i live in texas. gave birth to two texans. married a texan

[seabeyond]

i know how hard it is. BUT

YOU...... MUST.......FIGHT.......IT

it isnt healthy or good, not for you, not for those around you, not for your children (if you have them), not for the nation. and not for universe and mankind.

you become them. we cannot afford any more them

AND

never will we heal if that is who we are. never will the opportunity even present itself. i don't want that kind of world for future generations. we have too great a responsibility.


*the thread got locked and i still want to answer
on edit: the thread was acknowledging a bigotry to southerners, especially texans. this is what i am refering to. not falling into the intolerance, hate, of the intolerant

[sweetheart]

1. love it! k&r

Yes, bigotry, labelling and stereotyping is the weapon of the GOP,
and we must be so careful to not weave in their thought viruses.

[TayTay]

2. Seabeyond, I am from Mass and good Texas Dems are my heroes

The good Democrats in Texas have never given up. Never. I read Molly Ivins, I love the wonderful Texas Dems who tried to stand up to what the Republicans have done to Texas and to the nation. You good people suffered first from Bush and his bad policies, yet I know a lot of people in Texas who have never given up and never will.

I love you good people. I mean it, despite the incredible odds and grief you get, there are just so many wonderful people from Texas who have never given up and who will fight for progress.

I salute you

[wicket]

5. This Massh*le agress with you

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

3. Then you must be pissed off at Texas as much as anybody.

[seabeyond]

8. being pissed off and hating are two totally different things

looking beyond all a person is to persecute them for the mere fact of being in the south does nothing to the southerner, it only makes that person less than who he can be. too many people are comfortable being less. it feeds off each other until we have a nation of less. and then won't matter much because we will be in a continual pissed off mode, never resolving. that isn't how i want to live. and that isnt how i want my children to live.

[ceile]

4. thanks, seabeyond

You're A LOT more generous than I was. Why do we Texans get picked on so much here? Sometimes it's really disheartening.

[seabeyond]

9. why???? loll lol... WHY??? you ask, bah hahhaaha

well, i got a little chuckle on that one lol wink. i am living in the very red panhnadle though, amongst the country club. i know why.

[ceile]

17. ahh, the Panhandle....

I drive through there on my way to Colorado.
Seriously, though. I just get really sick of being dogged on because TX can't get its shit together. We're the GOOD ONES! You wanna dog on red Texans go to FR!!!

[gaspee]

24. I spent 6 months in texas

And I could tell you why too. Good and bad just like everywhere else, but I would never, ever, ever live there again. Florida either.

[ceile]

47. Come visit Austin

You'll never want to leave. Well, except in the summer. If you're not used to the heat-watch out!

[Joe Fields]

80. Yeah, east Texas is pretty cool, too!

Tar paper and tin shacks, dirt floors, barefoot kids that don't have enough to eat. I spent some time filming there, and I never would have thought I'd see it in modern America. All of Texas should be proud. Especially the trendy s.o.b's in Austin, Dallas and Houston.

[gaspee]

83. I'm with you on that

I lived out in West Texas, on the border and I couldn't believe the way people lived. I had no running water, no electricity, no phone, but I chose to live that way. The people born and raised there didn't really have much choice in the matter.

[acmejack]

99. Yes us trendy SOBs = disabled veterans/activists

What is it you would have me do Joe? I regret that I can't actually go there and make a more concrete difference but there are some issues that prevent it. I can help them more through my final gift of my insurance money, but I am a little greedy and prefer (at this moment anyway, I go through cycles) to hold off on donating it) I realize I am worth more dead and than alive, however.

It is great to be righteous, but don't you think we are aware of the appalling state of the poor here and through out the South? Do you think we are just ignoring it? A mighty broad brush of smug condemnation you wield there Joe. You do often too, I wish I was as pure as you. Sometime you must tell us about the perfect Eden you reside in and how you personally brought it about. I am eager for you to move here so we may all learn at your feet as you personally correct all the wrongs here which you seem to feel are our direct responsibility and that we should all be flagellated by you for at every opportunity.

[Joe Fields]

78. I spent six months in Texas one night.

[raccoon]

34. Thanks, Seabeyond.

I'm not from Texas, from SC, so I know how you feel.

Why do we Southerners get picked on so much here?

