Don’t forget Jim Hightower. Now there’s a guy who could kick ass if he were President! Hell, he kicks ass anyway…
Well, I didn’t ask for them, but I won’t complain about anyone’s opinion here. I have my reasons for living in Texas*; why should I argue the reasons that others have for hating it. Personally, I don’t think that the low points (religious intolerance, bigotry, etc.) are exclusively Texan; other places suffer from them too.
Texas does have a unique history that I think Texans can be proud of, but I think the main thing that sets Texas apart is that some of us have raised hubris to a fine art and many others have helped. It may be irritating, but for it’s all in good fun (or should be.) Personally, I consider it similar to character acting and treat it the same way. YMMV; it’s you opinion anyway.
WB, I mentioned to my wife that a Texan here had asked how others felt about the state. If you lived any closer, you would have heard her laughter. Sorry, you brought this upon yourself, boy.
A friend once listed off five places: Texas, New York, California, the South and Colorado (could be wrong on the last two) and opined that you could go anywhere and the people would hate everyone from at least one of those places. I don’t know, I just thought that it might be relevant.
*[sub]Do I get extra points if I fit the fact in within two sentences?[/sub]
Um, that they suck big time?
Well, I (Massachusetts born, now in Philly) don’t, very much.
I know it’s government was very corrupt in the 80s, maybe still is, and some books I’ve read have partially blamed it for the whole s&l thing. A lot of big companies are centered there, cause it’s very (read: proably too much, in my mind) corperate frendly.
On the other hand, most of Lonesome Dove was set in it. And the vast majority of someones ex-s live there. And they know the right way to make chili. And whenever a military guy in an action or SF movie has a Texas accent, you KNOW he’s going to screw everything up.
On a more interpersonal level, I’ve got no idea. Much the same as anywhere else, I guess, just a larger belt-buckle industry and more air conditioners. I don’t think I’ve ever met an actual texan, beyond the “Hello, this is Jack” stage.
But really, when a Texas government official isn’t running for president, I give it less thought than I do, say, Wisconson . . .
–
“Come on, skull, LEAP OUT OF MY FACE!!”
I know that now. 
Looking forward to the next one.
(OK I’ll quit hijacking this thread, now.)
I’m from Northern California. I have never been to Texas, but one of my best friends in high school was from Houston, and I picked up “y’all” from her. Excellent phrase. Most of the people I have met from Texas in person were pretty cool and not hung up on their state, but some I have met online were less so. I am not certain of what exactly this means. (Of course, there are exceptions… like the lady who came into my bookstore a while ago, wearing a necklace with a Texas-shaped pendant, who kept talking about the bookstore she went to in Texas.)
When I was considering grad school a while ago, I thought about the University of Texas in Austin. The program is fine, but I admit that it was fairly low on my list. The primary reason was that UT is a gigantic school, larger than I would prefer, but I definitely had my doubts about moving to Texas. FTR, I think I would feel the same way about any Southern state, not just Texas.
Thanks Anthracite! This native Texan likes you more every post he reads. At least I know that you have an opinion based on fewer biases that many of the other posters here.
Come on people, what’s up with all the stereotypes? 
Love it or hate it, I call it home.
When god created Louisiana, he pulled out all the stops. Great food, beautiful scenery, and wonderful people. It almost didn’t seem fair, so St Peter asked him why he had tipped the scales in Louisiana’s favor.
“Oh, I didn’t,” god replied, “Just wait until you see what blowhards they’re going to get for neighbors in TX.”
Hmm, did I mention I was a lousy joke teller? Well, I guess if that’s all the material I have to work with, it’s hard not to be.
Also, living in this cesspool called Louisiana, I’m really going to have to disagree with the glowing description from the joke. One thing I’ll give TX over LA, though : they have 7-11’s! I haven’t had a Slurpee in three years, dammit!
As a transplanted Cajun who’s lived in Texas for most of the past 28 years, I can say that Badtz Maru’s descriptions are accurate.
Northeastern Texas (the Tyler/Longview/Nacogdoches area) is heavily wooded and filled with cows, chickens, and oilfields. Rebel flags abound, as do pickup trucks. I saw one man break a pool-cue across another man’s back over a pair of allegedly stolen spurs, once.
Houston’s much more enjoyable. Lots and lots to do! Lots of interesting and diverse people to meet.
Not that size matters or anything, but IIRC, the entire city of Mobile, AL can fit within Houston’s inner loop…so yeah, a car is needed to get around the city freely–walking just won’t cut it. The heat can be terrible, and the humidity worse, but most of the time the climate is tolerable.
All in all, though, I’ve gotta say that I can’t wait to get out of this state. To sum it up–Wildest Bill fits in pretty well here. I do not.
-David
*Originally posted by SoulFrost *
hey hey hey hey HEY HEY (said like Sg Stindinko said in “Up in Smoke” in the restroom after what he discovered what Cheech did to him)
Anyway, the people that keep complaining about Texas must have never floated down the Guadalupe river on a tube with some buds(both human and sudsy 
) by their side otherwise they would feel different about this state.
Or have been downtown Austin on 6th street with some of the diversed music and fun that make New Orlean’s Bourbon street seem boring by comparison.
Or the excitement of being on a South Texas ranch quail hunting with some bad a-- dogs that sniff a bird from a half a mile away then sneaking up on the coveys and letting em have it with both barrels.
Or pulled up to Sam Hill’s bar and restaurant on beautiful Lake Travis in a inboard ski boat after a day of tearing up the lake wakeboarding with your Texas friends.
Or watch ZZ Top still rock and get down right bluesy in Beaumont, TX even though they probably take geritol now.
Or walk to down the river walk in SA at Christmas time with your chick(this is my thread so I can use that term if I want to ;)) by your side looking at all the pretty lights hanging on trees and strung across the SA river through downtown(kinda of like Venice without the smell).
Just some things to consider about the “state” of Heaven on earth. mmmm…God Bless Texas.(that’s a country song btw)
I didnt read the thread, just the OP, so my view is fresh.
I am from eastern Canada, and I see texas as hot, dusty, flat, with cattle. The men are tall, tan and they drawl (swoon) they have bow legs and ride horses. Everyone has a gun. The cities are big. Everything is big. They have real mexican food.
Texas is probably one of the states I would most like to visit.
Am I close?
Okay I found the person I want to bring home with me.
I just like Texas, I can’t help it.
I posted a bit of how I feel about Texas in that Pit thread too. Texans seem a bit overbearing at first - because they are proud. Proud of their State, and proud of themselves. There’s a lot to be said for that. I’m certainly not proud to be from Kansas - there’s not a thing wrong with it, and I don’t want to move, but it and it’s people lack the same enthusiasm that Texas and Texans have.
It’s a State of numerous variations - woods, desert, plains, big cities, the coast, even swamp. Numerous cultures - a bit of the Old South, a bit of the Frontier, a bit of Old Mexico, a bit of Native America, and a it of modern, high-tech America nowadays too. They have great music, great food, and great manners. Every Texan I know treats me as an honored guest when I go to their State, and they know how to have fun. It’s a unique place, that has a unique people.
Well, generally from ignorant texans, i get an attitude of superiority, gun totin’ blowhards with belt buckles to match their egos who think everyone cares about their state (if you took all the interesting parts of the state, i bet you’d have less land than Rhode Island). A feeling they have to compete with everyone to show how texasis all that.
Oh and just because texas was once a country doent make it any cooler. The stole it out from under the Mexicans who graciously allowed them in, even though settlers were tying to get slavery in when they knew it was illegal under Mexican law.
Well there’s a difference between general good for you pride, and too much pride. I am proud to be from California, but i dont feel the need to bring it up everytime I talk to someone new. Which is what a lot of "proud’ Texans seem to feel they have to do.
Texas is interesting. On the one hand it can boast nice metropolitan areas (Dallas & Houston), at least one really great city (Austin) and at the same time be home to one of the truly most awful areas to ever exist in recorded time (Odessa-Midland). I should know…I lived there for about a year in the early nineties. I shant bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that apart from high-school football and…uh…hot dirt, there’s not much more to that area. Driving across west Texas is like driving across the moon and about as scenic…a far cry from the pretty, more lush eastern portion of the state. If you never thought you’d see a place where trees (or even cacti) refuse to grow, take a tour of west Texas and have your mind blown.
Texans are a truly happy, friendly people, not to be pigeonholed by any rowdy, toothless cowboy stereotype you may be harboring. The times I’ve been there I cannot say that I was ever treated rudely or made to feel unwelcome ANYWHERE. Besides, any state that can lay claim to Kinky Friedman, Richard Linklatter, Tom Landry, Janis Joplin, Anna-Nicole Smith and Lee Harvey Oswald is thumbs-up in my book.
“Texas: It’s Like a Whole Other Country”
– slogan of the Texas Board of Tourism, before the self-proclaimed “Republic of Texas” wackos tried to make it into a reality.
My brother moved to Texas from the Bronx.
Wotta difference!
Him and a friend of his from NJ were sitting on a lake and looked out across it at all the houses fronting the lake and all the Texas flags flying by those houses. My brother looked at his friend and said, “Do you even know what the state flag of NJ looks like?” The guy had no idea.
His daughters both wound up as cheerleaders at their high school, and both participated in national competitions of cheerleaders. One of his daughters’ teams either came in first or was near the top.
Me, I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a national competition for cheerleaders.
He lives in Austin, has a 15-minute commute to work (as opposed to my 1 and a half to two hour version) and is thinking of getting buffalo grass to replace that St Augustine’s weed they try to tell you is grass down there.
Another amusing story: one time, him and a few of his neighbors were standing around talking. They were all from up north. They looked around their neighborhood, and my brother pointed to the roofs and said, “Look at the color of those roofs. We’re the only fools with dark roofs.” Sure enough, it was true. I think they’re the only Democrats in that development too, 'though I might be wrong about that one.
Not so amusing story: driving by a “Christian” church (I put that in quotes because of the amazing hubris it takes to call your sect “Christian”, to the implied exclusion of all those Catholics and Episcopalians and such) that had a sign up that said its sermon for the day was going to be on the subject of… Why Catholics Aren’t Christians.
Shoulda burned them heretics when we had the chance.
Don’t even get me started on the death penalty and Bush.
But then there’s the Lady Bird Johnson center for native plants, which is an amazing place. Not to mention the food, which is fantastic, and the music, which never seems to end in Austin.
San Antonio’s not bad too. The Alamo’s a bit strange, though.
Gee, maybe I should go back home for Thanksgiving. I’m from Austin and I guess I have forgotten all the great things about it.
I have spent most of my life in and around Abilene, TX, and I have to say one thing. You are 100% correct. It is hard to be nonreligious in this town. I was working in a convenience store on Christmas Day one year, and a guy said “Hey, it must suck having to work Christmas!” I said “I doesn’t matter to me because I’m not a Christian.” I might as well have said “I am from Jupiter, and I like to eat live babies”, based on the reaction I got. What really bugs me about it though is the substantial amount of hypocrisy that is involved, that part really turns my stomach. It’s also very hard to meet women that either aren’t religious or don’t pay lip service to religion. When I find out a girl is religious I always want to say, " Oh, I’m sorry, here’s your phone number back."
As far as the insider’s view of Texas, only about three quarters of the white male population wears cowboy outfits and dips Copenhagen. Mind you this is just in the area I live in. I lived in Austin for about a year, and didn’t find it nearly this bad. Of course, if you like that sort of thing, then come on down!