My Nepalese coworker, Naresh, is a constant source of one-line zingers. He and I were making our way across campus one spring day and he commented on the number of signs announcing the latest government-mandated diversity campaign.
He swept his arm, encompassing the breadth of the campus. "This place is not diverse." His simple declaration surprised me.
"Dude. How can you say that? You're here...I'm here..."
"You? You are not diverse! You're just a brown redneck!"
I wasn't even mad. I stopped dead in my tracks as I doubled over in laughter.
Growing up in South Mississippi, the term "redneck" was bantered about with great regularity, and, for the most part, it was delivered in good-natured jest. In my mind's eye, when I thought of rednecks, Bo and Luke Duke and Uncle Jessie came to mind. There was nothing wrong with being like the good ol' boys of Hazzard County. The first time I remember hearing the term in a negative connotation was in Coach Snow's 9th-grade Civics class. He was recounting how someone called him a redneck at a job site. He let them know he really didn't appreciate it.
When I replayed the discussion with Naresh for another coworker, I didn't even finish when he blurted out, "But you are a redneck!" Now, this colleague was Ethiopian, so I was very curious about his frame of reference. What did he see from my behavior that warranted that descriptor?
"I've seen you roll into work in blue jeans and Hawaiian shirts instead of slacks and long-sleeve button-downs. You'd rather drive an old Mustang instead of the latest Tesla we're all drooling over. You're analog everything, from the gauges in your car to the pen and paper you use instead of our tablets." I think it confirms I'm old school beachy rather than a redneck.
Regardless, of all the different epithets lobbed my way, "redneck" is probably the least annoying. However, some people have gone further and embraced it. Sammy Kershaw released "Queen of My Double Wide Trailer" back in 1993, and it's a playful romp through all things redneck: farm life, trailer parks, NASCAR, and even a shout out to Charlie Daniels. Andrea and I regularly two-stepped to this at country-western bars back in the day - a fact that I will fastidiously keep from my coworkers because that would cement my title as a Filipino Redneck.
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