Redneck nation
by Brian DiTullio
As pithy as it sounds, this country once again finds itself at a crossroads. While the 2008 presidential election still is more than a year away, we've already had a few dozen people declare their intention to run and had several debates.
The choice next year is clear, do you prefer the socialistic, high-minded but unrealistic vision the Democrats (i.e. Clinton) are pushing forward that will raise your taxes through the roof and make you more dependant on the government? Or do you want to take another chance on a Republican? Possibly one who will continue to abandon the true beliefs of the party like its current idiot and chief.
Yes, I am a right-wing guy, but I'm one who believes Senor Bush has hijacked the core ideals of the Republican Party and gone to the extreme, pandering to the religious right wing, sacrificing our freedoms in the name of "health, safety and welfare," and, after seven years, STILL can't make a public speech without sounding like an illiterate 2nd-grader.
God Bless America.
Yep, I'm pretty pissed off at the state of the union. The current crop of candidates make me want to vote "none of the above" next year, but that's not an option for us hapless voters yet. It should be, though. Maybe, if everyone got together and rejected the jackasses in charge, we'd have some real change. To quote one of my favorite writers, though, " . .. but I digress."
You see, it's not views on healthcare, abortion, taxes, or even the war in Iraq (although the war is important) that will win the day for the next president of the United States. It'll be which NASCAR driver they decide to root for. This country is being slowly taken over by the Redneck culture, and it's a trend that's starting to scare the shit out of me.
Now I'm going to piss a lot of people and off, and frankly, I'm fine with that because I'm tired of the rising level of Redneck BULLSHIT you have to wade through during the day. Even out here, quite close to the Left Coast, the Rednecks are everywhere.
What, you ask, do I mean by Redneck? I'm glad you asked. A Redneck is any person who believes the world outside of their own narrow view isn't worth seeing. This is a person who spends their vacations sitting in a deer stand shooting things while drinking Bud Light. This is a person who spends $60,000 on their truck but can't be bothered to buy their kids school clothes.
To be perfectly clear, we all have our views and opinions and sometimes take hardline stands. Please, by all means, continue to do so. The difference with the Rednecks is, they take the hardline stand out of ignorance, and with that ignorance, they espouse righteousness for their cause. Let me illustrate my point with a personal experience.
During my tenure at the East Liverpool Review, I was asked to write a business story about a shop selling NASCAR memorabilia. Bear in mind, I don't watch NASCAR, I don't know who the drivers are, and I don't really care who wins the Nextel Cup. Now that doesn't mean I can't do my job, it just means I don't have a Jeff Gordon hat or Dale Earnhardt Jr. poster in my room. (By the way, those are the only two drivers I know.)
Anyway, I walk through the doors of this establishment, smile politely at the owner and tell him what I'm there for. He smiles back, begins to chit-chat, and I start taking notes. Then the guy asked me who my favorite driver was. Admittedly, I could've lied. But I didn't. In my own ignorance, I didn't see the point in deception. So, I just off-handedly said, "I'm sorry, I don't really follow racing, I'm more of a baseball guy."
This guy stops dead in his tracks, fixes me with the most incredulous stare, and says, "Don't follow racing? What the HELL kind of FAGGOT are you?"
The rest of the story is irrelevant to this column other than to illustrate this man's run-in with a different mindset that resulted in an angry, borderline-violent response.
Now, to bring everything together, I want you to look at the advertising you see around you. Look at the entertainment, "The Blue Collar Comedy Tour," Racing on 13 channels, a Redneck in office, elected twice even though no one really seems to like the guy. You ask the average Redneck--you know the guy in the corner bar constantly bitching about money even though he owns a jacked up extended cab pickup, has a swimming pool and drinks three or four cases of light beer a week--about the war and what's his answer? "I hope we shoot everyone of those damn towelheads!"
He'll yell before ordering another beer and crying about his wife who hasn't updated her hairstyle since "The Dukes of Hazzard" went off the air. These people are the ones deciding the future of this country. These people vote in droves. These people earn $20 an hour in the trades and have the disposable income to influence the corporation who now control the elections.
As sure as the drunken Redneck girl, sporting a mullet, who screamed "You look like Stone Cold Steve Austin" to me one day while walking down Fourth Street; you can bet the next President will be driving down victory lane with the Nextel Cup winner and asking the guy "That thing got a Hemi?"
