The prerequisite to be a Redneck does not include being racist, inbred, toothless, shoeless, ignorant, or being raised/living in a one room shack with an outdoor shitter.
It seems that the majority of the people that post here use the term Redneck as a slur and always preceed it with one of the above adjectives.
Yes, I am a Redneck.  I live in a $188,000 house that sits on 9 acres. I dip Skoal, drink Jim Beam, drive a 4x4, love NASCAR and Dale Earnhardt, I listen to Country and Rock-n-Roll music and own two German Shepherds. I'm Retired Army, Southern Baptist, Republican and a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment.  I love my wife and son more than life itself and would  defend them to the death.  I love and respect my parents and still refer to them and Mom and Dad.  I believe a friend is a friend for life and my word is my bond.  I'm educated, responsible and respected in the community.  I like the simple things in life and wouldn't be caught dead at the Opera.  I don't own a suit and prefer to wear jeans and Tee shirts.  I don't judge people by the color of their skin, but by their actions and deeds.  
Now what's so bad about being a Redneck?  I like my life.

I'm guessing that the term in question is most often used to describe ones attitude rather then the relative value of their home, or their respect for their parents... you might call yourself a redneck... but it's apparent your definition is different then most... and as a result, they're not really talking about guys like you (those being upstanding and reputable types with respect for all people in general)...

As you quite rightly point out... one shouldn't judge someone by the color of their skin / neck, but rather by what they say and do... and on that level... there are indeed rednecks afoot here at ar15.com...

STP.

AS long as your wife isnt your sister,  Your in the clear.  I think what you are hearing allot of lately is the term Hillbilly.  There are many classifications that are deemed necessary to describe someone.  There are the Rednecks, Hillbilly's, Countryfolk, White trash, Damn Fools, and Cityfolk...  I should not put countryfolk in this group as they are probably the best of any group on the planet.  Myself,  I would classify myself as a mix of Countryfolk with a skosh of cityfolk.  That is because I moved into a rural area of one of our major metropolitan areas..  AS long as they didnt call you a Damnfool your clear...  Anyway,  when did you start caring about what people thought of you...  


Prosise

[b]Penrod[/b]
Remember my friend you have to consider the [b][red][size=2]source[/size=2][/red][/b] of these derogatory comments (slurs), and not take offense...

People that use such language and espouse such attitudes usually are young and ignorant…
if they are not then they are old, and just as ignorant...
Bigotry(in all it's forms) is taught.  It is handed down from father to son, generation to generation...

If you consider yourself "a redneck", but live and feel they way you do - then more power to you...

And yes, I am concerned about the narrow-minded, foul-mouthed people that post here with very little respect for anyone, much less themselves...
My advice to them - GROW UP!!!

[sniper2]

[Homer}" this must be Shellbyville"[/Homer]


IBTL !! [banana]

It doesn't?  Huh, I guess you learn something new everyday.

[peep]

Penrod....

Depending on the circles one travels in, Redneck is not necessarily a "negative" label.
At work, on of my co-workers refers to himself as a Redneck w/ money....

Don't be ashamed of your heritage/past/lifestyle/etc. Do right by your family and to others and let everyone else eat shit and die......

Im from the city but Im not a liberal wussie, hmmm...

Mabey if we stopped labeling people as groups and treating them as indivuals who are responsible for their own actions... (Like thats ever gonna happen).

Redneck = Alcohol Drinking, Skoal Sucking, Animal Killing POS !!!!  [50]

Penrod,

I'm a Texan: my mom lives out in the country on a spread of many acres of land, cooks home-made waffles for breakfast, and is college educated, works as the director of an X-Ray department of a country hospital.  My dad, who passed away last year, considered himself a Texan, but not a redneck.  He drank Jack, liked rock n' roll, worked in construction his entire life, and had numerous dogs and other animals.  He was fiercely loyal to both friend and family member, unabashedly patriotic, and a firm believer in 2nd amendment rights.  Interestingly, he wasn't born in this country, but he considered himself American through-and-through.

