Are homesteaders HICKS? A Satire.

There seems to be alot of questioning as to what a redneck,hick,hillbilly,cracker,Good-Ole Boy, is .
Its kinda hard to explain to some. An easy ay to tell who is and isnt has nothing to do with liking nascar which has been yuppieized to the point most hicks are returning to dirt tracks. Nor does it indicate any lack of education or culture,it is a very special all american culture in itself. If you wanna know who is and isnt a hick/redneck just call them one , if they get offended they are not one if they say "yeap sure are and ---- proud of it" then they are.
Hicks/rednecks arent offended by the of a feedlot (the smell of money) They don't consider them selves above getting dirty , or think that a a day of real work is demeaning. They dont need a lawyer to write up a contract, Their hand shake is more binding than any piece of paper. While they may not have a pot to pea in or a window to throw it out of they will give you the shirt off their back if your in need. Yeah they may look rough in their ratty overalls and shirts with no sleeves, They may enjoy a few too many beers , they might even backhand some rude cityslicker for using foul language infront of a lady. But they will also show up with a truck full of bloodhounds and every cousin they can muster in the middle of a storm to search for a lost kid.
They wont bother to check your bank account before pulling you out of a ditch or snow bank. Rather than calling the sheriff to complain about you cows getting out they will round them up and check the fence.
Call them hicks and rednecks all ya want I call them neighbors and friends. The country was a lot better and safer place when the hicks out numbered the city folk

I are a hick in spirit. I'm not there yet, and I prefer the term "hillbilly".

__________________
5 Stones Workshop

Infowars
Endtime
SWRC

If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.
~ James Madison ~

Got that right

__________________
"Let the beauty we love, be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground." Rumi

When you use words to mean what ever you want, your right, there is going to be a lot of questioning going on.

red·neck (rĕd'nĕk') pronunciation
n. Offensive Slang.

1. Used as a disparaging term for a member of the white rural laboring class, especially in the southern United States.
2. A white person regarded as having a provincial, conservative, often bigoted attitude.
__________________________________________________ _______
hick (hĭk) pronunciation Informal.
n.

A person regarded as gullible or provincial: “New Yorkers had a horrid way of making people feel like hicks” (Louis Auchincloss).
adj.

Provincial; unsophisticated: a hick town.
__________________________________________________ _______
crack·er (krăk'ər) pronunciation
n.
3. Offensive.
1. Used as a disparaging term for a poor white person of the rural, especially southeast United States.
2. Used as a disparaging term for a white person.
__________________________________________________ _______

good old boy also good ol' boy or good ole boy (ōl) pronunciation
n. Slang.

A man having qualities held to be characteristic of certain Southern white males, such as a relaxed or informal manner, strong loyalty to family and friends, and often an anti-intellectual bias and intolerant point of view.
__________________________________________________ _______

I'd expect most of the quailities you listed to be qualities of anyone, rural and urban alike (sans bloodhounds perhaps).

As for the county music and NASCAR comments, those were used specifically as they are sterotypical of "rednecks" And while I may not enjoy those things (well, NASCAR at least, I listen to some country, mostly outlaw and alt) I make no judgement based on those things alone. It was only ment to illustrate a point. You can be a reggae listening computer programmer who's hobby is syncronized yogurt juggling and live in the country, raise your own (or part of your own) food, and be "good people", or for that mater, an SOB, just as those that might fall into the stereotypical definition of the terms in this thread, living in the country, raising your own food, neither defines who you are, what your attitudes are or, whether you are a good person or not.
.
Now, would I ever get offended by being called a hick... no. I'd wonder exactly what that person was smoking that make them come up with that comment, as I can be called a lot of things, but hick isn't one of them. Even when I bring rabbit stew into the office, or my truck still outfitted with cages from the stock auction, I wouldn't be confused with a hick or redneck.

J

Modofied Hick. I do have a microwave.

The only Hicks I know are Bobby and Freda Hicks Their kin to Yocoms.

