[Thursday’s] disgusting spectacle at the state Capitol and Rep. Molly White’s ignorant Facebook babble make you embarrassed to be Texan. It was Texas Muslim Capitol Day in Austin, an annual event for visitors of that faith to visit the seat of state government, meet lawmakers and learn about the political process. What they learned instead was the ugliness that people are capable of. The Muslim visitors’ right to peaceful assembly - one of five rights enshrined in the First Amendment — was violated by a small group of morons. Hair flying, one banshee seized the microphone and shrieked nonsense revealing irrational fears more than anything. Her diatribe created a Lone Star YouTube moment that affirms the worst stereotypes about Texas — that we’re a bunch of slack-eye cousins to the backwater creatures of Deliverance.
After living in Texas for 10+ years (3,722 days…not that I was counting), I believe this is a subject I can speak to with some authority. I was as offended as anyone at the ugly, hateful shenanigans that took place at the Texas State Capitol in Austin. It was a disgusting display of self-righteousness and religious bigotry writ large. It was also the perfect example of how the 1st Amendment allows for even those with an IQ measurable only in negative numbers to broadcast their lunacy.
That said, I feel honor-bound to state that this isn’t the Texas I remember. Not even close. Sure, the Lone Star State has its collection of ignorant, hateful rednecks who believe Jesus was a Republican, carried an AK-47, and hated those who were different. I ran across a LOT of that in Texas, but it’s a big state…which means that there were far more people who hewed tightly to a “live and let live” philosophy. THOSE are the people whose memory I cherish, and while I openly ridicule those like Molly White and the protestors at Texas Muslim Capitol Day, they’re not the people I celebrate. The Texas I remember is filled with a wide range of people, diverse in background and belief and accepting of those who choose to live and believe differently. Sure, Texas as a whole was far too Conservative and narrow for my liking, but that’s because most Texans don’t care to pay attention to what’s being done in their name in Austin. Texas politics is controlled by a cabal of crazy, intolerant Right-wing Christians who know as much about the teachings of Jesus Christ as I do about the history of Liechtenstein. The asylum really is being run by the inmates, but most of what happens in Austin really has very little impact on the everyday lives of Texans.
I miss Austin, a city that reminds me in many ways of Portland. It has a wonderful music scene; Sixth Street is a wonderful place to eat, drink, and listen to all manner of music without spending a lot of money. I could live there…except for the weather. There are even things I miss about Houston, though certainly not enough to ever want to live there again. The politics often bordered on sheer, unmedicated lunacy. The people? Well, most of the people I knew were kind, decent, and treated people with respect and dignity.
THOSE are the people I miss.
No place should be defined by a loud, vocal, hateful minority, but Texas certainly has its share. The beauty of the 1st Amendment, though, is that even those devoid of common sense or simple human decency can state their piece. Texas Muslim Capitol Day should have been a day for Muslim-AMERICANS to celebrate their faith and their commitment to state and country. That there were those prepared to deny them that opportunity is something all Texans should be angry about. It wasn’t a day that showed Texas’ good side.
