Mott the Hoople
Sweet Jane
Sorry LR but you're rationalizing. What you're saying is that you're co-opting a term that is a pejorative. That makes as much sense as African Americans co-opting the word niger.Here's another one for ya:
Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary
Redneck - n (1830) : a white member of the Southern rural laboring class -- sometimes used disparagingly
It would seem that you are wanting to grab onto the "sometimes" part and make it an "all the time" thing. It simply isn't by folks down here. Believe me, I am educated but I certainly relate better to the "laboring class" than to the Frasier Crane types. Maybe it's because I was the first person from my family to go to college and get a degree, and then did it again but I never forgot my roots. I don't want my son to be ignorant of where he came from either. While he has an easier childhood than I had, I make sure he knows how to labor and play...stack brush, haul hay, swim in the creek, eventually hiring out to the various farmers and ranchers and work for minimum wage ... or less. I even make him go to church every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night. It was a good way to grow up and has contributed greatly to making me the person I am today. I am happy to be associated with the "rednecks."