[extropy-chat] Redneck Transhumanists
Damien Broderick
thespike at satx.rr.com
Sat Jul 3 21:14:46 UTC 2004
At 01:44 PM 7/3/2004 -0700, Olga wrote:
>"The "Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins" by Robert Hendrickson (Facts
>on File, New York, 1997) has this to say about the term: "REDNECK. A poor,
>white, often rowdy southerner, usually one from a rural area. The word,
>which is sometimes derogatory, has its origins in the sunburned necks of
>farmers and outdoor laborers, and originally meant a poor farmer."
My understanding (from an ancient biochemistry course I took in the '60s)
is that it derived from the visual symptoms of the niacin deficiency
disorder pellagra, marked by photosensitive dermatitis, diarrhea, dementia,
and ultimately death. This disease was often found in poor farmers working
wretched land.
Damien Broderick
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