Yesterday I Found A Long Lost Treasure Of Texas Bashing

Recently, if I remember right, I made mention of the fact that Google in the past few days has caused me to open every webpage that exists inside my durangotexas.com domain.

I did not realize, or remember, that some of those webpages are well over a decade old, with me having little memory of making them.

One of those webpages is titled Texas Bashing.

I do not remember how or by what means, but somehow I solicited comments bashing and counter-bashing Texas. Why would anyone have found this webpage bashing Texas and then react with comments?

Even stranger, apparently at some point the Texas Bashing website was used by another website, called plastic.com, in an article about bashing Texas. People then reacted with comments to the plastic.com article, which I then added to the Texas Bashing webpage. Clicking on plastic.com I found that website no longer exists, and so I did not turn it into an active link.

Below are a few examples of comments on the Texas Bashing webpage. On the Texas Bashing webpage I add my own comment to each comment. I can tell by my counter comments that early on in my adjustment to the culture shock of Texas I was much harsher in my opinionating than I am nowadays, well over a decade later...

I've lived in Texas (Austin, arguably "not really Texas") for six years. In Texas, you can buy Texas-shaped pasta, Texas-shaped tortilla chips, and Texas-shaped cheese in any grocery store. If you market beer or trucks in Texas, chances are your jingles appeal to Texas pride and have the word "Texas" in it at least five times. I don't know of any other state that's so insular and into itself. As somewhat of an outsider, I find it fascinating. Can you buy food products that come in the shape of your state? (Colorado and Wyoming, you don't count.) This is not a rhetorical question, I really want to know.

And.....

Where I grew up (Oklahoma), Texas-bashing was a favorite pastime. Why do people like to insult Texas? Because the average Texan will happily tell everyone they meet that "we're the only state that was once a separate country". Like that's something to be proud of? We also didn't appreciate being considered 'North Texas' by a lot of people (especially Texans).

Plus what may be my favorite comment...

Once upon a time in the Kingdom of Heaven, God was missing for six days. Eventually, Michael, the archangel found him, resting on the seventh day. He inquired of God, "Where have you been?" God sighed a deep sigh of satisfaction and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds, "Look, Michael, look what I've made." Archangel Michael looked puzzled and said, "What is it?" "It's a planet," replied God," and I've put Life on it. I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a great place of balance." "Balance?", inquired Michael, still confused. God explained,  pointing to different parts of earth, "For example, northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and wealth while southern Europe is going to be poor; the Middle East over there will be a hot spot. Over there I've placed a continent of white people and over there is a continent of black people." God continued, pointing to different countries. "This one will be extremely hot and arid." The Archangel, impressed by God's work, then pointed to a large land mass and said, "What's that one?" "Ah," said God. "That's Texas, the most glorious place on Earth. There are beautiful mountains, lakes, rivers, sunsets and rolling plains. The people from Texas are going to be modest, intelligent, and humorous and they are going to be found traveling the world. They will be extremely sociable, hardworking, and high-achieving, and they will be known all throughout the world as diplomats and carriers of peace," Michael gasped in wonder and admiration but then proclaimed, "what about balance, God? You said there would be balance!" God replied wisely, "Wait until you see the crazy bunch I'm putting next to them in Louisiana.

Stop Texas Bashing Now

Last night I was deleting email from my inbox. Something I do not do too often. Doing so I came upon a lot of feedback emails to my Eyes on Texas website that I likely intended to reply to, or put on my website.

And then forgot about it. I get a lot of email, which is no excuse for forgetting. What is annoying is some of what I forgot about is good stuff.

Like an email from a 7th generation Texan named Curtis. Curtis had come across a webpage I made long ago which had some amusing examples of Texas Bashing and Counter Texas Bashing. On that webpage I solicited for additional Texas Bashing or Counter Texas Bashing comments.

Curtis made a very good Counter Texas Bashing comment that I never got around to adding to the Texas Bashing page. Maybe I lost interest in Bashing Texas. Who knows?

Anyway, below is what Curtis had to say....

As a seventh generation Texan, I read through this page of Texas bashing/counter bashing with a mixture of amusement, sadness, pride, and shame.

I have been fortunate in being able to spend a great deal of time traveling to other parts of the world and meeting an enormous variety of people. Most of my preconceived stereotypes have been destroyed. (Parisians are, in fact, some of the friendliest, most hospitable people in Europe.)

