Petition for Texas to peacefully withdraw from the US

[Puck]

I prefer the term "Country", I believe there is a difference between a "Redneck" and a "Country" person. I have family where it really just doesn't get anymore redneck, and I also have family that is very country. Working a job, bowhunting, riding four wheelers/dirtbikes, and the like is country to me. The redenecks in my family do none or very little of this, specifically the job part, they much prefer the welfare system. They live in a town that at first sight you wouldn't assume anyone even lived in, the town consists of roughly 30-40 people total. They each have signs on their trees and houses warning against trespassing, as if you would even want to in the first place. Most of them make a living by trade and scam, eat burgers and hotdogs a hungry dog would walk away from, and believe Taylor Swift and Led Zeppelin are God's gift to the country genre.

 

Country people and Rednecks are definitely not the same thing. While I personally don't care a whole lot for Country people either, I do think it's only fair they not get throw into the same group as rednecks.

This is exactly what I was trying to say. There is a difference between "Country" and Redneck". I spent a lot of time fishing, riding dirt bikes, shooting, and all sorts of "Country" activities and there is nothing wrong with that, just like there is nothing wrong with being proud of where you come from. Living in FL I have daily exposure to everything from Mildly Country to downright Redneck. They are not the same thing to most people, the term was only recently re-coined in an attempt to give it a more positive manner to represent toughness, courage, southern pride, and rebel spirit. That is only a modernized variation of the term, and to most it is still a derogatory term for an uninformed, ignorant, often racist and uneducated boisterous person. Nobody on this site that I have seen fits that description, and I would never accuse someone of that.

Edited November 13, 2012 by Puck

[Onion]

Why does there need to be a term, why do we need a label. I do not think anyone here will disagree that there are people that just float along through life and do not care about the world around them. People that never take the time to expand their knowledge or understanding. People that live by a set of rules with no real understanding of the basis or consequences of the rules. Or that live by the letter and completely miss the intent. However I think there is no reason for there to be a label for this.

 

I was asking myself that as I was typing up that question, actually. Good point.

[SpeedCrazy]

I prefer the term "Country", I believe there is a difference between a "Redneck" and a "Country" person. I have family where it really just doesn't get anymore redneck, and I also have family that is very country. Working a job, bowhunting, riding four wheelers/dirtbikes, and the like is country to me. The redenecks in my family do none or very little of this, specifically the job part, they much prefer the welfare system. They live in a town that at first sight you wouldn't assume anyone even lived in, the town consists of roughly 30-40 people total. They each have signs on their trees and houses warning against trespassing, as if you would even want to in the first place. Most of them make a living by trade and scam, eat burgers and hotdogs a hungry dog would walk away from, and believe Taylor Swift and Led Zeppelin are God's gift to the country genre.

 

Country people and Rednecks are definitely not the same thing. While I personally don't care a whole lot for Country people either, I do think it's only fair they not get throw into the same group as rednecks.

I think you got close to the issue there, what a lot of people, mainly city people, because thats where the image of redneck is cherished, are now calling redneck is what in the past would have been termed trailer trash. Loose high unemployed welfare drunk unhygienic uneducated the whole 9 yards, i don't like to use the term but that is what people round here call trailer trash. That is what i see the term redneck being associated with now.

Most people i know, myself included, see the term redneck as almost a compliment, we associate it with shoe string budget ingenuity, hard working, Christian values(not necessarily christian but a more or less conservative moral and ethical code), truck driving, hunting, fishing, camo, guns, largely physical laborers and don't forget the drawl . Maybe we are wierd but thats what most people take it to mean round here.

 

Why does there need to be a term, why do we need a label. I do not think anyone here will disagree that there are people that just float along through life and do not care about the world around them. People that never take the time to expand their knowledge or understanding. People that live by a set of rules with no real understanding of the basis or consequences of the rules. Or that live by the letter and completely miss the intent. However I think there is no reason for there to be a label for this.

+1 And those people do not all come from one walk of life, you will find just as many of them in the city as in the country.

[Fogel]

Why does there need to be a term, why do we need a label. I do not think anyone here will disagree that there are people that just float along through life and do not care about the world around them. People that never take the time to expand their knowledge or understanding. People that live by a set of rules with no real understanding of the basis or consequences of the rules. Or that live by the letter and completely miss the intent. However I think there is no reason for there to be a label for this.

Because that is what we humans do. Right or wrong it is how we understand the world around us. We label people based on what country that people come from, what religion they believe (or lack thereof), what state/province they come from, what political party they believe in (or lack of), what hobbies they enjoy, etc. So pretending labels don't exist won't solve the problem when we just naturally want to categorize everything around us so we understand things.

 

You are just as guilty as the people you are flaming. While I definitely with your words defending the farmers and good country folk of this nation, you made the very same slight you got offended by. Your post started off good and then you labeled anyone with an Apple product as a bigot. How you figure anyone with a Mac is automatically someone who hates rednecks is beyond me. And no, I don't own a Mac though I do know some farmers (the very same people you defended) with Macs.

