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 Intolerance in a Tolerant City I spent four days in Austin getting caught up with my website and visiting with Ace and Joan and their kids, Julie, and Lou. Then, on a warm and humid morning, I said goodbye to my old friends and left. As I was heading down the road, though, I decided to drive into downtown Austin. I strolled around the downtown area for a half-hour, walking up Congress Avenue to the State Capitol building, then returned to my truck just as my parking meter expired.
One reason I like Austin is that, unlike the rest of Texas, it's fairly easy-going and open-minded. I've traveled through Texas and the South many times (see My Previous Roadtrips). And while I usually have a good time visiting Texas and the South (due partly to the concept of "Southern Hospitality"), I don't think I could ever move there because of the intolerant attitudes I've seen there during my numerous visits. While I always enjoy visiting the South, how the concept of "Southern Hospitality" can intermingle with the heightened levels of racism and intolerance that are common there is a paradox I've never figured out.
Through my travels around America, I've noticed that friendliness is more polarized in the South and in Texas than anywhere else in the U.S. While almost everyone in Oregon is fairly friendly, you don't meet a lot of people on either end of the "friendship spectrum," being either overly friendly or hostile. On the other hand, while most people in the South are very warm and friendly (much more so than in Oregon), a small handful are extremely obnoxious, racist and intolerant (again, much more so than in Oregon). Nevertheless, as much as I appreciate Southern Hospitality, I've never liked people telling me what to think, read or believe when it comes to religion, politics, or anything else, an attitude that I've encountered often in the South. That's one reason I like living in the Northwest.
During my previous visits to Austin, I had always thought of the city as an oasis of friendliness and open-mindedness in a sea of general parochialism. Before I left, though, my attitude about Austin's tolerance took a big hit.
I stopped at a grocery store on the south side of Austin to buy some food on my way out of town and sat in my truck for a while with my window rolled down, writing a list of things to buy. As I made up my list, an old, clattering station wagon pulled into the parking space facing but kitty-corner to my truck. I glanced up and noticed the driver, a grizzled guy with a ponytail who was about 40. He sat in his car and listened to the radio for several minutes, which I thought was odd, but I continued working on my list. Then he started muttering some nasty things about gays. I wasn't sure if he was directing these comments towards me or someone else, but I didn't acknowledge him because he was obviously unbalanced.
I finished my list, got out of my truck, went into the store and bought my groceries, then I returned to my truck. That's when I noticed a two-foot long scratch in my door that someone had intentionally made with a key. Yep, I'd been "keyed." I knew who had done it, too, and I angrily looked around for the rusty station wagon, but it was gone. The only thing I can figure is that this guy wrongly assumed I was gay. He may have spotted my "Oregon Trail" style license plate, a colorful plate with a setting sun, and assumed it was rainbow. Or something. Who knows.
Of course, I've read about this kind of thing (and much worse) happening, but it's different when it happens to you. I'd driven my beloved truck for 16 years and over 200,000 miles all over the country, but this was the first time it had ever been vandalized and I was really ticked off. It's scary to think that there are people with so much fear, arrogance and hatred running around. I waited for a while there in the hot, steamy parking lot, hoping that he'd return. I finally gave up and, still fuming, got into my truck and left. Goodbye, Austin.
Above left: Downtown Austin is a mix of old and new, the South and the West. It's also home to the University of Texas and has a great music scene. And, of course, Austin City Limits is taped here (though, disappointingly, on the top floor of a tall building). Above right: In downtown Austin.
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