I considered him a Southern Gentleman, but never a redneck.  Why?  Living in Texas, you get to know the "Good ol' boys," "Gentlemen," "City Slickers," and "Rednecks."  Guess who the racists are?  Rednecks.  Guess who causes problems for the rest of us all the time with their drunk driving of pickups and shooting at each other on the road?  Rednecks.  Do the "Good ol' Boys" do that?  No: they are the ones sitting on their porches or at the VFW peacefully having a drink or two, talking about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness.  Good ol' Boys will stop on the road and help you change a spare tire (happened to me three times in my life already, and I'm only 35!).  Rednecks are the ones out causing trouble, going out of their way to make sure a member of any ethnic group that doesn't belong to theirs is made to feel inferior.  They're the ones that will spit their dip on the entryway sidewalk of a local store.  A Good Ol' Boy or Gentleman will spit his dip out of the way, where no-one will walk on it/through it (if you've seen some dip puddles, you know what I mean!).

I would call you, Penrod, a Southern Gentleman, but no redneck.  Sorry, but the term is now derogatory, regardless of what it may have meant "back in the day."  Times change, as do terms.  Fags used to be cigarettes.  Gay used to mean happy.  Dick used to be a shortened name for Richard.  Redneck used to mean "from the country."  I'm not saying it's right; I'm just explaining what us down here in Houston define the words as.

BTW, I'm what's known as a City Slicker now: I've moved from the tranquility and calm of the country to the bright lights and big noise of the city in search of fame and fortune... but my roots are out there on the prairie, among the maize and the wheat.

Finally, it's human nature to label and group people.  I'm a former Marine: guess what I am referred to all the time by friends, associates, and peers?  A former Marine.  If a Marine goes nutso and kills a bunch of people, they say, "One of YOU GUYS killed a bunch of people."  If a Marine saves a kitty, they say, "You guys are alright; you save kitties."  There's nothing we can do about this: it's the way we are.  To deny it is to stick our collective heads in the sand.  What's best is to make an attempt to NOT classify and to defy the classifications, but that being said, the fact remains: there are classifications, and they do bear definition when called into question.

DISCLAIMER: I don't classify people specifically.  I take people for what they're worth on an individual basis, and give everyone the same amount of rope to hang themselves with as the next person.  It's only "first appearances" that hold any classification or perception.  A quick introduction normally blasts any stereotype right out of the room.  I just stated the aforementioned classifications as a clarification on definitions I've heard in use here locally in the "Deep South."

Sorry PENROD - you don't qualify as a official redneck...

The term redneck, means that you got the back of your neck sunburned while beating your head against a plow out in the field.

The term redneck gets tossed around pretty freely, mainly thanks to Jeff Foxworthy and his monologues.

I like Jeff Foxworthy, he still makes me laugh.

According to him, you're not a redneck because your house doesn't have any wheels on it, and you didn't meet your wife at a family reunion, and you and your fathere weren't in the 4th grade at the same time, etc.

If somebody calls me a redneck, I'd laugh.

Lighten up Francis!

Consider the source most that say that kind of thing are Yankee computer nerds!

There I go, doing just what I rant against.

You will fit in quite nicely here. Just don't visit up north.

Edge,
I liked you southern gentleman speech but it lost me on the good ole boy part for I haven't met a Texan that didn't play that tune to the hilt Redneck or not.

I've lived all over this country of ours and prefer a Southern Gentleman's ethics and morals to any fast talker from anywhere regardless of what he chews or doesn't chew.

TJ Definition of a redneck and you have to do all.

Drive a pickup
Where a baseball cap
Have a dog
Drink
Don't take shit off anyone
Like Hank Williams Jr or Sr
Wouldn't wear a tie to your own wedding

and......all your friends go home when the beer runs out.

I made my boy quit boyscouts because the leaders were all rednecks. Hell, he can stay home and learn that.