 

So preach on how we shouldn't label people but everyone does it because that is how our brains work and it is how we are taught. Sometimes trying to think outside the box isn't always best. Sometimes you have to work with what you got and make the best of it. If you know people are going to label you than pick the label and what it means. If you know people automatically associate a Redneck as a derrogatory term than go by a new label, why pick the one subject to abuse.

 

 

Though I will say the smartest people I have met would be labeled (and they label themselves) as country hicks.

[Master Binky]

Hey, I find that term offensive!

 

Common sense isn't too common anymore, sadly.

 

You'll probably think I'm joking, but I've actually heard people my age suggest replacing oxygen with swag. I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

 

I prefer the term Horse Sense.

[malmsteenisgod]

it seems to happen every election year... there are currently 20 states that are volunteer Seceding.

 

Texas isnt that bad... they are one of the few states without a lot of the taxes and a lot of states should be modeled after Texas. Funny how ONE country wants to officially become a US State and TWENTY want to leave LOL

 

Apparently you missed my earlier post. Those policies have led to poverty, a poor education system, poor healthcare, obesity, and a neglect of the environment, which causes more health problems.

 

And to clarify, no state "wants" to leave. All these petitions are is a bunch of butthurt netizens and slacktivists who think their petitions on whitehouse.org are worth a damn. Look through the signatures on the petition and many of these people don't even live in Texas.

[InCrYsIs]

Gun sales went up immediately and small companies already started laying people off in preparation for Obamacare. The Texas thing will never happen but I think states need to stand up. Things need to get back to a state level.

 

The United Nations wants to rule the world and NWO is going full steam ahead.

 

Texas has it right but in the end they will suffer the next four+ years with the rest of us.

 

GARY JOHNSON 2016!!

 

I live in Nevada and they call it a swing state. This is a blue state 100 percent now. Too many California transplants.

Edited November 13, 2012 by InCrYsIs

[VaporX]

You are just as guilty as the people you are flaming. While I definitely with your words defending the farmers and good country folk of this nation, you made the very same slight you got offended by. Your post started off good and then you labeled anyone with an Apple product as a bigot. How you figure anyone with a Mac is automatically someone who hates rednecks is beyond me. And no, I don't own a Mac though I do know some farmers (the very same people you defended) with Macs.

 

You are absolutely right and I will apologize now to any Apple users I might have offended. You are correct in the fact that we tend to see a group and then attach a label, an easy reference if you will. Does not make ir right but it does make it the reality we live in.

Edited November 13, 2012 by ComputerEd

[Master Binky]

If the people are sitting inside all day living off of welfare, short of missing a roof, they won't see enough sun to get the trademark sunburned/extra tanned neck of a redneck.

 

You get the redneck feature from working hard outside in the sun, where your hat(whether a Stetson or a baseball cap[+2 sunburned ears]) didn't keep the sun off you. When doing such physically demanding work constantly, aesthetics quickly lose out to pure functionality for work.

 

The make-shift jury rigged ingenuity is a quality that some people attribute to rednecks comes from a practicality standpoint that even the hours of travel time to acquire supplies for a 'proper' or more elegant solution is prohibitive much less the additional time searching and shopping. The low intelligence attributed to being 'redneck' is likely from people who labeled them as dumb/stupid for a few reasons including apathy/ignorance* to what the other group considers important/essential and unfamiliarity with that lifestyle/area. The reverse situation is that person is likely to be considered dumb when they don't know how to function in the redneck's lifestyle/area.

 

As posted before that I found funny is what comes to mind when people say 'trailer trash' fit more of what I hear attributed to rednecks. Which reminded me that among those people that would be identify with an general archetype (trailer trash/city slicker/redneck/etc), have their own more specific labels or sub-archetypes within that particular set. It reminds me Oklahoma where the wasn't a derogatory term that bothered my indian/native american friends, but are instantly riled up if you call them the wrong tribe.

 

*- Ignorance is not inherently bad and I don't know why it is a pejorative. It is not having been exposed to the knowledge, not that the person is incapable of understanding or gaining the knowledge. Stupidity is purposefully remaining ignorant though.

Edited November 13, 2012 by Master Binky

[malmsteenisgod]

Gun sales went up immediately and small companies already started laying people off in preparation for Obamacare. The Texas thing will never happen but I think states need to stand up.

 

Those layoffs are just based on their reaction to an election that didn't turn out the way they wanted. The employer mandate doesn't take effect until 2014 so they have no reason to start laying people off. They're only doing it as an excuse to make a political statement.

