What I would tell my child, "The term 'red-neck' refers to people who worked outside all day long, usually bent over in the fields. Because the brim of their hat didn't cover the back of their neck, they would get sunburned there, giving them a red neck. People who didn't have to work outside like that, could see the sunburn and would look down on those people who were the working poor, using "red-neck" as a derisive term against them."
I might go on to tell my child that the term red-neck still refers to the working poor, especially people who don't achieve much in education or continue to make poor choices.
Do I know a red-neck? Oh yes, my husband's younger brother comes to mind. He has been married multiple times and the women are always very strange people. He grows his hair long then complains that he can't find a decent job. He works just enough to support his RC (remote control) hobby. Yet he has talent and if he had just a tiny bit of ambition, would do very well for himself. My husband says that when it comes to his brother building the RC cars, planes, motors and controllers his brother is a genius - and my husband should know because he works on very complicated electronics yet he is very impressed with what his brother does. I really feel for the brother's priorities, he adores his children (all girls) - he became a single dad when his second (ex)wife died suddenly - yet he never really created anything close to a traditional "home" for them. These girls grew up doing only what HE enjoyed - fishing, hunting, RC stuff. They lived in a filthy 2 bedroom house with broken down cars cluttering the yard and dogs under foot. They barely got medical care. One of the girls was born with hearing problems and he never went out of his way to let her get the surgeries she needed. Finally when she was a teenager, she not only found a hospital that would get her the surgery but also a grant that would pay for it. All she needed was a way to get to the hospital and a place to stay. We volunteered to take care of that part but her dad wouldn't let her go! She had to wait until she was 18 a no longer living with him to get the surgery done. It was insane. Like I said, priorities tend to be all messed up.
Edited by Cookie2 - 8/20/12 at 5:58am
