July 19, 2023

"CMT censored this video, and that's a clear indication that it's great, so I looked it up, and it sure is!"

"Interesting how countless rap songs encourage murder sprees, drug dealing, pimping, and countless other crimes, and they're celebrated by the media, but a video by a country singer about self defense and neighbors looking out for each other is banned."

That's the top-rated comment on the Jason Aldean video "Try That in a Small Town" (YouTube).

I looked that up and watched it after noticing the NYT article "Jason Aldean Video for ‘Try That in a Small Town’ Pulled Amid Backlash/The country singer, who released the song in May, said the tune is an ode to the 'feeling of a community' he had growing up. Critics say it is offensive."

The video, released in May, was shot in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tenn., a site known for the 1927 mob lynching of Henry Choate, an 18-year-old Black man.... 

State Representative Justin Jones of Tennessee, a Democrat, condemned the song on Twitter, describing it as a “heinous song calling for racist violence” that promoted “a shameful vision of gun extremism and vigilantism.”... 

The NYT quotes from Aldean's response on Twitter. He denies that the song has anything to do with lynching and observes that the lyrics never mention race: 

There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it- and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage -and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music- this one goes too far. As so many pointed out, I was present at Route 91-where so many lost their lives- and our community recently suffered another heartbreaking tragedy. NO ONE, including me, wants to continue to see senseless headlines or families ripped apart. 

Try That In A Small Town, for me, refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief. Because they were our neighbors, and that was above any differences. My political views have never been something I’ve hidden from, and I know that a lot of us in this Country don’t agree on how we get back to a sense of normalcy where we go at least a day without a headline that keeps us up at night. But the desire for it to- that’s what this song is about.

And I'm seeing Shannon Watts responding (at Twitter):

Translation: Jason Aldean simply wants to return to a time in America when “good old boys” could shoot or beat the shit out of people who they didn’t think belonged in their town. Also, this song is two months old and now far past the legal song judgment period. Good day.

And that provokes Roseanne Barr:
Him Talking about small town values is not the same thing that your mind    controlled dipshit brain filters it as. All you are doing is showing that you’re batshit crazy and that does no good for anyone. If you don’t like the song don’t listen to it. certainly don’t project your insanity on to it. My god you people are INSANE. Maybe check yourself into a facility or something. Liberals in my day protected art and made fun of those that said it had satanic messaging when you play it backwards or shit like that. That’s what you guys are now, the epitome of what you used to hate. Go get help or maybe dicked down and shut the fuck up. thanks.

I added the boldface. 

ADDED: I'm reading "Jason Aldean Already Had the Most Contemptible Country Song of the Decade. The Video Is Worse" by Chris Willman (Variety):

Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” is close to being the most cynical song ever written about the implicit moral superiority of having a limited number of neighbors, which is saying something, given how many attempts to write the Great American Small Town Anthem are generated in a single year. At least most of the others at least put up the appearance of celebrating local pride, not prejudice. But for Aldean, it’s about how tiny burgs are under the imminent threat of attack from lawless urban marauders who will have to be kept at bay by any means necessary — meaning, pretty explicitly, vigilantism.

AND: Shannon Watts aptly and gracefully responds: "Please add to my obituary: 'She was honored to be called a dipshit by Roseanne Barr.'"

95 comments:

farmgirl said...

Just heard that on the radio the other day.

Dave Begley said...

A black man was lynched in Omaha in 1919. His name was Will Brown. Recently, a plaque was placed on the lawn of the Douglas County Courthouse. I read it for the first time about a month ago. It was full of inaccuracies both by omission and commission. It was Orwellian.

Me, being me, I complained to the Douglas County Board.

It is a documented fact that Omaha mayor Ed Smith faced down the mob that had murder in their eyes. He told them, "No, I will not give up the man. I will defend the rule of law with my life."

The mob kidnapped him from the jail in the courthouse and dragged him down the street and tried to lynch him. A citizen saved him. He nearly died in the hospital. He had rope burns around his neck for the rest of his life.

I asked the County Board to name the courthouse rotunda for him. Rule of law and all that.

The Board blew me off. One member of the Board is a former mayor and another is the daughter of former mayor. Fucking ingrate cowards.

