...
FWIW... I was watching PBS the other day and the term redneck does not come from the sunburned neck, but from the original Scots-Irish immigrants from the late 16-early 1700's who wore tartan scarfs, red, around their necks.
With your permission, JPS, I'd like to modify your etymology on "redneck".
A careful read of wikipedia on the topic reveals that the word has been used for hundreds of years by many different societies. I suspect that it has always been associated with any white person that works in the sun very much without a big hat, for obvious reasons.
An excellent article with a more concise focus on the use in American culture:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3732/is_/ai_n17174894
My belief is that it was popularized most in American culture by striking appalachian mine workers, particularly their use of red bandanna's around the necks of sympathetic mine workers marching in the Battle of Blair Mountain. It was their uniform, signifying their participation in the march.
This is an interesting story, where US military forces were used to bomb, gas, and otherwise defeat Union efforts on behalf of the mine owners [of course, the majority of the battle was fought with mercenaries hired by the mines]. A shameful note from of the history of the U.S.A., seldom mentioned in our children's history classes at school.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Blair_Mountain
The national press sensationalized the term at the time, and I think this is how it came into it's popular usage.
Unless I am mistaken, a large part of the Appalachian mine workers were from Scots/Irish heritage, and there may some cultural tie-ins there, as to
why the red bandanna was chosen as the symbol of membership in the march.
BTW JPS, I learned about the redneck thing and the Battle of Blair Mountain on the History channel, so the roots of our education about rednecks are very similar.
Nice find