But now the people you discribe might be considerd Hillbillies.

big rockpile

__________________
I love being married.Its so great to find that one person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.



If I need a Shelter
If I need a Friend
I go to the Rock!

I guess we fit the hick catagory.. and pagan to boot....born and raised on a samll farm and small rural town in Lancaster County, PA, although I have lived in Germany and traveled in USA, Mexico, Canada, Germany, Spain and France.. so "not worldly" doesn't quite fit....


pa·gan (pā'gən) Pronunciation Key
[Middle English, from Late Latin pāgānus, from Latin, country-dweller, civilian, from pāgus, country, rural district; see pag- in Indo-European roots.]


But then again I never wanted to fit into their molds....I have to much fun laughing at the "urbanites"

They have built a McMansionville (about 300 homes there now) off the corner of our 21 acre property. When driving out the country road you can tell who is heading to this development... they are the ones trying to do 55 mph on a winding road and are tailgating... They come down onto our property to walk along the creek and can't figure out why their skin is burning...lol (witch hazel)....They don't understand the woods and I just have to laugh....I know it isn't nice...but it's funny to watch them ...No we don't hate them, we have even taught some of them how to survive in the woods...

HICKS = Happy In the Country with Kids (2 legged and/or 4 legged) and Significant other

I am a red neck HICK and dang proud of it.....but I am also well educated and well traveled....I just prefer HICKville to sophistication and cities.

I disagree with your comments charles burns.
I contend that most of those names are now used by people about themselves. I also contend that to people with clear vision, stereotyping is reflective of the people who practice it.


I like that! Never heard it before your post, but I like it!

I see the names as derogatory when used to describe someone you've never met. If someone called me a hick or a yuppie based solely on a post I would take it as an intended insult.

I think when people refer to themselves or their friends as hicks or yuppies they are being ironic. There's a world of difference between self mocking and being mocked.

Anyway, what would you know? you're just a red neck.

(Apologies for the last line, but does it still seem innocuous?)

I too hate the 'us and them' point of view. I see these words used to promote it.

I do see your point of view. Just don't fully agree. Name-calling doesn't automatically always conjure up insult, sometimes it conjures up identity.

From my side of the fence, I just don't think that a person who calls himself a redneck would automatically feel insulted being called a redneck. Do you think the term Christian has less connotation to your explanation, or more? Its a name thing too ya know?! Most Christians feel identified by the term, not insulted.

Innocuous is a term I'm not sure about and am not inclined to look up right now. I will later. But call me a redneck and I do not feel the least bit insulted. Disappointed maybe, because you'd only be partially right. I already explained that I'm more than just a red neck. I am a colorful old Hickey! Remember?

I still contend that to people with clear vision, stereotyping is reflective of the people who practice it.

I was thinking about this, labels do help us identify traits. But they are not one size fits all. I was born here in Hicksville, Florida. Dad was in the navy, so we traveled, then ended up doing elementary thru high school in JAcksonville (largest land city in the world.)Lived in St. Pete for 2 years then returned to Hicksville. Can you say culture shock? I choose to live here and raise my children here. One elementary school, one middle school and one high school for the entire county. No bussing. We have a good % of high school grads and college bound. I have extended family here. I am college educated. I also feel like a hippie as I like to do things in a natural way. I feel a conection to my animals and land. I have hopes of one day my DD will be able to register our property as a centenial farm in 2042. DD considers herself as 'country' and frowns on the high maintainence girls.(she is a natural beauty).

KCM - just to make sure - you do know I'm not calling you a red neck (even if you are not offended)? The line was to see how it sounded coming from someone you are not on familiar terms with.

I still think the words sting unless they come from someone you are on familiar terms with. White people can't say the dreaded 'n' word when referring to black people. I think this is because white people cannot use the word ironically or in a self mocking way (they're not black). Coming from a white person it can only be as insult or stereotyping. Black people use it freely - they can use it ironically or in a self mocking way.

