Stand up for the persecuted and the ‘other.’ Try that in a small town

So, country singer Jason Aldean struck a national nerve with his song “Try That In a Small Town.” Some folks are angered by lyrics that appear to condone “good ol’ boy” vigilantism, but it’s the video for the song that sparked the most outrage.

Aldean and his band perform the song in front of a Tennessee courthouse that was the site of an infamous 1927 lynching of Black teenager Henry Choate. The video is dominated by images of protest, perhaps including a Black Lives Matter demonstration, in a rapid-fire montage of violence. A Molotov cocktail is lit. A flag is burned. Urban crime takes center stage.

This week, the BLM protest clip was edited out of the video.

Beyond the violence are idyllic images of small-town life. A girl playing hopscotch, duck hunters and a farmer tending to his crops in the field. They’re a contrast to all the big city violence.

Aldean is just the latest in a long line of public figures and politicians who believe the only real Americans live in small towns and rural areas. People who live in cities are less American, less patriotic, and less law-abiding. This is all crap, as is the constant drumbeat of claims that cities are cesspools of crime and violence.

Aldean also promotes the stereotype that small towns are full of people who will us violence against anyone who doesn’t fit into his ideal of small town life. It’s not true.

I’m a free expression guy. Aldean can sing about whatever he wants. His song is selling like hot cakes on the griddle. Thank God he’s a country boy.

Or is he? Aldean grew up in Macon, Ga., with a population topping 150,000. I grew up in a real small town, with a population of around 2,500. So based on my experience, I thought it might be helpful to annotate Aldean’s lyrics. I’ve tried a lot of things in a small town, so I ought to know.

Sucker punch somebody on a sidewalk

Carjack an old lady at a red light

Pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store

Ya think it's cool, well, act a fool if ya like.

My hometown has one stoplight. I wasn’t afraid of carjacking then, and there’s no reason to be afraid now. Non-fatal carjackings in the U.S. declined 78 percent between 1995 and 2021.

When I was growing up the liquor store was state-owned and I had to stay in the car on the rare occasions my parents bought booze. It was acquired quickly and quietly, with a shot of shame.

Cuss out a cop, spit in his face

Stomp on the flag and light it up

Yeah, ya think you're tough.

I recall one police officer who performed his “blood on the highway” speech whenever I ran afoul of traffic laws. He felt tough. I was amused, but there was no cussing.

We never spit on a cop, but we did play some intense games of hide and seek with our boys in blue. Running, for no reason, when you saw a squad car sure piqued their interest. But we never had to worry about one of them shooting us in the back.

We lit illegal fireworks, but never a flag. I still have all of my fingers.

Got a gun that my granddad gave me

They say one day they're gonna round up

Well, that shit might fly in the city, good luck.

We owned guns, including shotguns my grandfather left to us. We saw them as tools to be used with care and respect. We didn’t tote them around like some political fetish symbol or wield them to intimidate people whose politics we disagreed with. Also, no one is going to round them up, no matter what Aldean or anyone else tells you.

Full of good ol' boys, raised up right

If you're looking for a fight

Try that in a small town

Try that in a small town.

There were some big talking good ol’ boys in my hometown. The loudmouths were all talk. The toughest guys didn’t brag about it. They were the quiet ones who waited on the sidelines until they felt it was time to intervene. And when they did, the problem was solved.

Try that in a small town

See how far ya make it down the road

Around here, we take care of our own

You cross that line, it won't take long

For you to find out, I recommend you don't

Try that in a small town.

What is the line you dare not cross? Do you not stand up and defend a person of color or an LGBTQ person who finds themselves in the crosshairs of the good ol’ boys? Do you stand up for what’s right, even if it doesn’t align with the narrow political views of the loudest voices? Does taking care of your own exclude people who are different?

There are lots of caring, thoughtful people in small towns, but often they are no match for the red wave of outrage that has enveloped them. Standing up against injustice is tough. Far tougher than targeting those who may not feel welcome in their small town.

I really do miss my own hometown, which has become a magnet for Latino workers and their families. Around 13 percent of residents now are Hispanic. The fact the town has become a home for these newcomers gives me a great deal of hope. They’ve pumped life into the town.

Embrace diversity and focus on what we have in common instead of the differences Aldean is trying to exploit. Try that in a small town.

(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com