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On Rednecks
We gamed last weekend. You can read about it here if you care. While waiting for the rest of the players to show up, one of them - K - said the following, which set off all kinds of alarms in my head:
The short version was:
So you get to hear my real arguments!
To my way of thinking, there are several levels of redneck. The basest level is the literal reading: A redneck is a rural laborer - the sort of person who has a red neck because they work in the sun all day.
Going up the list we have a somewhat neutral definition: A redneck is a person who is neither sophisticated nor pretentious. The sort of person who lives the simple life and has simple pleasures. Nothing wrong with that - I myself have been known to hang out with the other thousandaires and bowl a few frames.
Nothing about either of those definitions speaks to positive (or negative) character traits. However, the most common definition for redneck is entirely negative - it's synonymous with bigot. Specifically a white bigot from the American south. As if that were something to be proud of. But of course K wasn't proud of being identified with uneducated bigots. She was proud of being part of a community that considers itself to be salt-of-the-earth.
Does it stand up to investigation though? My argument is that those traits are an illusion brought out by being part of a close-knit community. In this setting, dishonesty is punished. Corruption is punished. Agreeing with everyone else is "common sense". You do it out of fear, not out of principle.
It's always been my assertion that you can judge a person by how they treat the people around them. But not the people who can help or hurt you. No, the truest test of character is how you treat people who cannot hurt, hinder or help you. When you have nothing to gain and nothing to lose do you still treat people decently? If so, then you can call yourself principled.
So is it integrity that keeps the small town mechanic from ripping you off, or is it the fact that you're his neighbor and you both know that any attempt to cheat you will become grist for the gossip-mill? I'm not saying that this guy lacks integrity, just that you'll never know it because he'll always treat you fairly. Does he do the same thing to the Ontario tourist who's never going to drive through Rocky Mountain House again in his life?
Is it common sense to verbally gay bash in the local pub? Or do you just not know any better because you're part of a herd and you've never knowingly met a gay in your life?
I think what really bothered me was the unspoken "I'm right and you're wrong" attitude. It was patronizing and indefensible. Intolerance is not a virtue and it's certainly not something you trumpet to the world.
"I'm proud to be a redneck"Well this floored me, and seeking understanding I asked why.
"Because being redneck means you have honesty, integrity and common sense."This of course pushed a whole bunch of my buttons (but not the two big ones thank god, or what little self-control I had would have vanished in a cloud of spitting gnashing rage). I could not let this go unchallenged, but at the same time I had to hold back from using the full force of my debating ability because it tends to piss people off.
The short version was:
1) Those qualities have more to do with being in a close-knit community than with being a redneck.As is her habit, K simply didn't bother listening so after a few attempts at reason I gave up with an "I disagree". As I've been down this road with her before, I knew better than to push it. The end result would not have changed her opinion one iota, and she would have nothing to do with me until she had a couple of years to cool off. As I wanted to game, I decided to drop it.
2) The corollary (that non-rednecks lack honesty, integrity and common sense) is not true.
So you get to hear my real arguments!
To my way of thinking, there are several levels of redneck. The basest level is the literal reading: A redneck is a rural laborer - the sort of person who has a red neck because they work in the sun all day.
Going up the list we have a somewhat neutral definition: A redneck is a person who is neither sophisticated nor pretentious. The sort of person who lives the simple life and has simple pleasures. Nothing wrong with that - I myself have been known to hang out with the other thousandaires and bowl a few frames.
Nothing about either of those definitions speaks to positive (or negative) character traits. However, the most common definition for redneck is entirely negative - it's synonymous with bigot. Specifically a white bigot from the American south. As if that were something to be proud of. But of course K wasn't proud of being identified with uneducated bigots. She was proud of being part of a community that considers itself to be salt-of-the-earth.
Does it stand up to investigation though? My argument is that those traits are an illusion brought out by being part of a close-knit community. In this setting, dishonesty is punished. Corruption is punished. Agreeing with everyone else is "common sense". You do it out of fear, not out of principle.
It's always been my assertion that you can judge a person by how they treat the people around them. But not the people who can help or hurt you. No, the truest test of character is how you treat people who cannot hurt, hinder or help you. When you have nothing to gain and nothing to lose do you still treat people decently? If so, then you can call yourself principled.
So is it integrity that keeps the small town mechanic from ripping you off, or is it the fact that you're his neighbor and you both know that any attempt to cheat you will become grist for the gossip-mill? I'm not saying that this guy lacks integrity, just that you'll never know it because he'll always treat you fairly. Does he do the same thing to the Ontario tourist who's never going to drive through Rocky Mountain House again in his life?
Is it common sense to verbally gay bash in the local pub? Or do you just not know any better because you're part of a herd and you've never knowingly met a gay in your life?
I think what really bothered me was the unspoken "I'm right and you're wrong" attitude. It was patronizing and indefensible. Intolerance is not a virtue and it's certainly not something you trumpet to the world.
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Somewhat negative, neh? But I lived this over and over, each time my extended Alberta family got together. I have no idea how I was produced by this group of people - I must be a changeling. ;)
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As for K, she's not that bad. For the record, you'vemet K, and "redneck" probably wasn't your first impression.
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