Overseas, especially in Europe, you hear a lot of US bashing and stereotyping. I was amazed at how similar the Texas bashing comments were to the US bashing heard in Europe. My reaction is the same for both; amusement, sadness, pride, and shame. My response is also the same: if you hate us so much, and if we are such an arrogant, bunch of ignorant, red-neck idiots, why do you keep moving here in such great numbers? When the rest of the world bashes the US, they are bashing themselves, for we are a nation made up of people from the rest of the world. When the rest of the US bashes Texas, they are bashing themselves, for Texas is a state full of people from other states and countries. A native Texan (over the age of 20) is a damn rare thing. Round up any 10 adults and 5 will be Mexican, 2 will be from the Midwest, 1 will be some sort of Yankee, 1 will be some sort of westerner, and 1 will be a native Texan.

Most true Texans understand that all of the "bigger and better in Texas" crap is exactly what it is - marketing. We know that having six flags fly over Texas only matters to businesses that are trying to capitalize on Texas pride (only three flags matter: Confederate {states rights - not slavery}, U.S., and Lone Star). We also know that most of our reputation for being loud and obnoxious comes from two sources - Hollywood and T. Boone Pickens (sorry Mr. Pickens but you know its true). If the rest of the nation actually believes everything they saw in the movie Giant, then I have a beautiful ranch and oil field in Marfa that I'd like to sell them.

2009 Bashing Texas Or Not

I started my Eyes on Texas website way back in early 2001. I was not yet 2 years into my Exile in Texas. At that time I was still adjusting to Texas, trying to understand things like Dry, Wet and Damp. Perplexed by being unable to use American currency to buy a hot dog at the State Fair of Texas or any random street fair. Little things like that. At that point in time I could still be shocked by areas of Third World-like poverty that one sees when one drives through some parts of Texas.

So, when I started my Eyes on Texas website I made a webpage on which I collected examples of Texas Bashing and solicited for more Texas Bashing, or Counter-Texas Bashing.

The intro to the Texas Bashing webpage---Texas Bashing is a national phenomenon to which Texans take extreme umbrage. Texans have no way of seeing themselves the way the rest of the country, or world sees them. To a Texan bragging about Texas seems a perfectly natural thing to do. From early grade school Texans are propagandized with a theme summarized by the phrase 'Texas Proud'. To a non-Texan, particularly a Yankee, and most particularly a West Coaster, Texas Pride can seem a bit delusional. Very few Texans seem to understand that it is their 'Texas Pride' which provokes most of the Texas Bashing.

It has been years since I've paid any attention to that webpage or received any Texas Bashing or Counter-Texas Bashing.

Til yesterday. I got a very heartfelt Counter-Texas Bashing from a Texan named Jason who is currently stationed outside his preferred location, that being Texas. Below is what Jason had to say....

"Firstly, I'm not sure why a website so thoroughly devoted to Texas, it's legends, history, culture, and lore can be created and maintained by an admitted transplant and still thought to be objective. It goes from defending the state to criticizing it so often I really can't tell what side of the proverbial fence the author is on, though I get the feeling they aren't Texas' biggest supporters, so I wonder what drives them to create and maintain this site. I roamed the different pages, especially those about my home town of Dallas. It was interesting, but at times a bit aggravating. I'm glad you made Texas your home, I'm one of the "Texas Proud" you mention, I suppose. Although I don't think I am such a braggart about it unless people ask or I am provoked.

As for the "bashing", there seems to be a lot of people saying that Texas is backwards, arrogant, red-neck, gun crazed, blah blah blah... we've heard all that nonsense before. People can say what they will about my fair state and the people that come from it. I was born and raised in Dallas for 23 years of my short life. Since leaving to go to graduate school I have lived in North Carolina (the mid-state and the mountains), Southern California, and Upstate New York. I spend significant amounts of time in Manhattan NY, Orange County CA, and all across the Midwest. Currently I live in Asheville, NC which is a beautiful mountain country about 1 hour east of the Tennessee boarder on I-40. All that is to say that in all the climates, with all the differences in culture, atmosphere, people, taxes, traffic etc., and with all the negative things these people want to say about the Lone Star State, having been all around the continent, Texas is still my first choice of places I would like to live. It's a job that keeps my in North Carolina, but after all my wanderings, my heart still belongs to Texas."

Jason