I am 53, born in Dallas. I grew up in Dallas County. I live in Dallas County. I am white. I came from a family of origin, with many extended family members, who demonstrated/still demonstrate ignorant, bigoted perspectives. I am ashamed for ‘them’. I do not associate with these so-called ‘family members’ anymore than I must. They have always been a psychological drain, and an embarrassment.
Texas, in general, is out-of-step socially. It’s just an unfortunate fact. The negative stereotypes regarding Texan’s social ignorance, bigotry, lack of education, cultural insensitivity etc., are an inconvenient truth, reflecting poorly on Texans as a collective. I witness these social deficits on a daily basis. Of course, this does not mean that there are not socially conscious, educated folks here. I’m one of them. I’m educated. I have a global scope…an informed, responsible, prosocial world view. My immediate family members, that is, my spouse and children, demonstrate the same. I don’t encounter as many Texan neighbors, or even extended family members with similar ideologies as mine, as I should.
Texas should be further along on the social spectrum. There is no excuse for the collective ignorance. It’s a source of great disappointment and, honestly, ‘shock’ to me on a pretty regular basis.
But, ‘I’ am a Texan. This is MY state… A state that, admittedly, has a long way to go to evolve to a level of acceptable educational, social, and cultural maturity. We’ll see…