[seabeyond]

36. because.... we are being sucked in the hate of the repug party

and becoming what they are. it feeds on itself. and i thinkwe have got to start making a conscious effort that isnt who we want to beas a people, as a whole. it is because of 5 years of hate escalating and creeping thru out our society. at some point i am afraid we won't even be able to realize what we have become. let the right be the party of hate and bigotry. we can fight a good fight, and win, without becoming that. and then we have a chance as a society

[CTLawGuy]

88. try this

-your state voted for Bush 4 times (twice for governor and twice for president).
-Tom Delay is from your state, he was elected countless times.
-Your state evinces the right-wing cowboy culture many liberals bristle at.
-your state's culture and government have heavy right-wing religious influence.
-your state executes more poeple than any other state (except maybe CA).

If I went on FreeRepublic, I would expect New England to be bashed constantly, because

-we voted against Bush twice (except for NH, which was only once).
-we are the home of Jim Jeffords, Lincoln Chafee, John Kerry, Ted Kennedy.
-we have one state with gay marriage, two states with civil unions.
-we hadn't executed anyone for 40 years until Michael Ross in CT in 2005.
-we evince a left-wing educated secularized culture that many conservatives bristle at.
-we have the lowest population (by %) of fundies in the nation.

So you need to exepct that people here are going to think negatively of Texas and the South. Just for the single reason alone that they voted to make Bush president twice.

[seabeyond]

89. difference from thinking negatively to embracing bigotry n/t

[CTLawGuy]

90. what are you talking about?

Texas is a state, how can you be bigoted against a state? You can be bigoted against people.

Texans are not a race of people, and it is not an oppressed state.

[seabeyond]

92. i am talking about hte post i originated from

a poster said that they will admit, they are bigots to the south and especially texas

take what you want from that. but that is what i was addressing.

[CTLawGuy]

94. well I can't say I like southern culture very much

just like i don't like saudi culture because women aren't allowed to drive and have to wear burkas.

Some of the nicest people I've met are from TX. but, TX is and represents a lot of things I don't like.

[seabeyond]

96. i am down with that

seeing how i live here and don't want to. i am just opposed to feeding the hatred that has been growing in this nation since bush took office. it took a long time,i feel into 2004 before i started noticing a difference in dems too. an intolerance for people in all areas, and i am not just talking the location of where we are. that is the thing about hate. once we ok with self to hate someone for this, it is easy to start making a list of hate for all htings that may be an annoyance. and it is easier to become annoyed to put on that list. i have been feeling it progress here. there is a difference in tolerating the non tolerant,and being intolerant of the intolerant

[SammyWinstonJack]

97. Why? Because **, the 'Windshield Cowboy', claims to be from Texas.

Never mind that he was born and mostly raised on the East Coast.

[sui generis]

6. yeah - there are some pretty cool texans

it seems it's the rotten eggs that get all the attention, but the blue Texans are DARK blue and a whole different shade of dark blue than blue from other places.

We're not the ones who need healing - it's that lockjaw hard haired more-righteous-than-thou suburban driving marriage defining gas guzzling opinionated self-proclaimed majority who need healing. Or a brain transplant.

My vote is on the latter.

[seabeyond]

11. but my point. there are a lot ofreally red to. that is who i am focused

on. it does no good to "hate" them. it does nothing, for any of us.

[struggle4progress]

71. Yeah, hating them does no good. But shooting them might.

That's an example of "humor" -- conservative Texan style. For full effect, I think one is supposed to say it while cleaning a gun ...

<edit:> For clarity, perhaps I should add that I have at present no plans to shoot anyone at all.

[seabeyond]

72. bah hahhahaha. and i would have to call you on it too

if you hadnt put allthose clarifications in there but you are just right. that is the humor. so right on.

i was at a christian boyscout meeting that i wasnt suppose to have any part of. was suppose to be hubby thing. they were talking guns this shooting that, and i said, just to be clear, i totally oppose guns and want nothing to do with them. the scout leaders says.... are you ready

fine, we will use you as the target....

