The cancel culture is getting out of control

[BowlBrother85]

So you’re saying all that matters is the context?

Just like the N word ... context matters, but unlike the N word, redneck is never just used as a racial slur. There will always be some social commentary involved.

... and there is no doubt that Foxworthy softened the term in the 90's.

 

[BowlBrother85]

If he calls himself that then he's not using it as a slur, is he? That's the key.
Aren't there quite a few Hmong around Robbinsville?

I've only been there a few times. Not much going on in that place.

 

[C-south]

Just like the N word ... context matters, but unlike the N word, redneck is never just used as a racial slur. There will always be some social commentary involved.

... and there is no doubt that Foxworthy softened the term in the 90's.

So if I see someone I know and say “what’s up n****” that’s a perfectly acceptable societal norm? How about if I’m singing along with a song?

 

[creekdipper]

It simply isn't a race-based description. It concerns personal tastes, behavior and lifestyle.

You do realize that there are people who will make the same argument about the unforgivable word, don't you?

 

[RikidyBones]

You have zero common sense.

Incredible.

 

[creekdipper]

I disagree with that as well. I have an Asian friend who was born and raised in Robbinsville, NC. He identifies himself as a Chinese Redneck. Speaks English with a deep southern accent ... and I know more Mandarin than he does.

.... but the bigger point, is that nobody is ever called a redneck just for being white. There is always a social component involved ... usually concerning a lack of cultural refinement.

Not true.

People of pale pigmentation have often been lumped together under that umbrella term just for living in a certain region. Even certain accents will get people labeled as such by bigoted snobs.

 

[RikidyBones]

You do realize that there are people who will make the same argument about the unforgivable word, don't you?

He doesn't.

 

[creekdipper]

So you’re saying all that matters is the context?

It sure didn't matter with Morgan Wallen or the ex-FL QB scholarship revokee or the incoming Tennessee spirit squad member who had her admission approval rescinded.

The odd thing is that anyone today can allegedly claim any identity he/she/they/it wants and no one is supposed to challenge that "fact." So anyone ought to be to use any word that exists and then claim to be omni-racial.

 

[BowlBrother85]

Not true.

People of pale pigmentation have often been lumped together under that umbrella term just for living in a certain region. Even certain accents will get people labeled as such by bigoted snobs.

But that is not the norm .... at least not since Foxworthy's stand-up routine made a person's lifestyle and conduct more of a focus of the term.

 

[BowlBrother85]

Incredible.

Yes. Your ignorance is staggering.

 

[BowlBrother85]

You do realize that there are people who will make the same argument about the unforgivable word, don't you?

The history of the N word is that of an all purpose insult of black people - whether it's Barack Obama or a Chicago gang-banger. That's not true of redneck and white people.

 

[BowlBrother85]

He doesn't.

Because it's bull $hit.

 

[RikidyBones]

Yes. Your ignorance is staggering.

Quit projecting. Clown.

 

[BowlBrother85]

Quit projecting. Clown.

Quit being ignorant, doofus.

 

[Delmar]

Not a topic I have to worry about. Won’t listen to a Jason Aldean song, nor one from Morgan Wallen nor any other of that country rap or bro country bull that Nashville tries to convince us is country music. If you grew up on George Jones, Johnny Cash and George Strait, you know that this tripe ain’t real country music. Nothing more than pop pablum.

 

[dovervolz]

Henry Cho endorses this.

tHe first thought that came to me when they mentioned "Asian redneck". He's from Knoxville.

 

[EasternVol]

The history of the N word is that of an all purpose insult of black people - whether it's Barack Obama or a Chicago gang-banger. That's not true of redneck and white people.

That's not an accurate description of the history of the word. It was at one time used also as a descriptor with no negative connotation.

 

[BowlBrother85]

That's not an accurate description of the history of the word. It was at one time used also as a descriptor with no negative connotation.

