# Here's another Reason Not To Live In Texas. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 11, 2005, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-another-reason-not-to-live-in-texas/335084 "2005-12-11T01:38:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2005, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-another-reason-not-to-live-in-texas/335084/61 "2005-12-12T16:06:06Z")
> [@Dead Badger](#): > > No, you quite transparently “advocated” it as part of your continuing quest to try and piss on Texans, “continuing quest”? :dubious: 😕 ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-another-reason-not-to-live-in-texas/335084/62 "2005-12-12T16:38:38Z")
> [@Slacker](#): > > Sounds like Chicago needs to be immediately divorced from the union and forced to join a second rate country like Mexico. And unleash levels of public corruption that the Mexicans can’t conceive of upon them? No, that’s just too cruel. ---
**Author:** ![gooftroopag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gooftroopag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gooftroopag)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2005, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-another-reason-not-to-live-in-texas/335084/63 "2005-12-12T17:34:24Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > I’ll be happy to. > > Are you writing a letter to your editor? Hmm? Just a little letter to your Texas newspaper editor? Hmm? Just a little one? To let him know you don’t approve? Hmm? Don’t approve of this sort of thing happening in Texas? Hmmm? Or your State Legislator? Hmm? The big, loud man in the cowboy hat who hands out barbecue around election day? Writing a letter of complaint? Hmmm? To him? A liitle letter? Damnit! Someone is handing out barbecue on election day! Shit, I knew I shouldn’t have voted early! Seriously though, you must be joking, right? First, what ever happened to due process and being innocent until proven guilty? That goes for officers, too. The article you link to shows two sides of the story and while I may believe one is correct, I’m not stupid enough to jump to a quick decision without examining all the evidence (that I don’t have). Second, what would be the purpose of me writing a letter to **my** State Legislator concerning Dallas when Dallas is not in their district and not even close to their district? Am I really to keep track of every event in every county of Texas? Shit, the only reason I knew of the story was your intelligent pitting where you lump the DART cops and Texans into a single basket with your “Texans are not civilized people” statement. That’s total bullshit and you know it. It’s as if because the entire State of Texas hasn’t descended upon Dallas in a protest it signifies that the State supports such actions. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-another-reason-not-to-live-in-texas/335084/64 "2005-12-12T18:20:01Z")
> [@gooftroopag](#): > > First, what ever happened to due process and being innocent until proven guilty? That goes for officers, too. The article you link to shows two sides of the story and while I may believe one is correct, I’m not stupid enough to jump to a quick decision without examining all the evidence (that I don’t have). The issue isn’t **due** process, it’s **no process**. _Nobody is looking into this at DART_. Read the article again > [@](#): > > Second, what would be the purpose of me writing a letter to **my** State Legislator concerning Dallas when Dallas is not in their district and not even close to their district? Am I really to keep track of every event in every county of Texas? Any State Legislator may ask questions, or even call for an inquiry (sp?). ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-another-reason-not-to-live-in-texas/335084/65 "2005-12-13T00:17:04Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > Texans are not civilized people. Hey, you know what? You’re talking about me when you say this. Not some faceless mass of cowboy hats. Me, the guy you share a message board with. Do I deserve that? Would you actually post “pravnik, you not a civilized person. By way of proof, I offer your zip code.”? When I was in college, there was mass outrage in the local community when an police officer beat a handcuffed man in front of a crowd of people, but never once did it occur to us to say “Well, what did you expect? He’s from Texas! We’re all like this!” That’s ridiculous. > [@Evil Captor](#): > > C’mon, Texas is a huge ass at the bottom of the nation, just waiting to be kicked. You really can’t blame people for kicking a state whose conduct consists largely of one affront against common decency and humanity after another. Admitting the place to the Union is one of the biggest mistakes the US has ever made. It would work so much more naturally and nicely as a province of Mexico. The strain of attempting to behave like actual Americans is what makes Texas such a hellish