The other day I was having drinks with two of my co-workers, one of whom is my supervisor, and we got to talking about our hometowns and such. Both of these guys are from rural Oklahoma. These are the kind of guys that have those thick accents that make you stop every once and go "Huh?". So, they got to talking about Oklahoma and I said something to the effect of "there sure are a lot of rednecks in Oklahoma", you know, because of that Jerry Jeff song. Any way, both the guys took it pretty hard and told me "there ain't no rednecks in Oklahoma". I think I kind of hurt their feelings a little bit. Now before that, when I was working in upstate New York I was listening to a morning radio program with a co-worker, and the program was about "your best redneck engineering experience". Long story short, my co-worker insisted he wasn't a redneck, eventhough the guy is an avid hunter, fisher, outdoor lover and even has "You might be redneck if..." comics posted on his cubical wall. What I'm asking people is, what gives? Are people that sensitive? Yes, I am white and when I was first called a redneck at age 8 I was very offended because I had no idea what that word meant. But now-a-days I don't have the "insult" bestowed upon me as much as before.
If you are offended by the word then it is offensive term. But you also need to know that other people might not see it as offensive, just politely ask them not to call you that.
I don't but know but "Git er done" is pretty redneck white trashy... And you guys say it all the time. The worst thing on the bbs next to Swoly.
Any term whose original usage was meant to trivialize and shut out a group or groups of people is still an offensive term. That said, there are many example of people to whom these terms were applied adopting those terms amongst their own in an effort to decrease the power those words originally held over them. Examples: black folks using the "N word," gay people calling each other the "three-letter word for a gay dude/cigarette in the UK." As we all know (but some don't like to admit), some slurs CAN be acceptable (see above), but it all depends on the context in which they are used and company you keep. In my experience, most rural folks use the word "redneck" freely, even proudly, with no ill intent, and don't get fussy about it. Offense is much more likely to be taken, though, if the word is used by someone from up north and/or from a large urban area, where the term is broadly used to marginalize a culture, people, and way of life, and is generally used to indicate a substandard level of intelligence and sexual preferences for farm animals and/or your cousin, who may or not be a farm animal as well. To see examples of this as it pertains to the political arena, you need look no further than our very own D&D: - Conservative = Right-winger = Tea Party = Racist = Redneck who is too stupid to understand that the Left is always right. - Liberal = Left-winger = Commie/Socialist = Elitist who is too self-righteous and smug to imagine that anyone (see above) could hold a contrary opinion. As to the subject matter in your post: My opinion is that virtually all slurs can be acceptable, but they must be used with caution as their acceptability depends entirely on how others are likely to react, which is an unknown. As to my opinion on the reaction of your coworkers to what you said: Maybe you don't know these two guys well enough for that kind of banter. I don't know what you do, but you're obviously intelligent enough to use a computer and type out coherent thoughts, so I would imagine your coworkers (one of whom is your supervisor) are at least as intelligent. That they've probably been fighting the redneck stereotype all their lives equated to some level of offense taken, or at least hurt feelings. TL;DR: Watch your words, man. Especially when those words are slurs or could be perceived as slurs.
The term redneck implies white trash. So I guess it's offensive. If you're getting called that I promise you there's a reason for it. I'm white and have never once been called a redneck.
BS. There are rednecks in every state. And if by some miracle there were some state completely devoid of rednecks, it sure as hell wouldn't be Oklahoma.
Redneck implies a white dude who has to do outdoor labor work and thus has a red neck. Seems offensive, but I doubt anyone gets butt hurt cause no one cares about offending honkeys.
Nobody gets in trouble for making fun of white people anyway, which means no terms are offensive. It's the modern American way.
Whatever, don't let the "white mans burden" get ya down Can it be used offensively? Yes Is it equal to n-word or any other ethnic slur? Absolutely not Are rednecks proud of being redneck? Depends
Yes, but you're forgetting where my lilly white ancestors were hung dead from trees with "honkey" and "redneck" carved in their chests with a knife. That's why I get hung up (har har) on the terms.
