Why rednecks may rule the world

[emilyg]

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Why rednecks may rule the world

By Joe Bageant
Author of Deerhunting With Jesus


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.
Like a Texas cowboy - delegates hang on every word

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.

On the other hand, I can quite imagine their concern, given what's at stake in the upcoming election. We represent at least a third of all voters and no US president has ever been elected without our support.

Consequently, rednecks have never had so many friends or so much attention as in 2008. Contrary to the stereotype, we are not all tobacco chewing, guffawing Southerners, but are scattered from coast to coast. Over 50% of us live in the "cultural south", which is to say places with white Southern


http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7600000/7600592.stm

[ColbertWatcher]

1. Rednecks got electrolytes! n/t

[emilyg]

2. They love Gatorade.

[ColbertWatcher]

3. That was a reference to "Idiocracy". n/t

[beac]

14. Alas, that movie has gone from being a comedy to

a documentary-from-the-future.

:banghead:

[ColbertWatcher]

16. Yeah, funny and very, very sad. n/t

[misanthrope]

17. That's why I hardly laughed when I watched it...

...not because it wasn't entertaining but because it was so prescient.

[arcadian]

18. I bought it to show to people as a cautionary tale.

The fact that it was nearly banned by Fox is also interesting to me, it validates the whole fucking movie.

[sendero]

42. What are electrolytes?

They're what plants crave!!!!!!

Love that movie and yes, America is playing it out right now.

[misanthrope]

4. Isn't anti-intellectualism warm and fuzzy?...

...Nothing like an incurious nature, paranoia and tendency toward violence to let you know how wonderful the future of this country is. Dysgenics is raging along full bore.

[mitchum]

5. They already rule contemporary American culture

that is why I get so damned sick of hearing how they are "disenfranchised"

[romulusnr]

6. rednecks are all over

What the OP calls rednecks is what I call the "other America", or "Small Town America" though that's a bit of a misnomer because it includes areas that aren't towns.

It's amazing, really, how significant STA is in America. But for every major urban area there are probably two dozen small towns at least.

While Washington is largely a blue state, the eastern half of the state, while half as populous as the western half, is deep red, because it is the rural/STA/redneck territory. Ditto for eastern Oregon. This also explains New Hampshire's anomalous status in heavily blue New England. And of course not enough can be said about oft-ignored Northern California. Large portions of PA and IL despite otherwise blue Philly and Chicago. Likewise for MI's UP region. Etc. Etc.

The urban centers' disdain for and ignorance of STA only fuels STA's standoffishness, and no doubt partly why they lean towards a party that is the anathema of the urban dweller (or why that party throws bones to them).

Its fair to say that if you asked the average blue person in a blue state to catalog America they'd miss or bottom-list a lot of significant cultural centers of Small Town America.

[Skittles]

7. how about STA's ignorance and disdain of the rest of America?

I've lived both city and rural and the most bigotry and ignorance I ever saw was rural

[RainDog]

8. tell it, Skittles!

that's the truth I know too.

and the reason the rednecks have any sway at all is because our electoral system allows them to have (imo) unfair input in national elections... their votes are weighted more than someone living in a state with larger populations. And that's why we are the most backward democracy in the world at this time.

[misanthrope]

15. No it's not...

...it's because they reproduce at a greater rate.

[Skittles]

23. correct

I'm sick of hearing about "small town values" - they're fucking BACKWARD values - press ANY of them on what those values really mean and it's a Klan's wet dream

[Fumesucker]

10. It works both ways.. There are prejudices in both directions.

And there are both liberal and conservative both places, the ratios are different but all sides are really at least slightly represented everywhere.

[misanthrope]

13. Well, coming from this blue speck in a crimson red region...

...I can tell you the disdain flows equally in both directions. Self-professed "rednecks" are no more victims than the "elites" they hate.

I have lived my entire life in the Deep South. Among my associates, "redneck" is in no way endearing or complimentary.

There are also plenty of rednecks in places that aren't small towns as there are people who aren't "redneck" in small towns.

There are people of specious character everywhere, it is not geographically specific. Raising children with good values, building a friendly, neighborly community and surrounding yourself with quality individuals is possible in any sized municipality. This lionizing of "small town values" is little more than prejudice against urban folks dressed in faux-Norman Rockwell bunting.

[sendero]

43. I agree..

... and conversely I've met many intelligent and thoughtful people in small town America.

[Agent William]

9. Ahhh.

I believe the correct nomenclature is "low-intelligence voter" commonly referred to as "idiots" or morons". It's a travesty that they play such a huge part of our electoral process.

[ColbertWatcher]

20. 'Round these parts, we call 'em "morans" ...

[Agent William]

27. Of course!

Sorry Hugh mistake, wont happen again.

:hi:

[ColbertWatcher]

28. Damn right! n/t

[Two Americas]

37. they're all the same!!

We hate 'em! Who needs 'em!!

[Two Americas]

35. yeah

That approach will win 'em over.

