Texas gets picked on a lot by people who don't live here. Often the butt of unkind jokes, the Lone Star State was picked as the most hated in the United States in a 2013 Business Insider poll, so it's clear that at least a few people don't have a kind view of this state or its people.
Yes, I realize that many of us don't care what these negative creeps think. That's a very Texan attitude, a sort of "kiss my ass" defensiveness that is understandable considering the crappy attitude some people have about Texas. So what are some of the reasons many outsiders seem to dislike us?
5. Our Politicians Often Stink, and Do So Nationally.
Most politicians tend to do stupid or even evil-sounding things from time to time, and some seem to make a career out of being powerful scumbags. That seems to be a constant almost everywhere in the nation. But there's something different about politics here, and about the politicians that seem to rise high enough to get attention outside the state. I can't count how many times I've had to discuss the inexplicable Bush dynasty, and explain that no, not everyone in Texas voted for them, or Rick Perry, or Sheila Jackson Lee, or Ted Cruz. It's hard to blame people for thinking we're crazy down here, considering some of the jokers that we've put in power over the years, but it's not rational to blame the whole state for electing these clowns. It took a nation to elect Bush (Senior and Junior), after all.
4. Texas Tends to "Go Big," and That Bothers Some People.
This state is full of a diverse population of people, and a lot of the time things get done in a big way here. Whether we're talking enormous megachurches, the nation's widest highways or just the way many people tend to speak and act boldly -- well, some people from outside the state can't handle that. They think that it indicates an arrogance, but the reality is that a lot of Texans just like decisive action and big achievements. And why not? I won't contend that those projects always work out well, but sometimes they do, I think that Texans just tend to have a can-do attitude and aren't afraid to take chances.
