Should "Redneck" be a politically incorrect word?

if you find it offensive, i won’t use it around you
i don’t, in general, ‘cause i don’t even understand what it means

To have it regarded as “Politically Incorrect” means that you accept that some people are rednecks. Isn’t that politically incorrect on your part?

I have always regarded the expression to mean “unsophisticated and bigoted buffoon” or similar. If you meet an unsophisticated and bigoted buffoon, what should you refer to them as?

I think the negative connotation behind the “n” word is much more hurtful than the connotation behind the “r” word that you find so offensive. And I’m a white girl in south Mississippi!

Rednecks weren’t enslaved at any point. The slavery is pretty major in this comparison.

Yeah, I don’t think it’s quite fair to be equating the n-word with the word “redneck.”

I find them both equally offensive regardless who uses them. If a person is a bigoted buffon why not just call him a biggoted buffon? You should call a spade a spade and not a F*&^ing shovel. You are not supposed to say “midget” and they were not slaves, You are not supposed to say retard, they were not slaves. You a better excuse than the slave one.

I think we agree that it is generally an uncool thing to say.

I agree with Simone, if it’s offensive to you then I will not use it around you or anyone else who might find it offensive. Just like I don’t care to have people using the word “faggot” to describe gay people. (I’m not getting into the whole “saying offensive terms around my friends” thing again…my position on that is made up and it’s NOT changing).

However, equating it with “nigger” is not quite a valid equation. “Redneck” doesn’t apply to all whites; it only applies to “white trash” types or uneducated white people. “Nigger” can apply to any black person. Not to mention the history and connotations of the word “nigger”, which are stronger and more significant in this current society.

Still, both are offensive to certain people and around those people there’s no need to use it; it’s a stupid and rude thing to do.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir

It has to do with poor white farm workers who were out in the sun and thus had “red necks” from the sunburns.

The n word applies to all blacks, redneck is a reference to a specific subset. So I don’t think they’re equal. I don’tt use redneck much, but I know quie a few who are proud to be and use the term to refer to themself.

Nigger does not apply to all black people. It is the same as saying “black trash. I know many fantastic black people that you would never dream of them being called the “N” word. They will even tell you there is a differance. Besides if it is so offensive to all of them why do they call themselves and each other that? I have no respect for anyone that calls them self that or redneck or any other deragatory word. But that is just me.

@justwannaknow

Of course you can’t picture certain people being called that word, but the fact is that the word’s definition is simply a black person. From a racist person’s point of view, that’s how it works. “Redneck” doesn’t work that way. A high-class white British person is not a “redneck”; no one would use that term for them, because “redneck” is not a general term for a white person. And personally, I don’t judge people based on what they wish to call themselves.

So in other words it IS ok to call people deragatory names as long as the are a sub class and not a minority race? Gays are a subclass and not a minority race, Little people are a sub class and not a minority race. And on and on and on.

@justwannaknow

Where did I say it was okay? I think you misunderstood me. I was simply explaining the fact that certain terms refer to different amounts of people. I never said it was okay to use any derogatory term against someone. Like I said, I don’t use terms around people who might be offended by them, whether or not it’s a term that refers to a large demographic or a small one.

@justwannaknow

No one is defending the use of the word “redneck.” We are just saying that your comparison of the word to the word “nigger” is not appropriate.

I think that some people are forgetting that this is an International forum and the expression is used in other parts of the world. It was the common term for an Englishman in South Africa in the nineteenth century, coming from the Boer (Dutch) word “rooinek”, meaning exactly that – a Red Neck from working in the sun. It was always a derogatory expression. In my part of the world it is used to describe an “Archie Bunker” type of person. Nothing to do with race, social standing or education, just with attitude.

@Ivan, Even on this thread you are being narrow minded and argumentative. I will be just as narrowminded on this subject and say are both wrong and EQUALLY so. and neither should ever be used again by anyone. I consider them both and any one that uses them to be in your terms RACIST!

@justwannaknow

I don’t think you even know what a racist is. A racist is not someone who “uses an offensive term”. A racist is someone who believes that a person can be judged based on their race, that being of a certain race makes you superior or inferior.

