Apologia pro redneck, Or: In defense of a word — and a people

Jewish World Review ^ | June 17, 2008 | Paul Greenberg

[yarddog]

This entire article is pure BS. The only reason any thing was made of the statement was because it was directed at a specific group of people.

Unlike all the other racist words, one can say Redneck or Cracker at will on TV, the movies etc. Might not be wise for a presidential candidate but using the word itself carries none of the baggage of any other ethnic slur.

Of course the fact that using it is exactly the same thing doesn't matter. Poor Whites, especially Southern ones are fair game for the media.

[Whiplash]

Whyyyy,fiddledeedee

[Dilbert San Diego]

Yep, a single word can get people in trouble.

Remember George Allen got in trouble for “macaca” and that was the beginning of the end for his campaign.

And remember a few years ago, somebody in Washington DC bureaucracy got fired because he said he wanted to be “niggardly” with the taxpayer’s money, and make sure it was spent properly. Because it sounded similar to a racial slur, he was summarily dismissed from his job.

Words only have meaning for Republicans, or if the words can be used by the politically correct crowd. Robert Byrd, formerly of the KKK, said something about “there are white N****rs, too” on a TV interview, and nothing was ever said again about that. Imagine the reaction if a white Republican had said something like that.

[PowderMonkey]

Ms. Mitchell doesn’t know squat about South Western Virginia, Bristol, or rednecks. To her, any place outstide of New York City is redneck country. In her honor I will be placing a sign on the highway outside my hometown: “Welcome to Virginia, Ms. Mitchell! Now ya’all turn around and git on home.”

[Niteranger68]

Ms. Mitchell doesn’t know squat about South Western Virginia, Bristol, or rednecks. To her, any place outstide of New York City is redneck country. In her honor I will be placing a sign on the highway outside my hometown: “Welcome to Virginia, Ms. Mitchell! Now ya’all turn around and git on home.”

Ditto that. The only thing Andrea-Nicole Mitchell is good at is separating networks from their money while providing nothing of value in return.

[Corin Stormhands]

The real rednecks in southwestern Virginia must be wondering what all the fuss is about.

Speaking as a real redneck from Southwest Virginia I'm wondering how Paul Greenburg knows that we think?

I'm just askin'.

[Donald Rumsfeld Fan]

Who are these rednecks anyway? One inadequate definition would be to say they're the descendants of the Scots-Irish who pushed the American frontier across first the Appalachians and then ever westward, spreading as far north as the hills of Pennsylvania and as far south and west as wide-open Texas, leaving their manners, speech and customs an indelible if often unremarked part of the American character.

Oh, yes,rednecks are also fighters. Which means that, ignored and snubbed in times of peace, or just patronized by those who think their very name an insult, they are always called on when the country's in real trouble. To this day, they are part of the backbone of the United States military. They are, in short, people to tie to. They will stand their ground, as America's enemies have discovered since 1776 and long before. They need no one to come to their defense, let alone shield them from their honest name. Yes, they can be touchy, but only about matters of honor.

[rhema]

Southerner Greenburg isn't thin-skinned; he wears what some consider an epithet as a badge of honor, I'm guessing. He's been a columnist for the Arkansas Democrat Gazette for decades.

[Blue_Ridge_Mtn_Geek]

“Speaking as a real redneck from Southwest Virginia I’m wondering how Paul Greenburg knows that we think?

I’m just askin’. “

This is a common journalistic over-reach: claiming to be able to read other people’s minds for them, and report the results to their readership. Not only journalists have this failing, but they especially make real jackasses of themselves in print (or recording) whenever they presume to tell us what’s on someone else’s mind.

[Corin Stormhands]

He ain’t from Virginia though, now is he?

[Liberty Valance]

Redneck reparations:



A semi-tractor-trailer full of Coors and a Firebird in every driveway.

[rhema]

See post 9. Arkansan Greenberg has probably had the appellation applied more often to him than have most Virginians.

[Ghengis]

Paul Greenberg misses the whole point of this episode.

Ms. Mitchell was simply reiterating the derogatory sense that these "Democratic strategists" have for the Appalachian region of the United States. She condescendingly described the town as if it was some type of an archeological oddity. This area is not some 'lost tribe' for goodness sakes! It was a vital part of building this country throughout its history.

[rhema]

Lord knows they’re deserving, considering all the disdainful calumny they’ve endured.

[Corin Stormhands]

Arkansan Greenberg has probably had the appellation applied more often to him than have most Virginians.

Perhaps. And my only snark at Greenberg was that he was tending to over-generalize, which is not unlike what Andrea Mitchell did.

But neither you, nor Greenburg, nor Andrea Mitchell understand the mindset of Southwestern Virginians. It was much the same mindset when George Allen welcomed "macaca" to "the real Virginia." (and that, as much of the made up word was what was used against him).

Those who are born, live and die in Southwest Virginia are in fact sensitive about those from the "outside" telling them what their lives are like. They recognize that Jonesville, Virginia is west of Detroit and closer to the capitals of 7 (I think 7) other states than it is to Richmond. They understand that Southwest Virginia only begins at Roanoke. That was what Allen meant (and understood) when he said "the real Virginia." These folks feel abandoned by Richmond and Washington.

Granted, that's also an overgeneralization. Not everyone feels that way. Not everyone gives a rip.

The flap with Andrea Mitchell was far less about the use of the term redneck than it was about someone from the "outside" trying to describe what Southwest Virginians are all about.

[rhema]

Paul Greenberg misses the whole point of this episode.

I don't think so. He's a Southerner (he coined the term Slick Willie long before Bill ever slunk out of Arkansas) who knows all the nuances and applications of redneck.

[Ghengis]

Paul Greenberg misses the whole point of this episode.

I don't think so. He's a Southerner (he coined the term Slick Willie long before Bill ever slunk out of Arkansas) who knows all the nuances and applications of redneck.

I beg to differ. We can all compare our "Redneck" bona fides to varying levels of success. But, in this instance, Paul Greenberg is ignoring the fact that Andrea Mitchell was looking down her Washington D.C. nose at this region of the country. By her own admission, no less!

Obama's "Cling to their guns..." and Mitchell's "Redneck" comments reflect how they think very accurately.

[Donald Rumsfeld Fan]

Redneck, in modern usage, predominantly refers to a particular stereotype of people who may be found in many regions of the United States and Canada. Originally limited to the Appalachians, and later the South, Ozarks and Rocky Mountains, this stereotype is now widespread in northern states and the Canadian provinces.

The National Covenant and The Solemn League and Covenant (a.k.a. Covenanters) signed documents stating that Scotland desired a Presbyterian Church government, and rejected the Church of England as their official church (no Anglican congregation was ever accepted as the official church in Scotland). What the Covenanters rejected was episcopacy — rule by bishops — the preferred form of church government in England. Many of the Covenanters signed these documents using their own blood, and many in the movement began wearing red pieces of cloth around their neck to signify their position to the public. They were referred to as rednecks.[1] Large numbers of these Scottish Presbyterians migrated from their lowland Scottish home to Ulster (the northern province of Ireland) and soon settled in considerable numbers in North America throughout the 18th century. Some emigrated directly from Scotland to the American colonies in the late 18th and early 19th-centuries as a result of the Lowland Clearances. This etymological theory holds that since many Scots-Irish Americans and Scottish Americans who settled in Appalachia and the South were Presbyterian, the term was bestowed upon them and their descendants.

Wikipedia

[Beagle8U]

The term “redneck” gained common usage in the US to refer to the WV coalminers that battled the mine owners in the battle of Blair Mountain in 1921.

10-15K of them wore red bandannas around their necks to show which side they were on.