it described white folks who worked the fields, so the backs of their necks were sunburned.
Just working folks with no airs or pretense, and while they may not have enjoyed a broad-based liberal arts education, if you think they're dumb, you've got another think coming. They give respect and expect the same. Other cultures have similar terms -- e.g. "paesan," literally "peasant," among Italians and Italian-Americans. Simple, honest, kindred folk.
Then there are the other folks. Mean drunks, people who run with the Klan or cook meth in their trailers, no-account pains in the ass who bring nothing but trouble. In some circles, "redneck" describes those people. "White trash" and "trailer trash" are close synonyms. Or there are are other code phrases that vary from place to place -- "he's from up by the tracks" or "she's from down in the holler" may mean nothing to an outsider, but to a local ol'boy, they tell everything.
A few may lack some sophistication, but when you work around a bunch of academics, like I do, who are all PHD’s, scientists, or graduate students, most of which are constantly trying to impress, rednecks and their laid back approach, is refreshing and pleasant.
Just don't call the rednecks unless they offer the term first. They may or may not take it in the spirit intended. It's like the difference between a rapper saying "yo, nigga" to a friend and my flabby white self walking into the 'hood and yelling out "hey, nigger!" The latter is unlikely to end well. Make sure you can see the waters to the bottom before diving in.
One of my favorite intellectuals is the late Eric Hoffer. The son of German Immigrants, a longshoreman by trade, he had time to read and an acute nose for human nature. His book "The True Believer" was as sharp and dead-on as anything written by any Ph.D. If there were any justice in this world, the dictionary entry for "autodidact" would have his picture next to it.
Hoffer spent his time accumulating knowledge, not credentials. Like Will Hunting in the movie. Or, for that matter, Abe Lincoln. George Washington. Clarence Darrow. or Ronald Reagan.
“When is blood lust ever healthy”?
Woman in Florida. Severe brain damage. Long court case. Husband Michael.
If that doesn't do it, FReepmail me. Sorry to be so cagey about it, but in my experience there are certain words that call down the usual suspects, and once that happens, all other discussion on the thread is over.
It ain't hijacking if you "just let it happen."
And I'd like to know who he thinks hijacked "Black American culture." Aren't gangster rappers black?
The writer doing exactly what he's criticizing.
What do you mean by "artificial construct"? Man is a social being, by nature. 99.9% of the world lives within some kind of society or civilization. True anarchy and savagery is aberrant and transient.
But not all civilizations are created equal. Some are better than others.
i saw a segment of Chris Rock talking about the stupidity of "keeping it real," on You Tube a while back... he doesn't buy it and neither do i... it's pretty much what people say to excuse base behavior... when they have no motivation to expect better of themselves...
But did they identify themselves as "country boys" or "rednecks"? I doubt it.
I wasn’t making a pejorative comment about rednecks, rather I was questioning the veracity of his claim that rednecks tell him they do the same thing. I doubt rednecks are emailing or calling this guy.
I think his motivation was to claim it’s not just an inner city black thing, whites do it too.
Dave Chapelles’ SHow had a couple of great segments titled “when keepin’ it real goes wrong” that absolutely nailed this. I couldn’t find the skits on YouTube — they probably got a nastygram from someone’s lawyer,
I doubt they self-identified as such. But if they wrote words to the effect of "we're sick of you slick big-city Yankees messing with our ..." it's a reasonable inference.
It would seem that the history of slavery would make black men think about chains and forced actions with a different perspective i.e. I didn’t like it for my race and I wouldn’t want it on this planet in any form.
Over and over psychologists on television keep mentioning that Vick is exhibiting all of the markers of a sociopath. And yet, I don’t see that point being discussed, much. Do his teammates want to play ball or associate with a known sociopath?
Re: Do his teammates want to play ball or associate with a known sociopath?
The NFL is peppered with sociopaths.
Nowadays, the sports page is more about arrests than about the game itself.
One of the reasons I think I am done with professional sports for good after this.
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