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"Redneck Day" Brings Uproar

Mike

Well-known member
School's 'Redneck Day' sparks anger
Luci Scott, The Arizona Republic 11:37 p.m. EDT May 1, 2013
The event meant to build school spirit at Queen Creek High School instead has angered civil rights leaders in Arizona.


(Photo: Ben Corda, USA TODAY)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Idea was to spoof 'Duck Dynasty' TV show, school official says
One student wore Confederate flag
NAACP officials say event reinforces offensive stereotypes
PHOENIX -- When members of the student council at an Arizona high school organized a schoolwide "Redneck Day" and encouraged classmates to dress — and spoof — accordingly, they hoped to build school spirit leading up to prom week.

Instead, "Redneck Day" at Queen Creek High School has angered African-Americans and civil-rights leaders and touched off a debate about free speech, social stereotypes and good taste.

Tom Lindsey, superintendent of the Queen Creek Unified School District, said the only intent of Wednesday's event was to satirize the A&E reality TV show "Duck Dynasty," which follows a family of duck hunters and entrepreneurs from West Monroe, La.

But some students and their family members weren't amused. Among them: the Rev. Ozetta Kirby, pastor of Holy Trinity Community AME Church in Mesa and vice president of the East Valley chapter of the NAACP.

"I'm sitting here crying and praying," said Kirby, whose grandson Marcus Still is a 16-year-old junior at the school.

"This thing really got to Marcus," Kirby said. "When you're in 11th grade, that can break you down and make you feel at the bottom rung of the whole society, where everybody is being jubilant. No kid should have to go through that. We all know the connotation of 'redneck.' "

Most offensive to Kirby and others was that one student chose to wear a Confederate flag — for many a grim reminder of slavery and segregation.

"The Confederacy represents the horrible institution of slavery, and that is a direct attack on African-Americans," said Steve Montoya, a prominent civil-rights attorney in Phoenix.

The Rev. Oscar Tillman, president of the Maricopa County NAACP, who grew up in the 1940s in the South, said: "Our community knows what that flag represents. ... A school is supposed to be for education and showing people where we come from, our history, and to try not to go back to some things."

Lindsey said the student wearing the Confederate flag was pulled aside by an assistant principal and asked to change his clothes.

"It was no ill intent," Lindsey said.

The student, who is from a state where the flag is more prevalent, did not see a negative connotation, the superintendent said.

"It was explained to him that in Arizona, we look at it differently," Lindsey said, adding that Redneck Day was mostly uneventful.

"We apologize to any people who, because of the word (redneck), were offended," Lindsey said.

Maureen Costello, director of the Teaching Tolerance program at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., said schools would do well to adopt the slogan of physicians: Do no harm.

"Do no harm to a student's sense of identity," she said. "Everyone should feel welcome."

Costello said she understands that Redneck Day was intended to bolster students' sense of feeling good about school but said "they've chosen an event that stereotypes an entire group of people, and under those circumstances, they should hardly be surprised that they also offend people."

She said a student wearing a Confederate flag could easily argue that he's "playing a role, and he doesn't mean it."

"But the flag is a very potent symbol," Costello said, "and the school facilitated that."

Costello said the school should do two things: "Open up a dialogue about why this was so offensive to some people, and second, to really start thinking through the kinds of events they sponsor to build school spirit."

She added that probably some students' families can be traced to the Appalachians, and "maybe they don't feel so great about being called rednecks."

Costello predicted that some who objected will be told they are too sensitive.

"I think every one of us hates it when we're told, 'Don't feel that way,'" she said. "But they are honestly offended by it. It reflects a very bad chapter in their personal or cultural experience. That needs to be acknowledged, discussed and accepted."

For his part, attorney Montoya said students have a First Amendment right to wear a Confederate flag and engage in free speech.

But he warned that the line between free speech and harassment is easily breached and said a district could be held liable for allowing a racially hostile education environment.

"Those schools are paid for by everyone, including African-Americans and other minorities, and they have the right to attend school free of harassment," Montoya said.

Montoya won a case more than a decade ago when he sued Tempe Union High School District on behalf of an African-American girl who had asked to read a text other than "Huckleberry Finn," which contains numerous instances of a racial slur.

