Well, at least of THIS modern redneck. I am as I mentioned before a bit of a redneck and I am not at all ashamed of that. However, a lot of bad impressions come into people's minds when they hear that term so I want to set the record straight, and maybe have a laugh along the way.
I own guns
This is a pretty common trait of all rednecks from throughout the ages. I think it is a requirement passed down from the elders. I own rifles and a number of handguns. I have a concealed-carry permit and I almost always have a gun on me. I am not going to apologize for this and talk about gun control doesn't phase me. I have never shot anyone but I did hold someone at gunpoint once and was prepared to shoot them if I had to, until the police arrived.
However, i do not like hunting
I have been hunting before, but to be honest with you it isn't for me. It seems unnecessarily cruel and unlike some of my country-dwelling brethren I don't like to kill things. I do however love going to a gun range and shooting skeet.
I do own a pickup truck
This also probably comes as no surprise as I think you will have your redneck membership revoked if you turned up with a Honda civic or something similar. It's just a really practical vehicle and when I was in college (more on that later) it made me a very popular person for all the wrong reasons such as being delegated to help almost anyone move.
However, I do not jack it up with lift kits
It has never occurred to me to do this to my truck and I think it is rather dumb when people do so, especially if they never go properly off road in which case I don't think a clearance of 3-4 feet is really going to help you very much. It probably isn't too difficult to guess that most of the people who do use lift-kits (and i know a few people) spend a lot more time washing their trucks then they do actually taking it off road.
I am educated
Most people kind of presume that rednecks are somehow dumb and I gotta tell you, if that is your presumption for the most part you would be correct. However, there are a bunch of us that actually did get our learn on at some point in our lives and one of those people is yours truly.
I got a BS in construction management in 2001 and then went on to get my Masters in Business Administration just because I liked the sound of having a masters degree and you don't have to write a thesis to get an MBA. It wasn't required for my jobs but it certainly impressed people when they found out I had one of those. I also graduated in the top 15% of both degree programs.
But you'd never know it by talking to me
I don't sound like, or dress like someone you would imagine has 2 degrees. I never flaunt the fact that I have degrees and it doesn't much come up at the Elk's lodge unless someone is trying to flex for me. Every now and then someone will be talking about something controversial and then expect me to be able to settle it for them as if the Finance classes I took from nearly 20 years ago somehow enables me to have a better ability to break down the defensive line for the Baltimore Ravens or have a better understanding of foreign policy in Japan (these are two real conversations at a real Elk's Lodge that country folk talked about.)
Basically, rednecks are a funny group and I think most people have the wrong impression about them. This is starting to get too long so I'll wrap it up and perhaps return to it at a later time. There are many many more misconceptions about my people, and I'd like to clear the air.
Images are from Google Images