FDR and RFK did not look down their noses at the common people.

If they have the information - and they do - that many urban Dems see then as "idiots" or "morons" then I think it would be pretty intelligent of them to suspect that the Democratic party was no friend to them.

[Marr]

11. Rednecks don't run shit, and they never will.

Every four years, the wealthy convince these ignoramuses to vote for them because it will be giving the finger to those "pointy-headed intellectuals" and "liberals" and "minorities". Once elected, their dear leaders immediately set about screwing the fools right off their land, out of the factory, etc., etc. The trick never ages, because fools never learn.

I grew up in what I'd call a redneck community. The word redneck is not, in my opinion, cute or positive in the least. It's short-hand for poor, ignorant, and bigoted. It's short-hand for "sucker", in other words.

[The Inquisitive]

21. exactly!

Redneck=poor+ignorant+bigoted+stubborn=sucker

[Romulox]

47. Bill Clinton was a redneck. nt

[Marr]

48. He most certainly was not.

Being southern doesn't make you a redneck. Being poor doesn't make you a redneck. A redneck is ignorant and proud of it, and that doesn't describe Bill Clinton.

[Romulox]

50. Being a redneck is cultural; the term is not synonymous with poverty or ignorance...

Bill Clinton was indeed a redneck--he was a product of working class Southern culture.

[Marr]

57. I disagree with your definition.

Most of my family are working class southerners, and they would not appreciate being called a "redneck". Growing up, I heard the word used mostly as a shorthand for ignorant, mostly poor, whites. It was almost interchangeable with "white trash".

[Romulox]

58. It's how I self-identify my background, and I'm not alone.

That does not mean I would force my definition on you. At any rate, I don't mean to use the term in a pejorative way! :)

[arcadian]

12. I swear, eugenics looks better and better every day.

:sarcasm:

[symbolman]

19. "Git me a Beer, Boy!

Beatin' yer Ma is Thirsty work!"

Can we give them their very OWN country? Not Alaska.. maybe some place with a LOT of Strip Mines, tell them it's the Perfect place for STRIP Malls, and STRIP Joints..

[riverdeep]

26. Actually, some rednecks have seriously suggested that.

This is a specific kind of redneck, the virulently, unabashed racist redneck. They propose sections of the nation (they'd like the northwest and part of the south) be set up so that they can run things their way (no blacks, women in mental bondage, low taxes, churches in schools), and the rest of the country could set it up how they want. There would be trade and I assume travel allowed.

Of course, it's not the most do-able idea, but sometimes I think it would be an interesting experiment if nothing else. Two groups, and let their philosophies take on its inevitable conclusion. This urge to live life your way in peace of course, is what settled America in the first place.

[Zomby Woof]

22. These are my kind of rednecks

Which should be a natural demographic for our party - farmers and working people:

[BuelahWitch]

33. What a fantastic picture!

You can tell our candidate is really getting a kick out of that sign.

[emilyg]

38. Great pic.

[treestar]

24. That they even want to rule the world condemns them

That article is pathetic.

[BrainStorm]

25. Joe Bageant's book, Deerhunting With Jesus, is excellent.

And a little scary.

[Wiley50]

29. every reply in this thread, except yours, is "whistleing past the graveyard"

If we lose the rednecks to McSame/Caribou Barbie, we've lost the election

and we have\

because of just the type of snobbery as above

[BrainStorm]

30. I know.

We need to understand voters in order to win them. That's why I liked Bageant's book. He lays it out very clearly, but I think a lot of us just ignore the issues of working class ruralish (redneck) voters. We ignore them at our peril. They feel that we don't like them and have nothing in common with them so they will vote for Sarah Palin, who is sort of one of them, but who would be a disaster for this country.

[Wiley50]

32. Look for me at the top of page 271 in DHWJ n/t

[pipoman]

36. Yep,

Dems are determined to give away yet another election with the denial of elitist attitudes while taking the elitist positions found in nearly every post in this thread. When do we loose elections? When we loose Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia, the Virginias, Missouri, etc. Why do we loose these states? Because dumbshit urbanites think food comes from the grocery store and cars come from the dealership. Because the party insists on backing policies that export rural and blue collar jobs, then bitch when everything is made in China. Because our party insists on pushing bans on guns which have absolutely no effect what so ever on anything (certainly not crime) except deprivation of rights and alienating voters. Just keep doing the same things expecting different results and live with the consequences or STFU, back off idiotic policy positions which attempt to enslave the dumb rednecks, and win, our choice.

[riverdeep]

40. Serious question?

What's so bad about elitists? Myself, I don't think I could do the job of president, I look at my peers, and while they're competent, I sure as hell wouldn't want them running the country. Then I meet extraordinary people once in a while and I think, 'now why isn't that person in politics?'- and they may be nothing like me, habits-wise. They don't have the same hobbies or interests, but they're highly competent. Do they look down on me? Maybe. Do they get shit done? Hell yeah.

