holy shit i just learnt that the word "redneck", which is usually used in a derogatory way, comes from the 1920s when coal miners went on strike and wore a red bandana around their neck to identify themselves as pro-union! how did i not know this??

from "Red Necks and Red Bandanas: Appalachian Coal Miners and the Coloring of Union Identity, 1912-1936" by
Patrick Huber

ok i’ve been told it didnt /come/ from that and that it was used beforehand, however, the term always had political connotations: “By 1900, "rednecks" was in common use to designate the political factions inside the Democratic Party comprising poor white farmers in the South.”

so, first: classist term to talk about poor farmers who were in the Democratic party. after that: term that miners, poor workers, and union members reclaimed as their own and proudly used to identify themselves as leftists and pro-union.