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[lafinjack]

As you may have heard, this week the Republican Party released what they’ve termed a “Pledge to America,” a document that lists their agenda for the next legislative session. Erin Echols, a student at Kennesaw State U., took a look at it and was struck by the contents, particularly the images

Comments

[hotcoffeems]

...Territory folks should stick together! Territory folks should all be pals! Cowboys dance with the farmers' daughters, farmers dance with the ranchers' gals!

Sorry, but the whole Western Cowboy mythos as a political selling point...who exactly are they trying to appeal to with that? It seems like it's an iconography that wouldn't have the same mystique with the segment of the population that they need to *win over*. They already have the conservative-old-fart demographic that might dig the rural West imagery.

As for the Unbearable Whiteness of Being, well, that's a pretty potent and pervasive thing: only "safe" and vague minorities belong here. Both of those women (note they're both women, and in backup roles) could belong to almost any group. Except really scary ones. They're whitened up.

[shellazure]

Visit the place I grew up, and you'll know that it's not just old farts who love or have a fond spot for the cowboy mystique. Really, small and mid-sized towns all over the country aren't that much different.

[hotcoffeems]

I grew up in small towns in the South, and it's a bit less of a thing. Especially among anyone who is young enough not to have lived through the 50s.

[notgarystu]

The trope is still pretty pervasive in small-town Arizona, especially where I grew up. Hell, my hometown's sister-town has an image of a rodeo champion emblazoned on their "Welcome To [Town]" sign.

[hotcoffeems]

Yeah, there's some of it -- but it's really not going to be as pervasive in Georgia (home for me), say, than in either Texas or Arizona, where you and the previous commenter are from, apparently. The reasons are pretty obvious.