(yup, you get their humor)

i glared at him untili had everyone in the room squirming.... then i quietly wen off and filled out the paper. he was soon by my side trying to sooth the ruffled feathers. lol

[MADem]

7. Texans will get their good name back

It's ironic that it was stolen from them by a clown who was born in CT, educated in MA and CT, with the exception of a couple of grade school years while Poppy was losing his shirt in the oil bidniz, and who doesn't sound like ANY OTHER MEMBERS of his family!

I mean, hell, I've lived in Europe, I've lived in Asia....but it didn't make me start talking like Antonio Banderas, Marcello Mastriani, Tony Blair, Sean Connery or Jackie Chan...!

Once you hit your adult years, you pretty much keep your accent, unless you're faking it like Madonna. And that chimp is faking it, not as good as Madonna, though!

[Arugula Latte]

14. Well, I think that Texas had image problems before Dubya ...

I'm not trying to fan the flames; I'm just saying that there is a stereotype of Texas/Texans that is not positive and it has existed for a long time.

(BTW, I realize there are many, many cool Texans!)

[MADem]

21. Well, I always found LBJ to be a fascinating character

And except for his horrible stance on the war, a very interesting and pragmatic fellow. I like Molly Ivins, too--she's sharp, as is Ann Richards, a dynamo of a woman. Dan Rather is a Texan, as is Walter Cronkite, and I like them just fine. And wasn't Buddy Holly a Texan?? I find it harder to think of Texans I don't like: Monkey, Rove, Tom Delay...

When I lived in Europe, many decades ago, our family friends actually thought that the bulk of the US was like a Texas-style wild-west environment, and that we routinely wore guns, rode horses, and had a backyard full of cows. They tried to make us feel at home by greeting us when we paid a visit with toy guns and cowboy hats....of course, being New Englanders, that was as foreign a concept to us as it was to them!

[Arugula Latte]

23. Oh my gosh -- that's hilarious.

Yeeee-haw!

[Cybergata]

40. Europeans view of U.S.

My husband walked the Camino in northern Spain on a pilgrimage for Santiago. He became good friends with a young man from Ireland who thought all people in the U.S. were like the people on King of the Hill.

Too bad the "War" shadows LBJ like a evil ghost because he did more to help people in poverty and did more for civil rights than any other president in history.

[TexasProgresive]

16. Nobody in Texas talks like that

In fact, nobody in the history of Humankind talks like BabyBush. And who says tu for to?

[iconoclastic cat]

10. Hey, at least you're not from FLORIDA!

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[seabeyond]

12. bah ahhahahaha.... yup. i even say to my floridian friend

your state is MORE messed up than mine. yup

[iconoclastic cat]

18. My sis in law moved there.

Ignorance reigns.

[Xipe Totec]

13. I ain't from Texas,

but I got there as fast as I could.

Had two sons born there, one of them on "Remember the Alamo" Day.

Now I live in Mass, literally blocks away from where George Bush Senior was born.

Those that diss Texas because of dimson ought to remember that he and his daddy were carpetbaggers.

There's plenty of blame to go around and nobody should point the finger at Texas without looking in the mirror first.

[LisaM]

15. I have a couple (mostly online) friends from Texas

One, today, was complaining that she doesn't like the union workers who came down from Michigan and would rather call their union reps to complain about stuff than work (I'm trying to get clarification). She, I know, leans right.

The other is a single mom and completely apolitical. I was griping to her once about how Bush was trying to cram his religion down our throats, and using taxpayer money for religious things. She just laughed and said, "oh, I'm just used to that".

It's hard because I like both these women, but one just has a blind spot about unions and the other one just doesn't give a rip.

[Batgirl]

19. The great Ray Wylie Hubbard said it best

Now I love the USA
And the other states
Ahh, they're OK
Texas is the place I wanna be
And I don't care if I ever go to Delaware anyway
Cause we got Stubbs, and Gruene Hall and Antone's, and John T's Country Store
We've got Willie and Jacky Jack, Robert Earl, Pat, Cory, Charlie and me
And so many more.

So screw you, we're from Texas
Screw you, we're from Texas
Screw you, we're from Texas
We're from Texas, screw you

Sing it with me--
Screw you, we're from Texas
Screw you, we're from Texas
Screw you, we're from Texas
We're from Texas, screw you!