War, death, taxes, poverty--these things don't concern the United Rednecks of America. Expanded deer hunting season, cheaper Bud Light and less reliance "dem foreigners from other places" are the issues of 2008.
So sit back, brush up on your NASCAR trivia and, for safety's sake, leave your brain at the door because the next election isn't going to be Clinton vs. Giuliani or Obama vs. Thompson. It's going to be Boss Hogg vs. Cletus.
_____________________
Brian DiTullio once covered the city of East Liverpool for The Review. Currently he resides in Arizona.
As pithy as it sounds, this country once again finds itself at a crossroads. While the 2008 presidential election still is more than a year away, we've already had a few dozen people declare their intention to run and had several debates.
The choice next year is clear, do you prefer the socialistic, high-minded but unrealistic vision the Democrats (i.e. Clinton) are pushing forward that will raise your taxes through the roof and make you more dependant on the government? Or do you want to take another chance on a Republican? Possibly one who will continue to abandon the true beliefs of the party like its current idiot and chief.
Yes, I am a right-wing guy, but I'm one who believes Senor Bush has hijacked the core ideals of the Republican Party and gone to the extreme, pandering to the religious right wing, sacrificing our freedoms in the name of "health, safety and welfare," and, after seven years, STILL can't make a public speech without sounding like an illiterate 2nd-grader.
God Bless America.
Yep, I'm pretty pissed off at the state of the union. The current crop of candidates make me want to vote "none of the above" next year, but that's not an option for us hapless voters yet. It should be, though. Maybe, if everyone got together and rejected the jackasses in charge, we'd have some real change. To quote one of my favorite writers, though, " . .. but I digress."
You see, it's not views on healthcare, abortion, taxes, or even the war in Iraq (although the war is important) that will win the day for the next president of the United States. It'll be which NASCAR driver they decide to root for. This country is being slowly taken over by the Redneck culture, and it's a trend that's starting to scare the shit out of me.
Now I'm going to piss a lot of people and off, and frankly, I'm fine with that because I'm tired of the rising level of Redneck BULLSHIT you have to wade through during the day. Even out here, quite close to the Left Coast, the Rednecks are everywhere.
What, you ask, do I mean by Redneck? I'm glad you asked. A Redneck is any person who believes the world outside of their own narrow view isn't worth seeing. This is a person who spends their vacations sitting in a deer stand shooting things while drinking Bud Light. This is a person who spends $60,000 on their truck but can't be bothered to buy their kids school clothes.
To be perfectly clear, we all have our views and opinions and sometimes take hardline stands. Please, by all means, continue to do so. The difference with the Rednecks is, they take the hardline stand out of ignorance, and with that ignorance, they espouse righteousness for their cause. Let me illustrate my point with a personal experience.
During my tenure at the East Liverpool Review, I was asked to write a business story about a shop selling NASCAR memorabilia. Bear in mind, I don't watch NASCAR, I don't know who the drivers are, and I don't really care who wins the Nextel Cup. Now that doesn't mean I can't do my job, it just means I don't have a Jeff Gordon hat or Dale Earnhardt Jr. poster in my room. (By the way, those are the only two drivers I know.)
Anyway, I walk through the doors of this establishment, smile politely at the owner and tell him what I'm there for. He smiles back, begins to chit-chat, and I start taking notes. Then the guy asked me who my favorite driver was. Admittedly, I could've lied. But I didn't. In my own ignorance, I didn't see the point in deception. So, I just off-handedly said, "I'm sorry, I don't really follow racing, I'm more of a baseball guy."
This guy stops dead in his tracks, fixes me with the most incredulous stare, and says, "Don't follow racing? What the HELL kind of FAGGOT are you?"
The rest of the story is irrelevant to this column other than to illustrate this man's run-in with a different mindset that resulted in an angry, borderline-violent response.
Now, to bring everything together, I want you to look at the advertising you see around you. Look at the entertainment, "The Blue Collar Comedy Tour," Racing on 13 channels, a Redneck in office, elected twice even though no one really seems to like the guy. You ask the average Redneck--you know the guy in the corner bar constantly bitching about money even though he owns a jacked up extended cab pickup, has a swimming pool and drinks three or four cases of light beer a week--about the war and what's his answer? "I hope we shoot everyone of those damn towelheads!"