Immanuel Rant said...

"The video, released in May, was shot in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tenn., a site known for the 1927 mob lynching of Henry Choate, an 18-year-old Black man . . . ."

"known for"?

Really? We're going to say that not only did this guy research a courthouse to find a lynching from 1927, but that he also knew that his listeners would immediately recognize a courthouse for it?

I hope they stretched a lot before making that reach, else they are going to throw out a shoulder.

Gusty Winds said...

I watched the video. It's all true.

You can get away with 200 people riding bikes naked through the farmers market in Madison, WI with children present. Madison will applaud you for it. You can get away with vandalizing businesses. Madison applauds. Milwaukee is flushing itself down the toilet and pretending the suburbs are there problem; not the heroine and crack.

You're not going to get away with it Sussex, WI. Housing market is booming in Waukesha County and Washinton County WI. Safety and sanity matters. Hypocritical White liberals are fleeing Milwaukee, Glendale, and Whitefolks Bay for the safety of Ozaukee County, which is why it has turned purple. Waukesha and Washington too. For now in the two WW counites, they are still outnumbered.

Message is, do whatever you want in your own liberal communities. Live with the violence you created. Live with the trannies. Live with the naked protestors. Live with the crack.

Leave us, and our children, alone. Keep Darrell Brooks on you side of the County Line. We like our Dancing Grannies.

Marcus Bressler said...

Libs could record a song about well-known conservatives trying to eat a dinner peacefully in a D.C. restaurant without being harangued and attacked physically: "Try to Eat in a Blue Town Restaurant"

MarcusB. THEOLDMAN

Gusty Winds said...

Why is it that when you show video of stores being robbed and looted people automatically assume you're making a statement about a certain sector of our society?

Pattern recognition?

Bill Peschel said...

The Walgreens in San Francisco has to chain their freezer section because they get looted every night.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown emptied Death Row and one of the prisoners is a suspect in the murders of four to six people.

New York City lets freeloaders ride the subway, costing taxpayers $700 million last year, and the new union contract "exceeds the budget by three quarters of a billion dollars in the first three years alone.”

That's just from Instapundit today and yesterday.

On Twitter, check out @RobberFail, where you see thieves get beaten, run over, and shot (yes, there are fatal shootings on it) by citizens and off-duty cops.

This is the future liberals are creating here.

Enigma said...

They hate it because they very recently defunded the police in a utopian fever dream, and it caused a humiliating spike in blue state, blue city crime. The blue areas are now bringing back the blue (police).

The projection is strong here. Althouse theme of the today.

Birches said...

That Variety article was ten paragraphs too long. Wow. What a rant! And I'm inclined to not like the song to begin with.

jim5301 said...

For the record. I like the song. Catchy tune and I have no issue with the lyrics.

When can we talk about Trump?

AlbertAnonymous said...

Wow Professor, two posts in a row where the “upside down” world is so obvious. These commenters hating on the country music star (hick, backward, flyover deplorable) but we’re supposed to believe he’s the bad guy.

cassandra lite said...

"...the most cynical song ever written about the implicit moral superiority of having a limited number of neighbors, which is saying something, given how many attempts to write the Great American Small Town Anthem..."

Also: Get Chick-fil-A the hell out of our city. They don't represent New York/Chicago values.

Original Mike said...

I read the lyrics. No mention of race. Why are the critics reading race into it?

West TX Intermediate Crude said...

Between Jason Aldean's new video and Hung Cao's VA Senate campaign ad, I'm starting to feel that this country might have a chance.

Major Streisand effect ongoing with the Aldean video, BTW.

MadisonMan said...

I didn't listen, but I did read the lyrics. Yeah, I don't think I'd like the song. So I won't listen to it. I don't feel the need to tell everyone about my decision however (except in this comment)

RonF said...

Critics claim the song is racist. But if you watch the video, of the people committing violence or criminal acts whose race can actually be distinguished there's as many white people as black people depicted.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Yet another day when I agree 100% with Roseann. IMO people who have been cancelled by the elite for wrongthink deserve a voice and Barr not only deserves to be heard she is 100% in line with American tradition and artistic integrity. Just when did CMT turn Karen on us?

baghdadbob said...

