Why call it "Redneck" Garage ??
Sadly the term "Redneck" is certainly misunderstood. While it certainly"could" mean hillbilly, poor white trash, uneducated, bigot, racist .... ok ...you get the idea :) That is certainly not in any way why I consider myself a true "redneck" and thought I would explain.
There is no one specific explanation of the term "Redneck" but a few. I would clairfy my position on what I believe and why I am one :)
The South had lost the "War of Northern Agression" ( The Civil War or The War Between the States ) BTW here is some trivia - During the war - soldiers were never called " Union" troops they were called "Federal troops or "US" troops - not until many years later when a historian used "Union" to describe northern soldiers was that term made popular ..... ok on with the story :)
As with any loss the South was changed forever. US Troops occupied cities enforcing new laws, many men died in the battles - homes and farms were decimated, the South was in a period called " Reconstruction". During this time many northern people came south and many things changed.
The crops had to get put into the ground yet slavery was over - the whole system had been dissolved. The folks coming south with money were called carpet baggers -These folk came south and purchsed up the plantations and farms. They needed labor to plant the fields and harvest so they hired "freemen" either former slaves or poor white people who lost everything in the war ( or were poor to start with ) to work in the fields but sadly paid a very substandard wage as the reason they came to the South was to profit. Many had the mindset -"Only Northern capital and energy" could bring "the blessings of a free labor system to the region.
Eventually the freemen had had enough. By the late 1800s, The term redneck was used to 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"
So there was the groups called " The wool hat boys" and the "rednecks" in Southern Mississippi. The wool hat boys were the rich guys that controlled wages, work, the old plantations and the rednecks that worked in the fields.
The rich elite had many terms for the poorer workers such as redneck, hayseeds, "subordinates among other deragatory terms - those dumb farmers werent smart enough to do make decisions - they were sharecroppers or former slaves ..... yet those "hayseeds" rose up - in 1890 in Mississipi the rally cry was for all those "rednecks' to show up at the local ellection to give a voice to those who's rights were being ignored - they had a voice ! As a symbol of unity and pride they began to wear red bandanas as a notice to the rich "wool hat boys" they they intended to change things, to speak up and make things better for all !
So why the "Redneck Garage "
So now we are back to why I chose the title for a youtube channel and this website. It really goes back to those original men who wore a red bandana and were called all kind of names. I was born and raised in the South and grew up on a farm.
On a farm you are taught many things - you work till the job is done. You have to be creative and come up with solutions on your own - no one is there to hold your hand - you learn the value of hard work and the personal satisfaction of doing something yourself. The reason their necks were red should be considerd a badge of honor , they worked in the fields in the rain, in the snow, in the heat in the cold and until it was done. And yes - you might get sunburnt especially your exposed neck :) You could interchange that definiton of "redneck" with "farmer".
Am I a redneck - I certainly hope so.
I strive to have work ethic, self sufficiency, creativity, and dont mind getting my hands dirty. You can be a redneck too !
David