Now Texas has gotten a bad reputation,
Because of what happened in Dallas and Waco
And our corporations well they are corrupt
And the politicians are swindlers and loco
But when it comes to music my friend
I believe these words are as true as St. John the Revelator's
Our Mr. Vaughan was the best that there ever was
And no band was cooler than the 13th Floor Elevators.

So screw you, we're from Texas
Screw you, we're from Texas
Screw you, we're from Texas
We're from Texas, screw you!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

20. seabeyond, I know how it is

My in-laws live in the Metroplex, and are fighting for progressives every way they know how. Texas Dems need our support, not disdain. Btw, where I live are a lot of Texas refugees--all of them with roots deep in the Lone Star State. Not one of them likes Bush-all are ashamed of him, and like reminding me that the shrub is no Texan at all.

[OKNancy]

22. I hate Texas

LOL - just one day a year...in the fall. ( Boomer Sooner)

If you want to mess with some red state bashers, remind them that 2,832,704 Texans voted for Kerry.
That's more than Oregon, more than Washington, more than all the New England States, Minnesota, Wisconsin... well you get the idea.

[Greyhound]

54. What has always mystified me about the place is the (projected?)

acceptance of so many regressive laws and social conditions. For example, I will never do business with any companies out TX, not through some prejudice/perception, but through the hard (and expensive) lesson that the laws there (FL too) legalize theft and provide no recourse, IOW they can just take your $$, not provide the goods or services, and walk away with impunity.

[seabeyond]

57. there you go..... lol lol. huh.

again, this isnt a cheerleading thread on texas. or even asking to be liked. .... just a tolerance. taking the highroad.... cause lord do i know there is a lot of shit in this state, lol

[Yollam]

25. Born in San Antonio, Raised in El Paso.

And I love El Paso, but mostly because it is solid blue and mostly Mexican. El Paso is friendlier, less fundie, less Southern, less Texan than the rest of the state. The rest of the state treats us like we don't exist, so we identify more with the west coast, New Mexico and Mexico than Texas, IMO.

[seabeyond]

26. yollam.... that is where my kids are, with in laws, lol lol

i like el paso because it is majority a minority and i think it is fun to be a minority and experience somethingtotaly new. a minority inthe majority that has power... i like that. also close to los cruces, i think that town is evolving nicely. i like new mexico, the feelandenergy. spend lot of time there. tomorrow we go to albq to pick up kids. a perfect four hours from el paso and amarillo

how fun is that

[martymar64]

39. I love El Paso too, but I don't live there now

I went to Parkland Jr. High on the Northeast side back when I was young.
Some fond memories:
Sneaking into the Rocket Drive-In off of Dyer to go see "Carrie"
Farting around in the desert
Learning about the birds and bees with my next door neighbor
Going to Juarez with my granny while she bought tequila to smuggle back across the river.

Good Times!

[Yollam]

75. I was one of those "snobs" from Coronado.

At least that's the shit we would get from the kids on the East side. Didn't matter that we were the working-middle class kids going to school with doctors' & lawyers' kids who drove new Porsche's to school .

Can't say I was crazy about that whole scene, but I did love the city as a whole. We spent many a night in the clubs in Juarez before we were 21. They say it's not safe to do that anymore.

I used to like hiking to Cottonwood Springs (another thing the "authorities" are now discouraging because it's technically on military land)



People invariably have a bad impression of El Paso when they drive through. I guess it looks shabby from I-10, but it grows on you, and I'd rather live there than just about anywhere in the desert Southwest. It's one of the cheapest places to buy a home, too. You couldn't pay me to live in a hellhole like Phoenix.

[charlie]

77. Andress here

Didn't know about Cottonwood Springs being deemed off limits, what a shame. I camped many many times all over the Franklins and the ravines north of Transmountain were some of the places I loved best.

[Cybergata]

43. Well, El Paso del Norte was...

originally a villa in Nueva Méjico.

[Beelzebud]

27. You live in America. Gave birth to two Americans. Married an American

What is it with Texas? I don't go around calling myself an Illinoian. I'm a damn American...

[seabeyond]

29. well

it was specifically in answer to a thread by a person that claimed (i guess proudly) a bigotry to southerners and especially texans.

but i do like your american stance. though i am even beyond the borders of america. more one with mankind,

[RufusEarl]

28. It ain't where you live, it's who your neighbors are!

I'm from Texas and proud of it i guess! Never put a lot of thought into it. It's not a bad place to live, the weather is pretty good year around. It gets hot a couple of months a year and cold a couple of months a year, but other then that it's not bad.