I watched the video expecting to see countless images of Black people committing crimes. The crimes depicted -- mostly looting and violence -- were perpetrated by a surprisingly diverse crowd. And by diverse, I mean diverse, not just Black.

It would be interesting to slo-mo the video and try to count the perps by skin tone, and tally the results. Not me, someone else. I'd just like to see the results, as I got no sense of racialism in the video.

Limited blogger said...

Song is kind of formulaic. It's ok, but I won't be adding it to my playlist.

I like traditional Country and Western music, not the modern country of today.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

I wonder how woke hollywood could remake Death Wish in their new world order image. After all, that is the America they are trying hardest to remake right now in real life.

Michael said...


Roseanne Barr said: Liberals in my day protected art and made fun of those that said it had satanic messaging when you play it backwards or shit like that.

We got so much joy in the 80's poking fun at Tipper Gore, Jerry Falwell and their ilk for their censorious hyper-sensitivity over music lyrics. Weird to see so many of my contemporaries from that period morph into the kind of people they used to hate.



Big Mike said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michael said...



Let's return to the old debate about evil song lyrics. Here's Frank Zappa from 1986 on CNN's Crossfire absolutely castrating the Old Guard. Classic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9856_xv8gc

Big Mike said...

Milwaukee is flushing itself down the toilet and pretending the suburbs are there problem; not the heroine and crack.

And guns are terrible, except for the illegally-acquired firearms owned by inner-city gangbangers, which are are nonexistent despite the bodies piling up on the street corners, not to mention beautiful, innocent one year old girls shot and killed by accident.

gilbar said...

we NEED to start STOPPING violent Rap songs that Praise murder!
I heard one vile Rap song, about an inmate in a Jail.. BRAGGING about his crimes, and wishing/Hoping to get out and commit MORE. Every time he hears a train go by, he fantasizes about the "rich people" on the train, and how he wishes he could Get them..
At one point in the song, the VILLAIN Brags that he:
shot a man in Reno, Just to Watch him DIE

The TRULY Horrific thing about that is, the VILLAIN is in a California state prison. Reno is in Nevada

Aggie said...

Candidate Hung Cao's campaign ad: https://twitter.com/i/status/1681265056011677696

Enigma said...

I just looked up the lyrics. If one has witnessed police encounters in a large city or watched urban local news, then one specific race immediately comes to mind in verse 1. The critics "hear" racism because they see these events every day, every week, every month, every year, and every decade right next to where they live.

Verse 1:

Sucker punch somebody on a sidewalk
Carjack an old lady at a red light
Pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store
Ya think it's cool, well, act a fool if ya like
Cuss out a cop, spit in his face
Stomp on the flag and light it up
Yeah, ya think you're tough

Levi Starks said...

Highly offensive…

Birches said...

@Aggie

Wow that's a very effective campaign ad

Roger Sweeny said...

Stomp on a pride flag and you're committing a hate crime.

Wilbur said...

It's just another dog whistle that only Leftists can hear.

And this statement: "Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” is close to being the most cynical song ever written about the implicit moral superiority of having a limited number of neighbors"

This struck me as just factually incorrect. "Neighbors" means those who live near you and with whom you are acquainted. People in small towns have many more neighbors than those in large cities. I've lived in both.

"Limited number of neighbors", indeed.

Lucien said...

@Gilbar:
I've had the same thought, but maybe the guy shot a man in Stockton, just to steal his car, too -- and that's how he wound up in Folsom.

rcocean said...

A town known for...

No it was NOT known for that. That was almost 100 years ago, and someone had to look it up. I mean just cut the BULLSHIT (to invoke a previous Althouse post). THe Liberal/left always wants to censor anything they dislike - while claiming "Freedom of Speech" for everything they like.

That's all this is. Quit imputing Good faith to them.

But they always win because conservatives ALWAYS go on the defensive and start with the " I'm not an X-ist, And what I did/said isn't racist/sexist/homophobic, etc. because...." . Sorry, never works. Never do "reasonable Liberals" agree and retract their statement. They just double-down and call you the name again.

Once you agree that being racist/sexist/homophobe is the worstest thing in the world, you just give Liberal/left a stick to beat you with - forever. They're never going to stop calling you racist or Nazi. Either like losing or come up with a better response.

rhhardin said...