He'll yell before ordering another beer and crying about his wife who hasn't updated her hairstyle since "The Dukes of Hazzard" went off the air. These people are the ones deciding the future of this country. These people vote in droves. These people earn $20 an hour in the trades and have the disposable income to influence the corporation who now control the elections.
As sure as the drunken Redneck girl, sporting a mullet, who screamed "You look like Stone Cold Steve Austin" to me one day while walking down Fourth Street; you can bet the next President will be driving down victory lane with the Nextel Cup winner and asking the guy "That thing got a Hemi?"
War, death, taxes, poverty--these things don't concern the United Rednecks of America. Expanded deer hunting season, cheaper Bud Light and less reliance "dem foreigners from other places" are the issues of 2008.
So sit back, brush up on your NASCAR trivia and, for safety's sake, leave your brain at the door because the next election isn't going to be Clinton vs. Giuliani or Obama vs. Thompson. It's going to be Boss Hogg vs. Cletus.
_____________________
Brian DiTullio once covered the city of East Liverpool for The Review. Currently he resides in Arizona.
posted by M. | 9:23 AM
12 Comments:
Brian,
I would like to tell you that your are narrowminded and don't know what the hell you are talking about, BUT you are right about everything. Some people have never left this pathetic valley to see that other places are actually moving forward. These places are where the graduating, educated youth are going. It is not ELO or Wellsville or any other town in this tri-state area. Go to Atlanta, Boston, New York, Cleveland or Pittsburgh and just see the difference in their workforce. THAT is where the jobs are migrating, not around here.
Democrates - Tax and Spend
Republicans - cut taxes and spend
Which is the fiscal conservative?
Indeed, those are the stereotypes. I would suggest adding a few words to your Republican side--"cut taxes and spend MORE THAN YOU HAVE"
Brian: Good article with a lot of truth. Matt: I thought you were going out of town! Be cautious of the Ville. How bout those OS Buckeyes?
Yo Wiz--
We spent the day in the big city looking at new cars. My old '97 Malibu went down for the count--blown engine.
On Brian's piece--
I recall the day Brian interviewed the NASCAR paraphernalia salesman. It was one of those new business stories all newswriters hate to do. I wasn't there, of course, but I heard about it immediately afterward at the Review office. It was as funny then as it is now!
I don't disagree with Brian's basic position on redneck culture, but I gotta say that I've known any number of pretty cool rednecks--mostly in Texas and Virginia, but around here as well. Arizona certainly has its share.
I don't get NASCAR myself, but a lot of people like it.
I think Brian sounds like an opinionated, self-important snob. Just because someone likes country music and NASCAR does not make that person a bad person.
And using the word PITHY sure sounds a lot like using the word PISSY. And that's just how he sounds. Pissy.
Everyone is opinionated. Everyone is self important.
But NASCAR and country music spell REDNECK in every book in the country. I've heard the definition of a REDNECK is "a blatant and obvious lack of sophistication."
Yeehaaw.
Brian DiTullio had written
[quote]
. . . a Redneck in office, elected twice even though no one really seems to like the guy.
[end quote]
There is enough evidence for one to wonder if Teflon Baby Bush was ever legally elected either time
Buckeyeelo , Enough evidence ? You must have been educated thru the East Liverpool School System or you read to much into the National Equirer.
F & B said...
[quote]
Buckeyeelo , Enough evidence ? You must have been educated thru the East Liverpool School System or you read to much into the National Equirer.
[end quote]
That is suppose to actually be a reply to this:
"There is enough evidence for one to wonder if Teflon Baby Bush was ever legally elected either time."
Ya Wanna try again?
M. said...
Yo Wiz--
We spent the day in the big city looking at new cars. My old '97 Malibu went down for the count--blown engine.
I hope you are going to support a local business with the purchase of a new car. There are still a few open near ELO.
We did our research and decided to look at a certain car--a Dodge Avenger. We went to the Dodge dealer in Calcutta only to find it had closed. The closest dealer that had exactly what we wanted was in Moon Township, Pa. We always support local business when we can, but that's not always possible.
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