Well, DUmbass, if ya lived in my neck o' the woods, ya would be! Keep duckin'! Ya never know when there might be a stray projectile.
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 call bull shit!
The term "redneck" came from the coal/union wars. The men who wore a red bandana around their necks to tell one another what side they were on, were called "rednecks". It was only after the coal wars that it became a term for farmers or anyone else who actually worked for a living and had conservative views. They identified with the coal miners who "owed their soul to the company sto", during the coal wars of the 20's and 30's.
My FIL was in the coal mines then. He developed black lung so was forced to retire from them. He knew what a "RedNeck" was long before it was a term used in politics.
