I just finished reading "Born Fighting", James Webb's interesting and insightful account of the history of the Scots-Irish in America. Among other things, he details the great hardships the Appalachian settlers had to overcome over a more than 200 year period from the mid 1700's to the late 1900's. Webb also details the deep hostility many Americans still harbor towards "rednecks and hillbillies", and the slanders and slurs the hardworking, hardluck people of Appalachia and the South still incur to this day. He specifically accuses Hollywood of creating, characterizing, and perpetuating the image of the redneck hillbilly.

I mention all this because, by blind coincidence, I finally got around to watching Clint Eastwood's terrific movie, "Million Dollar Baby" last night. And sure enough, not one hour after reading Webb's accusation, there was the scene where the redneck hillbilly family walked into the hospital and were called "lazy redneck hillbillies". I laughed out loud (which was probably not what Mr. Eastwood had intended). After reading Webb's book I don't think I'll be quite so inclined to denigrate the modern day descendants of the original Scots-Irish settlers.