13
closer consideration of the monologue, however, reveals a more specific
set of claims. Although Foxworthy has often taken pains to distance
himself from the stereotype of redneck as racist, it is tempting to read in
his monologue a coded eriticism of hip-hop artists whose lyrics might
threaten to “mess somebody up” over being disrespected.
Foxworthy, however, seems to endorse violence in other contexts, in the
case that someone were to “mess” with a redneck’s child or in the
context of nationally sanctioned war, where the inherit violence would
seem to be something to celebrate.
Foxworthy’s us reverses the dichotomy that constructs the
redneck as marginal. In his configuration it is the them who are pushed to
the fnnge. We, the rednecks, are “real people” in contrast to the
presumably less real other. We are not like them, that is, not soft, anti
war liberals, black rappers, or nonbelieving atheists. He has successfully
east the “redneck” as the central subject position and hence marginalized
all of the rest. Forget that he has been the beneficiary of the Hollywood
celebrity machine or that he sees nothing troubling in his claim that
country music foregrounds the subject of kids and family alongside the
topies of cheating, casual sex, and alcohol use. In imagined communities,
consisteney of thought is not a requirement.
Despite Foxworthy’s considerable efforts in constructing a
redneck identity that can be lovingly owned and celebrated, some
moments in his biography have revealed a less self-assured ownership of
stereotypical redneck behaviors, even when it comes to his own actions.
In these moments, Foxworthy’s tone shifts sharply to confession and
absolution. In No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem he relates one incident
with a certain degree of shame and fears that owning his actions may
undermine the persona that he has worked hard to cultivate. Still, he
presses forward with the confession, explaining “I’d rather you hear it
from me than read some inaccurate tabloid version that makes me sound
like a hick” (35). The incident involves Foxworthy urinating into the
opposing team’s