Sidetrackedery Special: Top Gear in Redneck Country

[orbitaldiamonds]

Here is the article on the show from the Times Online.

Then Tria pointed me toward the episode itself on YouTube:

As a Southerner and as someone who's half-redneck, I was totally expecting the bad-mouthing and the rock-throwing. I was cringing with shame the whole time--and honestly worrying about their safety. I mean, seriously, even I find hardcore rednecks scary, and they don't know I'm not one of them unless I say something.

And when the guys gave their cars away in Louisiana, I cried. That was an awesome thing to do. And I also wonder how we can sleep at night knowing what a state Louisiana and other parts of the South are in post-Katrina. Today. And that show was filmed in '06.

Comments

[orbitaldiamonds]

Hm, rock-thrower is a new one.

And yes, it is, but it's also a label that a lot of people wear proudly. (See My Big Fat Redneck Wedding on CMT, i.e., Country Music Television.)

It's a matter of who's saying it and how.

My mom's side of the family is from Alabama and Tennessee, both in the "real" South. (As opposed to Florida, which isn't considered "real" South.) Some of them are awful rednecky, and I even tell people that I'm half-redneck. Mostly I just use Southern words and enjoy things like grits and pulled pork. :P