Rednecks, as some call them, are the smartest and most level-headed...

[Greenwood]

folks I have ever met.

They are funny
They are kind hearted
They like a good joke
They don't think their snot is coleslaw
They are always willing to help others
They wear NORMAL clothes and don't own coats, khakis, or ties
They don't see anyone as "better" than someone else
They can change their own oil in their vehicles
They are fun to be around
They never set foot in a college
They are the smartest folks I have ever met

And, they are the LEAST racist folks I have ever encountered. Cant't say the same for the elitist, college-educated folks I have to deal with.

Good and bad in every "group" but those are my observations from my time on earth.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. OK, but what about the citizens of WV?

[Bluzmann57]

11. Boy I sure hope you never plan on going anywhere near WV

It is doubtful that you'll be welcome. They handle firearms very well in that part of the country. Of course, they often hunt for food, something which you would probably not understand.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

18. having been there many times, what they sometimes call food

i do NOT understand.

[QC]

60. Yeah, why can't they just take the Bimmer down to Whole Foods and get some nice arugula? n/t

[Texas Hill Country]

98. i think they were referring to local cuisine, not quality of food?

[roguevalley]

80. generalizing about rednecks and college educated is bad.

you defend rednecks from generalizations at the expense of generalizing another group. This is sad.

[Avalux]

2. What are NORMAL clothes?

Can you give me an example? :shrug:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

5. the overalls that have the trap door behind ya, for easy

stooping in the outhouse.

[lumberjack_jeff]

79. Hats positioned in such a way that the brim provides shade to your eyes.

Shoes in which the laces are tied.
Pants which hide ones underwear and allow ones legs the freedom of movement necessary to facilitate running.
Shoes in which the heels are short enough to encourage accident free mobility.
Sweatshirts worn with the fuzzy, comfortable side in.
Stocking caps and hoodies are generally worn on inclement weather days.

In short, function over form.

[Avalux]

84. I guess the clothes I wear are abnormal then. Shocker!

:eyes:

[lumberjack_jeff]

99. If your pants allow your undergarments to show...

... you should get your tuition money refunded.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

119. And don't forget that they don't own coats!

Whatever the hell that means.

My husband owns ONE coat. He wore it for our wedding and he wore it for his father's funeral. What an elitist!

[Elidor]

3. Your first name is Lee, isn't it?

Just a guess.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

7. Greenwood is, of course, the guy who was Proud2BAmurkan.

Just sayin.

[Cant trust em]

12. Are you serious?

If this is a joke, it's really funny. If it's true, then it's just sad.

[Greenwood]

21. Being very serious.....

Given the choice of an educated person and a person who never set foot on a college campus I would take the uneducated person every single time.

They seem to be just better people in my opinion.

Obviously, you have to take each person as an individual. But,just based on what I have PERSONALLY SEEN, I know who I think is a smarter and better quality person.

[Cant trust em]

Here are two snippets from your posts.

In the OP "They don't see anyone as "better" than someone else".

In post #21. "They seem to be just better people in my opinion."

This is a contradiction.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

37. Contrawhatshun?

Stop using them big collage words.

[Cant trust em]

46. Words in excess will be banned from the dictionary.

Whoops, not dictionary. I mean wordbook.

[spoony]

64. No, it isn't.

The OP says THEY don't see THEMSELVES as better, and says in his OPINION they are better. There's no contradiction there unless the OP claims membership in that group, which the constant use of "they" seems to suggest he doesn't.

[Cant trust em]

73. The OP clearly has more identity with "rednecks" than "elitist, college-educated folks"

So maybe he's the one who thinks he's better.

[spoony]

109. The wording doesn't warrant such a conclusion

One can identify with a group they aren't actually a part of. If I look at the Amish and say with admiration that their simpler life seems better in many ways than the corporate rat race, am I boasting on their behalf? Is it some damning hypocrisy that I say that on a computer they'd never use? It just strikes me as an opinion, or a defense as it were.

[Cant trust em]

113. I'm picking up on some projection.

That's just my take.

[Erin Elizabeth]

35. That makes no difference in the world.

What a narrow view you have.