Her request was denied, and students in Tempe began to use that book as a vehicle to racially harass the girl, Montoya said.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Montoya's client. He said it was the first case in the country to recognize a claim under federal civil-rights laws for a racially hostile educational environment.

"I wish the administrators good luck," Montoya said of Queen Creek school officials. "They have tough jobs."

This week in Kent, Wash., Sunnycrest Elementary School had scheduled "White Trash Wednesday," in which barbecue would be served on trash-can lids. The event was canceled Tuesday after parents objected.
 

jigs

Well-known member
that flag means more than slavery, get over it ..... it is not like the kid wore a Klan outfit.

is it just me, or do the blacks in power, KEEP racism alive as a tool to keep their power???
 

VCC

Well-known member
Did any of the Rednecks in the area feel offended, are they not stereo typing when they have "Redneck Day", I believe when I was in school they called it "Hick day", and I remember someone telling me I was lucky since I did not have to out and buy a costume, I could just go to my closet, oh how I must stilled be scared from the whole ordeal. They need to just over it already.

I am sure the person that was wearing the confederate flag did so because that is the stereo type for Redneck, If they had a Toga Day, would that be racist since they were dresses in white sheets, or would the Greek coalition be offended because they were making fun of the Romans?

The PC [email protected] is getting ridicules.
 

Tom in TN

Well-known member
Speaking of irony:

Maureen Costello, director of the Teaching Tolerance program at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., said schools would do well to adopt the slogan of physicians: Do no harm


Teaching Tolerance? Yet Redneck Day is intolerable?

You gotta' love liberals.

Tom in TN
 

mrj

Well-known member
jiggs got it right. It has been apprent for a long time that some people and groups, not only blacks, understand that they can benefit in one way or another by keeping 'racism' flaring!

Why do we so rarely hear of the better lives of those blacks whose ancestors in other nations sold them into slavery than of the black people living in those same countries?

Why do we so rarely hear the fact that there STILL are people selling 'their own' into one form or another of slavery???

Why do we so rarely hear that it is not only possible, but it happens quite often, that black people in this country who work hard and wisely can and do achieve great educations and positions, and even succeed in their own businesses?
 

Big Muddy rancher

Well-known member
A satire of Duck Dynasty is probably what raised the ire of the left.

It's probably the most popular show that promotes Christian morals and family values.

The Tolerant Left. :roll:
 

Mike

Well-known member
mrj said:
jiggs got it right. It has been apprent for a long time that some people and groups, not only blacks, understand that they can benefit in one way or another by keeping 'racism' flaring!

Why do we so rarely hear of the better lives of those blacks whose ancestors in other nations sold them into slavery than of the black people living in those same countries?

Why do we so rarely hear the fact that there STILL are people selling 'their own' into one form or another of slavery???

Why do we so rarely hear that it is not only possible, but it happens quite often, that black people in this country who work hard and wisely can and do achieve great educations and positions, and even succeed in their own businesses?

SPLC - Southern poverty Law Center - here in Montgomery, is notorious for making huge sums of money by stoking the racism fires............
 

Steve

Well-known member
She added that probably some students' families can be traced to the Appalachians, and "maybe they don't feel so great about being called rednecks."

and she is worried about stereotypes.. does she realize how stupid her comment is?

besides.. the Appalachians were hillbillies not rednecks..
 

mrj

Well-known member
Aren't there 'rednecks' in EVERY rural setting, whatever the ethnic origins?

And don't many of them wear the name as a badge of courage, maybe even honor? And some just wallow in it, with considerable pride!

mrj
 

Steve

Well-known member
Did any of the Rednecks in the area feel offended,

it didn't sound like it... it sounded as if it was the minorities who felt it was offensive..

I think what bother them most is that most rednecks don't care what they think,.. and will proudly proclaim to be a redneck...

Redneck is a derogatory slang term used in reference to poor, uneducated white farmers,

The term characterized farmers having a red neck caused by sunburn from hours working in the fields. A citation from 1893 provides a definition 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"

I never saw it as a derogatory term.,, .. most I know are proud of being hardworking.. and most of US realize that you don't always need a bunch of education to be a success..




I guess the liberals can't figured out that you don't have to sit in a chair at some swanky high-cost resort to get a tan.. but seldom look at where a term comes from..
By 1900, "rednecks" was in common use to designate the political factions inside the Democratic Party comprising poor white farmers in the South

The United Mine Workers of America (UMW) and rival miners' unions appropriated both the term redneck and its literal manifestation, the red bandana, in order to build multiracial unions of white, black, and immigrant miners in the strike-ridden coalfields of northern and central Appalachia between 1912 and 1936.