I'm talking about it's complete history ... not just it's origin. This is one of the damn dumbest things I've ever seen discussed here. You boring people just want to argue.

 

[WBO]

I'm talking about it's complete history ... not just it's origin. This is one of the damn dumbest things I've ever seen discussed here. You boring people just want to argue.

Just bigots claiming they aren't bigots while proving they are.

 

[creekdipper]

But that is not the norm .... at least not since Foxworthy's stand-up routine made a person's lifestyle and conduct more of a focus of the term.

I regularly read online comments that disparage entire states, locales, and entire regions as being a bunch of knuckle-dragging bigots with racist policies, and the term "rednecks" is often employed (along with "inbred," "hillbilly," etc.). And I seriously doubt that they are referring to the non-"white" populations in those pkaces even when "non-whites" make up a statistical majority of the census.

"Redneck" as a racial pejorative hasn't disappeared, although it obviously can also be used to bash certain attitudes, lifestyles, and actions. As you have noted, it can also be used as a term of pride or endearment.

And it probably had its origins as a classist insult of poor working-class folks such as tenant farmers or migrant workers.

Listen to Washington Journal on C-Span on a regular basis, and you'll frequently hear "redneck" invoked to insult "white people" in no uncertain terms.

 

[creekdipper]

The history of the N word is that of an all purpose insult of black people - whether it's Barack Obama or a Chicago gang-banger. That's not true of redneck and white people.

No argument there, and I haven't seen anyone trying to "equate" the two terms re: the degree of offense, extent of application, or oppressive history. Just acknowledging that it is nearly exclusively used toward those of mostly Caucasian ancestry or appearance. It 's the same reason you can regularly hear "white trash" mentioned (with no sense of shame) from peopke who wouldn't be caught dead calling someone "black trash."

Today's all-purpose slur toward "white people comes less in the form of "honkey" or "cracker" than it does in terms such as "white privilege," "white fragility," etc. For instance, I see people arguing that the poorest, most ill-used "white" people still were more "privileged" than more affluent racial minorities (especially "black" people) due to "systemic racism."

This leads to interesting declarations such as calling people "bigots" if they say that people of all "races" should be treated equally under the law. Or that "white" people should never offer an opinion or judgment upon the actions of racial minorites (particularly "black people"). Or that terms such as "thugs" are racist when applied to persons of certain skin colors but not to others, even when the actions of both groups or individuals are identical. These are all real examples seen in conversations.

It's why, to paraphrase a well-known "black" national figure, we really can't have honest conversations about race.

It's all because of you people!

 

[creekdipper]

Not a topic I have to worry about. Won’t listen to a Jason Aldean song, nor one from Morgan Wallen nor any other of that country rap or bro country bull that Nashville tries to convince us is country music. If you grew up on George Jones, Johnny Cash and George Strait, you know that this tripe ain’t real country music. Nothing more than pop pablum.

No Carters, no sale.

 

[Majors]

Just bigots claiming they aren't bigots while proving they are.

You seem ok with him stating redneck as valid and not derogatory or racist? If so, then you’re a bigot yourself.

 

[Carl Pickens]

Derogatory does not equal race-based epithet ... and whether or not it is even derogatory will depend. Jeff Foxworthy's jokes were not mean-spirited. He mostly used redneck as a term of endearment.

Aren’t you the dictionary man?
redneck
noun
red·neck ˈred-ˌnek

1
sometimes disparaging : a white member of the Southern rural laboring class

2
often disparaging : a person whose behavior and opinions are similar to those

 

[RikidyBones]

Aren’t you the dictionary man?
redneck
noun
red·neck ˈred-ˌnek

1
sometimes disparaging : a white member of the Southern rural laboring class

2
often disparaging : a person whose behavior and opinions are similar to those

He was provided the oxford definition already and rejected it because it didn't fit his narrative. He then decided to call anyone pointing it out "ignorant"

The guy calling anyone ignorant is a compliment given he called a black man an uncle Tom for holding a different opinion than him.