It's conceptually not up to "Which One of You Queers Is Gonna Suck My Dick," which title gets points for being amusing.

rcocean said...

Someone up thread uses the other Conservative loser response. The liberal/leftists/Democrats are the real racists.

Never in 30 years has this slowed or stopped the liberal/left. They appreciate you thinking that racism is the worst thing ever. But they see no connection between white men in the past, Democrats or no, and themselves.

Its a loser response.

Oso Negro said...

An old theme in country music. Think of “Okie from Muscogee” or “A Country Boy Can Survive”.

hombre said...

'...a “heinous song calling for racist violence” that promoted “a shameful vision of gun extremism and vigilantism.”

There are some telling assumptions built into this spew. Interesting how black race baiters and other Democrats have claimed that the sin is noticing that blacks commit a majority of the violent crime except when they do it by implication.

The people of this country are paying a high price in so many ways to watch Democrats and their accomplices destroy the Republic.

Rafe said...

Until these racialism-obsessed/esoteric race history buffs dug it up and brought it up, literally no one in Maury County (county seat, Columbia) associated the courthouse with a now mostly unknown lynching.

No one is condoning a tragic but completely forgotten lynching. But the courthouse is primarily associated with the annual Mule Days festival held every spring to celebrate the area’s heritage of mules and mule husbandry. That’s as small town as you can get.

I’m sure it won’t be long before THAT becomes verboten, because of Hidden Racist Origin of Mules or something.

- Rafe

Rafe said...

Until these racialism-obsessed/esoteric race history buffs dug it up and brought it up, literally no one in Maury County (county seat, Columbia) associated the courthouse with a now mostly unknown lynching.

No one is condoning a tragic but completely forgotten lynching. But the courthouse is primarily associated with the annual Mule Days festival held every spring to celebrate the area’s heritage of mules and mule husbandry. That’s as small town as you can get.

I’m sure it won’t be long before THAT becomes verboten, because of Hidden Racist Origin of Mules or something.

- Rafe

PJ said...

Shannon Watts aptly and gracefully responds: "Please add to my obituary: 'She was honored to be called a dipshit by Roseanne Barr.'"

Wittgenstein says that response is not apt. Barr called Watts’s brain a “dipshit” brain. She called Watts “batshit crazy.”

Ampersand said...

Perhaps Aldean should have enlisted ChatGPT to write some lyrics commenting critically on carjacking, sidewalk sucker punching, and looting in a manner that was so measured, abstract, and judicious that he wouldn't be accused of racism.
Country music is supposed to be sentimental and stupid, after all.

Freeman Hunt said...

If you hear race where only criminality is mentioned, who's the racist?

re Pete said...

"I was up on black mountain the day Detroit fell

They killed them all off and they sent them to hell"

Old and slow said...

He never even mentioned in the song the fact that a lot of guys in small towns own backhoes...

Jupiter said...

"Maybe check yourself into a facility or something."

I like it. So simple.

Michael said...

“The video, released in May, was shot in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tenn., a site known for the 1927 mob lynching of Henry Choate, an 18-year-old Black man”. Actually it is known as the courthouse. Ask anyone about the building including black people. They will tell you the building is known for being the courthouse.

Jupiter said...

"Every time he hears a train go by, he fantasizes about the "rich people" on the train, and how he wishes he could Get them."

That's a grotesque misrepresentation.

I bet there's rich folks eatin' from a fancy dining car.
They're probly drinking coffee, and smokin' big cigars.
Well, I know I had it comin'. I know I can't be free.
But those people keep a-movin', and that's what tortures me.

Saint Croix said...

Country music is not really my thing but...

I like Johnny Cash.

I also like Old Crow Medicine Show

And of course I love the Good Old Blues Brothers Boys Band from Chicago

john mosby said...

Gilbar, that’s right! I’ve always said Johnny Cash invented gangsta rap.

He talked rhythmically more than he sang, and most of his songs are about bandits and people shooting their baby mommas/daddies. And a guy burglarizing the Detroit Cadillac plant.

His most famous live show was at San Quentin, ffs!

