If you watched that recent episode of Bourdain's show when they went to Eunice and thought "They really portrayed Eunice well, good people having a good time." FYI - that episode made me realize I'm not quite as coonass as I'd like to be.
I know some Acadian-Americans who will whip your ass if you say it to their face. I know others who embrace all things coonasstic. Most don't care and aren't offended any more than I am at redneck. But Red's Achieving Maximum Slack Rule #17 is . . . Be very careful who you call a coonass after midnight at the Evangeline Club.
Wow! I don't know "where it came from" but we've always embraced the term in my family. Dam red, you really moved me with that one. That's where my parents met. Seriously. I live nearby the intersection (actually a "T") it was on.
Well when he was working on oil rigs in the 40s and the 50s the Texans he worked with weren't throwing it around as a term of endearment.
