Crawford, Texas: What You Sacrifice Living in a Small Town

I grew up in a small town, and that town has gotten a lot of attention over the past few years. I lived in Crawford, Texas when George Bush became president, and the town was all abuzz with excitement about gaining this new prestigious neighbor. Good things were going to happen in Crawford: it was going to grow; there would be more money coming in; and, best of all, the little town of Crawford, Texas would get worldwide attention.

Sure some people complained about the press and the traffic (which really didn't change that much; there would be five cars coming down mainstreet at any given time when there used to be two), but everyone really loved the attention. They put on their biggest smiles and spoke in their best Southern accents (being sure to butcher the English language thoroughly), and they told everyone how excited they were about their new neighbor and what a nice place Crawford is to live. These people have since inspired news stories, a documentary, and books, because they seem quite different from many Americans.

I would say most Crawford residents are sad, bored, a little ignorant, and very outspoken. Almost everyone there is a Republican, of course, and while I was going to school there, there was only one black girl in the whole school. The crazy thing is, as racist as everyone in Crawford was, the mayor at the time was a black man (No one ever explained this to me, probably because they couldn't). I remember when the local newspaper endorsed John Kerry for the presidency. Suddenly, all of the nice Southern folks weren't so nice. The newspaper was bombarded with hate mail and threats, and many of the local advertisers pulled their advertisements from the paper. I think someone even threw a brick through the front window of the paper's office. It was ridiculous! And when the film Fahrenheit 9/11 was shown near the high school football field, there were protesters everywhere. Those people were so hateful and close-minded that they spent hours of their lives standing around holding signs while people watched the film. And these were people I grew up with! I just can't understand where they all went so wrong.