place – if it was allowed to lapse into the cultural equivalent of a reptilian torpor which is its natural condition, it probably wouldn’t be so bad. As it is, Jeebus, the place sucks. Hey, nice to see you, too. Look, I share as much in common and as much complicity with the rabid psychopaths who dragged James Byrd to death by reason of my sharing Texas with them as you do by reason of the fact that you share the United States with them, which is to say none at all. > [@Terrifel](#): > > It’s terribly unfair, but it seems that if Texans hope to shed their erroneously bloodthirsty image, they may have to do so by embracing a policy of total nonconfrontation.Texans can’t afford to rise to the bait of even the most inflammatory characterizations, lest they inadvertently contribute to the perpetuation of the stereotype. In the case of the OP, for example, it would have been an interestingly disarming strategy for a number of Texans to quickly post, addressing the specific issue of the beating in question while absolutely ignoring the last five words of the OP. “As a resident of Texas, I find this incident to be a horrifying abuse of authority;” that sort of thing, without even dignifying the accompanying slur with a response. I do the soft answer turneth-ing away wrath as much as I can humanly stomach, but man, it gets old having to constantly interject a polite reminder that despite my state of origin, I have a strong moral opposition to things like police brutality and horrific racial murder. ---
**Author:** ![gooftroopag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gooftroopag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gooftroopag)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-another-reason-not-to-live-in-texas/335084/66 "2005-12-13T01:43:55Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > The issue isn’t **due** process, it’s **no process**. _Nobody is looking into this at DART_. Read the article again Perhaps you need to reread the article, because you’re making a wild leap here. DART has not made a statement as to whether they are investigating it or not. > [@](#): > > Any State Legislator may ask questions, or even call for an inquiry (sp?). What do you expect me to do, email my representatives every time I get flustered over a single news report, particularly one that happened in another district and one that I have a very limited amount of information on? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-another-reason-not-to-live-in-texas/335084/67 "2005-12-13T13:50:27Z")
Semi-hijack. [http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/12/12/scotus.texas/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/12/12/scotus.texas/index.html) Comments? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-another-reason-not-to-live-in-texas/335084/68 "2005-12-13T14:59:18Z")
> [@gooftroopag](#): > > Really? You might want to check out what [Human Rights Watch](http://www.hrw.org/reports98/police/uspo41.htm) has to say about Georgia. There is no doubt that Georgia law enforcement sucks in many respects. I never heard of the problems listed there, but there was an incident awhile ago at the Atlanta airport where a middle aged white soccer mom in a van who parked improperly was thrown to the ground hard and handcuffed by a burly black Atlanta policeman for doing what appeared to be nothing at all wrong, that got a LOT of airplay, since it was captured on tape by airport security cameras. Still, we’re way ahead of Texas. The place just seems to be crawling with nastiness. I guess it’s the unseemly eagerness of a lot of Texas DAs to put kids to death that really tops it off, although the lead Texas has in judicial executions is another indicator. When you couple that off with travesties like the Tulia trials it’s really kinda scary. I know that not all Texans are uncivilized thugs, but I DO think there’s something nasty in Texas culture that makes this kind of behavior nastier than elsewhere. Georgia ain’t no rose, not by a long shot, but we smell good next to Texas. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-another-reason-not-to-live-in-texas/335084/69 "2005-12-13T15:06:35Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > I’ve been considering relocating to Austin. I need some warm weather. > Oh, well. I might move anyway. Please don’t. The traffic is bad enough already. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-another-reason-not-to-live-in-texas/335084/70 "2005-12-13T16:21:55Z")
> [@Evil Captor](#): > > Georgia ain’t no rose, not by a long shot, but we smell good next to Texas. It’s odd then that [Georgia](http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/gacrime.htm) has the 4th highest murder rate in the country while [Texas](http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/txcrime.htm) is 17th (at least as of 2000). Does this mean Georgia is a virulent hellhole? Of course not. But as long as we’re all pulling arguments out of our asses I don’t want to be left out. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-another-reason-not-to-live-in-texas/335084/71 "2005-12-13T16:47:53Z")
