On Crackers and Six Packs...

Real America... Pro-America America... Real Virginia... Hockey Moms, Walmart Moms, Joe Six-Packs...

I think it's important to understand what is really meant by these things...what our Republican candidates are talking about.

The McCain campaign would have us believe they mean "real people" who aren't rich and famous and who are humble, hard-workers who care about their families, God, and Country (not necessarily in that order). The mainstream media--not Fox, of course--critically takes them to task for this stuff but the media suggests these terms mean "Republicans" or "just people who agree with McCain and Palin."

What isn't being said much is what we're really talking about...what they really mean when they use those catchphrases.

Let me backtrack. I'm a "country girl" without a pasture. Raised in suburbia on John Denver music and my grandparent's FM country radio, I managed to absorb a fair amount of affinity for rural life and rural pleasures. Camping, fishing, boating, off-road vehicles...cold beer and pot luck. Love it.

AT the same time, I went to college. I took women's studies and multicultural classes. I became properly guilty for the sins of my Caucasian ancestors and my snooty city friends made sure to taunt my country nature into hiding. For a time, I wore chunky black shoes, squarish black eyeglasses, and clipped my short hair with funky black accessories. I went around with a pinched expression and lamented about oppression.

But then we moved to Montana. Oh how free I felt there! Free to be me! Free to let my inner "redneck woman" out of her corral. Yee haw! I bought a cow hat and ate steak. I felt something unusual... but I couldn't name it.

Across the country, "redneck" became cool. Songs, comedy routines, movies, TV... began to celebrate what had previously been a derogatory term. I started thinking about it... 'cause I felt it too... felt the urge to be more "redneck"... to own my own redneckedness.

And then I understood why... Pride and cultural identity. You see, my whole Gen-X life I've been told and I believed that it's bad and evil to be proud of my ethnicity. White pride??? Gasp!!! I mean, that's racist!!! Break out the hoods and shave your evil head. While all around me it was OK and even celebrated to "honor diversity." My schools and workplaces had celebrations for African-Americans, Latinos, various Asian cultures... celebrate diversity! The argument was that our primary culture...our primary celebrations were all about White people to begin with so we had to add celebrations for other ethnicities and downplay or eliminate any celebration of our own White culture.

Only, the thing is, that approach isn't really working very well because you have a whole lot of people who have had to act for a long time (for some of us our whole lives) like they were guilty, ashamed or embarrassed about who they really are. White culture had been oppressed. To put it bluntly, I believe the "redneck" craze is simply a safe and marginally politically correct (or at least lighter-hearted) way for Whites to be proud of White culture (which, I admit totally tweaks my guilt and shame button just writing that sentence).

We can hear a person say they are "proud to be a redneck" because we picture Larry the Cable Guy or Jeff Foxworthy... or Gretchen Wilson who "cleans up real nice." It's a silly and benign way to say we're proud of our--frankly--White culture without also suggesting that other cultures are bad. Of course we have to be sort of goofy and self-effacing about it.

Oprah Winfrey can say directly and with passion, "I'm proud to be a Black woman," and I never think she's saying, "I'm better than you because I'm Black." But if I heard Gretchen Wilson say, "I'm proud to be a White woman," I'd have a completely different impression of her words and intent. Now, Gretchen can say "redneck woman," and I'm all, "Hell yeah!" Why? Because I know what she means by it and what she doesn't mean. I'm both fond (shit, I can't even bring myself to say "proud") of my White girl (if you add "girl" it doesn't sound so bad, does it...?) culture and also appreciative and welcoming to other cultures. AT THE SAME TIME WITHOUT VALUING ONE OVER THE OTHER.

Now, are there Whites who are proud of their own culture AND racist fucktards? Oh yeah... we've seen them aplenty recently.

Which brings me back to what we are really talking about. The McCain/Palin campaign is bursting with cute phrases like "Joe Sixpack," "Hockey Mom," "Small-town America," "Real America," etc. Like "redneck" I swear this is code for White. The next time you hear Palin say this stuff, in your head... or even out loud... insert "White." I think that's what she really means and that's who she's really talking to...OK, specifically "White Heterosexist Christians."

And by talking this way, she's freed the racist fucktards to feel their oats...to crawl out of their bunkers and embrace the new lingo... embrace a candidate (mostly Palin, I gotta say) who frees them to be proud of something they've been pissed off by having to hide for so long. I also frees them to show their stupid fears about the "other;" in this case a brilliant mixed race presidential candidate and all those freaks who support him. Ooooo...sccccaaarrryyyy...

My husband overheard a right wing radio show yesterday discussing how electing Obama will change America (for the worse). They lamented that our "American Culture" will be lost... and that Obama threatens our American identity. The thing those boneheads don't understand... is that our American culture has already changed! If they'd take their fearful heads out of their fearful butts and get to know America--all of America--they'd see that we are truly a multicultural community.

Obama is not responsible for changing our country to a more diverse culture--our evolution to a more diverse culture is responsible for making it possible for Obama to be our leader. Our country has already changed. What the fearful conservatives need to understand is that they can have their culture, religion and tradition without clinging to it in fear or living with the delusion that they represent "True Americans." We can embrace the change and still be whoever we want to be... Americans united and diverse Americans. We can "celebrate diversity" with the inclusion of us "rednecks."

Talk about elitism! How dare Palin and her fellow conservative wacks presume to say who is and who is not a "True American." This is absolutely appalling! As I recall, Hitler had some ideals about who was and who was not a true German (or worthy human being, for that matter). Palin-heads hope to woo people who may think, "Oh, I want to be a True American too! Apparently, if I want to be that, I need to vote for McCain/Palin..." You know, they might grab a few people that way...

However, guess what? All that does is unite the rest of us in patriotism and invite the rest of us to take a stand. The rest of us know and love America as a land of diversity and we embrace the changes and new identities. We're uniting in something pretty magical, hopeful and compelling... something that isn't about hate or fear, but about redefining for the better what it means to be American. We're uniting under a mission of inclusion... and we have to make room for White cultures too in our diversity celebrations.

But right now, we're in the midst of a cultural war. Started somewhat by the presence of a "man of color" on the ticket but really ignited by Palin and McCain's campaign of fear and propaganda. It sickens me.

When Obama supporters talk about Hope and Change. We are talking about inclusion, kindness, altruism... We are talking about not hating each other for being different than we are but rather appreciating both our sameness and our differentness. We're talking about uniting... One Nation... Indivisible... With Liberty and Justice for All.

That's the reason we began to love Obama in the first place. He was the first candidate to recognize the pain of our separation and to suggest we don't have to hate each other. What a concept. What a mission.

Yet, having said that, I admit I nearly deleted this post prior to publishing it. I'm frankly so intimidated by broaching this subject that I nearly did not. But I feel it needs to be said.