In Scotland in the 1640s, the Covenanters rejected rule by bishops, often signing manifestos using their own blood. Some wore red cloth around their neck to signify their position, and were called rednecks by the Scottish ruling class to denote that they were the rebels in what came to be known as The Bishop's War that preceded the rise of Cromwell.[22][23] Eventually, the term began to mean simply "Presbyterian", especially in communities along the Scottish border. Because of the large number of Scottish immigrants in the pre-revolutionary American south, some historians have suggested that this may be the origin of the term in the United States

it doesn't sound to me as if redneck is a derogatory term...
 

andybob

Well-known member
Our pastor in N.C. always referred to himself as a "redneck" with obvious pride, and no members of the congregation were ever "offended" whatever their ethnic origin. I apparently "offended" some collegues at work for calling myself an African - I am "white" so cannot be African (even after 300+ years for my wife).
 

Whitewing

Well-known member
andybob said:
Our pastor in N.C. always referred to himself as a "redneck" with obvious pride, and no members of the congregation were ever "offended" whatever their ethnic origin. I apparently "offended" some collegues at work for calling myself an African - I am "white" so cannot be African (even after 300+ years for my wife).

Andybob, didn't you live in the States? If so, I sure hope you referred to yourself as an African-American. :D
 

Mike

Well-known member
Whitewing said:
andybob said:
Our pastor in N.C. always referred to himself as a "redneck" with obvious pride, and no members of the congregation were ever "offended" whatever their ethnic origin. I apparently "offended" some collegues at work for calling myself an African - I am "white" so cannot be African (even after 300+ years for my wife).

Andybob, didn't you live in the States? If so, I sure hope you referred to yourself as an African-American. :D

I read a story about a college student that applied for some type of school program for African-Americans that would have saved him big bucks.

When the higher ups found out he was a "White" kid that had moved here from Africa, where he was born, they denied him the benefits.

I don't blame him for moving here though:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_violence_in_South_Africa
 

kolanuraven

Well-known member
Ok as possibly the only poster here who IS a REDNECK from the Appalachians I AM NOT OFFENDED!!

It is a part pf our history , the Confederate flag for example,
that needs to be and should be recognized and understood.
 

jigs

Well-known member
is it any different than Mexicans living here who have the Mexico flag on their cars?? that could offend Texans from the San Antonio area...
 

Mike

Well-known member
kolanuraven said:
Ok as possibly the only poster here who IS a REDNECK from the Appalachians I AM NOT OFFENDED!!

It is a part pf our history , the Confederate flag for example,
that needs to be and should be recognized and understood.

You'd better be careful what you type here.

Some have said they'll us in to the authorities for less. He even says it's his duty. :roll:
 

kolanuraven

Well-known member
Mike said:
kolanuraven said:
Ok as possibly the only poster here who IS a REDNECK from the Appalachians I AM NOT OFFENDED!!

It is a part pf our history , the Confederate flag for example,
that needs to be and should be recognized and understood.

You'd better be careful what you type here.

Some have said they'll us in to the authorities for less. He even says it's his duty. :roll:


Oh...I feel it is well known that you and I both maybe be Southern folks.....BUT...there is little to no comparison in our school of thought.

History is just that history...it needs to be understood as to why it happened so it won't happen again.
 

Whitewing

Well-known member
kolanuraven said:
Mike said:
kolanuraven said:
Ok as possibly the only poster here who IS a REDNECK from the Appalachians I AM NOT OFFENDED!!

It is a part pf our history , the Confederate flag for example,
that needs to be and should be recognized and understood.

You'd better be careful what you type here.

Some have said they'll us in to the authorities for less. He even says it's his duty. :roll:


Oh...I feel it is well known that you and I both maybe be Southern folks.....BUT...there is little to no comparison in our school of thought.

History is just that history...it needs to be understood as to why it happened so it won't happen again.

Some history needs to be repeated. As the saying goes, the best solution to 1984 is 1776.
 

gmacbeef

Well-known member
My son said they had to stop their annual " white trash -trailer bash" parties at college after someone got offended. :lol:
 
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