Murder rate shmurder rate. How about the civility of Macon’s transport police, that’s the yardstick by which the humanity of the state’s citizenry should be measured. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-another-reason-not-to-live-in-texas/335084/72 "2005-12-14T05:52:50Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Murder rate shmurder rate. How about the civility of Macon’s transport police, that’s the yardstick by which the humanity of the state’s citizenry should be measured. o rly. Macon City, Georgia Statistics and Demographics (US Census 2000) Macon Population: 97255 Dallas City, Texas Statistics and Demographics (US Census 2000) Dallas Population: 1188580 Now, I’m not saying it’s okay to harass long-haired folk in Dallas just 'cause they have ten times the population of Macon, but I have trouble with the idea that the cities can be compared in any meaningful way. As a Texan (bred if not born, and I’ve spent more than half my life here and plan to spend a great deal more as well) I abhor this disgusting violence, even if I’m rather surprised to hear about it. Dallas is a city that likes to think it’s quite sophisticated, and by some standards it probably is. It’s a fairly conservative (all right, staunchly so in comparison to most other states) and very wealthy city full of businessmen. And yet on something like five occasions a very VERY large group of quintessential long-haired freaks took over the big airport hotel for a weekend and were treated awfully nicely. Mostly 'cause they behaved better than the other jerks in the building that night. I know for a fact that at least once a month, probably once each weekend, some big ol’ freaks all get together and have a grand old time. I know that Dallas is the home of The Church, which used to be one of the more famous goth clubs in the state (Texas goths? No, they do not hide their Aquanetted locks under cowboy hats. At least mostly.) and I’ve had several very obviously freak-friends live in the city happily and without incident. It’s purely amazing to me how the fine people of Houston, who welcomed hurricane refugees after New Orleans was gutted, are lumped in with lynch mobs and violent cops. That being said, I wish this incident really surprised me very much. It does somewhat, but even if there was no provoking action by the victims of this attack, there ARE people who like to throw their power around indiscriminately. Remember the Milgram study? Remember the adage “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely (with my favorite add on of ‘imaginary power corrupts way out of proportion to actual power’)”? The suffix to those is NOT “in Texas more than everywhere else.” “But we can’t HELP calling every man woman and child in the state a total moron,” some say. Yes you damn well can. I find the comment that > [@](#): > > there’s something nasty in Texas culture that makes this kind of behavior nastier than elsewhere. Georgia ain’t no rose, not by a long shot, but we smell good next to Texas. about as offensive as the sweet little old lady I was chatting with just the other week who said “Goodness, it looks like all the football players nowadays are black. I wonder why? Maybe they have a natural talent for aggressiveness.” And as a matter of fact, the sweet little old lady (she really IS sweet, despite that bit of evidence) is not from Texas. Or the South. She’s from Wisconsin. What some folk don’t seem to get is that there’s more than one reason Texas gets such bad press. You see these news stories of another atrocity in this place – a racially motivated incident in Orange County, an act of brutality by a Texan cop, the execution of a mentally-deficient prisoner. And yes, these acts are terrible. They’re also news, to the point that a single allegation of a cop’s disgusting behavior of forcing a female suspect to perform oral sex on him had the entire capitol city of this state in a tizzy. To the point that a lynching is big news and shameful, truly shameful, to all decent citizens of Texas – a majority, even if they DID vote for Bush. 😃 And I for one disavow the Bushlets as Texans. When you live in Yankeeland and only keep an address in Texas to avoid the state income tax… well, you’re acting like a Texas politician. But we can still disapprove in strong language. And Georgie boy didn’t go to UT or A&M or even Southwestern like a good ol’ boy! Weren’t we good enough for him? 😛 As for the gerrymandering vote, oh I so hope so. Brace yourselves if we get to go through it again; the pageant leading up to the last vote was by God the funniest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Democrats go AWOL; Texas Rangers called out. Congressmen suspected to be eating barbecue in Oklahoma. You can’t MAKE stuff like this up. **Evil Captor** , I can understand your vitriol. From the outside looking in, we do look like an ape house. But come over and we’ll treat you to a marvelous time down here in Austin. I promise you, no tumbleweeds anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-another-reason-not-to-live-in-texas/335084/73 "2005-12-14T06:08:31Z")