I've met arrogant insufferable assholes who went to college and arrogant insufferable assholes who never went a day to college.

I've met lovely, wonderful, giving people who went to college and lovely, wonderful, giving people who never went a day to college.

Stop putting people in boxes and you'd be happier. And lemme guess: you didn't go to college? Your bitterness about that is oozing out all over my monitor and making my eyes throw up.

[IsItJustMe]

95. Son-of-gun, have big fun, on the bayou. These Latte drinkers won't get that.

I am a half redneck supporter of Obama here. Some of the best times of my life have been spent with some straight up red necks. You are right. Most of them would give you the shirt off their back and are damn good people. Sorry Haters.

[Bettie]

106. And so would most college educated people.....

Generally, most people will be generous and good-hearted in most situations.

There is nothing to be gained in vilifying one group while propping up another.

Some people are college educated, some aren't.

Some people are jerks, some aren't.

One does not create the other, nor does one exclude the other.

And liking "fancy" coffee doesn't make one a good or bad person in and of itself either!

[eridani]

110. How much like them do you have to look to get the shirt?

Two different sets of ethics for the in crowd and the out crowd are pretty common in our species.

[krispos42]

116. And which one do you want operating on your four-year-old's brain? n/t

[Elidor]

14. O RLY?

Interesting.

[Greenwood]

15. Well, that is one of my favorite songs.....

have it on my MP3.

Very proud to be an American!

[Colobo]

27. That guy again...

[greguganus]

118. TS'd and came back? Wait until the mods find out. n/t

[Cant trust em]

4. How do any of those things make you smart?

Maybe changing the oil, but I wouldn't say that you have to be a genius to figure that one out.

[Greenwood]

10. Because they are not conformists....

98 degrees and I have to wear:

- T-shirt
- Long sleeved shirt
- Long Khaki pants
- Tie

Remember it is 98 degrees....

- Put on a coat

I am an idiot to simply conform.

[ingac70]

16. They are conformists...

to the white trash sensibilities of their particular clan.

[Goblinmonger]

24. Anybody with a brain will tell you

that when it is hot, you should wear a cotton t-shirt under your shirt (and especially if you add a coat). It aids in evaporation of the sweat which cools you down. And guess what, I'm not a redneck, but I'm smart enough to know that.

[dionysus]

39. so you go shoeless in a gunnysack?

:shrug:

good of you to be your own man...

:rofl:

[bowens43]

6. How long have you been on earth? What color is the sky on your planet?

[Binka]

36. This Poster Is From HISANUS And The Sky Is Shit Brown

Matches his shit for brains. You see on Hisanus, Proud2BAmerican is President.

[elocs]

8. Some are, some aren't. Generalizations are too general. There is good & bad in every group. n/t

[Jamastiene]

31. Precisely.

Well said. :thumbsup:

[Cant trust em]

9. You're a KHAKIIST!

:rofl:

[ingac70]

13. I am surrounded by "rednecks"....

and I beg to differ on all points made.

[Barack_America]

22. As a relative to many a redneck, I too have to disagree.

Although I guess it could matter a lot where the redneck was from and how the neck got red.

All rednecks are not equal.

[Goblinmonger]

17. Here's the funniest part of your post:

"They don't see anyone as "better" than someone else"

The irony is so rich when you follow this aphorism with the delightful "eltist, college-educated folks" slam.

You probably don't even get it yet, do you?

[Cant trust em]

19. That's the thing that bothers me the most about this

They don't look down their nose at anyone. But they hate those liberal eggheads that probably never worked a day in their lives. Those big city folks just think they're so smug.

The lesson here is that everyone has their stereotypes that they cling to.

[pompano]

92. "Aphorism"

That sounds like something a person needs a salve for?

"OL' Junior was a doing purdy gud, then last week he hauled off and throwd an aphorism- been scratch'in and a diggin' since."

[Goblinmonger]

108. so which sounds better?

bloody aphorism

pus-filled aphorism

[thevoiceofreason]

20. I hunt with 42 other rednecks

And although we use the phrase almost in joking terms among ourselves, there are few who meet many of the categories you have listed above. I stay because it is a really good deer lease. And most are college educated. And you sir, are a boob.

