As New AZ law begins it's already working

[Michael Tee]

<<Jun 14, 2010 its like the word redneck, whiteman, republican all mean racist white people . . . >>

My understanding of the term was that it distinguished the poor white farmers and farm labour from the white upper and middle classes - -  the back of the poor white's neck was burned red by the sun as he worked in the field, the whites in the classes superior to his did not have to do this kind of work.

[BT]

My understanding of the term was that it distinguished the poor white farmers and farm labour from the white upper and middle classes - -

In that case, rednecks should be exalted, being exploited by the bourgeoisie, and all.

[Xavier_Onassis]

Redneck was a term given to the "po' white trash" by the genteel plantation aristocracy who did no actual physical labor and looked down on those unfortunates who could not afford slaves.

"Cracker" was a term used to indicate the overseers, who cracked the whip to make the lazy Blacks do their jobs properly. Like the rednecks, the crackers were guys who did physical labor. There were a few plantations where the crackers were Black. Jeff Davis' brother supposedly had a plantation on an island in the Mississippi where everyone was Black. The Massa was so efficient in his planning, he just had to stop by couple of times a year to deal with financial matters. There were a number of books which described this Plantation Eden in support of slavery as a natural and divinely inspired ideal.

[Michael Tee]

<<In that case, rednecks should be exalted, being exploited by the bourgeoisie, and all. >>

Too bad you're not a Bob Dylan fan.  Only A Pawn in Their Game explains it all for you.  The ruling class used race as a wedge to split the redneck from his natural ally, the blacks.  

"Yer better'n him, yew were born with white skin, he explains."