To think of it, I don't see a word you can call a black person that doesn't stereotype them. Even 'African American' segregates them. They are 'American' or they are stereotyped and or segregated by language.

I don't see any negative definition of 'Christian.' And no Christian is narrowly defined by the name. Maybe the individual's definition of red neck, hick etc. brings about the difference of opinion. The dictionary definition (as someone pointed out earlier) is not too pleasant. If you go by that definition you would see the insult, if you go by a definition of say, a person who prefers a country environment to a city environment then you are not going to be insulted. Maybe the definition is changing to something a little more warm and cuddly as our language and the use of it evolves, and maybe we are not all on the same page with the definition shift.

It is kind of interesting to see how some who declare themselves proud to be a red neck or a hick also like you to know that they are educated and well travelled. It makes me feel that they are not too comfortable with the term unqualified.

Well, here's what you do to change a hick. You sophisticate them.

Main Entry: 1so·phis·ti·cate
Pronunciation: s&-'fis-t&-"kAt
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): -cat·ed; -cat·ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Medieval Latin sophisticatus, past participle of sophisticare, from Latin sophisticus sophistic, from Greek sophistikos, from sophistEs sophist
1 : to alter deceptively; especially : ADULTERATE

2 : to deprive of genuineness, naturalness, or simplicity; especially : to deprive of naïveté and make worldly-wise : DISILLUSION

3 : to make complicated or complex

Sounds like sophistication is either corruption or a veneer. (Ok, fire away)

__________________
"Those who hammer their guns into plowshares will plow for those who do not."
Thomas Jefferson

I say old Chap, are you saying you didn't say what you said after you said it?

Depends upon which side of the street you prefer to play on. In some circles it is acceptable, much the same way that calling a female the 'b' word is acceptable. It occurs frequently with no harm and no foul.
In other circles, a person could meet a very violent demise.

That is ridiculous. I call all my friends 'friend'. If you look at the biological (scientific) cause of skin color, you'd see that all humans are colored. Some of us just have more color than others.

How much more peace might there be in our world if we could all instantly discern that name-calling is nothing more than a glaring reflection upon the person doing the name-calling?
Many of us learned during our childhood the little tune "Stick & stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me". I believe our world might be a much happier world if our species weren't so easily offended by words.

Anyone who thinks that never met any of you in person.

I just ditched an e-mail discussion group that I'd been in for almost 12 years for just that reason -- they considered me a "midwestern hick" and though I put up with their little snarky barbs for all this time because I found value in the community, I finally had too much. I'm not educated enough. I live in a "flyover" state. I don't like cities, so I must not appreciate fine arts and culture. (No, I just don't appreciate graffiti and crime.) I expect a lot from my kids, so I'm not "progressive." Yadda yadda.

When I was younger, this might bother me. But if what I am is a hick, then I'll wear my label proudly.

i am a hillbilly from a long line of natural born hillbillies as is my dh

__________________
All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. Jefferson
my stores facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lexing...7930013?ref=ts

Plastic people.....I like that term, how appropriate, considering a good lot of them have probably had surgery to improve their looks. God forbid they look anywhere near their age.

As for the 'redneck' definition, here's a few more that come to mind:

Any "weekend work" requires "a beer". If they are doing any kind of fixer-uppers on the house on the weekend, don't forget to have a cold beer afterwards. Redneck men do not have daquiris or 'strawberry coolers' together after installing a toilet. Their woman may have the above drink, though, to be polite and to appear sophisticated. Repairs are thirsty work. (A hick is a redneck minus the alcohol).

And they don't buy things at hardware stores, they scrounge stuff from their private dump out back to make things. For example, truck caps become chicken coops, wooden pallets become fences, tiress become planters, etc. Can you imagine a McMansion with a tire planter? Pulease.

