Messin' With Texas
I was having brunch on Capitol Hill when I saw a woman wearing a “Don’t Mess With Texas” shirt. I’ve seen these shirts around town many times, yet I fail to understand the sentiment. Maybe this is because I’m not from Texas.
Her statement implies that people are indeed “messing with Texas,” and doing so at a rate so troubling that shirts were printed. Who’s messing with these people? Why?
I admit, I feel guilt. I have indeed “Messed with Texas” on many occasions, ruthlessly doing so in response to the arrogant and comical way it super sizes everything from its food to its ego. I also admit that I know the statement in question was created as part of an anti-litter campaign, yet over time the sentiment has taken a life of its own, becoming a collective mantra that extends the threat of retribution far beyond the spectre of slimJim wrappers and empty cans of Busch scattered in the tall weeds.
It’s been my experience that exaggerating ones personal traits or abilities and striking bullish poses of authority hide considerable insecurity, which in this case, only increases the mystery. Texas is the fifteenth largest economy in the world and its collective ethos has influenced American culture and foreign policy, symbolized most notably in our neighbor, the 43rd president. It has also shown great heart, as noted by the city of Houston’s generous housing and care for over 100,000 New Orleanians in the aftermath of Katrina. Not exactly all hat and no cattle, if you catch my drift, pardner.
So, again, what exactly is Texas afraid of?
8 comments:
I was in Texas for a while in Americorps and wanted to try and "Don't Mess With Texas" boxers - but I don't think they make them. I always wondered if Texans think it would tarnish the saying by printing them on skivvies.
"...exaggerating ones personal traits or abilities and striking bullish poses of authority hide considerable insecurity..."
I've observed the same things in Gay men: the pageant swagger of "straight acting", "masculine", "regular" guys. Ironically these performances eclipse the authentic in favor of the contrived.
Both Texas and Gay men already contain the qualities they seek to convey. These self-conscious performances, however, blunt the authentic expression of those natural qualities.
Now, after 8 years of George W. Bush, Texas will be more insecure than ever.
As a born-and-raised Texan (living in DC for 14 years now) I have to defend my state. W was not born in Texas, and he most certainly does not represent the best of the state. What Texas means to Texans is independence and responsibility - not waiting for someone else to pull you up.
What does "Don't Mess With Texas!" mean? Don't try to force Texans to change - give them good reasons to change, and maybe they will. Remember, Ann Richards was Texan, too.
I think that I like "Don't Mess with Texas' and its environmental message much better than the "Keep Austin Weird" stickers that I now see everywhere.
I'm afraid that I might be to blame for this. I consistently and frequently mess with Texas, because I like to see women with giant hair and clinically obese suburban wannabe cowboys cry.
If this is causing anxiety for some people, I can amend my ways and start messing with Mississippi instead.
Why are people so upset over a slogan like "Don't Mess with Texas" in the first place? As stated before, the slogan was created as part of an anti-litter campaign that was successful to some degree at bringing attention to a problem the state had on the issue.
I think in general, Texans like myself are very, very proud of our state, because Texas is such a unique state. It's huge, both in population and landmass. It's also very diverse...Latinos along the Rio Grande Valley and in the urban centers...Germans in the Hill Country...Czechs in Central Texas and along the Gulf Coast...and African Americans in East Texas. It has been a member of six different countries throughout its history (France, Spain, Mexico, Texas, the Confederacy and USA) and I think that the combination of all the aforementioned makes it rather unique from the other states in the country.
So of course it's only natural for Texans to be proud of our state, even if it has produced morons like GW Bush. Then again, it also produced Lyndon Johnson, who despite escalating the Vietnam War, did some amazing things for this country.
It's a BRILLIANT anti-litter campaign, though I imagine that the message is lost on some of Texas's boosters.
But I like to link environmental stewardship with patriotic rhetoric. Why would someone who loves America try to destroy it by promoting pollution?
(I'm asking YOU, Mr. Bush!)
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