Not even gonna talk about that other guy who literally turned 21 in prison doing life without parole…

JSM

Freder Frederson said...

we NEED to start STOPPING violent Rap songs that Praise murder!

You all know I am not a particular fan of Gilbar.

But give credit where credit is due. This made me laugh out loud. (And I couldn't figure out why he is doing his time in Folsom Prison instead of Nevada state prison either.)

Mason G said...

Keep on poking the bear. See what happens.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

“Message is, do whatever you want in your own liberal communities. Live with the violence you created. Live with the trannies. Live with the naked protestors. Live with the crack.

Leave us, and our children, alone”

As in many smaller towns, I actually saw this attitude in action during Burn Loot Murder. Warned by Facebook, the simple country folk were waiting with their AR’s and a friendly smile when the upcountry degenerates showed up to commit a specific act of vandalism (and who knows what else). Needless to say, the would-be vandals declined to so much as strike a match and soon departed. It was noted that an unusual number of urban drivers pulled up to the intended destruction site, saw the Welcome Wagon, and immediately departed.

John henry said...

One of Gordon Lightfoot's best known songs is about "sundown cities" like Appleton, Janesville and other "nice" mostly northern cities blacks were not allowed in the city limits after dark.

Sundown you'd better beware
If I find you creeping around my back stair


Sure there were some innocuous verses between the repeated refrain. They were only there to hide the call to anti-black vigilantism.

What does sundown need to beware OF? The white tunesmith doesn't say. That is an old trick to increase the sense of impending doom.

That tagline sticks with us. If the last time you heard the song was 50 years ago, I'll bet you can still hear the refrain in your head. Sitting there, working away, gnawing at your brain.

When the time comes you will know what to do.

HELTER, SKELTER, BABY!!

"music hath alarums to wild the Civil breast" - Tuli Kupferberg

John Henry

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

“Message is, do whatever you want in your own liberal communities. Live with the violence you created. Live with the trannies. Live with the naked protestors. Live with the crack.

Leave us, and our children, alone”

As in many smaller towns, I actually saw this attitude in action during Burn Loot Murder. Warned by Facebook, the simple country folk were waiting with their AR’s and a friendly smile when the upcountry degenerates showed up to commit a specific act of vandalism (and who knows what else). Needless to say, the would-be vandals declined to so much as strike a match and soon departed. It was noted that an unusual number of urban drivers pulled up to the intended destruction site, saw the Welcome Wagon, and immediately departed.

hombre said...

'...a “heinous song calling for racist violence” that promoted “a shameful vision of gun extremism and vigilantism.”

There are some telling assumptions built into this spew. Interesting how black race baiters and other Democrats have claimed that the sin is noticing that blacks commit a majority of the violent crime except when they do it by implication.

The people of this country are paying a high price in so many ways to watch Democrats and their accomplices destroy the Republic.

John henry said...

Gilbar, do you mean Roy Clark? I've always had trouble reconciling those fantasies to him.

He always seemed like such a nice man. We will never know what horror lurked under that gentle veneer.

John Henry

Owen said...

The song could be renamed the Anthem of Flyover Country. Or (my favorite) "FAFO."

wendybar said...

Sheryl Crow is crowing about it. Apparently, she was fine with BLM and Antifa burning down Nashville, and killing police.

Sheryl Crow
·
Jul 18, 2023
@SherylCrow
·

.@Jason_Aldean I’m from a small town. Even people in small towns are sick of violence.There’s nothing small-town or American about promoting violence. You should know that better than anyone having survived a mass shooting.

This is not American or small town-like. It’s just lame

MAZE
@mazemoore
·

So it’s not the violence from 2020 that bothers you, it’s seeing clips of it on video that makes you speak out.
1:36 AM · Jul 19, 2023

Yinzer said...

gilbar thinks he's clever by misrepresenting the old Johnny Cash song. Its lyrics say nothing about wanting to 'get' the people on the train. But hey he's right, the problem is dead white country singers, not black rappers.

Yinzer said...

gilbar thinks he's clever by misrepresenting the old Johnny Cash song. Its lyrics say nothing about wanting to 'get' the people on the train. But hey he's right, the problem is dead white country singers, not black rappers.