Tj

Quite your crying, hillbilly.  You make all the other crackers look like pussies too.

Well I guess I'm not a bonafide Redneck according to nation wide understanding of the term.  Guess I'm a mix of Good 'Ol Boy and Southern Gentleman.  Around my neck of the woods the definitions of a Redneck as described by you guys, we call Pecker Heads or Arsholes.  Imagine that turn 37 tomorrow and am still learning something new everyday.

I would have called you a Red Neck simply for your signature line.  "Rebel by birth, Southern by the grace of God. If you have to ask, you wouldn't understand. It's a Southern thing."  Still pissed about that civil war thing? ???

He didn't say anything like that A$$hole,
But if your just trying to get a southerner to hate you, I'll do it.

hehehe, iiiiiiiiiiiii'm heeeeeeeeeere

yes, i still have yet to understand people that think calling me a redneck is a bad thing [:D]
go ahead, im a self labeled redneck

tom, you nailed me on this one...........



you boys have fun, drink a cold one for me

I'm just yanken you Southern Boy's chains because is SO d@mn easy to do.  B^)

OH SHIT!!!!, YOU MEAN THE WARS OVER???????????

[>]:)]  Yep, you can put away your rebel flag now.  

You know, the only reason I give guys from the south a hard time is that almost EVERY SINGLE ONE that I've ever met acts like the civil war IS still going on.  Y'all need to just get over it.  Ya lost and it was a LONG TIME AGO anyway.  There have been other significant wars since then.

Redneck adjective of choice for today: "Goldurn!"

The war of Northern Aggression might be over but the Civil War is still going strong.  It's now the North-East and West Coast Liberal ban-asses against gun owners.  It hasn't come to an all out Revolution yet but I'm positive which side'll win if it happens.


Tom Jefferson, hell I still might be a Redneck.

"Galdurn"  Dagnabbit!

Shee-yooot!! You are right as rain, galdurnit!
Sumbitch!  

SUMBITCH ! Who you callin Sumbitch, Acehoe?
Why I arta beet ta far outa you!

Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses.  Oops, sorry, I've been singin' it all day and can't get it outta my head.  

Well, there ya go. Lumping all of us LIBERALS in to one pile.

Penrod,
There ain't nothing wrong with being a redneck.  We're all over the place, there's quite a few here in Michigan as well.

TJ, I think you made a mistake in the list.  That should be "like Hank Jr. AND Sr."  cause if you don't like Hank Williams....
Scott

Just had to add, I didn't wear no stinkin' tie to my wedding.  Now I've just gotta get me a dog.

Penrod,
You may think you have written the perfect redneck post, but you haven't written the perfect redneck post.
You didn't mention: Mama ,trains ,trucks ,or prison...

For those of you who don't understand, come to Georgia, I'll buy you a beer.

David Allen Cole music!

There that about covers it.

You left out the part about rednecks being overly sensitive. Must be because they aren't. Thats covered by the part about "Don't take shit off of anybody". Since you obviously are overly sensitive you can't be a redneck.

The above statement if for your entertainment,don't be insulted or swell up one mans definition of redneck is not the same as the next.

Not quite, We still haven't addressed the washing machine overflowing with empty beer cans on the front porch issue!
Or the pit bull tied with a logging chain,
Or the snake infested 76 Camaro with no doors out in the weeds
I got more but right now I gotta go, Blues got somethin hemed up under the shed and I'm gonna go kill it.

I was drunk the day my Mom got outta prison and I went to pick'er up in the raaaaaain.  But before I could get to the station in my pick-up truck, she got runned over by a damned ol' train.  

How's 'at?  You gotta love David Allen Cole.  There's nothing like sittin' on the front porch sippin' a whiskey sour and listening to that jail bird.

After much thought, I've decided that I'm a  Redneck with Good 'ol boy values.  To hell with the negative connotations some people associate with being a Redneck.  Like I've said, it's a Southern thing and some people just don't understand.

Yep nothing like the stereo typing david allen cole.

