Postby Harriet » Mon Sep 24, 2018 9:52 am
So, it's the fb for people in your building, Kathryn. I didn't get that at all. I understood you were living at dd's, but I guess you were only cooking there? That's great that the super helped you find people.
Dee, thinking about you and Mr. DeeClutter today.
And now Harriet becomes wordy - sorry.
Redneck - I think Cambridge or any other current dictionary is giving a kind of "urban dictionary" usage as far as what people only gravitate toward meaning with the word/phrase now. And that's fine, but it doesn't tell much. There are several real meanings and histories of the word in addition to that, and they shed more light on it and remind of lessons, for sure.
One that was very compelling to me when I learned it, comes from the nutritional deficiency disease pellegra, which was known as the Red Neck, or (by doctors) the Casal Necklace in Europe, after Gaspar Casal. Casal first described pellegra (pelle agra, meaning sour skin) in 1762, as having the identifying red on areas of skin exposed by the sun, particularly the neck. This disease continued to be discovered in Europeans who migrated to the other countries, of course. Anyone can get it, but doctors (or others) can spot the red rash quickly if the person's skin is lighter, hence more white people being noticed having the disease. During the 1800s the nutrition connection - often happening to poorer people or working class, field workers - was eventually fully understood by the masses and pellegra became rare during the 1900s. Casal was one of the first nutritional pioneers to show that what we don't eat can hurt us (pellegra can be cured by getting enough green vegetables).
Another that Protestants shouldn't forget is that the red neck was symbolic of The Scottish National Covenant around 1640. Many of the Scots Presbyterians - the Covenanters - who signed it (sometimes in their blood) wore red scarves around their necks to symbolize their willingness to risk beheading for the sake of religious freedom/beliefs, and were called Red Necks. The Covenanters became famous (or infamous) and that's probably why bandanas are traditionally red. (Something else that lends credibility to that history of "red neck" is that the corresponding term hill billy comes from the similar history/time of Irish Protestants with similar religious defiance.) During the turmoil of the West Virginia Mine Wars just a hundred years ago, a collective memory emerged, of the Red Necks and scarves as a symbol of defiance and honor. This resulted in the idea of striking mine workers (who may or may not have been Protestant) wearing red bandanas, and that's why West Virginians often consider the term their own, and endearing, a source of pride.
These memories combine and linger, and across the US, at least, become the reason that the term redneck is not so obviously negative as dictionary definitions tell us.
If I'd had more time, I'd have made all that shorter.
I have another epistle on naps. But I should be doing housework!