Tina Trent said...

Just last year, Demondra Gaines murdered his parents in Columbia, Tennessee. The year before, Chastity Johns murdered Clarissa Keiser, and Nathanial Pipkin slaughtered three people, including a child. In fact, Columbia, Tennessee is a very violent place, with more violent and property crimes than 91% of U.S. neighborhoods and a crime rate per capita of nearly 32 in 1000.

I could go on. Crime in Columbia seems to be a colorblind reality, with white, black, and Hispanic offenders and victims among just the few I listed above -- often relatives of each other.

I realize this sort of ethnic diversity is hard for NYT readers to imagine, but it's entirely the norm in smaller cities and towns in the South. As the song makes clear, crime is met with consequences, as is civil unrest. This is a laudable public sentiment.

I've also seen a lot of black and white cops being spat at, pelted with explosive devices, and verbally assaulted by mostly white protesters in Atlanta recently. Cop cars and motorcycles are being hit with Molotov cocktails and destroyed en masse with dynamite. Most of the terrorists are white, and many of their targets are black. This song defends these police, and civilians of all races, too. It's a stirring anthem for our time.

Xmas said...

Mike,

They remade Death Wish a little while ago. Bruce Willis played the main character while he was still able to act. Eli Roth directed it, I believe.

It wasn't bad. It didn't obviously pull much for "modern audiences".

Jimmy said...

ok, it's racist to point out that most crime is done by blacks. That antifa is mostly white dudes and dudetes who are communist.
The left promotes violence and hate. and uses code words. good apparatchiks following the party line.
Did anyone point out that most lynchings were done by Democrat approved groups? Jim Crow anyone?
Propaganda is very effective. The number of young people who have no idea that Republican party was founded on the removal of slavery, that Democrats fought to keep their slaves. 100 years of failure, yet communism is still popular with young people.
Us normies are sick of excuses for violence, pedos, and drug use.

Saint Croix said...

Apparently Bob Dylan wrote Wagon Wheel!

Here's Darius Rucker singing it.

Great song.

Ryan said...

That first comment is by conservative youtuber Mark Dice. If you don't know him, I would encourage you to check out his channel, which is great.

Leland said...

Try misgendering on a college campus. Does that result in lynchings. What if it is done on a Hollywood sound stage or newspaper city desk? Do they lynch?

Or does what really happen is people will tell you off, because they don't like your behavior.

Now try doing stupid shit in a small town.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

Perhaps CMT took the song out of rotation because they didn’t think the implicit condemnation of the January 6 rioters would sit well with its country music audience. On second thought, no, too much cognitive dissonance for that.

Tina Trent said...

The white wife of the sheriff hid the jailhouse keys and stood up to a crowd of 250 men to try to save Henry Choate's life. They overpowered her and killed the young man. Maybe this song is about her. It's certainly about her values.

Dave said...

One would have to recognize that Cash's song expresses regret and the fact that he's getting what he deserved for his crime. Many of the rap lyrics glorify and promote bad behavior. There is a difference.

Dave said...

One would have to recognize that Cash's song expresses regret and the fact that he's getting what he deserved for his crime. Many of the rap lyrics glorify and promote bad behavior. There is a difference.

Free Manure While You Wait! said...

"The video, released in May, was shot in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tenn., a site known for the 1927 mob lynching of Henry Choate, an 18-year-old Black man.... "

The building must NEVER be seen.

farmgirl said...

The coolest thing about Country is how hick the verses read- and then when you hear them in the song- it’s so wow. But, that’s to my trained ear lol. CBS This Morning (I haven’t watched in years) read lyrics and smirked through it- but, when the song was performed: they couldn’t believe the transformation. Not that I remember the band.

Just for kicks- I love Morgan Wallan’s song Last Night. It’s the coolest tune:
again- to my trained ear ;0)

farmgirl said...

… trained to what, you ask?
Trained to twang, I respond.

Rocco said...

"The video, released in May, was shot in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, TN, a site known for the 1927 mob lynching of Henry Choate, an 18-year-old Black man..."

From an article in the Times, published in New York, a site well known for the 1863 Draft Riots which started as a draft riot and devolved into a race riot where 12 African Americans were killed and many homes and businesses destroyed.

