Let me try to clarify what I am trying to say so I don't offend anyone. I guess what I am saying is that the term itself is not offensive. It is descriptive, and if you read it in a novel, you would get an image of whom the author was discribing. It is no more offensive than saying he is a Catholic, he is gothic, he is a liberal, a conservative, etc. It is a descriptive term and that in and of itself is not offensive. In the right (or wrong) context, it could be used in a defamatory way so that it would be offensive. I have had people in these threads call me things related to my conservative politics that I feel were intended to be defamatory, and the same person would never ever consider saying redneck because it might be politically incorrect. My daughter-in-law corrected me for using the term Oriental discribing those people in eastern Asia from Japan, Korea, China ,etc. "You should say Asian", she said. Well the ability to describe gets muddied by something like that. I guess next you can't say Canadian, but must substitute another term, or no longer say Texan, but should say a person from North America. I know I am creeping or worse yet, railing on about something that I think is out of hand. I think the intent is more important than the actual word in most cases. There are lots of comedians making good livings telling jokes about rednecks. There biggest audience? You guessed it, the very people who the humor is about.