The below essay is by Zac Hyden at Mechonomist. He is an auto mechanic and community organizer in Alabama who is also currently the Campaign Manager for Ryan Cagle in his race for a State Senate seat. Zac has been hanging out in Nevermoreland lately. He gives us a thoroughgoing reinterpretation of the American South here. It’s got rednecks, dysfunction, redemption, and revolutionary potential galore. The logo for his car repair co-op heads this post. Somehow, getting your hands dirty repairing folks’ broken-down, dysfunctional, vehicles at cost also strikes me as rednecky, redemptive, and revolutionary. (WD James, ed.)
Let's see, a Waylon, David Allen Coe, all 3 Hank Williams, and a Charlie Daniels reference all in one post; sir, I believe you and I could discuss outlaw country music even if I am a born and bred Yankee from Chicago, identify more with rednecks and outlaws then I do with those around me in my community. Hank Williams III has a great voice, his singing style is reminiscent of Willie Nelson's, but as Waylon sings Bob Wills is still the king.
If we were having Thanksgiving dinner I’d get up and clap, credit you with a hell of an oration, skip a few quibbles, and tell you to turn up Hank Sr. - “Settin’ the Woods On Fire” will fit the bill nicely - after you pass the dressing. And FYI, in case you’re wondering: there are a lot of us northerners cut from the same cloth who subscribe to that redneck ethos.
Truth is, there’s Yankees and rednecks everywhere on the planet. As the Venezuelans say, “Yankee go home.” Seems like there’s a bunch of rednecks in Venezuela too.
I don’t want to gatekeep redneck at all. It doesn’t belong to the South or to anyone. It belongs to the people of Planet Earth.
Let's see, a Waylon, David Allen Coe, all 3 Hank Williams, and a Charlie Daniels reference all in one post; sir, I believe you and I could discuss outlaw country music even if I am a born and bred Yankee from Chicago, identify more with rednecks and outlaws then I do with those around me in my community. Hank Williams III has a great voice, his singing style is reminiscent of Willie Nelson's, but as Waylon sings Bob Wills is still the king.
Idk if your name is a reference to HST, but if it is, not the header. It’s a fist with two thumbs from HST’s Freak Power Party.
I'm a huge HST fan, really wish he was still with us as I'd love to read his take on the state of the world.
If we were having Thanksgiving dinner I’d get up and clap, credit you with a hell of an oration, skip a few quibbles, and tell you to turn up Hank Sr. - “Settin’ the Woods On Fire” will fit the bill nicely - after you pass the dressing. And FYI, in case you’re wondering: there are a lot of us northerners cut from the same cloth who subscribe to that redneck ethos.
Truth is, there’s Yankees and rednecks everywhere on the planet. As the Venezuelans say, “Yankee go home.” Seems like there’s a bunch of rednecks in Venezuela too.
I don’t want to gatekeep redneck at all. It doesn’t belong to the South or to anyone. It belongs to the people of Planet Earth.