So, you’re saying that an entire ranch fits into a post office box? That’s amazing! ---
**Author:** ![wheelie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b4bc9f/32.png) [@wheelie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheelie)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-another-reason-not-to-live-in-texas/335084/74 "2005-12-14T12:52:44Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > So, you’re saying that an entire ranch fits into a post office box? That’s amazing! For years, the Bush’s address was a suite at The Houstonian, a 5-star hotel. They stayed there about once a year (probably around April 15th:)). Or was that Daddy Bush? I have trouble telling one carpetbagging scumbag from another. Well, sun’s up, time to get my lynch on! Where’s my rope and draggin’ chain? ETHEL! ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-another-reason-not-to-live-in-texas/335084/75 "2005-12-14T13:03:52Z")
Do you actually know what you’re talking about? Or, as it seems more likely, do you enjoy looking silly? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-another-reason-not-to-live-in-texas/335084/76 "2005-12-14T13:06:56Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > So, you’re saying that an entire ranch fits into a post office box? That’s amazing! It’s a Lego ranch. 😛 Here, lemme 'splain clearer: the Bush family lived for some time – i.e. it was their actual residence – in New England. They might have owned property in Texas but it was not their residence. The address they used for their legal residence when doing their taxes was not, IIRC, a post office box. It was a Houston hotel room. I’m trying to find a cite (a REPUTABLE cite) for this, but I’m coming up short and I need to get to work. If I’m wrong, may I get pelted with eggs. Or an egg, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-another-reason-not-to-live-in-texas/335084/77 "2005-12-14T16:51:12Z")
> [@Little Plastic Ninja](#): > > …but I have trouble with the idea that the cities can be compared in any meaningful way… Er… I believe we’re attempting to right the same boat here as I have trouble comprehending the notion a citizenry could be defined by the action of a rogue transport cop. And don’t mention the Katrina response too loudly as it makes the OP even more ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-another-reason-not-to-live-in-texas/335084/78 "2005-12-14T17:30:42Z")
> [@Little Plastic Ninja](#): > > It’s a Lego ranch. 😛 > > Here, lemme 'splain clearer: the Bush family lived for some time – i.e. it was their actual residence – in New England. They might have owned property in Texas but it was not their residence. The address they used for their legal residence when doing their taxes was not, IIRC, a post office box. It was a Houston hotel room. > > I’m trying to find a cite (a REPUTABLE cite) for this, but I’m coming up short and I need to get to work. If I’m wrong, may I get pelted with eggs. Or an egg, anyway. I’ve seen the cite too, but I just woke up (on vacation) and don’t feel like looking for it. Meanwhile, does anyone have a cite **refuting** the claim? ---
**Author:** ![Dob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Dob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dob)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-another-reason-not-to-live-in-texas/335084/79 "2005-12-14T17:49:51Z")
Im with the OP on this one. Fuck Texas! Bunch of suck ass rednecks…all of em\* \*FWIW my opinion is soley based on the fact that I am a die-hard Washington Redskins fan and we play the Cowboys on Sunday for our very playoff lives. My opinion will shift after football season. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-another-reason-not-to-live-in-texas/335084/80 "2005-12-14T21:58:02Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > I’ve seen the cite too, but I just woke up (on vacation) and don’t feel like looking for it. Meanwhile, does anyone have a cite **refuting** the claim? Let’s try it this way: Someone asserted that Bush was just maintaining a mailing address in Texas so he could avoid paying state income taxes. That’s a positive assertion. Someone else asked for proof of that positive assertion. Why should that someone else provide proof of refutation? BTW, how can someone who is not resident in Texas be elected to a representative office in Texas? (Feel free to categorize this query under _the smell test_.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-another-reason-not-to-live-in-texas/335084.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-another-reason-not-to-live-in-texas/335084.md?page=5)