Not all grey things are elephants

Hello. My Name is Brandi and I’m a redneck. Now those of you reading this that have known me one way or another for any length of time are thinking, “Ok…and….” There’s no and, just a statement of fact. If you read the previous post (What America Needs…) I’ve got a couple of historical references to the origin of the word redneck and the stereotypical image; dumb/ignorant, truck driving, beer drinking, country music/Southern Rock listening, gun toting, ignorant, racist jackass. For the record, I used to drive a truck – a 1973 Ford F-100 as a matter of fact – before it got totaled. Now I drive a Chevy HHR. I listen to country music and Southern Rock on a regular basis, Elvis is my all-time favorite singer, but I also listen to swing, blues, jazz, Celtic and opera. Yes, I said opera. I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I’m far from dumb or ignorant. No one can accuse me of being racist and I don’t own a gun simply because I’ve been told my temper is too quick. Unlike Tom T. Hall, I don’t like beer. I don’t drink that often and when I do I prefer a margarita. Alright, truth be told, I prefer Southern Comfort, but I hit 30 & it started hitting back and ya’ll, it’s just not worth it. I’m a redneck, but I don’t totally fit the stereotype do I? Oh…and I NEVER go barefoot.
Now you’re all probably wondering where I’m going with this…or maybe not. My last blog was inspired by a singer I’ve loved for as long as I can remember, Charlie Daniels. This one was motivated by a comment by another favorite singer of mine. I’m not sure what moved them to make the comment that “Jesus is a countryboy, Satan is a redneck” but it got my hackles up in a big way! Maybe they encountered one of those hatemongering racist jackasses I referred to above but just because you run across one person who fits the clichéd redneck mold, you can call him Satan, knock yourself out. But that doesn’t mean that he represents what a redneck is. That’d be like seeing a black guy in a gang, an Italian guy who’s in the mob or hearing recent comments by Pat Robertson; then deciding and posting that all black guys are in gangs and all Italian guys are in the mob or that all Christians think the disaster in Haiti was caused by God’s wrath because of a deal with the devil. Elephants are grey, but not all grey things are elephants.
In fact, most of the rednecks I know – the kind of person who works hard, upholds their religious beliefs, treats people fairly, expects the same, and demands that wrongs be righted – would probably kick Satan to the curb (I had something WAY more colorful in mind, but I’m trying to be a good girl). I made the comment/asked the question if the person had been Black, Asian, Arab, etc would they have made the statement that “Satan was Black, Asian, Arab, etc”. The point was made that country boy/girl & a redneck boy/girl were two different people no matter what their color. Personally I think being a redneck is just who you are. It doesn’t matter where you live, what you do for a living, what color your skin is, what you drive or how much money you make. If you’re a redneck, you’re a redneck. But fine, let’s not bring race into this. Let’s say you make the choice to be a redneck. So what other things do we choose to be? We can choose to be a blonde, brunette or redhead. For the most part, you choose your profession. You choose your religion. So plug any of those things in to “Satan is a “. Really, post “Satan is a Blonde/Brunette/Secretary/Nurse/Construction Worker/Catholic/Baptist/Muslim/Hindu” anywhere and see what happens. Boy oh boy what kind of dust storm would that kick up?
Am I offended by their comment? In the words of my Aunt Nooie, kinda-sorta. I think what got me was not so much what they said but that they said it when just days ago they said how much they hated racism. To me, racism, discrimination, prejudice of any kind go hand in hand, do you agree? I’m not saying the person who made the comment is a racist. I’ve followed their career long enough to know better than that. But if you wouldn’t dare to make a disparaging statement, or if you’d be offended if the comment was made in front of you, about one group; be it based on race, religion, gender, sexual preference, then you shouldn’t say it about one of the non-sacred cow type groups like Caucasians, blondes, Southerners/rednecks/hillbillies, Christians, and people who are overweight. If a comedian makes a joke about someone who is non-Caucasian, Muslim, from a different country, etc, the ACLU is all over them! The poor soul barely gets the words out of his/her mouth before the old hook is sent out to pull them off stage. Where is where the ACLU is when the same comedian is making jokes about inbred Southerners? Why is it ok that every single racist bigot shown on television or in movies is Southern and white but if there are too many stereotypes of another race, if a terrorist character is Muslim, people get offended? There aren’t racists in other parts of the country? People who aren’t white can’t be bigots? Really? Do I get in a state of fury when the folks on Criminal Minds (one of my favorite shows) do a profile of the latest psycho killer as “white male, average size/build, 35-40...”? No. Because statistics show that most serial killers are white men in their late 30’s-early 40’s. I know racism and bigotry exist. I’ve seen it growing up and I’ve got some relatives that are living examples of the fact that it’s alive and well. I was taught it was wrong and with my Granny, it wasn’t tolerated.
Let it be known, I am NOT a person who worships at the altar of political correctness. I think it’s stupid. There aren’t words enough to tell you how much I despise it. If you ask me (and no one did) people in this country, if not the word have become hypersensitive about everything and we all - Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, Muslim, Christian, even Southern – just need to grow a thicker skin. Do I laugh at Jeff Foxworthy’s redneck jokes? Yes. Because I know people like the folks he talks about and have on occasion, seen myself. Do I laugh at dumb blonde jokes? Always and I tell them with great frequency. They don’t bother me because like Dolly Parton, I know I’m not dumb and I also know I’m not blonde. I’m a big fan of the first amendment. It gives me the right to do this. But if one person can say what they want about who they want then everyone should be able to. I mean, if I call my friends redneck crackers, I shouldn't get my knickers in a twist is someone of another race/religion does. If you can pray freely, why can’t I? If you’re holidays should be respected, so should mine. I wouldn’t have a problem with a Nativity scene and a decorated Christmas tree displayed alongside a Menorah, symbols for the Muslim holiday in December and a Yule log for our Pagan friends and neighbors. Equality needs to be equal.People preach acceptance, tolerance, unity, and inclusion from every corner of this country. But where is the acceptance, tolerance, unity, and inclusion for people who aren’t considered a minority by the ACLU?
I’m not trying to bad-mouth anyone here. I’m not calling anyone names, insinuating that the singer who made the comment is a racist, bigot or anything negative. Their comment, like so many other things, simply inspired me to think. Do I think they should have censored themselves? No. Remember…flag waving free speech fan here. But the thing to remember about putting something on the web, and it doesn’t matter if your famous person posting a blog on your MySpace or a private citizen tweeting something or making a comment on a news website, is that someone who doesn’t know who you are or what you stand for may take some innocuous comment and decide “This is who you are”. And the truth of who you are is so far away from what they think, that when you stand at their truth, you need a GPS and bread crumbs are to find the REAL truth.
Bellamy Brothers' Redneck Girl: http://bit.ly/6NVfEc
Gretchen Wilson's Redneck Woman: http://bit.ly/5AyBOh