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Don't Mess with Texas
- asdfman123 6y agoTell that to OPEC.
- dang 6y agoPlease don't post unsubstantive comments here. The topic is the slogan and its history. Off-topic tangents are fine when they're unpredictable, but not when they change the subject to a more generic topic, and especially not a generic political one.
- dang 6y agohttps://priceonomics.com/the-surprising-origins-of-dont-mess-with-texas/ https://priceonomics.com/the-surprising-origins-of-dont-mess... is related from 2014 (via https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7879107 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7879107, but no comments)
- astrea 6y agoI have heard that phrase and seen the signs my entire life and never knew it originated with the litter campaign. I feel like it's lost a certain, "je ne sais quoi", learning that.
- hanniabu 6y agoSame, when I heard that before I always assumed it had something to do with their gun advocacy.
- matsemann 6y agoIn a similar vein: In Norwegian since the fifties, we have used the word Texas to mean something crazy. Normally it's used as "helt texas" (completely texas), and describes a situation out of control. Edit: a source/explanation https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34622478 https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34622478
- vanniv 6y agoWhen I was in Oslo, I was so confused by the takeaway restaurants that were selling various "Texas" combos that had nothing at all to do with Texas. The only specific one I remember was a Texas Gyro combo with Texas fries and a coke. The picture was of a gyro pita with like four kinds of sauce, and a giant bucket of fries.
- yellowapple 6y agoI mean, that does sound like something that'd sell like gangbusters in Texas. Or anywhere, for that matter. A gyro and fries sounds pretty damn amazing right about now.
- HeyLaughingBoy 6y agoI know a lunch counter (closed down last year, sadly) that offered a "gyro fries" meal, which was a big plate of fries topped with gyro meat, sauteed onions, feta and tons of tzatziki. It was good!
- twic 6y agoSee also the Texas hedge: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_hedge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_hedge
- reaperducer 6y agoSame, when I heard that before I always assumed it had something to do with their gun advocacy. I thought that too, when I moved from the east coast to Texas for a few years. Once I understood the real meaning, I felt my presumption was a reflection of my own biases, and quickly learned to judge Texas and Texans more fairly.
- zxcvbn4038 6y agoYes, you think guns when you think Texas but I think the crown actually goes to Kennesaw county Georgia where every head of household in the city limits is required to have and maintain a firearm. When it comes to stupid lawsuits I give the crown to New York City where they have tried to claim copyright on the shape of the skyline, the Times Square businesses have sued movie studios for digitally changing pictures of Times Square in movies, and the New York City Subway thinks those little circles with the train letters are their intellectual property and they send out nastygrams to other people using circles with numbers and letters in them. I’m surprised the latter hasn’t started a two ocean war over the windows dingbats font ;)
- compiler-guy 6y agoThat's exactly why it works--it appeals to relatively young men who take great pride in being from Texas and the badassery around that. Those were the guys who littered, and were the problem. So they found a way to appeal to them.
- ianleeclark 6y agoThe really weird thing is that the sign that I remember the most in my hometown said, word for word, "Don't mess (litter) with Texas," but when I just went to look for an example of the sign, I can't find any other examples of this.
- chiph 6y agoYou want weird? Austin's slogan "Keep Austin Weird" is not about the culture, but about supporting local business. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_Austin_Weird https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_Austin_Weird
- giggles_giggles 6y agoLocal businesses are a huge part of Austin's culture
- dylan604 6y agoYou're not crazy. I "had a friend" with one of the signs with '(litter)' in "their" collection of highway signs.
- bdcravens 6y agoI remember when this ad campaign started, so I was a bit puzzled to see it here. Guess I'm just old :-)
- joejerryronnie 6y agoThe Pledge of Allegiance lost a bit of it’s patriotic luster once I found out it was part of a marketing gimmick to sell magazine subscriptions.
- pjc50 6y agoWait, what? (The pledge is one of those weird things that looks like it comes from a far more authoritarian-collectivist society than the US)
- lonelappde 6y agohttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance It was promoted in a popular magazine (not to sell the magazine), and it in fact did come from a famous pair of socialists , Betch and Bellamy.
- pjc50 6y ago> As a socialist, he had initially also considered using the words equality and fraternity[18] but decided against it, knowing that the state superintendents of education on his committee were against equality for women and African Americans Ouch.
- RandomBacon 6y agoInteresting. It doesn't ruin the pledge for me though. Things change. Bad things can become good, good things can become bad. Symbols of luck and divinity turn into symbols of hate: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika
- joejerryronnie 6y agohttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/pledge-allegiance-pr-gimmick-patriotic-vow-180956332/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/pledge-allegiance-pr-... This article has a bit of a different viewpoint than the wiki page
- nodesocket 6y agoMost people think it is actually the state motto, when it fact it's "Friendship".
- dalacv 6y agothe word texas means friend: “The name Texas derives from táyshaʔ, a word in the Caddoan language of the Hasinai, which means "friends" or "allies".”
