Yeah it was for those doing manual labor... like I said.

I don't know anyone that is offended by redneck and we wouldn't care if our enemies said it. The n word isn't allowed to be said by white people without recourse. You can't say rural or country because some country folk aren't redneck. My husband's parents own a ranch with animals and such but they are the kind that like to sip wine by the fireplace so they are more classy than rednecks. We drink beer by the campfire... or on a tube... or on the tailgate of our truck... or well you get the point. lol

(September 26, 2016 at 5:36 pm)Mechaghostman2 Wrote:

(September 26, 2016 at 5:26 pm)Crossless1 Wrote: In my experience, limited though it is, you are much more likely to hitch a ride after your car has broken down from a redneck than from one of his city mouse cousins. For that matter, the redneck is more likely to stop and take time out of his day to poke his head under your hood to help you figure out what's wrong. And there's nothing like rural hospitality.

That depends on who you are. Could a black person get that kind of help as easily, or a gay person, or someone that looks Arab or Hispanic? Some might not care, but others that normally would might not so much. Here in Michigan, I went to school with someone that made black people move out just a day after they moved in, by burning a cross on their lawn. Rural hospitality doesn't seem to be unconditional for many.

*Shrug* Some people would help; others wouldn't. Most people don't stop to help, regardless of the racial/ethnic background of whoever they pass along the side of the road. So what conclusion do you draw from that?

I like cities, in part, because of the mix of people one encounters there. But that mix can cut both ways, it seems to me. Yes, many people in cities might be more open to people who could be perceived as 'other' by folks who live in more secluded, homogeneous areas, but by the same token some of the most virulently bigoted people I've ever known also came from cities.

I thought the term "redneck" originated from farmer sunburns on the backs of their necks from being outside all day, since paler-skinned white people burn as soon as the sun comes out.

It did, which is why I said that. The OP is trying to specify which class of people it was put on, as if that mattered. There have always been both rich and poor farmers and farm hands.

So what does the word mean? What it originally described or it's current colloquial use?

Perhaps 99% of the pertinent info is in the emotional flavor the word is expressed through by an individual person.
That will tell you whether to laugh and slap them on the back, or laugh and punch them in the face.

(September 26, 2016 at 5:32 pm)Mechaghostman2 Wrote: By the way I'm using it, you and Thump just sound like a rural people, which isn't the same as a redneck or a hick.

I'm not rural. Until the age of 46, I had spent a total of five years in any one city having less than 100,000 people. I had uncles who lived in the country and taught me a thing or two, but I'm a city kid who realized that that ain't the life for me. I've lived in four countries on three continents, so I'm not a rube.

But I am a redneck.

As we say down here, "You can take the boy out of Texas, but you can't take the Texas out of the boy."

(September 26, 2016 at 6:16 pm)Thumpalumpacus Wrote:

(September 26, 2016 at 5:32 pm)Mechaghostman2 Wrote: By the way I'm using it, you and Thump just sound like a rural people, which isn't the same as a redneck or a hick.

I'm not rural. Until the age of 46, I had spent a total of five years in any one city having less than 100,000 people. I had uncles who lived in the country and taught me a thing or two, but I'm a city kid who realized that that ain't the life for me. I've lived on in four countries on three continents, so I'm not a rube.

But I am a redneck.

As we say down here, "You can take the boy out of Texas, but you can't take the Texas out of the boy."

No you can't...I was born in Austin...and my God is BIGGER!

(September 26, 2016 at 6:17 pm)Arkilogue Wrote:

(September 26, 2016 at 6:16 pm)Thumpalumpacus Wrote: I'm not rural. Until the age of 46, I had spent a total of five years in any one city having less than 100,000 people. I had uncles who lived in the country and taught me a thing or two, but I'm a city kid who realized that that ain't the life for me. I've lived on in four countries on three continents, so I'm not a rube.

But I am a redneck.

As we say down here, "You can take the boy out of Texas, but you can't take the Texas out of the boy."

No you can't...I was born in Austin...and my God is BIGGER!

Lol I'm sorry about the Austin thing... I live in Austin and I hate it. I want out so bad. It's just a bunch of hippies!

I would love to visit Texas some day.

(September 26, 2016 at 6:19 pm)mlmooney89 Wrote:

(September 26, 2016 at 6:17 pm)Arkilogue Wrote: No you can't...I was born in Austin...and my God is BIGGER!

Lol I'm sorry about the Austin thing... I live in Austin and I hate it. I want out so bad. It's just a bunch of hippies!

Yeah, I left when I was 4 yrs old.