People are the same all over imho, some you like other you tolerate. I always seek out the people i want to know about & avoid the others!

I just got back from a weekend in E Texas, we're talking flag waving folks were you can find a Huey Helicopter on a pole in the middle of a field on a two land black top back road.

I did manage to write a couple of songs while i was there, and even in the very red conclave i was welcomed, fed, and taken care of.

I appreciate that from people in Texas, they all seem to have big hearts and small brains. But they'll help a person out, just like most americans.

[seabeyond]

31. some you like others you tolerate.

so right on. and yes..... "big hearts and small brains", though i would say limited brains, not necessarily small, wink.

[Cybergata]

44. ...and we can never forget...

all the great music that comes out of Austin and the rest of Texas!

[jedicord]

30. I've grown a hard shell being a liberal Dem here in Texas.

It's assumed by almost everyone that everyone is a Republican. Many people I know vote Republican because that's what everyone else is doing.

Whenever someone finds out I'm a Dem I get ridiculed and made fun of. Took a while, but I now wear my liberal-ness with pride and honor and triple-dog dare anyone to confront me on it.

I do feel that many people here would vote differently if they were to know what each party really stands for, and not just the "cut and run" liberal-bashing soundpoints. Maybe I have helped just a bit.

I do know I'll keep trying.

Thanks seabeyond!

BTW, there are many great and beautiful places to be in Texas.

on edit: using the right word

[seabeyond]

32. you are welcome and thank you

"Took a while, but I now where my liberal-ness with pride and honor and triple-dog dare anyone to confront me on it."

me too me too

i am from calif so though i kept it quiet people always said to me "you aren't from around here, are you?" lol

i was never foolin anyone anyway

[Cybergata]

45. I love Texas Liberals!

I've always wanted to take a rafting trip on the Río Grande around Big Bend National Park. I've taken the journey via google earth many times, and it looks like it must be spectacular. The panhandle gets a lot of negative comments, but I've driven it many times, and can't agree less. There is something magical about all that wide open space, and big skies.

[seabeyond]

48. oh oh oh the skiiiiiies, the skies

the most awesome sky out of anywhere i have been. i dont knowwhqat it is about the skies. maybe cause we are higher than what we seem. and so flat. my husband says it is the dust that give us our sunsets. but truly,.... in hte years i have been here, the skies are the best. had a friend form calif, then denver move here 6 months ago, and we were talking about it the other day. i asked,am i off, aren't these the best skies. and she agrees

and i agree with you

we just had such an awesome yesterday from about three until 9, sunset

[TX-RAT]

53. Nothing like a good West TX Sunset

Especially after a good thunderstorm.


I'm about 200 miles to your south

[seabeyond]

55. so right on. as long as there is no tornados in those

thunderstorms and we havent had it this year. always happy about that

[VaYallaDawg]

33. Listen, your state is a damn fine one, IMO.

Just because so many murkins are too unconcerned to figure out that dimson has "acquired" all his fake-Texas crap - it doesn't mean that the real place is any less worthy. If I were 30 years younger I'd pull up stakes right now and move to Austin - you can't beat it for food, music, atmosphere - everybody knows it's one of the best places to live in this country.

[seabeyond]

37. well, i am not a fan. i like oregon, washington, colorado

better.... but thanks. and not my state, i am a transplant. and my hubby assures me.......i will never become a texan, lol lol.

[MadHound]

35. There are good people and assholes in every state.

The only thing, and what perhaps is at the root of this dislike of Texans, is that it seems that the assholes from Texas are inordinately proud that they're from Texas, and lord that fact over everybody they meet

Personally, while I wouldn't want to live in Texas for a number of reasons, I've found that it is a nice place to visit, and like I said, is like anybody else, full of its share of good people and assholes.

[seabeyond]

38. assholes from Texas are inordinately proud that they're from Texas

i agree and i tease them often, wink. but i think we jsut have to seperate the politics from the spirit of man. not hate, even if we are angry, and we don't agree

[MadHound]

42. Oh, I don't hate them, if I hated them

Then I would have to hate the assholes from everywhere, and that simply takes way to much energy. Generally I laugh at them, and being 6'5" and 260 non fat pounds, I generally get away with it.