- seph-reed 6y agoThese adverts are hilarious. This one ends with a personal threat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2qIF3PL7lQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2qIF3PL7lQ And this one ends with another personal threat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb-LPbUeiWA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb-LPbUeiWA Basically, "if you litter, we'll fuck your shit up." I love it!
- intrepidhero 6y agoCame here to post the one of the B-17 (Sentimental Journey) chasing a truck. Hehe.
- mdturnerphys 6y agoIn Washington State the signs say "Litter and it will hurt" and show the fine for littering. The phrase has always seemed a bit awkward to me.
- gammarator 6y agoIn Australia there are signs along the highway that say things like "Drowsy Drivers Die" and "Rest/Revive/Survive." Got my attention.
- jboynyc 6y agoSydney’s anti-litter signs that read “Don’t be a tosser” are also worth mentioning in this context.
- floren 6y agoWhen I first moved to New Mexico, I was puzzled by the billboards which featured a stern cop and the word "ENDWI". What the hell's an endwi? Eventually I realized it was just the (weird) slogan from the state anti-drunk driving (Driving While Intoxicated) campaign.
- dreamcompiler 6y agoThe NM signs I love are the ones that say "Gusty Winds May Exist." Indeed.
- vanniv 6y agoIn Aus I liked the roadsigns with random trivia questions along the really straight part of the road from Bundaberg to Brisbane, trying to keep your mind occupied so that you stay awake.
- 9nGQluzmnq3M 6y agoIndia has some great ones: https://www.wanderlust.co.uk/content/9-funny-indian-road-signs/ https://www.wanderlust.co.uk/content/9-funny-indian-road-sig... I wonder how "Follow traffic rules and avoid blood pools" would fly in the US...
- renewiltord 6y agoMy god, this is amazing. They marketed their anti-litter campaign as a state-pride manly-man issue to great success. I love it. Very intelligent hack. This is also a very interesting story about the importance of diversity on a team. While TXDOT wanted to go with "Please Keep Texas Beautiful", this guy knew the kind of guy he had to convince wouldn't listen to that stuff. Brilliant. There's another one (less successful though still successful) which I remember just because it's so catchy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Click_It_or_Ticket https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Click_It_or_Ticket . When I had family visiting from elsewhere you could just say "Click It or Ticket" and they'd get it. Sure the real reason I want them to wear the seatbelt isn't because of the ticket, but the slogan combined with the fact that I can outsource the argument to the state is great.
- m463 6y agoI had a friend who had been in the Army. She really identified with "Be all that you can be", but thought the later "An Army of One" campaign sent the wrong message. (Looks like it was short-lived [1]) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slogans_of_the_United_States_Army https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slogans_of_the_United_States_A...
- ghaff 6y agoAs I recall, the Army of One was sort of part of the zeitgeist of the moment and, yeah, it fell pretty flat in the context of suggesting military loners rather than teams.
- ken 6y agoI recall my friends in college praising it at the time. To them, the biggest downside of joining the military (besides, obviously, getting killed) was that your individuality would be beaten out of you. This marketing campaign tried to show that wasn’t necessarily the case.
- grawprog 6y agoI'm not American and i've always thought it odd how many 'join the army' ads you guys have on your channels, watching cartoons as a kid on the american vs the Canadian channels we got, the american ones always had at least one join the army ad per day, while I think I could count the amount of canadian ones I remember seeing. But i'll agree I remember even then thinking the army of one ones were pretty dumb and made no sense...I also remember the be all you can be ones...that's really how great your guys state propaganda is honestly. I remember these things, still. That says something.
- wkyle 6y agoIt's kind of interesting that state departments of transportations are so involved in anti-litter campaigns. Seems like they were the most relevant government stakeholders prior to the creation of the EPA. The Keep America Beautiful campaign was also involved with state DOTs [1], and many current anti-litter campaigns involve/are run by the local DOT (Tennessee [2], Mississippi [3] are two examples). I guess it makes sense when you consider the abundance of litter on highways, but trash certainly has environmental effects beyond the highway. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_America_Beautiful https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_America_Beautiful [2] https://litter.mdot.ms.gov/ https://litter.mdot.ms.gov/ [3] https://nobodytrashestennessee.com/ https://nobodytrashestennessee.com/
- egypturnash 6y agoPeople throwing trash out of their car windows was a major problem for a long time. It’d accumulate on the sides of the highways and look nasty and be a hazard to wildlife. It’s gotten better over my lifetime but it’s not like cars come with a built in trash receptacle that you can get a standard bag size for to make dealing with it easy. That would be pretty nice.
- ghaff 6y agoI'm sure it's nothing like it used to be but I still end up picking up way more discarded McDonald's cups and beer cans in front of my property than one would think would be the case in this day and age. (A fairly busy 2-lane road though I'm set pretty far back.)
- dylan604 6y agoWhy is this weird? The DoTs are the ones responsible for the roadways. They own the land where the majority of the litter is originating. And as you said, it easily migrates from there to waterways.
