Redneck_Reputation

Redneck Reputation Rednecks have long been considered illiterate, unsophisticated, unrefined, uneducated, inbred, racist members of society, with little or no social, technical, or even functional skills. This perception or reputation unfortunately overshadows the reality of the abilities and skills they really do have to offer. Where a person lives, how they act and dress and how they are portrayed in public media creates a persona and reputation, like that of the redneck, which ultimately overshadows the abilities and skills that make them an important link in the chain of society. Where people choose to live makes a strong statement about how they were raised, what their educational background consisted of, and even what they value and believe in. People living in rural areas may very well have chosen the locale simply because the cost of living is easier to meet than the cost in more populated metropolitan areas. Residents in rural communities where incomes may be lower are much more favorable candidates to be publicly considered as part of a redneck culture. "These…, [a]s well as the national course of redneck, represent rural poverty as a lifestyle choice and as an individualized cultural trait" (Jarosz and Lawson 8). Many times, where a person chooses to live is a decision that is directly tied to the income level of the family. Lower incomes obviously result in less favorable or more primitive living conditions such as mobile homes or even travel trailers. Quality educational opportunities are harder to come by, which in turn helps to create a community of less intelligent, lower skilled workers. "Poor, white, rural folk in the US are often known in popular culture through terms such as, white trash, crackers, and rednecks" (Jarosz and Lawson 8). Of particular note is the fact that the authors specify white to be the common race of a redneck, even so far as to refer to them as white trash. Rural settings, lower income levels, and reduced educational resources tend to force a type of community formation and alliance among this class of people. [pic] Hear the words trailer park trash in the same sentence and immediately a mental picture can be forged of an all white group of people, living in run down trailers with beat up cars out front and beer cans scattered all around the yard. Craig Clifford describes this quite well stating that, "Old-fashioned rednecks…[d]rink beer, hate blacks and Catholics, love Hank Williams…[b]ecause every one they grew up with, live with, associate with, and identify with does"(17). Look to the countryside, look to the trailer parks, look to the neighborhood bars, or attend a good old country music concert. Go there and be surrounded by rednecks. A redneck has a strong sense of self confidence in who they are and what they believe in. This air of confidence or what some may consider being arrogance leads many to perceive them as possibly hostile or threatening. "When I first came to the South…[I] did not understand rednecks; in fact I was afraid of their quiet hostile looks, seemingly seeing at me as some intellectual Yankee from the North"(Grindal 99). This attitude is made stronger by the fact that they tend shun anyone that is different and prefer to work together, party together, live in close proximity, and undoubtedly watch out for one another, all while not caring one bit how they are viewed those around them. "Everyone knows rednecks are prejudiced and damn proud of it, as the saying goes"(Clifford 18). This same disdain for others carries over into how a redneck chooses to dress. Blue jeans with holes, dirty or worn out work boots (if any foot coverings at all), long sleeved snap buttoned plaid shirts or the occasional sleeveless t-shirt covers the majority of wardrobe choices for redneck males. Redneck females do not vary from this wardrobe requirement much except that the jeans become tight-ass, low cut "shorty shorts," the work boots are replaced with colorful cowboy boots and the shirts replaced with tube tops or the ultimate fashion statement, the bikini top. Rednecks are loud. Rednecks are proud. This attitude does not, however, warrant being looked down upon in society. If there is any one core group of humanity that looks down on this class of people more than any other class and portrays them in an unfair manner, it would have to be the public media. Public media slings so much ridicule and mockery at this section of the population, and all for the sake of making money, that public opinion is swayed toward inaccurate understandings of how a redneck really should be seen. Stand-up comedy, the press, country music, film, television, and the Internet present dimensions and definitions of redneck identities as part of a larger national discourse about identity formation in America. In addition…[c]haracters such as Gomer Pyle and Clem Kadiddlehopper portrayed rednecks as buffoons and jesters, as childlike adults, as poor white trash. (Jarosz and Lawson 11) Comedian Jeff Foxworthy is a self-proclaimed redneck. He started his career as an unknown struggling comedian that survived by criss-crossing the country doing stand-up comedy in bars, small roadside restaurants, and even on busy street corners. Anywhere that he could tell a joke to make a buck was his stage. He catapulted himself to the top of the comedic world when he launched his most famous of comic routines, If you ever…you might be a redneck. In the script for one of his more successful big screen productions, Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie, Foxworthy ridicules rednecks in a variety of ways. He implies that rednecks are definitely on the lower end of the income scale when he quips, "If your working television sits on top of your non-working television, you might be a redneck." Immediately this paints a mental image in the mind of his audience that can leave a lasting impression. Later in the show, Foxworthy portrays a redneck and uneducated and stupid, and even takes a cruel jab at how they dress with the lines, "If you missed fifth grade graduation because you had jury duty, you might be a redneck," and "If you wear a dress that's strapless and a bra that isn't, you might be-." With the popularity of his movies, his stand-up comedy tour, and specials that he hosts or appears in on cable, he is seen by hundreds of thousands of people every year. The influence he has over such a large segment of the population has a profound effect on how many in his audience relate to and view the very individuals that he makes fun of. The most common understanding of what a redneck is and where the title comes from does actually refer to a class of lower to middle class people. But in contrast to the perceived reputation, these people are common everyday tax paying educated individuals that play a vital role in our everyday lives. The term redneck was actually given to them because of the dry, chapped and sunburned skin most often found across the back of their necks. They are a skilled group that spends the majority of their time working outdoors in all types of conditions, doing the hard manual labor that the rest of society is too frail or lazy to tackle. Rednecks build houses and roads. They plow, plant and harvest the food that feeds countries all over the world. They deliver mail and inspect pipelines. They load and unload ships and trains, as well as passenger and cargo planes. Rednecks are the backbones of a solid environmental, social, and economic economy. Unfortunately, where a person lives, the things they do, the clothes they wear, and even the things other people say about them, all seem to come together to create some form of a public reputation. Reputations, when placed for the wrong reasons, are often times demeaning and hurtful and actually mask the true identities and qualities of those they have been placed upon. Word count (1335)