Jeff Foxworthy, of You Might Be A Redneck fame, tells an interesting story about redneck humor. When he first went to New York City to make his career, they thought he was funny - but he was repeatedly advised to drop the accent. The big audiences, they told him, wouldn't like him with an accent.
Not only did he disagree with them, he ended up being right. Foxworthy, accent and all, is one of the funniest redneck humorists out there - and is currently the most successful funny man in the country. His albums have sold millions, his shows regularly sell out, he's had two network television shows, movies, DVDs, and even a Sirius radio network dedicated to his trademark "blue collar humor".
There are some significant differences between redneck humor and what you'd have to call New York humor, as there should be; both types of humor owe a lot to the cultures from which they came.
Redneck humor tends to poke fun at itself; New York humor tends to make fun of other people, often in an emotionally painful way.
Redneck humor relies as much on that slow, methodical delivery of the punchline as on the punchline itself. Other types of humor generally focus on the punchline or on shocking people.
Redneck humor tends to be gentle and, ultimately, loving. It pokes fun at cousin Curtis, who's known to be kinda slow but still loved by the family. New York humor doesn't have a lot of love for anybody. Many times, it doesn't even like anybody else.
Redneck humor does not put on airs. It knows it's redneck and is comfortable with that. In contrast, a lot of Saturday Night Live humor seems forced, faked, and contrived. It originates from pain instead of from love.
Best of all, redneck humor is "got" by some three-quarters of America. Jeff Foxworthy is currently the most popular humorist in America, and his Blue Collar Comedy Tour helped make the careers of three other comics and sold millions of DVDs. Jerry Clower made a career of truly clean country humor, and he's been followed by many others, all carrying forward the old tradition of sit-around-the-porch storytelling.
If you pay attention, you find out pretty quick: good redneck humor is the essence of being redneck and/or Southern. It is part of what binds us together, what lets us laugh at the world and at ourselves. A real redneck does not take himself or herself too seriously. And a real redneck uses humor the way we've always used it: to help the tough times a little easier to take and impart an ounce or two of wisdom at the same time.
If you grew up around it, try doing it yourself: ask some of your friends over for beer and barbecue, then sit out on the back porch as the sun goes down, telling stories, inventing new redneck humor and retelling the old stories you remember from your childhood. Light some tiki torches. And let everyone drift away toward the end of the night, leaving you alone with your sweetie in the end, full of good food and beer and fun.
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