They were tough, mean, construction worker/truck driver wannabeess of the pro-Nixon, pro-war persuasion while their commie pinko opponents were all left wing college kid pussies. It was what they called themselves to distinguish themselves from the "longhairs". I was there, I remember how it went down. I was in the middle of it.

Of course, a lot of longhairs worked construction jobs in those days, I certainly did, and a lot of hardhats worked in offices, so the terminology was meant to be useful, not realistic. As for rednecks, they didn't necessarily work on the farm. After all, in those days, as today, most farm workers were "wetbacks".

No, blue collar workers should not be looked down upon, they should be disparaged only when they are "straights". By the way, THAT term in those days meant anyone who wasn't a freak. It had nothing to do with sexual orientation. A "freak" is what the hippies and longhairs called themselves.

I can see what you're trying to do, Rob; to catch the local Lib using racist or demeaning terms so you can prove he's really a hypocritical bigot. It ain't gonna work. Its the old dictionary dodge, the kind TB was always trying to pull off.