Cars used to come from the north, till right to work came into play, then it moved to the south. The logical conclusion of right to work was globalization, and that's why the good jobs went away. Dems sometimes fought it, sometimes encouraged it, but the pubs always encouraged it. Agree with you on the guns, though.

[pipoman]

41. It is catering to

elitists and self proclaimed intellectuals interests exclusively by the party which will/have cost us the votes of blue collar and rural traditional dems. Good blue collar jobs survived right to work, they didn't survive NAFTA, GATT, and China most favored trade status. Over 70% of blue collar and rural voters strongly opposed these agreements and our party leaders forced them through in complete lockstep with the pugs. The result has been the sucking sound that Perrot warned of. Here is a perfect example of elitist catering/speak which have cost our party its traditional labor/rural base:

"Given a fair chance, I know American (blue collar and rural) workers can compete and win in our own hemisphere and throughout the world. Those who believe otherwise underestimate the American people. We still have the most productive workers in the world, and they've gotten more productive in the last 15 or 20 years." Bill Clinton

Translation: productive=work more hours for less money in competition with third world economies. Then Bill and the rest of party leadership proceeded to do just that by committing the US to these trade agreements without any protections for the standard of living of US workers. The result has been realization by this huge class of American voters that neither party is going to work for their labor interests, so they look at social issues and end up voting for the lesser of two evils. The person least likely to legislate against gun owners, religious issues and for immigration reform. I am not advocating catering to racists, racist rednecks have not cost us elections, rural and blue collar voters who have taken the hit of these policies (who are, for the most part not racist rednecks, just people trying to live). If Obama would state he will not sign ANY new federal gun legislation not related to reforming the National Instant Check System and would offer some tangible, specific solutions to help rural and blue collar workers we could handily win this election. It appears Obama is, instead going to advocate a new Assault Weapons Ban and advocate the benefits of 'free trade' without mention of helping blue collar/rural people short of encouraging them to be 'more productive'. This election is going to be a squeaker at best IMHO.

[riverdeep]

44. This is funny,

when I was writing this line, "Dems sometimes fought it, sometimes encouraged it", I had good ole boy Bill in mind.

I still think right to work laid the groundwork. Once the powered interests realized unions could be broken regionally, capital could move but workers were stuck, they looked at the next logical step of not just pitting those in the north and the south, why not country against country? First Mexico, then China. The steel belt turned to rust with right to work, it didn't survive anything, still hasn't recovered, really.


"Now main streets whitewashed windows and vacant stores
Seems like there aint nobody wants to come down here no more
Theyre closing down the textile mill across the railroad tracks
Foreman says these jobs are going boys and they aint coming back to
Your hometown, your hometown, your hometown, your hometown"

-Springsteen, My Hometown

[Romulox]

54. "I believe in the Free Market. I believe in Capitalism. I believe in Free Trade." - Barack Obama

[Romulox]

51. Because being smart doesn't mean that you give a damn about me or my family. nt

[Romulox]

52. No. 1 issue: "the party insists on backing policies that export rural and blue collar jobs"

[emilyg]

39. Yep.

[blindpig]

45. A good reason for that.

It is a complete misconception of politics. Instead of looking problems straight in the eye and trying to solve them a lot of folks here are looking for a club to join, like minded folks with whom they feel comfortable. These middle class snobs expect the masses of working class folks to become like them before they'll give 'em the time of day. They ape their 'betters', identifying with the well off rather than the very less well off, savoring a tidbit from the Man's table denied the rest. Of course the rich and their apparatus encourage this, it keeps their servants happy and does a nice divide and conquer, preventing the one thing they fear, the people united. The smarter, hipper, spiritually advanced, even their pity tinged with contempt, know what's good for us, and until we admit it we are beyond the pall. It is the opposite of coalition building, the bedrock of effective politics.

The Democratic Party is going the way of the Whigs, win or lose this fall. Maybe when we clear the rubble away we can build a real party of the people.

[liam_laddie]

31. Just finished "Deer Hunting..."

Excellent insight into that slice of America. Winchester, VA environs. More fun reading than Lakoff, too. He's been in the UK on book tour; check out his website

[Wiley50]

34. see post #29 nt

[crim son]

46. Because misery loves company.

I hate this shit.

[mitchum]

55. Yes, rednecks are a prime example of the "crabs in a barrel" metaphor

However, in their belligerence, they want the whole country to be the barrel.

[Stinky The Clown]

49. Emphatically **NO** ..... The people that PANDER TO REDNECKS will rule the world.

[mitchum]

53. There is a very big difference between the contemporary redneck and the Steinbeckian...

romanticized version of the poor white.
Today's redneck (whether he lives in a "holller" or a suburb)is belligerent in his opposition to anything progressive. Today's redneck would call FDR a "crippled faggot"
You know that's the truth.

[LVZ]

56. America's Future? Pacifica, Redneckistan, New American Republic

http://red.ideaboomer.com/ ---- Redesigning America - a 6 step rehab program

Three times better than the USA - voluntary, peaceful, democratic secession