The Parable of the Redneck and the Hillbilly

Rednecks, Hillbillies, White Trash, and the difference between Farm Country and Coal Country

“A redneck and a hillbilly are strolling along a country lane, talking about the Garden of Eden. The redneck, drinking whiskey as he walks, believes that Adam and Eve had every right to take that apple for, if God were kind, why would he forbid them from partaking in that delicious fruit? The hillbilly listens and nods. Then the redneck finishes the bottle and throws it onto the path. When the hillbilly frowns, the redneck says, ‘Judge not, lest thee be judged.’ Then the hillbilly frowns again and the redneck says, ‘You judge doubly, you sin twice.’ Whereupon God smites the redneck dead. The Hillbilly, forever silent and diligent digs the redneck’s grave and fashions a humble tombstone from the empty bottle, and walks on. That eve he witnesses the most beautiful sunset ever ‘fore made.” - Jacob Snell, Ozark¹

I grew up on a farm in rural Kentucky, as most of you probably already know. But outside of that I’ve also lived almost exclusively in mostly rural areas (Trenton, NJ/north of Philly notwithstanding) and I’ve learned a lot about the different types of “country folk” who live all around this great country. And while all of them are the salt of the earth types who take being proud to be an American to the next level, are ingenuitive in way probably no person should be, and fill the imaginations of foreigners with crazy concepts of what being an American truly entails, there are some very distinct differences that can be found in the different parts of red country in the flyover states. For those who may not be born and bred country folk, I’d like to explain some of the differences I’ve found in my journeys.

First of all, we need to discuss the “parable” above; both what it meant in the context of the show Ozark, and also how it connects to the day to day difference in hillbillies and rednecks. In Ozark the Snell’s are drug running, back-woods gangsters. But they also care deeply about their community, about their land, about their heritage, and about the people who are loyal to them. They keep their heads down, don’t draw attention to themselves, do what they need to do to get the job done, and try not to go out of their way to hurt anyone or anything where it isn’t necessary. They are “forever silent and diligent,” as the parable says; the hillbillies. The strip club owner who worked for them, on the other hand, is flashy and a bit over the top. Something of a trouble-maker in his own rights and does what’s best for himself. He’s careless and reckless, and in this example portrays the redneck. I suppose a good hillbilly motto, both for the parable and for the example in the show, would be “better to be thought a fool and remain silent, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” The Snells are very protective of who they are, and (as you find out a few episodes later) are sincerely opposed to being categorized as “rednecks.” They are good, decent, hard-working folk. Knowledgeable and somber. The stigma of a “loose cannon” as they view legitimate rednecks to be is offensive to them. Their land, their name, and those who they view as “their people” mean more to them than any personal gain.

So how does this relate to rural America and its inhabitants? I have found the archetypes of the hillbilly and the redneck to be pretty accurate everywhere I’ve lived. That is to say, generally the hillbilly is more refined, measured, and intelligent while the rednecks tend to have a certain half-cocked quality to everything they do and are a bit more rough-around-the-edges. Now this is not to say that rednecks aren’t also intelligent and good people; but I’d be willing to bet if you’ve spent any significant amount of time in rural America you almost immediately understand what I mean in the difference between hillbillies and rednecks. The most important thing to mention though is that both of these groups are the salt-of-the-earth, blue-collar types who have made up the backbone of this country for centuries. They’re sharp and witty, hard working and creative, they do the jobs that urban socialites and academics would never do and honestly could never do. They’re the farmers and the coal miners and the oil rig workers. They work the barge tows on the rivers and the freight moving across the country on the rail lines. They’re truck drivers and ranchers and pipeline workers and mechanics. They’re the sort of Americans who the political class has largely forgotten because, even for those over-the-top rednecks, they largely keep their noses to the grindstone to provide for themselves and their families and stay out of the social and culture wars that rage online, in the news, and in the statehouses.

Speaking of the farmers and the coal miners, I’ve also discovered a drastic difference between farm country and coal country. As I stated before I grew up on a farm, traveled all over the south, and spent over a decade working in the agriculture industry. My wife, on the other hand, is from southern Indiana coal country. There are multiple coal plants and mines all over where we currently live. Her grandfather was a heavy equipment mechanic for the mine that’s literally just down the road from our (and what was previous his) house. There are a lot of obvious similarities in the love for hunting, being ever in touch with nature and raising animals and a garden, ingenuity and intelligence of the way the world really works, and just a general demeanor and approach to life. But I’ve also noticed coal country seems to have a higher concentration of rednecks as opposed to farm country being more predominantly hillbilly. Which is to say, coal country seems to be a bit less refined, for lack of a better way of putting it. And also, I bet most people who have been around both farm folks and coal folks know exactly what I’m talking about. Generally speaking, I think that has a lot to do with the direct involvement of government offices in agriculture. The USDA, extension offices which usually are tied to state universities, and even crop insurance are all largely political at their core nature. And these are major elements of the agricultural industry. And with having to deal with such politicized agencies, there is a certain level of pomp and circumstance that goes along with the day-to-day business. For folks in coal country dealing with Union bosses and more upper-level corporate types is about as far as the pomp and circumstance goes, and even in those situations it’s better to be seen as dirty and rough around the edges; it means you’re a hard worker and serious about the job. And none of that is to say that makes either group better or worse than the other, they just have some very distinct differences that influence how they carry themselves through life.

But there is one category that both hillbillies and rednecks, farm country and coal country, have as a common “enemy,” and those are the white trash. Enemy is not at all the right word, but at the same time it is exactly the correct one. Every rural community has its share of white trash. They’re the ones whose houses are collapsing around them, they allow their animals to piss and shit in the house (or worse keep them staked to a short chain under a tree for life), usually they’re alcoholics or on some combination of drugs (both legal and illegal) and spend most of their days blitzed out of their minds. They can’t hold down a job nor do they want to, and if they’re really lucky they’re already drawing disability because that drinking/drug problem makes it impossible for them to work anyway. They are eyesores and embarrassments to rural America. And sadly, these tend to be the people most associated with rural America, both in the mainstream and in the general opinion of those urban academic socialites. To go back to the very beginning of this and look at Ozark, the example presented in that series would be the Langmore’s. The problem with categorizing white trash as enemies is they’re our neighbors, often our family members, usually they are or at some point growing up were our friends. And we try and try as we might to help them get out of that mentality and that lifestyle, more often than not they’ll fall back in to it again and again…

But one thing both the hillbillies and the rednecks have in common is we protect our own. So they may be embarrassing and awful in their own ways, but dammit they’re ours. White trash and all, they’re ours. And we’ll keep trying to help them join us more civilized backwoods folks until they end up in jail or dead. Because no matter what sort of rural world you come from, hillbilly or redneck, farm or coal country, we’re all family out here, and we’ll take care of each other to the bitter end. That’s what separates us from the suburban sprawls and the urbanites and their concrete jungles; deep down, we love each other more than any material comforts city life could ever offer.

1. A Redneck and a Hillbilly went for a stroll... Ozark (youtube.com)