[Peace-discuss] Message from Redneckia
E. Wayne Johnson
ewj at pigs.ag
Wed Sep 17 22:31:30 CDT 2008
There is "reasoning" behing "political correctness"?
First I ever heard of it.
John W. wrote:
> At first I thought this was pure satire, but upon re-reading it I
> conclude that maybe it isn't. God knows there ARE plenty of Americans
> who fall into Joe Bageant's category of "redneck". I myself have been
> hated and resented for using words of more than three syllables, and
> for being less than "hyperpatriotic". (I note in passing that he
> makes "hyper patriotism" TWO words, but that "patriotic" itself has
> FOUR syllables.)
>
> Joe doesn't have much of a clue about the reasoning behind political
> correctness, though.
>
> John Wason
>
>
> On Sun, Sep 14, 2008 at 9:52 AM, Ron Szoke <r-szoke at illinois.edu
> <mailto:r-szoke at illinois.edu>> wrote:
>
> 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.
>
> 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 Scots-
> Irish values - redneck values.
>
> They include western Pennsylvania, central Missouri and southern
> Illinois,
> upstate Michigan and Minnesota, eastern Connecticut, northern New
> Hampshire…
> So when you look at what pundits call the red state heartland, you
> are looking
> at the Republic of Redneckia.
>
> As to having our delicate beer-sodden feelings protected from the term
> redneck; well, I appreciate the effort, though I highly suspect
> that the best way
> to hide snobbishness is to pose as protector of any class of folks
> you cannot
> bear. Thus we are being protected by the very people who look down
> on us -
> educated urban progressives.
>
> And let's face it, there's plenty to look down on. By any tasteful
> standard, we
> ain't a pretty people.
>
> Uppity and slick? Not us...
>
> We come in one size: extra large. We are sometimes insolent and
> often quick to
> fight. We love competitive spectacle such as NASCAR and paintball,
> and believe
> gun ownership is the eleventh commandment.
>
> We fry things nobody ever considered friable - things like
> cupcakes, banana
> sandwiches and batter dipped artificial cheese…even pickles.
>
> And most of all we are defiant and suspicious of authority, and
> people who are
> "uppity" (sophisticated) and "slick" (people who use words with
> more than three
> syllables). Two should be enough for anybody.
>
> And that is one of the reasons that, mystifying as it is to the
> outside world, John
> McCain's choice of the moose-shooting Alaskan woman with the pregnant
> unmarried teen daughter appeals to many redneck and working class
> Americans.
>
> We all understand that there is a political class which dominates
> in America, and
> that Sarah Palin for damned sure is not one of them. And the more
> she is
> attacked by liberal Democratic elements (translation: elite
> highly-educated big
> city people) the more America's working mooks will come to her
> defence. Her
> daughter had a baby out of wedlock? Big deal. What family has not?
> She is a
> Christian fundamentalist who believes God spat on his beefy paws
> and made the
> world in seven days? So do at least 150 million other Americans. She
> snowmobiles and fishes and she is a looker to boot. She's a redneck.
>
> American ethos
>
> The term redneck indicates a lifestyle and culture that can be
> found in every
> state in our union. The essentials of redneck culture were brought
> to America by
> what we call the Scots Irish, after first being shipped to the
> Ulster Plantation,
> where our, uh, remarkable cultural legacy can still be seen every
> 12 July in
> Ireland.
>
> Ultimately, the Scots Irish have had more of an effect on the
> American ethos
> than any other immigrant group. Here are a few you will recognize:
>
> ~ Belief that no law is above God's law, not even the US
> Constitution.
>
> ~ Hyper patriotism. A fighting defence of native land, home and
> heart, even
> when it is not actually threatened: ie, Iraq, Panama, Grenada,
> Somalia, Cuba,
> Nicaragua, Vietnam, Haiti and dozens more with righteous
> operations titles such
> as Enduring Freedom, Restore Hope, and Just Cause.
>
> ~ A love of guns and tremendous respect for the warrior ideal.
> Along with this
> comes a strong sense of fealty and loyalty. Fealty to wartime
> leaders, whether it
> be FDR or George Bush.
>
> ~ Self effacement, humility. We are usually the butt of our own
> jokes, in an
> effort not to appear aloof among one another.
>
> ~ Belief that most things outside our own community and nation
> are inferior
> and threatening, that the world is jealous of the American lifestyle.
>
> ~ Personal pride in equality. No man, however rich or powerful,
> is better than
> me.
>
> ~ Perseverance and belief in hard work. If a man or a family is
> poor, it is
> because they did not work hard enough. God rewards those who work hard
> enough. So does the American system.
>
> ~ The only free country in the world is the United States, and
> the only reason we
> ever go to war is to protect that freedom.
>
> All this has become so deeply instilled as to now be reflexive. It
> represents
> many of the worst traits in American culture and a few of the best.
>
> And that has every thinking person here in the US, except perhaps
> John McCain
> and Sarah Palin, worried.
>
> Very worried.
>
> -- Story from BBC NEWS:
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-
> /today/hi/today/newsid_7600000/7600592.stm
> <http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/today/hi/today/newsid_7600000/7600592.stm>
> Published: 2008/09/06 09:39:12 GMT © BBC MMVIII
>
>
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>
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