Country artist Jason Aldean is in hot water due to a recent release entitled Try That in a Small Town.
Numerous celebrities, including musicians, are jumping on Aldean for a track and video that they say promotes violence, vigilantism, racism, and gun use.
First, although I’m not a big country fan, even I can appreciate the song as a piece of music, and in my opinion, a rather good one. I think it’s a good song. That said, I can see the merit in some of the criticism, but I honestly don’t think the artist is guilty of some of the stuff that he’s being blamed for. And that’s a lot coming from me, because Aldean is a big-time conservative and Trump supporter, always welcome at Mar-A-Lago to kiss the ring of the king.
But this is about a song, not the man’s politics.
The basic premise behind the song is that the violence that often attends protests in large cities wouldn’t really go down all that well in a small town, where, as Aldean says, we take care of our own. Meaning that things like spitting in a cop’s face, or burning and stomping on the flag, or mass looting would be something that wouldn’t go unpunished in a small town. Like he says in the song, “try that shit here and see how far you get down the road.”
Most of the violent acts depicted in the video emphasize the upheaval and riots that have taken place in larger American cities, often as the result of the death of a Black person in police custody or in the process of being apprehended. Much of this civil unrest is made more flammable by the presence of left-wing agitators who regularly use these types of protests as cover for their attempts to create a sense of anarchy. And to be honest, these agitators could use a good-old fashioned whuppin’ like the type on offer in Aldean’s song. That said, it’s too bad the video doesn’t show examples of right-wing shitheads who do exactly the same thing for exactly the same reasons. Both of theses types, left and right, could use an extra large can of whupp-ass.
Aldean talks about how his grand-daddy and his friends’ grand-daddies gifted them guns while they were growing up. This is, of course, unfortunate as it seems to suggest that it would be okay to gun down protesters of any ilk if they tried their shenanigans in a small town. Maybe a bit of an over-reach there by Jason. Or maybe he was taking a shot at calls for increased gun controls in the wake of mass-shootings in the U.S., something that happens in both cities and small towns.
He refers to small towns as having a a lot of what he calls “good ol’ boys,” which I think is innocent enough, although some critics claim that he’s referring to a historical group in the U.S. south that once lynched Blacks. Honestly, I don’t see him, in a song, advancing the idea that bodies should swing from trees, Black or otherwise.
At the beginning of the video, in the background, is a shadowy figure holding a baseball bat. This does give off the idea that vigilantism is being put forward as a way to deal with protesters, maybe not all of them, but those who debase American symbols and the police. I’ll have to admit that the whole baseball bat thing has entered my consciousness periodically as I watch right-wing whackos do their thing. And left-wing whackos too. I’ve often thought that there is a lot of political bullshit out there that couldn’t be solved with a baseball bat, but in saying that, I’m not exactly the type to go out swinging the lumber every time I see some hick debasing the Canadian flag. But I get the emotion he’s trying to convey.
I suppose the song is somewhat reckless in that it may influence some good ol’ boys to do the kind of things that Aldean says good ol’ boys ought to do when faced with rabble-rousers, and that is to resort to violence.
So, I guess on a rational and intellectual level, the song is a bit much in the direction of violence. But on an emotional level, I like it. It’s a good, feel-proud, small town America song. Not in the John Cougar Mellenkamp spirit, but nevertheless, not totally inaccurate.
As Mellencamp put it:
“No I cannot forget where it is that I come from, I cannot forget the people who love me. Yeah, I can be myself here in this small town, and people let me be just what I want to be.”
I’m sure Aldean would agree, only with the proviso that you don’t try any of that big city shit in his small town, because you won’t get too far down the road if you try.
For the record, Jason Aldean has never lived in a small town. He’s kind of a big city boy, but that’s quibbling.
NEWSMAGRENFREW 