And if disagreeing with you is narrow-minded, then you also don’t know what “narrow-minded” means. Look at a damn dictionary before you post here. Jeez…

@justwannaknow

You are being childish right now. I am trying to play mediator, arbitrator, and compromiser, and you call me “narrowminded” in an attempt to get a rise out of me. A dozen responses on this thread, and mine (the one in which I try to make sure everyone understand each other) is the one in particular that’s argumentative. Yup.

i dont take offense to redneck. i’m proud of my heritage and my family. they’re good people and in a pinch they will be there for you in a blink. i’ve got a lot of friends that could be defined as redneck but i dont define them as anything other than good people. i wish that is the way other people would see them too instead of looking at their homes or seeing how they dress or where they live and judging them based on that. its sad really that people will base their perception on an exterior and disregard who a person really is based on stereotypes and classifying. but alas what a world this is and has been.

upon reading most of the thread which i had not done originally just wanted to say that growing up the “n” word meant any ignorant person yes it generally means black people but i heard all types being called it in a negative manner. i wouldnt equate redneck to “n”. i would prolly be more inclined to consider “honkey” or “cracker” more offensive. yes redneck alludes to a certain lack of intelligence but i feel that “cracker” is the same as “nigger” if you’re going to generalize by race.

i’m wondering…i hear the word “negro” being used in a negative way. is it worse or not as bad as “nigger”?? just curious…

A lot of times there’s just no way to describe a certain person except for redneck. I would rather be called redneck than white trash any day. Come visit where I live for a few days and you’ll understand! I take it you’re talking about the South and not just people with a Southern heritage. Also, not all rednecks are white. I’ve met, although not many, black rednecks before.

No it is not politically incorrect. I live and cross with paths with them everyday here in Lawrence County Tennessee. Real rednecks are proud to be called rednecks. Rednecks identify themselves and might embrace certain hobbies, activities, and music. This might include hunting, fishing, 4×4 trucks, bud light, and Hank Williams Jr. Similarly most “Skater Punks” don’t really mind the term. In fact they kinda flock together with their people kinda like rednecks. They might skate, vandalize stuff, smoke weed, and listen to Slayer or The Misfits. A hippie don’t mind being called a hippie. Its just a label.

Let’s ask Jeff Foxworthy.

@Ivan, Why are you trying to play mediator, arbitrator, and compromiser? Why not just answer the question with your opinion like everyone else?

Fine. “Redneck” already is a politically incorrect word. I think what you really want is for it to be a de facto banned word, a word we aren’t allowed to even utter. I can’t speak for everyone, but I don’t personally see a lot of resentment about the word. Most people who might be called rednecks don’t see a problem with it. A lot of people call themselves rednecks. Jeff Foxworthy made a career out of it. A lot of people are proud to call themselves rednecks, they feel it’s better to be a redneck than to be a “city slicker” or an “elitist.” “Redneck” isn’t so much an insult as it is a colloquial term we use to describe a certain life style. If a significant amount of people say they’re offended by the word, then fine, I wont use it. If someone says they don’t want to be called a redneck, then fine, I wont call them one. But I don’t personally find the term demeaning or insulting, and it certainly isn’t as bad as the n-word.

@Ivan, Say what you want but there are many black people that call themselves the “N” word but it still considered banned. So if what you say is true if one man calls himself a redneck then it is ok for the world to call him the same and if a man calls himself the “N” word is it still ok for the world to call him that?

Off Topic: The word “niger” is a slanted derivative of the Latin based word “negro”, which means the color “black”. Most often it’s use is to inflict insult.
Many olive skined pregnant women will develop a dark line from their belly button to just below the bikini line. This is known as the “linea negra” (the black or dark line)... nothing offensive about that.

I think the OP has never read anything by Joe Bageant – and that he should, immediately.

“During this US election cycle we are hearing a lot from the pundits and candidates about “heartland voters,” and “white working class voters.”

What they are talking about are rednecks. But in their political correctness, media types cannot bring themselves to utter the word “redneck.” So I’ll say it for them: redneck-redneck-redneck-redneck.

The fact is that we American rednecks embrace the term in a sort of proud defiance. To us, the term redneck indicates a culture we were born in and enjoy. So I find it very interesting that politically correct people have taken it upon themselves to protect us from what has come to be one of our own warm and light hearted terms for one another. ”

pwnt