Their car must have rust. If they buy a second car, it's new.....not new new but new to them. This doesn't mean the new car will not also have rust. You may also see cat footprints on the hood. They may still have a "Garfield" stuck to a window. If they want to make sure no one mistakes that they are a redneck, they might stick a few tacky bumper stickers on their car, like: "Keep honking, driver is reloading" or "I brake for....oh, &$^%, no brakes!" or "Horn broke, watch for finger".

Uh, more, let's see:

Not all (if any) of their animals will have fancy 'papers'. The dogs are generally large, and almost always consist of a mix of shepherd, wolf, husky, lab and/or hound.

The grass in their yard consists of a grass/dandelion/thistle mix. You may also see haphazardly-cut stumps scattered through the yard.

The driveway is made of gravel or dirt, but the edge is hard to see because the grass just sort of thins out to become the driveway, making it hard to determine where the borderline of each is.

With a young couple, there will be toys scattered all over the lawn (again, do you ever see this in McMansionville?) or with an older damily, the toys are replaced by car parts or tools or "projects" being worked on, such as a door that needs painting. All of the above are not removed for the semi-annual lawn mowing ritual.....it's preferred that one mow around them, leaving a 2 foot tall sprig of grass growing at the base of each object.

Christmas lights are left on the house all year 'round. Some may even leave out other expressions of seasonal joy, such as a nice large but faded plastic 4 foot high Santa or a cheesy decorated evergreen tree at the edge of the road, left there specifically for the neighbours to enjoy.

Hey, wait a minute, I was talking about rednecks...that can't be right, I just described my own place! LOL Ok, except for the Garfield.

DD

__________________
"The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap."

KCM - I purposely called you a red neck to test the theory that it didn't matter to you if you were called a red neck by someone you didn't know.
The line that followed was to explain this. It seemed to me you maybe never understood this so I attempted to point this out again in the last post. I'm not denying I said it, I'm giving you my reason for saying it.

You say in some circles it's okay to use the 'n' word or the 'b' word. That's exactly my whole point. My whole view on the red neck neck, hick thing revolves around this observation. That the names are fine between friends and people you are comfortable with but are insult to those you don't know.

I know that humans have different colored skin. What is ridiculous about believing the term 'black people' stereotypes them? I know that some black people are very offended when they are referred to as black people. Some are offended at the term African American. The only non stereotyping name you can call a black American to my mind is an American.

Name calling doesn't seem too important to you, I would argue that it's very important. Name calling re enforces the stereotype and keeps a minority in a minority. It's very easy to discriminate against a minority so I see name calling as a discrimination tool. Name calling is insulting to the point where it will incite violence.

Is all name calling negative? No. I call my friends names they call me names, it re enforces our familiarity.

Yes, the world would be a happier place if people weren't so offended by words, but they are. Words are weapons, we learn how to use them in school, we aim words like 'fatty' at overweight children, 'four eyes' at the short sighted and a whole lot worse from what I can remember. I doubt these children skip happily home and are unaffected by the name calling.

I knew that from the start and I purposely did not become defensive. I have remained light-hearted so that you would understand that I have No Problem with you. I enjoy your posts and your insight.

I agree. Much of the time it comes back to the intent of the person uttering the expression.

Some people prefer not to be called by the term American. Some are not happy with the term these days as it relates to the state of affairs of this nation. How about if we just recognize people by their real name such as Charles or Kenny, and if that's too formal then Mr. Burns or Mr. Mavis? If we don't know a person by their name, how about if recognize people as Friend?

No need to argue the importance to me. It is important. But what benefit can come if I take offense to a name that someone calls me trying to offend me? They win if I allow them to win. If more people would recognize that names reflect back upon the person doing the name-calling, we might all tend not to become so easily offended by the offenders. Name-calling is a form of trolling and it happens it real life just like it happens on the forums. We're encouraged not to feed the Trolls on a discussion forum, and I believe we could benefit if we applied the same principle in real life.

I believe that it doesn't have to be that way. Children should be taught to be respectful of each other. They should also be taught to have self-esteem so that they can withstand the hurt that name-calling might cause.