Free Manure While You Wait! said...

The primary reason they hate this song is because they know it's true, and that scares them. Why? Because it reminds them there is a huge swath of America they can't, and never will control, and those people have guns. And they're much better shots.

The territorial imperative. How does it work? This song answers that question, and does so very effectively.

donald said...

Gulf Shores advertises its self as Small Town/Big Beach. After living in and around Atlanta for fifty odd years, especially the last three, I’ll never go back. They do not put up with scumbag criminals here. It’s a revelation. I believe Aldean is playing at the Wharf in August. Tickets’ll be $400.00 I bet. Jason Aldean’ll be alright. Mebbe even Morgan Waller alright. Gotta say though, they both suck to me.

Mary Beth said...

What's more likely, they picked that courthouse because of a lynching almost 100 years ago or it's a reasonable distance from Nashville and has nice space in front of the courthouse (that looks very small town, government building-like) where you could set up your instruments and cameras?

So much hating on small towns from the media and Twitter tweeters. That kind of rioting and violence happens when you can dehumanize the other side. That's hard to do when they are your neighbors and you go to school/church/work with them or their family. You might think they're idiots and hate everything they stand for, but you can't firebomb their car because there was that one time when they pulled your car out of the ditch when the roads were icy and that other time they brought a casserole over after your grandmother died. You might hate them, but you don't think they're bad. In big cities, you don't know the other side and it's easy to think they are evil. If they are evil, it's easy to do violence. I'd be more worried about vigilantes there.

Aggie said...

This is the same kind of dynamic that we see on the videos of Antifa paying a visit to small town America. Those black-clad, athletic figures that we see working in the dark hours in a coordinated way to firebomb the police stations and break the windows in cities, look very different when they're confronted by the rednecks defending their home ground in daylight. The videos of these incidents are hilarious. All of a sudden it becomes apparent that these corn-fed, big-butted podunkers know how to use their weight and muscle because they're blue-collar and their body sense is tested on a daily basis - at work. All of a sudden you notice how these Antifa boyz are too skinny, or too obese, and poorly coordinated. And then, the embarrassing rout begins.

The song is just telling it the way it really is: Leave us alone. Your respect is not required, but disrespect isn't tolerated, either. The mess you've created is over there. Stay there.

lamech said...

The song reminded me of this relatively recent story, from the small town of SE Washington DC

...seems like a lynching...

Teen winds up in ambulance after trying to carjack DC grandma on her way to chemo: MPD
https://wjla.com/news/local/dc-carjacking-crime-teen-ambulance-grandma-trying-carjack-grandma-chemo-chemotherapy-southeast-washington-district-gun-violence-senior-22nd-street-mpd-dmv

"Next thing I know, he walked up talking about, 'give me your keys, I got a gun.' I said, 'baby, you better shoot me, because you’re not taking my car," the woman said.

After she yelled for help, neighbors in the area came running to her assistance. The teenage suspect attempted to run away, but was caught by neighbors.

"They caught him and I said, 'oh, you going to jail today. You definitely going to jail, yes you are," the woman said.

Police say that the teenager eventually had to be transported to the hospital for injuries "incurred by [the victims] family members." A police report states that a fake gun was found on the suspect.
"And they said it’s a wonder he wasn’t dead," the woman told the news outlet. "On 22nd Street? He must didn’t know where he was. Nobody has seen this boy before."

Michael K said...

I have a new favorite country song.

The Godfather said...

I listen to music on the radio. I thought it was a good song. I never saw the video before. We all ought to embrace the message of the song. Why try to use it to increase disagreement and conflict?

Dave64 said...

Should be sung at any event that also includes Lift Every Voice!

farmgirl said...

Saint Croix- my youngest daughter and I jam to that one.
I love Darius Rucker. All the others- I listen, yes- but, Darius Rucker is a sweet keeper.
There’s even a fella named Jellyroll!

JAORE said...

"Jason Aldean simply wants to return to a time in America when “good old boys” could shoot or beat the shit out of people who they didn’t think belonged there."

Well 'm sure glad her response to Rosanne was apt and graceful... after that BS comment as balance.

Mason G said...

