Why are Texans so proud to be from Texas?

One of two words: wrote:

denial

ignorance

Agreed. And an apparent inability to be humble, accepting, and understanding of something different.

I live in CO and deal with a lot of obnoxious Texans. Coming from the west coast (insert more tree-hugging, hippie comments here), I'm just not used to that mindset and disfuctionality (sp?).

The South and Tx used to be different before TV and the internet made them all the same as the rest of the U.S. Now the U.S. entire is just one big happy family shopping at Walmart every weekend. There's nothing unique about Tx or the South anymore.

In Texas, the execute more people than any other state in the Union. Apparently, this gives them some sort of pride. Killing people is highly regarded in Texas.

Besides, things could be much worse. They could be part of Mexico.

the dumber you are, the smaller your radius of self-identification.

I married a Texan an think I can provide some insight. I'm pretty sure a big part of Texas pride has to do with their education system. From K-12, Texans have THREE YEARS of Texas history. I don't think I had any more than 3 years of US history through my school years, let alone 3 full years focused solely on the history of one state.

Also, because many Texans are very proud to be Texan, the rest of us give them crap for it (see this thread). This, in turn, makes them more defensive and proud of their state.

I agree with an earlier poster who pointed out that many Texans are ignorant (not dumb or stupid, just not aware of the facts) about many non-Texan things. One thing I like to point to particularly obnoxious Texans is that Texas was not the only state to have been it's own independent country, nor was it independent for the longest period. Vermont was indpendent for 14 years compared to Texas' 10.

Why would you choose to marry someone from Texas?

Wejo? Rojo? Runnergirl? What do you have to say for yourselfs?

Dumbfounded Transplant wrote:

I just moved to Dallas, Texas from Portland, Oregon and I have noticed a trait among most texans, they are VERY proud to be from Texas and for the life of me I can not understand it.Texas is a so-so place to live (I'm sure there are worse) but it's nothing special and I haven't even been here in the summer yet in which I heard it gets incredibly hot. I've lived in Colorado, Califorina, and Oregon and I think all these places are better to live in then Texas but the people there dont have nearly the pride that they do here. So my question is why do texans have so much pride in being from Texas?

Dallas isn't really "Texas". It has tons of transplants like yourself and really isn't any different than any other large urban city in America. To see what makes Texas unique, get away from the urban areas and experience the lifestyle in rural Texas. Whether you like that lifestyle or not is up to you, but at least you'll have a better understanding of what makes Texas different and why residents are proud of their home state.

I was thinking the same. If you've only been to Dallas you won't get it.

All my ex's live in Texas.

Don't Mess With Texas

NORTH wrote:

Why would you choose to marry someone from Texas?

Wejo? Rojo? Runnergirl? What do you have to say for yourselfs?

We aren't married.

Others are right Dallas really isn't very representative of Texas as a whole. I for one do not care for Dallas at all. Frankly, it is one of the worst places I ever lived and the plastic surgery, fake boobs and snobbery is baffling given that they live in Dallas. The rest of Texas in my opinion is very different. I am a proud Texan and have lived all over the world and from coast to coast in the US. I graduated from UT Austin and did my doctorate work as UofM Ann Arbor. I have lived all over including Costa Rica, So Cal, Chicago and the East Coast.

I can say that Austin, San Antonio, Houston, The Woodlands and the Hill Country, are all wonderful places to live with a ton of things to do. These places offer great resources and opportunities for jobs. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of things I would like to change about Texas (especially the politics), but overall it is the best place I have ever lived.

Texas public schools (which thanks to GW, now mostly suck) do have three years of Texas History and rightful so, because it is fairly involved and lengthy compared to most other states. Plus, Texans in general are tough hard working people that made a place for themselves in a harsh environment, and are overall are very friendly. The people that made Texas what it is were tough survivors and the State to this day regularly puts out far more than its fair share of this countries military personnel. A rugged individualism still exists and people honestly don't care if outsiders like or dislike Texas. Basically, they love living in Texas and could careless what anyone else thinks. I think many would be surprised at how much places like Austin the Hill Country, Houston, etc are a to each his own type of place. It isn't ignorance, just apathy.

I am not sure who the person above is talking about regarding Texans not knowing of Georgetown or the like, but that has not been my experience. I don't know of anyone that would not know of these schools. I also know many many people that went to college or graduate school outside the state.

Finally, I find it ironic that in most of my travels foreigners always seem to have a more favorable opinion about Texans than most other parts of the US. The state that foreigners usually ripe on the most are Californians and New Yorkers. On more than one occasion, I have had foreigners tell me how relieved they were to find out we were Texans. While I have had negative reactions when people find out I am an American it has been a very rare occurrence that they react negatively when they find out I am a Texan. In most cases, their attitude changes when they find out I am from Texas.

Because they've got nothing else going for them?

Blue Horn, most foreigners who VISIT Texas are sadly disappointed....as in "Is this it?"

Texas has no geography - ie flat and windswept.

How say u?

because we are faster than you

Wejo, Rojo and Runnergirl. I thought Wejo and Rojo chose not to marry (see the nuptial cut-off thread) and Runnergirl would not marry anyone else if she couldn't have Wejo. So there you have it.

Go have a conversation about the second amendment and gun-control laws in Vermont and in Texas, and then come back and let us know if you think all parts of the US are now the same.

This is easy. I was born in Texas. Texans love Texans because 80% of them have never lived anywhere else. Thus, they think that they live in the best place in the world, because they have never been anywhere else. Pretty simple to figure out.

Most Texans who leave the State realize that there's better out there.

You have some dumbass friends if they haven't heard of those schools. Wow.

Duh, he said they were Texans!!