[deadmessengers]

23. "They never set foot in a college"

And this is a good thing?

Let me put it another way: for someone to lack higher education is a positive trait in your mind?

[Starbucks Anarchist]

28. Fancy book learnin' is for New York intellectuals.

:sarcasm:

[HEyHEY]

101. HEy! That's "New Yerk"

college boy!

[Starbucks Anarchist]

103. D'oh!

:mad:

[Bluzmann57]

30. Does a person have to attended college to be a better person

in your mind? If so, I guess I'm just a complete dumbass because I started going to JC but because of situations, had to get out.

[deadmessengers]

94. No. But, that's not what I said.

The original poster seemed to imply that not having attended college was a positive trait, and by extension, having attended college is a negative trait. I was simply asking him/her/it to clarify what they meant, because that makes no sense whatsoever.

[Occam Bandage]

25. I'm proud to be a murkin, too!

[texastoast]

26. I don't know--this is a bunch of stereotyping

Rednecks can have some or none of the traits you list. Just like elitists. Lots of rednecks I know are racist and have gone to college. Some elitists I know are really racist. Whatever. I don't think you can apply what you said to a specific group of people.

[Greenwood]

34. Agreed. Good and bad in every group of people....

I treat folks like they treat me and always show care and compassion to anyone I meet.

Just basing my words on what I have personally witnessed.

[countingbluecars]

29. You might be a redneck if?

Jeff Foxworthy move over. Greenwood is here.

[Erin Elizabeth]

32. As someone who is related to and has lived

with and around rednecks my whole life, let me amend your generalizations to make them more accurate, ok?

They are funny

Not all of them, no.

They are kind hearted

Well, yeah, they can be. Unless you're talking about a redneck who is racist and/or bigoted. And they do exist, see below.

They like a good joke

Who doesn't?

They don't think their snot is coleslaw

What the hell does this even mean?

They are always willing to help others

As long as they aren't racist and the person needing help isn't of the wrong skin color, see below

They wear NORMAL clothes and don't own coats, khakis, or ties

Now on this you are just wrong. I know many rednecks who have bib overalls, t-shirts, jeans, NASCAR shirts, AND coats, khakis and ties. And I hope you mean suit coats and not coat coats.

They don't see anyone as "better" than someone else

Depends. Some do, some don't.

They can change their own oil in their vehicles

I guess. Not all of them. Are you only talking about male rednecks? HOW SEXIST OF YOU! :rofl:

They are fun to be around

A lot of people are. But not all of them are. Some are painful to be around.

They never set foot in a college

VERY VERY VERY WRONG! Did you know there are still universities with agricultural degree programs? Rednecks go to college, you fool! Not always, but this "they never set foot in a college" stuff is just bunk.

They are the smartest folks I have ever met

Their intelligence IS often underestimated, but in some cases, they really *aren't* the sharpest knife in the drawer. I've seen it both ways--see the college thing above.

And, they are the LEAST racist folks I have ever encountered. Cant't say the same for the elitist, college-educated folks I have to deal with.

Ah, bitter, party of one, your table is ready!

Listen dude, the BEST kinda redneck is actually a subgenre of the group--they're called Hippie Rednecks. If you ever run across a hippie redneck, make friends with them (it's easy to do). KEEP them as a friend your whole life. Because they are the ones who will do anything for you, they are the ones who are NOT racist, they are the ones who tend to vote Democrat, they're smart and they're warm and they'd give you the shirt off their back, but are completely unassuming and humble. Hippie Rednecks. Don't forget it. You'll know when you meet one that you've found one. There's a decent sized population of them in Austin, Texas, by the way. They are the salt of the freaking earth.

[Jamastiene]

40. The only stereotype you managed to leave out was the 4 Teeth Rule.

Could you be any more condescending? In reality, as soon as they no longer need you to vote for them, the "my shit doesn't stink" crowd (which is not to say all, but simply many) will go right back to looking down on you simply because of where you are from too.

