When They Tried That In A Small Town

Not just liberals; not just big cities.

Uvalde TX is a small town.  Population 26k; 21 dead.

Newtown CT is a small town.  Population 28k; 26 dead.

Parkland FL is a small town.  Population 35k; 17 dead.

Red Lake MN is a small town.  Population 1500; 8 dead.

Santa Fe TX is a small town.  Population 13k; 10 dead.

Littleton CO is a small town.  Population 45k; 13 dead.

Oxford MI is a small town.  Population 23k; 4 dead.

Jason Aldean like to imagine that small American towns are safe spaces, where “good old boys raised up right” won’t tolerate any cussing of cops or flag stomping.  Where there are no liberals talking about rounding up guns.

Mr. Aldean is dog-whistling past the graveyard.  School shooting are done by local actors, not marauding bands of BLM protesters.  And 2/3 of all fatal shooting are rural older white males who turn their guns on themselves.

It is a lot harder to write a hit song about the problems of poverty, lack of health care, lack of economic opportunities, drug abuse/addiction, domestic violence, and way too many guns that  impact ALL our American communities than it is to demonize a scapegoat.  But Mr. Aldean has Nashville hit-making machinery on his side, and I am sure he could do it if he cared about small towns as he claims.