But being from Texas, I have a question for you. Why does it seem like all the old school Texas assholes all talk like Foghorn Leghorn. Don't get me wrong, I find it funny, but also distincly odd.

[seabeyond]

49. i don't know who foghorn is... i have lived here 16 years

but i play with the texas accent more than any texan. i love taaaaarrrrrrddddddddddd. tired. lol lol. drives my texan hubby mad, he hates it and can't talk texan at all.

and, being a female, a non afraid, non passive, awfully agressive, yet oh so sweet girl, i get away with a lot of shit too, wink

[TX-RAT]

51. Texas assholes all talk like Foghorn Leghorn.

Funny we always thought y'all were the ones that talked funny.

[Cybergata]

41. Don't get a New Mexican started on Texas!

Texas jokes originated here. But I'm sure Texans have their jokes for their neighbor states as well.

As one of the brothers of an ancestor of mine said, "oh poor New Mexico, so far from heaven, so close to Texas." Of course he said it after arresting a group of Texans who came to claim eastern New Mexico for Texas.

[seabeyond]

50. that is so funny

new mexicois my favorite state to run away to. when i married hubby it was contractual that he would get me out of the state every three months. we use new mexico a lot. i love the energy and feel of new mexico. i feel a lot of indian spirit there. last weekend we started in albq and went to santa fe to taos to cimerron and over to raton on back roads. was grand

[Cybergata]

61. I feel them too ...

that is the Indian spirits. It problems helps to keep the spirits alive that the Pueblos still practice their religion and do the dances of their ancestors.

Since we are talking about Texans, I'll add that Texas has it's own group of Tiwa speaking Pueblos near El Paso called Isleta del Sur. They moved to El Paso with the rest of the Spanish when the rest of the Pueblos revolted against Spanish rule in 1680. This group of Pueblo people chose to stay and not come back to their original Pueblo near Albuquerque. Oh dear, my profession is showing again.

[seabeyond]

64. and the profession would be?

that is interesting. and that is why i like that area and los cruces. i really like that area and the development of it

[Cybergata]

84. A Middle School History Teacher

U.S. History, Latin American Geography and History, and my specialty, New Mexico History.

[TX-RAT]

56. Just came back from Ruidoso last weekend.

Most of the West Texans hold NM in high regard, hell, your mountains are the only place we can go during the summer when it's hot.

[seabeyond]

58. i hit red river in july, cloudcroft in aug.... lol

will have to visit ruidoso next time i am in cloudcroft. we havent made the trip there yet.

[TX-RAT]

63. Check out the new Inn Of The Mountain Gods Casino.

They just opened it, and it's a 100% better than the old Inn.

[seabeyond]

65. wow, i will

looking like i am needing in laws though, so just hubby and i can go

[Liberal In Texas]

46. People who bash Texas on this board ought to watch out because we can

gang up on 'em pretty good...there are a LOT of us here.

I wasn't born here either, neither were my sons.
But I've lived here for 25 years and one son does as well (I still have to get the other one here too.)

Sure, there are a lot of repukes still around, but things are getting "bluer" here. As is the rest of the country.

[seabeyond]

52. right there with you lib. lots of texans on this board

but really, i am tired of the intolerance we all seem to be icking up on. it was different a couple years. i have seen the democratic party, this board, become less tolerant. i don't want us to lose our way in this hatefest of the republican party

[etherealtruth]

59. My step-mother is (was) a Texan ...

... She is a wonderful and amazing woman; we are very lucky to have her (and so was Texas). She is also very liberal/progressive.

[CTyankee]

60. 3rd generation Texan here. Now proudly a nutmegger of CT

I left Texas when I was 18 years old and never came back to live. That got me in dutch with my family. As any Texan will tell you, if you were born there you were NOT expected to leave! IT was a real sin and caused some unpleasantness in my family. I couldn't believe anyone would waste their time with such nonsense!

When my first child was about to be born, my father was so aghast that it would be born in New YOrk City he proposed to send some Texas soil to be put in a tray under the delivery table, so the kid could say he was born on Texas soil. It's that kind of stuff that makes people wonder about Texans. I guess he was kidding, but geez...