"This is the same kind of dynamic that we see on the videos of Antifa paying a visit to small town America."

On June 1, 2020, The Spokesman-Review from Spokane, WA reports:

A Black Lives Matter protest in Coeur d’Alene involved several dozen people Monday evening.

The protesters were met by a group armed with rifles who said they wanted to ensure the protest wasn’t hijacked by people with criminal intentions, according to reports from KHQ reporter Katherine Barner.

The protesters dispersed without incident at about 9 p.m., according to reports.

Michael K said...

Police say that the teenager eventually had to be transported to the hospital for injuries "incurred by [the victims] family members." A police report states that a fake gun was found on the suspect.
"And they said it’s a wonder he wasn’t dead,"


Richard Rodriguez, the Nightstalker" serial killer in California, was captured by citizens in east LA after his photo was published in a newspaper. He had to be rescued by police from the crowd that was beating him to death. His last victim was admitted to our trauma center with a gunshot wound of the head. He died on Death Row.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Philo Beddoe had his fan club, as I remember. And so did Robert McCall.

gspencer said...

"Interesting how countless rap songs encourage murder sprees, drug dealing, pimping, and countless other crimes, and they're celebrated by the media, but a video by a country singer about self defense and neighbors looking out for each other is banned."

Whew. Good thing there isn't a purposeful plan to reduce the USA to third-world status.

Big Mike said...

Something I have heard happen in rural and suburban areas, but not ever in cities: an ordinary citizen assisting police. Things like a suspect running from police, only to be impeded, tripped, or even tackled by ordinary citizens. Some, with concealed handgun permits, have even unholstered their firearms and rescued police officers that were in trouble. There are plenty of YouTube videos of truckers on Interstates blocking or cutting off suspects’ cars to end high speed chases. I’m quite sure this is all incomprehensible to urban liberals, and yet it’s true.

Normals don’t much care for crime. Urban liberals, on the other hand, think criminals are misunderstood modern Robin Hoods, just trying to get a crust of bread for their kids. And maybe a diamond ring or three and a little bit of gold bling.

Big Mike said...

@lamech, your delightful story makes me edit my comment from “not ever” to “hardly ever.” Thanks!

Jenny said...

I live literally 15 minutes from the Maury County Courthouse. I can assure you it is not widely known as a lynching site. In fact, I had no idea (or had forgotten?) until this very week, even though I have lived here for over 16 years.

Did Hallmark decide to shoot their Mario Lopez Christmas movie in the shadow of the Maury County Courthouse last year because of its reputation as a lynching site?

Jenny said...

"No one is condoning a tragic but completely forgotten lynching. But the courthouse is primarily associated with the annual Mule Days festival held every spring to celebrate the area’s heritage of mules and mule husbandry. That’s as small town as you can get.

I’m sure it won’t be long before THAT becomes verboten, because of Hidden Racist Origin of Mules or something."

They already tried this a couple of years ago. Some activists tried to get Mule Day cancelled on the strength of an entirely fabricated history about Mule Day's roots in the slave trade and how its modern observation is a dogwhistle celebration of slave auctions. This version of events was, of course, entirely made up in their fevered brains.

GRW3 said...

Two things come to mind:

1) I'm always amazed when companies respond to protests from people who would never be caught dead using their products.

2) Once again, the left and the media tell us that African Americans are the primary source of trouble in the US, and to notice it is racist. (A substantial amount of trouble was caused by the white psychopaths known as Antifa.)

traditionalguy said...

He is the threat to Marxist communes called colleges. Check off the dangers. Aldean is 1) white and 2)male and 3) a Scots Irish from Macon, Georgia (near Milledgeville which is the hometown of Marjorie Taylor Green) that owns guns too.

The Cancel Culture Cowards are scared of him.

cfkane1701 said...

Considering the alarming historical illiteracy of most Americans under 40 (and some above), it's a sure bet that 99.9% of people within 100 miles of that courthouse had no idea who Henry Choate was or that he was lynched there, including black people (especially black people, to put it bluntly).

Also, 99.9% probably couldn't tell you another historical occurrence from 1927 (Lindbergh), so the implication of a cynical racialist motive to filming the video there is disingenuous at best, and outright impossible at worst.