Mr. Peasant On Blue Collar Versus Redneck

Georges de La Tour. St. Joseph, the Carpenter. 1642.

Before we use any power tools, let's take a moment to talk about shop safety. Be sure to read, understand, and follow all the safety rules that come with your power tools. Knowing how to use your power tools properly will greatly reduce the risk of personal injury. And remember this: there is no more important safety rule than to wear these — safety glasses.

NORM ABRAM

The Gentle Reader may remember the master carpenter Norm Abram from his work on This Old House and The New Yankee Workshop. The words above are Abram's most famous quotation. Beyond that, he didn't say much. Yet, the man is a hero to a generation of men who grew up watching his shows on PBS. Norm Abram was the epitome of the blue collar man with his quiet dignity and devotion to his trade. He is a man worth emulating.

The blue collar man gets confused with that other working class fellow known as the redneck. The stereotype of the redneck is well known. He is white, Southern with an accent, ill mannered, poorly groomed, chews tobacco, drinks cheap beer, and spends his weekends getting drunk, fighting, and getting locked up. Jeff Foxworthy can give you more humorous traits concerning the redneck.

The key difference between a blue collar man and the redneck is volume. The blue collar man is quiet and lets his work do the talking. The redneck is loud and shows his ass. Everything else is commentary.

Unfortunately, misidentification between the blue collar man and the redneck is common much like the confusion between the benign bull snake and the venomous rattlesnake. A man who works for a living is not automatically a redneck even if he drives a pickup truck and listens to country music. Do not make this mistake.

Paul Chocarne-Moreau. The Cunning Thief, 1931.

The redneck is a feral creature. He is angry at the world that holds him in disdain. Wounded pride creates an insularity in the redneck and a willingness to throw insults and punches at the slightest provocation. The redneck loves to be loud which is why he plays his music at 11, has a loud and lifted pickup truck, and wears a Confederate flag emblem on his hat or T-shirt. There is nothing quiet or dignified about a redneck. His aim is obnoxiousness.

No one thinks Norm Abram is a redneck even though he wears work boots and probably drives a pickup truck. It helps to be from New England, but I know Southerners who are virtually the same as Norm. They even wear plaid and safety glasses.

It is important for working class men to exemplify that quiet dignity you see in someone like Saint Joseph. Like Norm Abrams, Joseph didn't say much. He let his work do the talking.

The working class comprises the bulk of the world's population, and they deserve a certain honor for quietly toiling each day to make the world a tolerable place in which to live. No one should ever feel ashamed in working for their living. They should feel peace and tranquility in their status and labor because they are honest people.

Remember, rednecks are loud. Blue collar men are quiet. Thank you for reading!