- ghaff 6y agoGreat (and very funny) video from Jeremy Gutsche that talks about the campaign. The whole thing is great but the part specifically about the Texas campaign starts just after about 12:00. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhomTOMRS7c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhomTOMRS7c
- philsnow 6y agoOne of my favorite t-shirts says (in the shape of TX) "Don't Mess and God Bless". https://www.amazon.com/Mason-Jar-Label-Llc-Shirt/dp/B07PK5FW3J https://www.amazon.com/Mason-Jar-Label-Llc-Shirt/dp/B07PK5FW...
- _jal 6y agoI've always been partial to this one: https://www.redbubble.com/i/t-shirt/Don-t-Mess-With-Texas-Ohio-by-amorphia/13179379.IJ6L0.classic-tee-w https://www.redbubble.com/i/t-shirt/Don-t-Mess-With-Texas-Oh... (There is a Texas, Ohio, if that helps.)
- yyy888sss 6y agoIn NSW,Australia we have "Don't be a tosser".
- prawn 6y agoIn case this doesn’t translate outside of AU, a tosser (beyond someone throwing rubbish) is a “wanker”, a tool, an idiot. There have been road safety signs along the same lines using w(anchor symbol) and a rooster (cock). Trying to market to punch through male bravado I guess.
- rossdavidh 6y agoSpeaking as someone who's lived in Texas since late in the last millenium, that sounds awesome, and similarly well-calibrated to work on the target audience.
- SamReidHughes 6y agoTexas also has great scare-quoted ‘“left” lane for passing only’ signs. (Because it’s called the passing lane.)
- hirundo 6y agoToday is the 184th anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto, "the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution". Outnumbered Texians defeated the Mexican army in a lopsided slaughter and captured their general. So a good day for a story with this headline even if it is about littering. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_San_Jacinto https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_San_Jacinto
- Rapzid 6y agoViva La Fiesta
- Aloha 6y agoSam Houston was an interesting man, Governor of two states, president of a young republic, a general (and talented one at that), a slaveholder yes, but he considered the civil war an effort in futility.
- gpanders 6y agoIndeed he was! He was also quite outspoken against the treatment of Native Americans (at least, relative to his time) having spent a significant amount of time living among the Cherokee. This won him quite a few enemies, as the "Indian problem" was a pretty significant issue in the nascent Republic of Texas. He was strongly opposed to Texas secession and gave one of his most famous speeches in opposition to it. For anyone interested, T. R. Fehrenbach's "Lone Star" is a great history of Texas and of Sam Houston (among many other colorful characters).
- chasd00 6y agoI always loved this Don't mess with Texas commercial. A low pass by a B17 must have been so amazing to film. https://youtu.be/XlFD0Zyl_f0 https://youtu.be/XlFD0Zyl_f0
- yellowapple 6y agoMore info about the "Confederate Air Force" mentioned in the commercial: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commemorative_Air_Force https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commemorative_Air_Force
- officemonkey 6y agoIt would have been a lot better if they used an A-10. It's basically a flying gun. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairchild_Republic_A-10_Thunderbolt_II https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairchild_Republic_A-10_Thunde...
- a5seo 6y ago*It woulda been cooler...
- officemonkey 6y agoNo. The A-10 is a better platform to destroy individual pickup trucks. The bomber is overkill.
- hyperhopper 6y ago> Since the phrase is a federally registered trademark, the department has tried at times to enforce its trademark rights with cease and desist letters This was the most shocking bit in the article for me. Trademark law was meant to prevent unfair competition, why would the government of Texas be worrying about the use of this to sell pro-Texas price merchandise? Seems like its the government itself going against the spirit of the law.
- dylan604 6y agoExactly this. If people are selling merch with that slogan, then the DoT should get a cut. I know "Don't Mess With Texas" merch exists, but I don't know if any of it was official from the DoT. If it did, the other merch would interfere with it's ability to monetize its trademark. I'm sure a simple online search would show you examples of merch that, while funny, clearly isn't something a state level agency would release.
- pengaru 6y agoAges ago in my teens I was part of a group road-tripping cross-country and we passed through Texas. I vaguely recall us encountering trash bins at a rest area with this slogan emblazoned on them, and one of the kids in the group accepting the challenge, kicking over all of the trash cans. Makes me wonder if such a slogan is a net win over just advertising stiff fines for littering. There will always be people who see such things like NO TRESPASSING signs as an impotent challenge.
- dylan604 6y agoHonestly, your friend was just an idiot teenager. No slogan will ever reduce the number of idiots. I'd be willing to say that the number of people knocking over trash cans just to defy a slogan is pretty low. There's a difference between being in opposition to overzealous authority. However, knocking over trash cans is pretty much just dumb.
- joan_kode 6y ago"McClure said that he created the slogan when he saw garbage while walking near his house." Did a double take on that sentence, it's easy to miss the "while".
- gorgoiler 6y agoWell I never! I shall look forward to being surprised by whichever public awareness campaign begat We don’t dial 9-1-1 over a photo of a revolver.
- foreigner 6y agoEven more Texan: "Come and take it!"
- profunctor 6y agoIsn't that Greek?
- xellisx 6y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_and_take_it https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_and_take_it
- ncmncm 6y agoEverone knows nothing in life is certain but death in Texas.