I worked hard and rid myself of my Texas accent. But I can sure spot a phony one and W's is as phony as a $3 bill.

But I don't hate Texans, just a lot of the culture. I appreciate Austin and San Antonio and the good, liberal folks that I know are there, fighting the good fight.

But I love New England and being close to an ocean. I could never go back and give up Wellfleet oysters, New Haven real apizza, my yearly trek to beautiful Martha's Vineyard and graceful old New England towns.

Good luck, Seabeyond. I don't harbor prejudice against Texans. It's just that I don't want to live there.

[seabeyond]

66. you are going ot make me cry...... i use to have a coast too

just the west coast.

"As any Texan will tell you, if you were born there you were NOT expected to leave! "

my texas husband promised we woud leave the state when i married. he says that was courtin.....lol. and he has sit up such a good life for us here. but i sure do miss the rest of the world. yes, i laugh at the texans that always come back, and those so proud they have never stepped out of the borders. and i am telling you... we have three states real close with borders. i am just aghast

[CTyankee]

67. When Alaska became the largest state of the union, the word

in Texas was, "Yes, but wait til all the snow melts!" My father used to say that, but my mother, with her usual bluntness just thought it was stupid!

For a long time after I moved up North I would get Christmas cards from familiy members with the shape of the state on them and some Texas Christmas theme. This of course when I was already in the East enjoying those real New England Christmases I had dreamed of as a kid.

Today, I have my mother's estate planner. He is in Dallas and I am in New Haven. I trust him greatly. He planned my mother's last years and I was so grateful I turned over all of my business to him when I inherited my mother's estate. He is a self described "Texican," a Hispanic Texan. He is also an evangelical. But what a whiz he is with money! He did great things for my mother and is doing great things for me. My New England Yankee friends think that's strange but I meet him straight on, and he has helped me alot.

[seabeyond]

68. good n bad.... good n bad. that is all i am saying, lol, wink n/t

[CTyankee]

69. Yep! Never, ever stereotype anyone!

I've learned that lesson well!!

[CTLawGuy]

93. Ct

where your worst republicans are Jodi Rell and Nancy Johnson. I'll take that any day

[PurgedVoter]

62. Remember Barbara Jordan!

She shows what can come from Texas.

Here is my diatribe on What it is to grow up in Texas. http://journals.democraticunderground.com/PurgedVoter/2

[Cybergata]

85. Barbara Jordon was born to early...

because I sure would have loved her in the White House. Maybe I'm just dreaming that a woman of color could sometime be President, but Barbara would have been a great one.



AND how can anyone forget Texas's former governor who probably got cheated out of her position, Ann Richardson. I only say that because George Bush has a way of cheating to get into office.

[struggle4progress]

70. Just don't ask me to pretend the Texas wingnuts aren't criminally insane

I lived in Texas for a decade and still have good friends there. And I'll never forget what people like Barbara Jordan have meant to the USA. Having said that, I must add:

But the wingnuts in the Texas business community are perhaps the most dangerous group of sociopaths I have ever encountered. The constant crimes, murders, and indifferences of The Dick and his George are NO SURPRISE WHATSOEVER to anybody who knew that the Texas wingnut crowd supported them ...

[seabeyond]

73. this is what i hear. and really

i am opposed to pretending things arent true. there are a lot of things to be critical, and be angry about. but that wasnt what the post was about. i am not even kinda gonna pretend they are not exactly who they are.

[Th1onein]

74. I'm a TEXAN, too

AND BUSH IS NOT!! He's a fake, through and through. My parents were Democrats, my children are Democrats, my brother, sisters, and partner are all Democrats. And we will never, ever stop fighting for liberal causes. May the great state of Texas return to it's Democratic roots!

[RagAss]

76. Do you jump on people who use the term Massachusetts Liberal

with the same fervor?....I think not. Yet that term is used with the same derision in your great state that someone would use to describe a terrorist.

Massachusetts Liberals fired the first shots into the chests of British occupiers and today, specifically in the south, the term is a slur...