Been there, done that. I know. After a lifetime of voting for Democrats, I've learned this about many people who don't have a clue what we are really like. The truth is, pick a group, any group, and you'll find they are not monolithic. Just as the OP was generalizing, so are you. Neither of you are right.

[last_texas_dem]

97. I'm not noticing stereotypes or condescension in the post you responded to

Seemed to be essentially a response to the OP describing her experiences with "rednecks"; no more, no less. In fact, the OP contained substantially more in the way of generalizations, even if they were largely positive ones. I'm not sure what's so "condescending" about, for example, noting that some rednecks do indeed go to college, or that some of them are nice, while some aren't, etc. And from my experience, growing up around my share of "rednecks", I'd have to agree with Erin Elizabeth's assessment. Rednecks aren't the monolithic group they are negatively stereotyped to be, but I think it's inaccurate to put them, as a group, on a pedestal, either. (And I'm still wondering exactly what sort of rednecks the OP has been around for him to describe them as the *least* racist group of people he's ever been around...)

[Erin Elizabeth]

44. Dear Ignored: I can't read what you said.

So stop posting to me.

[DemVet]

65. Ignore lists are for those with weak debating and reasoning skills.

[eridani]

111. Yep, from Olema, CA, right?

I'm proud to be a hippie from Olema--etc.

[dionysus]

33. lee... lee... lee... go brush your tooth or something... put on your gunny sack or whatever...

i grew up in a trailer park, so politely kiss my ass; higher education is easy to get. I'm sorry you couldn't get accepted into college...

:rofl::rofl:

[Greenwood]

38. Unfortunately, I went to college and grad school......

and I am definitley not happy being around those I work with.

Yea, I have a good job and comfortable life.

But, I feel so much more at home with "rednecks". Better people, smarter, funnier, and just happier.

[dionysus]

41. suuuurreeeeeeee you did....

:eyes:

[Greenwood]

47. Well, I am sure you are a nice guy.....

but I doubt you would like hanging out with my buddies.

Poker, Catfishing, NASCAR (Yes, NASCAR!!) and cook-outs.

I am called the "College boy" but they accept me.

Come to think of it, I may be the only college/grad school educated person in my county. But, I wear "redneck" as a badge of honor.

Heck, I am probably the only "Redneck" in America who voted for Hillary!!!

[Erin Elizabeth]

43. Get a different career if this one makes you so miserable

and bitter, then.

And stop stereotyping. Not ALL rednecks are awesome, non-racist wonderful people who never wear a tie and never went to college. You are romanticizing the whole lot of them, putting them up on a pedestal as a group, when they don't need or want to be up there. When they shouldn't even BE up there in some individual cases.

People are people. Don't box them up. If you decide all of one group is bad, you're cutting yourself off to potentially meeting OTHER nice, smart, funny, happy people who aren't rednecks (they do exist).

[OzarkDem]

50. Actually, most of them are non-racist

Its the minority that act otherwise. Sorry to see a Democrat who is so close-minded. I hope you're young because you have a lot to learn.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

52. This from the "person" who thinks Obama is a muslim.

:rofl:

[OzarkDem]

53. This from a fool who thinks I'm a man

I'm a woman. :eyes:

And Obama's religion is his own business.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

55. I can edit my post.

You'll always be the person who was suspended over islamophobic bigotry.

[OzarkDem]

56. Wrongly so

That accusation was never made.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

61. Apparently you can't help yourself.

Because you just implied it again in post 53.

[OzarkDem]

67. Sorry, that was not intended

I don't know what his religion is and don't care to know. I don't pry into any candidate's religious belief as long as they don't carry it into their public service.

There's far too much emphasis on bringing religious beliefs into government. Democrats shouldn't be imitating Republicans in that respect.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

69. Whoops. Did it again.

You're not very clever.

[OzarkDem]

70. Did you read the post?

If so, and that is your reply, you're incredibly close minded. Get lost.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

76. I sure did.

You pretended not to know he was Christian.

Something you know full well since you've attaced him over his former preacher.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=5710463#5714712

Like I said, you're not clever.

[OzarkDem]

81. Good luck with that

Parse all you want.

