I grew up in a small village. Whenever people use the word 农民to hint something backward or awkard, I feel extremely uneasy. Probably, I am not the only one who is sensitive to this word.
I have ever helped a lady in Maryland. At that time, she was a live-in baby-sitter in a Taiwanese family. As she complainted about her relatives before me, she used the word 农民. I immediately made up my mind to stay away from her.