Why are Texans so defensive about their state? (Houston, Dallas: live in, fence)

[Trimac20]

It seems Texans are the most defensive bunch of people when talking about their state. If anyone says anything bad about Texas or a city in Texas, they immediately start getting angry that someone might not find Texas the paradise they do. Is it because Texas is sort overrated? I know it gets unfairly stereotyped as being redneck and stuff, but do most people really dislike Texas that much? Texan cities, even Austin, are nothing special, yet some posters violently disagree if you say New York has more culture than Houston or Dallas. Some of them think that you never even need to leave Texas. They will argue that Houston is as urban as NY, or that the Guadalupe Mountains beat the Rockies. Keep in mind I'm talking about a vocal component, not all Texans.

[portlanderinOC]

Because we can...
Scr*w You, We're from Texas
Just kiddin', I'm not from Texas, but my mum is.
On a serious note however, people are like that almost anywhere. Although I can't see why Texans fly their state flag more than any other state.

[blkgiraffe]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

It seems Texans are the most defensive bunch of people when talking about their state. If anyone says anything bad about Texas or a city in Texas, they immediately start getting angry that someone might not find Texas the paradise they do. Is it because Texas is sort overrated? I know it gets unfairly stereotyped as being redneck and stuff, but do most people really dislike Texas that much? Texan cities, even Austin, are nothing special, yet some posters violently disagree if you say New York has more culture than Houston or Dallas. Some of them think that you never even need to leave Texas. They will argue that Houston is as urban as NY, or that the Guadalupe Mountains beat the Rockies. Keep in mind I'm talking about a vocal component, not all Texans.

I was going to give you a logical and well thought out explanation until I started reading all the exaggerations and unnecessary comments and realized it was pointless.

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by blkgiraffe

I was going to give you a logical and well thought out explanation until I started reading all the exaggerations and unnecessary comments and realized it was pointless.

Ok just ignore the second part of my post then.

[Neworleansisprettygood]

It's really not that hyperbolic. When you see Texans outside of their own state, they really do often act like this:

Texan Says He's Had Much Better In Texas | The Onion - America's Finest News Source | Onion Radio News

[annie_himself]

The same reason why I'm defensive about Louisiana. The same reason why anybody is defensive about anything they take pride in.

[Neworleansisprettygood]

Originally Posted by annie_himself

The same reason why I'm defensive about Louisiana. The same reason why anybody is defensive about anything they take pride in.

I know you're trying to straddle the fence here, as you currently live in Texas, but even most reasonable Texans will admit that the place can take its pride a little too far.

[polo89]

Because Texas at one point was it's own country. Ehh, Texans brag about things that are actually feasible. Texans don't get proud in their Italian food, because they know Italian food isn't really a Texas phenomenon. But you will hear a Texan talk about how Mexican food elsewhere(Particularly East of the Mississippi) isn't as good as it is back in Texas, which is pretty darn feasible considering how close it is to Mexico, and considering Texas was once underneath the Flag Of Mexico. It's no different than New Yorkers deeming any Pizza/Bagel place outside of the Tri-State area as non-authentic. No different than Californians or Floridians claiming they have the best beaches. No different than Philadelphians claiming they have the best cheese-stakes.

[Drewcifer]

The contrast between the opinion Texans have of Texas versus the opinion others have of Texas is probably greater than for any other state.

Texans tend to think of Texas as the greatest possible place ever, anywhere. People in other parts of the US, especially the cities of the northeast and west coast tend to think of Texas as the place that makes people in other countries think America is backwards. So of course there is going to be some disagreement and defensiveness.

[polo89]

Originally Posted by Drewcifer

The contrast between the opinion Texans have of Texas versus the opinion others have of Texas is probably greater than for any other state.

Texans tend to think of Texas as the greatest possible place ever, anywhere. People in other parts of the US, especially the cities of the northeast and west coast tend to think of Texas as the place that makes people in other countries think America is backwards. So of course there is going to be some disagreement and defensiveness.

People in the Northeast and West-coast have similar views of themselves. You know how many transplanted Northerners there are in Florida/NC/GA etc, that SWEAR everything back North is sooooo much better than down here? And in turn they think that Southerners are overly prideful about being Southerners. It's really one big Pot meet Kettle ya know. The fact that the South and Texas get mocked so much(especially in the last decade with Bush) that it's pretty clear that people from up those areas have a scatterbrained view of people from these parts. Their mockery kinda show's their own pretension and their pretension shines through with each state they decide to move to in the Sun Belt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dff87ayXAaM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBQaVvLNpoY