As one of Madison Cawthorn’s unfortunate NC-11 constituents, I relate to Amanda Marcotte’s plea not to condemn the whole of Texas for what its reactionary leaders have wrought (thread):
I applaud business and government boycotts of Texas, but there are hard limits to this “boycott Texas” approach I see so many people advocating. Not everyone can just leave or refuse to go there.
My partner and I have to go home to Texas later this month to attend the memorial for a friend who died unexpectedly. (Not covid.) We can’t just say no, we’re boycotting.
People have jobs, families, homes. It was hard enough for me to leave, and I had a whole life ready waiting on the East Coast. But I love so much of Texas. And it pains me to see an entire, diverse state being demonized because it’s being run by gerrymandered Bible-thumpers.
Our friend who passed spent much of his life trying to turn Texas blue. He loved Texas and believed it could be a better place for its people, and fought hard for that. I have many friends who do such work in the state: Health care. Environmental work. Feminist activism.
I wonder instead of telling people to “leave” or “boycott,” if it wouldn’t be more helpful to focus on supporting people who are there, trying to make Texas a more just and decent place to live. Because there’s a lot of good in the place. Don’t let its idiot leaders confuse you.
Plus, if you don’t think this abortion ban is going to come closer to home, I got news for you. SCOTUS just invited every GOP-controlled state to pass this same law. God only knows what happens when the GOP uses election manipulation to regain federal power.
Isolating and shunning Texas is impractical as a solution, since they are just the canary in the coal mine. As I point out here, imposing white supremacist Christian theocracy is WHY the GOP is gutting our democracy. This shit is a national problem.
Remember: Willie Nelson, Beyoncé, the Chicks, Megan Thee Stallion. All native Texans. (Among a bazillion great artists, truly: centraltrack.com/20-to-1/) It pains me to see people talk about it like it’s some useless backwater. I may not live there anymore, but #TexasForever
To be clear, I don’t think @LemieuxLGM was demonizing Texas. I just wanted to get some stuff off my chest about some rhetoric I’ve seen, mostly on social media, mocking my home and its people, or just telling people to leave entirely. That’s not how any of this works.
Ugh, I can’t believe the people bashing the whole of Texas in response to this thread. HEY IDIOTS, TEXANS ARE THE VICTIMS OF THIS ABORTION BAN. The notion that the whole state is rotten because of its leaders is backwards and illiberal. Go kick rocks. Love, This Native Texan.
The blue parts of this map may look small, but they are the biggest population centers in the state. When you damn the whole state of Texas as nothing but ignorant hicks, you are overlooking how diverse the state actually is.
Really, Texas is no different than New York or Oregon: Blue cities in a sea of red. The blue states just have slightly bigger cities in comparison to the rural/ suburban areas.
Texas is the nation. Ignore that at your peril.
It is a point I make time after time. One reason Among the reasons rural America responds poorly to lefties is their own high-and-mighty view of themselves. It’s one thing to understand emotional intelligence as a concept and another to practice it: Peers planning trips abroad will bone up on the local culture, learn some basic phrases, etc., to enhance their visits. They just won’t show voters in the next county the same courtesy. And rural voters know it.
Also, that inflated self-image means some progressives cannot be bothered with local political races they see as being beneath their manifold degrees and talents. They want to volunteer for the marquee federal races where wins will inflate their self-images even more, as well as spice up their political resumes.
But those red areas of Amanda’s map don’t just elect U.S. House members, members of the U.S. Senate, or president. They also elect school board, city council, and county commission candidates. Statewide Democratic candidates can afford to place their bets on winning big in cities where they can find the largest blocks of blue votes. But down-ballot officials are elected locally in districts, red districts.
Those lower-level officials go on to become the state representatives and senators who, where Republican majorities rule, pass draconian, white-supremacist Christian theocracy shit like they did in Texas. Voter suppression laws, too. There is little the U.S. House and Senate or president can do to stop them, and even less protection the courts afford at the moment.
Want to stop them? You have to stop them in rural, red counties where Republican candidates go unopposed and go on to dominate state legislatures. At least make Republicans spend money out there to defend what they drew to be safe seats. It’s not sexy, but it matters. Ask women in Texas.
Ignore rural America at your peril. The premise of Howard Dean’s 50-state strategy was you can’t win if you don’t show up to play. And if you do show up to play, plan to bring some game.