 

Let's not forget that the employer mandate was originally proposed by Richard Nixon in the 1974 Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan and the individual mandate was proposed by Stuart Butler of the conservative think-tank Hertiage Foundation in his plan "Assuring Affordable Health Care for All Americans" in 1989. Then there was the HEART Act of 1993 proposed by Senator John Chafee (R.), which failed to pass the Senate. At that same time House Minority Leader, Newt Gingrich, also supported the mandate. But you wouldn't see so much bickering about it back then. So what's changed?

 

 

Things need to get back to a state level.

 

You mean those states that historically have oppressed individual freedoms while the federal government has tended to expand them, including the largest expansion of LGBT rights under Obama's presidency. Oh yes, those states. Those very same states that have oppressed voters, homosexuals, blacks, hispanics, women's rights, and worker's rights that the SCOTUS and federal government have constantly overturned. Oh, you mean THOSE states.

 

The idea that state governments know what's better for you is a farce. They're just as clueless as the federal government.

[SpeedCrazy]

If the people are sitting inside all day living off of welfare, short of missing a roof, they won't see enough sun to get the trademark sunburned/extra tanned neck of a redneck.

 

You get the redneck feature from working hard outside in the sun, where your hat(whether a Stetson or a baseball cap[+2 sunburned ears]) didn't keep the sun off you. When doing such physically demanding work constantly, aesthetics quickly lose out to pure functionality for work.

 

The make-shift jury rigged ingenuity is a quality that some people attribute to rednecks comes from a practicality standpoint that even the hours of travel time to acquire supplies for a 'proper' or more elegant solution is prohibitive much less the additional time searching and shopping. The low intelligence attributed to being 'redneck' is likely from people who labeled them as dumb/stupid for a few reasons including apathy/ignorance* to what the other group considers important/essential and unfamiliarity with that lifestyle/area. The reverse situation is that person is likely to be considered dumb when they don't know how to function in the redneck's lifestyle/area.

 

As posted before that I found funny is what comes to mind when people say 'trailer trash' fit more of what I hear attributed to rednecks. Which reminded me that among those people that would be identify with an general archetype (trailer trash/city slicker/redneck/etc), have their own more specific labels or sub-archetypes within that particular set. It reminds me Oklahoma where the wasn't a derogatory term that bothered my indian/native american friends, but are instantly riled up if you call them the wrong tribe.

 

*- Ignorance is not inherently bad and I don't know why it is a pejorative. It is not having been exposed to the knowledge, not that the person is incapable of understanding or gaining the knowledge. Stupidity is purposefully remaining ignorant though.

Well said.

[IVIYTH0S]

Why does there need to be a term, why do we need a label. I do not think anyone here will disagree that there are people that just float along through life and do not care about the world around them. People that never take the time to expand their knowledge or understanding. People that live by a set of rules with no real understanding of the basis or consequences of the rules. Or that live by the letter and completely miss the intent. However I think there is no reason for there to be a label for this.

Because this

While I do not live in texas I have over the last few weeks seen this "redneck" BS thrown around a lot and I find it personally insulting. I AM A REDNECK, born and raised in a rural community. I was baling hay as a summer job at age of 14 and deer hunting with a bow the same year. I learned to drive on dirt country roads and using a stick, my first "car" was a motorcycle that was used more on trails than on roads. My highschool graduating class was 30 and my total school enrollment was about 110, I played football and enjoyed the outdoors, I believe in God, attend church and do not cheat on my woman, never have. I think abortion is wrong, people are responsible for their own actions and the though fo sex with another guy makes me sick. When I was 18 I did my time in the Navy because I love my country and wanted to serve.

 

I am all redneck. ye t I likely also out geek 99% of the people on this forum. I was involved in DnD when GG was selling the game out of his garage in ziplock bags. I was using a computer and gaming with people in Africa, Canada and England before most of you were born. I have a degree in Literature, and been an avid gamer, computer and otherwise for 35 years plus. I am an avid scifi lover with a pretty deep knowledge of Babylon 5, Start Trek (all versions), Star Wars, Ice and Fire, Dresden Files, The Belgariad, Firefly, Dr. Who and a ton more scifi series that most of you have never heard of.

 

This bigotry, yes that is the correct word, toward rednecks is DISGUSTING! Rednecks are people that work hard and do not spend time whining that others have more than they do and it should be spread around. A redneck does not spend time telling others to go help the poor, they actually are in the soup kitchens helping. Rednecks not only have a clue what is going on in the world but care, they are informed and up to date, more so than 90% of the rest of the electorate.

 

So do not tell me you hate using sterotypes when it is obvious you are a bigot when it comes to "rednecks", you also seem ignorant of what it means to be one.

 

Sorry for the rant but this BS that is spewed about people of faith of that work hard and enjoy the simplier things in life not being "intellectual" drives me nuts. Go play with the Mac toy you paid way to much leave the rest of us alone.

is easier to say as this

I'm country

No insults intended. I know it's not right to label people but it's much simpler to define a common group of people by one word than have to clarify all that there is that makes them part of that group you know?

Edited November 13, 2012 by IVIYTH0S