> The problem is, redneck is used to describe
> an entire region and is used to describe a
> group of people that many have never
> encountered. I was a little defensive when I
> first posted today, but it was just because I
> was at my wits end. I'm so tired of hearing
> about hate crimes and racial tensions. The
> problem, though, is that everyone engages in
> prejudiced, stereotype speech and until we all
> recognize our differences, accept them and
> understand that nothing that happened over a
> hundred years ago can be changed we'll be
> stuck in this cycle. I don't really take myself
> seriously, I was just angry earlier. I get on a
> soap box and lose my point sometimes.
> Anyway, I'm as tired of being labeled as stupid
> because I have a drawl as African Americans
> are of being labeled as dangerous when 2 or
> more are walking down a Southern street. I'm
> tired of terms like "us" and "them" when
> referring to racial groups.

If that is your experience, I am certainly dismayed to hear it, and I hope the tide of social awareness with the people you encounter shifts for the better.

My contention is just that a word should not made bad by others using it incorrectly or in a derogatory sense. It's the prejudice and bigotry that's the problem, not the word. Removing the word from common usage doesn't remove the idea. Removing the ignorance or spitefulness that drives it to be used derogatorily is what needs doing.

It's interesting that you brought up the 'n' word earlier. Fifty years ago, that word was not considered derogatory by members of any race, although I could be mistaken about that. The bigotry and ignorance of many who sought to use that word in the process of expressing their bigoted and ignorant ideas was what corrupted the word.

As for the word 'redneck,' you are probably correct that it is often used to describe people that it does not. I do not. I am familiar with the subculture the word is supposed to describe. But, either way, the Dialectizer is not derogatory, so even if others perceive the word incorrectly, they're not going to get unjust derogatory notions into their heads from my usage of it. If they do, they brought those notions with them in the first place.