A young man from Texas, arrested in Florida, told police officers "Redneck is my religion." 20-year-old Texan Joshua Lee Joehlin, after being arrested earlier this week for lewd and lascivious conduct, told police officers to list his religion as “Redneck.”
Joehlin is accused of engaging in a lewd and lascivious act with a minor. Currently he awaits his fate in jail. According to police, the girl - believed to be between 12 and 16 years old - told her parents what had happened and the police were called.
According to Bradenton, Florida, Police Deputy Chief J.J. Lewis, the officer writing the arrest report will put whatever religion the person being arrested says. It does not matter if it is considered a real religion.
For some, the name "Redneck" is a source of cultural pride, for others, it is a derogatory stereotype.
About "Redneck," the Daily Mail says:
The term, first coined in 1830, was originally used in reference to poor, white farmers from the deep south.
In 1893 it was defined it as: 'poorer inhabitants of the rural districts...men who work in the field, as a matter of course, generally have their skin stained red and burnt by the sun, and especially is this true of the back of their necks'.
Today, it is used as a derogatory slur on people from the deep south, along with 'white-trash' 'hillbilly' and 'cracker'.
Some southerners proudly embrace the term, saying it indicates independence from the rest of America.
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