Jason Aldean and the history of white vigilantism

 Jason Aldean and his anthem to vigilantism.

I haven't listened to country-western music since junior high, so Jason Aldean's song "Try That in a Small Town" would have escaped my attention were it not for the articles it inspired. If art is meant to provoke, Aldean's CW song qualifies. Its lyrics are plainly meant to appeal to white rural grievance, but it provoked many of us to recall the sordid history of vigilantism in this country.

Having grown up in the American South at the end of apartheid, racist violence and lynching was part of the soundtrack of my youth. Anyone who wants to return to the days where citizens routinely deputized themselves as judge, jury and executioner is simply anti-American.

Here's an essay that recalls the bad old days that Aldean's song valorizes:

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/jason-aldean-song-triggered-renewed-attention-on-racist-vigilante-justice-and-small-town-nationalism

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