No stereo typing.  Listen to some of his interviews and you'll see he's not at all bashful about having  been in prison.  

If you all are going to align yourselves with the redneck culture and profess to be fans of the mans music spell his name correctly....COE, David Allen Coe.....no l.

alright............i think you're all offbase.  i swear his name is david alan coe.

coal burning stove no natural gas, and if that aint country you can kiss my ass............

Exactly what does this have to do with AR15's though?

not a damn thing 'cept if we put a 'lil country back in this country we might not have the problems we now do in this country -> including having to fight for our right to bear arms.

res ipsa loquitor

My definition of the American Redneck:

* Resides in any of the following states: TX, OK, AR, MS, AL, IN, KY, TN, WV, NC, SC, GA.

* Wears tight denim jeans

*Chews tobacco -- I don't care what brand

*Engages in or admires the following 'sports': Lawnmower racing, Punkin Chunkin or anything involving farm animals...

* Uses trucks for work other than for [i]commuting to[/i] work

*The redneck has an affinity for very slick and shiny Sunday shoes in wacky colors

*The redneck is the only person who buys and uses Wildroot hair care products and quite possibly Old Spice too.

* Speaks with a [i]twang[/i] so thick you'd swear he's got an instrument hidden in his mouth

*Uses the word [i]cornhole[/i] with alarming frequency--and any much mention of corn, for that matter..and words like "Hell yeah", "Hell no", "Now git!" and the classic "I then says..."

* Ends his sentences/questions with the word [i]"boy?"[/i]

* Beer to the redneck is to be consumed like water going down the friggin' Niagara Falls

*Strange obsession for pickup trucks for all occasions, even the $45,000+ ones to drive up to the valet at a fancy resort. (For that kind of dough I'd get a Corvette, thank you)

* All rednecks love Tex-Mex (well, even I do)

* The smell of bacon makes a redneck really randy, one confessed to me

* Somewhere in the family there are pig farmers

* To a true redneck, the only good singin' man that ever lived was Merle Haggard--"and don't gimme no lip about it boy"!

*Rednecks do love their guns, that's fer sure. But only the redneck believes the only darn useful gun [i]is -- and ever will be[/i]-- the...[b]scattergun[/b]!


All in jest, of course [;)]

If it's geographic, does the fact you live in CA make you a liberal Gay? [:D]

Good post, I just couldn't resist myself.

I had a friend in the Marines from Bakersfield, CA that spoke with a twang so thick you'd SWEAR he was from "JAW-JAH!"

He'd say things like, "That dog don't hunt, son!" and "D'jeet?  Y'unt to?"

I still haven't heard any references to AR15's.




"Thiss topic doan cut no mustad boy........"

From the American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition.  2000.
 
redneck
 
SYLLABICATION: red·neck
PRONUNCIATION:   rdnk
NOUN: Offensive Slang 1. Used as a disparaging term for a member of the white rural laboring class, especially in the southern United States. 2. A white person regarded as having a provincial, conservative, often bigoted attitude.  3.  Racist, inbred, toothless, shoeless, ignorant, or being raised/living in a one room shack with an outdoor shitter.
 

Ya'all is missin the important stuff:
1)seasoned spinach or collards(seasonin being bacon grease)
2)Some of David Allen Coe's "other" songs. Know what I mean Vern!
3)It ain't ammo....It's "shells"!!!
4)If it had been invented by anyone but a redneck it would have been called a "Teethbrush".
5)Kansas counts as redneck if yo mama was from Missouri.
6)Yep....It's a state of mind, some good, some bad.
7)This is more fun than I've had in a coons age.
8)Just to be relevant.....AR'S are really f**kin neat!

as a card carrying redneck i own an AR-10C Armalite, a Bushmaster AR-15 16" A3, and a Bushmaster AR-15 20" A3.

no need to thank me, this thread is now relevant [;D]

You know what that means, the "L" and "O" key on my computer are toooooo close.........