[Egnever]

93. I think you have been exposed in this thread

[OzarkDem]

104. The Obama-police are very un Democratic

much like the Gestapo tactics of Bush/Cheney. There seem to be fewer and fewer differences these days between Obama supportings and right wing extremists.

Are you going to take a way my passport if I don't support him?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

105. We support the rights of racists to vote and travel overseas.

"There seem to be fewer and fewer differences these days between Obama supportings and right wing extremists."

The RW extremists, OD, are islamophobic bigots.

[cali]

91. sure you know what religion he is.

It's been about as publically examined as anything in this primary. Your insinuations are disgusting.

[dionysus]

107. you can always edit your post, but you can't win arguments with stupid people....

[Forkboy]

48. "They don't see anyone as "better" than someone else"

"Better people, smarter, funnier, and just happier."

:rofl:

[OzarkDem]

49. Good for you

Never be ashamed of your roots. I agree. I learned about Democratic values and politics sitting around the wood stove listening to my grandparents, aunts and uncles talk. Nearly all were dirt farmers or had moved to the city for factor work.

Those people would get up in the middle of the night and ride a dozen miles on horseback through a snowstorm to help deliver a baby or tend someone who was sick. They're the most selfless, hard working people I've known. They were pro-union, loved FDR, Truman and JFK, were so-so about Johnson (didn't like the Vietnam War) and hated "ol' Tricky Dick" as they called him.

[Binka]

57. It's The "Elites" Are Unhappy Meme

Riiiggghhhtttt.

[OzarkDem]

42. Here's a good video - Dirt Farmer

A good Democrat who always represents the dirt farmers, coal miners and other rural folks and believes in bridging the divisions among Americans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ5Jl3zxabo&eurl=http://levonhelm.com/video/dfm_video.htm

[WeDidIt]

45. I wouldn't go with smartest, but they have the most common sense

I guess you could call them the wisest.

Definitely not the smartest folks I ever met, but then again I've met some pretty damned smart people.

[DarienComp]

51. It's abnormal to own a coat? Fascinating.

Also, "They don't think their snot is coleslaw"? That's just... weird.

[Binka]

59. Well Hell When I Eat BBQ Ribs I Usually Blow My Nose Onto The Plate

Is that "elite?" Oh Noes Who News?

[DarienComp]

62. You use a plate? Aren't you Little Miss Fancypants.

[Binka]

63. I Do Eat With My Feet

[DarienComp]

66. That doesn't mean you're a redneck...

but it might mean you're an orangutan...

[Binka]

72. Stop Saying That I Am A Pinkutan

Hello. Girl. Here!

[Raine1967]

54. Least Racist?

as opposed to, Who?

Just curious.

[mkultra]

58. i live in Oklahoma

and your full of shit.

[Greenwood]

68. Uh, it's "you're" instead of "your" in the context you are using....

Just trying to help you out!

LOL

[Erin Elizabeth]

77. "Your" being elitist.

[mkultra]

114. thanks

No try and focus on your bullshit post.

[sybylla]

71. Garsh

I live on a dirt road.
I hunt and fish - have since I was 12, know how to clean and cook everything I bring home.
I know how to shit in the woods and not wear any of it home.
I'm probably not too funny but I like a good joke - so long as it isn't racist.
I'm kindhearted and always willing to help others.
I can curse like a sailor and quite often get a boatload of pleasure out of it.
I can change my own oil in my vehicles, I can jump start every vehicle in my shed - including my tractor, I can even change flat tires, air filters, spark plugs and wires, tappet cover gaskets and brakes pads (oh, my).

But I've got my BA in English, a Tech Writing minor, I own my own tech company with my spouse (a hillbilly automation engineer), I have a closet full of "normal" clothes and "abnormal" or whatever it was you were going for, and NASCAR bores me to tears. Once you've seen off-road racing, everything else is for wussies. Oh, yeah, and I do think most people are better than some people - those who are only in this world to get out of it what they can, who aren't kindhearted, should never be given the same consideration as the rest - fuck them.

So who the hell exactly are you calling rednecks again? You see, the problem with generalizing based upon stereotypes is that stereotypes only exist in our brains. Stereotypes aren't real people. In case you didn't notice, human beings actually have 3 fucking dimensions.

