The reddish hue to unbunrt skin is definitely real. I don't think it is necessarily "red neck" for sunburn.
That is exactly what it was. It was a reference for the indentured Irish.
AFAIK, that is entirely theoretical.
You could be right, and there are suggestions of that in Africa. But, the term goes way the hell back, at least to the 1500s. So, it isn't about merely the indentured Irish.
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