I'll watch your back if you watch mine.......peace rags

[seabeyond]

81. Do you jump on people who use ... I think not.

do you need me in this conversation or are you going to ask and answer and conclude without me even being a part of it.

you know, i said the same thing to another today on another board, as i was talking to the right about the ugliness their people spit out and they dont speak out agianst their party. there comment was continually pointing the finger at the democrat telling me why don't you say anything about your own party. not talking to the democrat, i am talking to you... but what i have found with the democrat is, hands down, they will own their part, whereas the repug refuses every step of the way to own their part. just continues to point the finger elsewhere, blame, make excuses, justify

well lookie, i come over here to have you do the same thing making assumptions.
yes...... i would "jump" on people and since i was cmapaigning for kerry here in texas. i think i have more under my belt defending the mass liberal than you do..... i certainly had way more opportunity.

so i am watching your back, a promise to keep, wink
nemaste

[verse18]

79. It's sad that in 2006

we still relate to others based on stereotypes and lables.

[seabeyond]

82. it is sad. very very sad. more than sad, cause it is much worse than

a decade ago. and this is the world my children are going to have to figure out. not only that, we are more mean, and intolerant than when i was raised. perfect time..... 70's 80's.... getting beyond it all. to take a huge ass step backwards

[CTLawGuy]

95. we'll still do that in 2056

it's human nature.

[blogslut]

86. Texas

I was born here and I will die here. Let others cover us with their stereotypcal blankets. I don't give a rattlesnake's fang what anyone else thinks. I've spent my whole life standing up for my beliefs despite enormous social pressure to go along with the herd.

I see folks slam the entire state as if it were one person. It gets old but I know that it's just people being people - looking for something easy to define and blame. I am guilty of generalizing as well. I remember being shocked when I read about racism in NYC. I thought how can a city so culturally diverse have racists?

As I've grown older, I have learned that humans are humans wherever you go. Some will be fools. Some will be cheating, lying, greedy, stealing scum. Some will be too busy to pay attention. Some care a whole damned lot but never say anything. Some have too much faith in the inherent goodness of others. Some are chronic sceptics or complainers. These people live everywhere, not just Texas.

[donheld]

87. I hope all your Texan offspring turn out to be of the

Molly Ivins or Hank Hightowers kind. We could do with a Houston sized city of that kinda Texan.

[NNN0LHI]

91. Stevie Ray Vaughan was a Texan

Thats good enough for me.

Don

[Cybergata]

102. And T-Bone Walker n/t

[acmejack]

98. Thank you for posting this Seabeyond

I was really angry when I saw that thread, so angry I didn't trust myself to answer civilly, so I opted not to reply at all. So many great people have came from here, even DDE-people forget him (Denison, TX). It is hell damning all 20,851,820 of us, there must be a few that are good folks!

I know for a fact that I know some wonderful people & meet more every single day here. Sure there are ugly folks here. There are disagreeable jerks everywhere, I have lived in many of the States in this Union and discovered that phenomenon is not limited to Texas by any means.

To the OP who Seabeyond felt obligated to respond to, I know your name but don't want to violate the rules by calling you out. You come down and visit, have a beer or three and meet some of the fabulous DUers and other Texans here. Perhaps then you will understand why almost 21 million choose to call this place home, they can't all be eat up with the dumbass, my friend!

[seabeyond]

100. stop off at my place on the way to acme, i will set you up

my hubby, a lifetime texan, makes a wonderfully delicious brazillian drink, i cant remember the name. and my texan kids will dazzle all with their intellectual elitism.....and they will ask with quizical looks why you hate texans, them,... and decide thqaqt all are bad. isnt that an ugly way to walk life????? doesn't that just heart your heart? and if not, why not?

[seabeyond]

101. this post got me thinking as i press shorts to take a trip to pick up

kids. kids i miss so, i havent seen in a week. my children would be so curious to the poster that hates.... they would have face in puzzlement. ask questions to understand. to resolve the conflict in head and heart. to be hated because of birth place. they would also do it in love, respect and kindness, and sympathy and empathy of the posters heavy heart. the same, that they do with the bigots of the south the interact with on a regular basis. always in love

wow.....

i am offfffff, to get those wonderfully beautiful bundles of joy. good day to all

[Cybergata]

103. This reminds me of the first time I ...

realized that someone didn't like me because my name is López. Or more specifically let their son date me. I just couldn't understand why people care about such things. Give your children a hug from me.