What I think happens all to often for those that say they visited or lived in Texas and hated every second of it, was that they brought with them both an antagonistic attitude, and an ironclad expectation that it would be a horrible place. When they got back exactly what they put out, they had their self-fulfilling prophecy and could then go on to broad brush and bash us every next chance they got.

It's quite the contrast to those DUers from other parts of the country that have pointed out they moved here because they wanted to, and have yet to have a bad experience here.

I'm in a similar subthread at the moment (http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=397685) and I'm guessing that due to Goodhair and some of the heinous posts made after the tornado events lately (look at Aerows' thread in Meta), that we're all extra-sensitive to the haters of late.

(when Richardson was flying high) on a San Francisco tour that behaved in much that manner.

just a complaint about a large group of clannish people who happened to be Texans.

Texas gets a lot of bashing here, deservedly so, and from a lot of Texans, so we all know they're not all like that.

There was an alerter last night who said because "black males" was used in a sentence it just had to be racist. It wasn't.

I'm afraid DU has its share of word jumpers and knee jerk jerks. So far, the jury system has kept them from too much mischief.

who live in Texas, for many reasons, and there are Texans. The former are Americans. The latter think of themselves as Texas-Americans. It may be part of the history of the state to think that way but it sure is uncomfortable for the rest of us who live here.

I sure found it in NC when I lived there.

Back before I retired, I was working in Ft. Worth for a railroad. We had a new Customer Service Center and people from all over transferred in to work there. I got used to hearing about snow in Minnesota and rain in the PNW and so how fucking hot it was in Texas. I guess it grated on me a little and then a lot when at a donut shop one day before work some woman with a very East Coast accent was saying how nobody down in this shit hole couldn'take a bagel worth a shit. I said "excuse me, I know where you can find the finest anywhere." She said "where?" I said "go out there and get on 820 until you hit 360 and go North until you get to the airport. Find a plane going to New York and get on the son of a bitch."

There was applause.

same can be said of really good Mexican and Mex-Tex-- can't find it anywhere outside of the southwest. And I don't mean chains. No self-respecting Texan eats Mexican at a chain.

We lived in London for several years and I lamented daily the fact that Mexican food just doesn't exist there! And I had to spend a summer in Philly (which I admit was lovely in July and August) but again, no quality Mexican to be found!

Sure, there are irritating Texans, but there are irritating Californians, obnoxious Bostonians and I don't even know what to call those guys to the north of us (Oklahoma). And don't even start on Floridians....

that I'm at the point of not bothering.

However, as you say of how they perceive Austin as the only worthwhile place in the state, I think I'll start posting links to the various free weeklies for all of the other cities, and nothing more. They can then figure it out for themselves

if only for their lack of compassion.

As for the rest, I'm simply worn down. MFM posted an edited comic strip the other day that depicted what we all know to be a great parody on Internet-arguing. It showed a woman sighing in relief to her friend that someone on DU (used to be "the Internet) had finally said the same thing often enough that she was convinced she was indeed wrong

Continue to fight them as you have the stamina to do so. Mine has been worn thin by the stubbornly and willfully ignorant and bigoted.

What's wrong with pointing that out? Texas sucks because conservative reThugs are in charge. Hopefully it'll turn blue again (and this time it'll be a more liberal blue). Until then...many aspects of this state suck.

I'd leave if I could... even though I like where I live...because I know that the state government is a hinderance (see the Google Fiber incident).

So I ain't gonna act like it's a paradise and get offended when someone disses the state or the conservative rubes who elect our thugish state leaders. I'll save my energy for when they diss liberal Texans or me personally.

Re-read my initial post on this thread. I do not deny the ill effects of the far right wing in Texas. But when somebody trashes the entire state---3.3 million Obama voters included---as nothing more than a bunch of Rick Perry worshippers, I think it needs to be opposed, and opposed strongly. And don't kid yourself: mindless, blanket trashing of the entire state of Texas and every one of its residents happens all the time here at DU, and little if any action is taken by the forum administrators on such insults. If you're saving your energy for when liberal Texans are insulted around here, you're keeping your powder dry for no good reason.

of the majority of Texans. The more we speak out against the foe, Rethugs, the more Texans are and will begin to listen. Let us remove the GOP veil so more and more people, all over the USA, can see the Blue in Texas that really is.

Humans generalize about most things because it's easy...

But does that mean that they hate liberal Texans specifically? Why is waiting for ire directed towards us not a good reason to keep my powder dry?

I don't care if my conservative fuckwit neighbors and coworkers are trashed by the broad swipes of non-Texan members of the board. I know it's not referencing me in particular.

I see threads trashing law enforcement in general all the time. It doesn't offend me personally because I've had bad experiences with other law enforcement while off-duty. I know that profession is fucked up, but I'm not the guy in the video slapping a kid for giving me lip. I'm not profiling or illegally searching.... I do my job and I try to make sure I benefit the community in some way...

Some people may direct their ire towards me as well. But most people can separate a bad experience with a dick, from an individual officer that they've never met...

Various places (Arizona, Alabama, Mississippi) get grief besides Texas. I know what we are made of, I know what our weather is like, I know the problems we face, and, frankly, I know that when the chips are down, I can count on support from DU'ers from around the country. I think as a rule the concept of Texas gets grief - but the concept of Texans? Not so much.

It's like they want to perpetuate a stereo-type, caricature image.

than Republican leadership in other states? I think not.