[Greenwood]

74. Well.....

I am sorry you are upset!

[sybylla]

85. You mistake me, sir

I'm not upset. Just so very disappointed (and probably elitist) for expecting better on DU.

[grantcart]

75. to a large extent I agree

and what you are speaking to is a larger phenomenom around the world where remote rural people are fearful or standoffish towards outsiders.

My in-laws (from Thailand) had no electricity and therefore no TVs or telephones until about 10 years ago.

Yet in their entire life they never said a bad word towards any person, and that is their genius and what I think your are speaking to.

[Chulanowa]

78. Yes, rednecks cna change their own oil

Trouble is they also think they can replace their brake pads. And thus, the cinder block was invented.

[jakem]

86. LOL!

[ieoeja]

89. That's funny! Except that I imagine they *can* change their brake pads.

Done so quite a few times myself before I realized it was worth the money to pay someone with the right tools to do it.

Which, come to think of it, was the day I left home and got out on my own. Now, maybe if I ever have a kid stupid enough to do every damn fool thing I tell him to do....

[PaulaFarrell]

82. you're not talking about rednecks

I don't know your definition of a redneck, but where i grew up the rednecks are the ones who start fights at the drop of a hat, and like to kick the shit out of hippies just for the fun of it. ok, i grew up a while back, and "hippies" don't really exist anymore, but i'm really unclear as to how you think the term rednecks suddenly seems to mean people who didn't go to college?? - I'm not real clear what your definition is, to be honest - you sure ain't talking about rednecks i grew up around - cause they were aggressive assholes, no doubt about it

[Dark]

83. They voted en masse for George W Bush.

n/t

[sagetea]

87. What most people call "Red Necks"

I call Salts...
My pops, was an old salt, knew everybody and everybody knew him.
Nary a racist bone in the man, took me out when I turned 22 and left me in the desert of Nevada for 2 days with nothing but a knife and a book of matches.
Through him I met some of the most wonderful people, of all colors.
Most of the people in our lives were, brown, black and red. But to look at his life style and how he lived, some may have called him that, and I imagine that he just smiled with a twinkle in his eyes and walked away.
It seems that we all have a preconceived notion of what a red neck is and put them all in the same box. Maybe, one day it really won't matter anymore.
Ho`

[countingbluecars]

88. I was behind a guy in traffic last

week that I would consider to be a redneck. He had a confederate flag hanging in the back window of his pickup and was sporting a "My gun has killed less people than Ted Kennedy's car" bumper sticker. At the traffic light, he got out of the driver's seat, walked to the bed of his truck, and got a beer out of a cooler. Not too smart IMO.

[cali]

90. generalizations like this are utterly ridiculous.

I live among "red necks". In fact, the majority of the people living in the Northeast Kingdom are rednecks, but evidently they're not much like rednecks in some other places, as they voted for Obama in my rural, poor, white, mountain, agrarian community. At the end of your post you acknowledge that there are exceptions in every group. Damn straight there are. In fact, that's the problem with your kind of generalization: there are almost always so many exceptions that the generalization is worthless.

[JimGinPA]

96. You Might Be A Redneck - If You Always Vote For The One With The (R) Behind Their Name

What a stupid OP.

[HEyHEY]

100. Sounds to me like you haven't hung out with the other side much

I've done both. I have to say rednecks, not "Blue collar" cause there is a difference. Are the dumbest turds on the planet.

[depakid]

102. You must have met an entirely different set of folks than I have

Either that, or this is satire. Kind of hard to tell these days.

[gmudem]

112. LOL at "normal clothes"

Khakis and coats aren't "normal clothes?" LOL I just can't take this post seriously after reading that.

[Bright Eyes]

115. Some folk'll never eat a skunk

But then again some folk'll
Like Cletus, the slack-jawed yokel!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etA25rmOey4

[EnviroBat]

117. Well sir. This here is a head-scratcher sho nuf!

I'd better got back down n' a holler with my lovely bride Summerteeth. We's got ta figure out shoes and such.