Redneck is a historically derogatory slang term used in reference to poor white farmers in the Southern United States. It is similar in meaning to cracker (especially regarding Georgia and Alabama), hillbilly (especially regarding Appalachia and the Ozarks), and white trash (but without the last term's suggestions of immorality).
In recent decades, the term expanded its meaning to mean bigoted, loutish, and opposed to modern ways, and has often been used to attack Southern conservatives and racists. At the same time, some Southern whites have reclaimed the word, using it with pride and defiance as a self-identifier.
The term characterized farmers having a red neck caused by sunburn or a mixture of sweat and the dust of red clay dirt common in the southern states.
I have farmers in my family, both cattle and dairy, and know most are hard working people who are not red necks.Many farmers have well grounded children who excel and most go to college. The family farm has been the American dream for many American families.
As Kansas Bob has put it:
A citation from 1893 provides a definition (of red necks) as "poorer inhabitants of the rural districts...men who work in the field, as a matter of course, generally have their skin stained red and burnt by the sun, and especially is this true of the back of their necks.
We had the warning signs that one of our our sons was going to be a red neck when he was little. Little Tommy saw the world in terms of power: big v. little. monster trucks v. regular trucks and ordinary humans morphing into the Incredible Hulk.
He wasn't as bad as the baby in this graphic, but he was close: http://www.theredneckmommy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Redneck-vs-Baby.jpg
As Tommy got older he developed a big lip that got him in trouble in school. He was a C and D student in school and my wife an I had plenty of parent teacher conferences about his attitude.
When he was a teen, he was a big fan of the Dukes of Hazzard. He liked the General Lee car with the confederate flag and the auto chases, but missed a lot of the satire about the Southland. He missed the parody about Boss Hawg who was recently reincarnated as Haley Barbour.
I remember when we took Little Tommy to the Smithsonian in Washington DC. Tommy wanted me to buy him a confederate flag from a street vendor in a city in which half the people are black. I suggested this was a bad idea. Tommy didn't really understand the political sensibilities that I was talking about.
Tommy's attitude at an early age was '"I'm right and you're wrong" and showed little respect for other view points. When he was 14 he wanted a weight set so he could 'bulk up" and get bigger. Being big was a core value that he had about himself. He needed to be larger than life like the Incredible Hulk.
I warned Tommy in his thirties that he needed to back off on bulking up "You going to bulk up naturally as you get older," I warned Tommy.
When Tommy was in his mid-thirties, he started complaining he was feeling bad all of the time. His mother finally got her red neck son to the doctor. Tommy had his triglycerides at 1000 and his cholesterol ratings were off the chart, too .
Tommy had worked as a personal trainer and he believed he could self-medicate himself with supplements from a health food store. This is peculiar because he had health insurance though the corporation he worked for, Would he go to a real doctor? No!
Tommy has started to listen to his doctor's advice and his weight has come down. He doesn't complain about his health as often.
When Tommy was 18 he told me that I was a failure and that he was going to be a millionaire by age 35 , live in a beach home, have two cars and a boat. He also planned to marry a model.
He was a real optimist for a young man with a general education diploma from high school.
