“What cheer, Netop?”

These are the words supposedly spoken to the banished Puritan Roger Williams, by the Narragansett Indians as they encountered each other in what would become Rhode Island.  The phrase is generally agreed to be an archaic greeting essentially meaning “What’s up, friend?” Williams had been kicked out of both Massachusetts and Connecticut for being too rigid – a remarkable feat for a Puritan – and was given the opportunity to found a new colony based on such crazy ideas as freedom of worship and personal responsibility. [ For a more detailed, interesting and humorous take on his situation, I highly recommend the brilliant Sarah Vowell's book, "The Wordy Shipmates". ]

What got me thinking about Williams and the Narragansetts this morning was having viewed a photo of an Austin street vendor during our annual invasion of hipsters, South By Southwest.  The conference, while an economic boon to the city, engenders quite a bit of backlash from locals, who resent the overtaking of our city even for a week or so.  The traffic, the endless waits at shops and restaurants, and especially any criticisms of dear old Texas, are given no quarter by the local populace.

This particular hot dog cart vendor was sporting a t shirt seen often around here, which says “[Intercourse] Y’All, I’m From Texas”.  I find the shirt pretty offensive – always have – and routinely wonder about the peculiar “chip on the shoulder” mentality of a lot of Texans.  They seem to need to loudly and proudly proclaim their native land as heaven on earth, and having lived in Texas for almost 25 years, I still wonder why.

Seeing that vendor’s shirt spurred me to think more about it, and I realized that in a strange way, I’ve got just as much state pride related to Rhode Island, as they do for Texas.  I may not wear a t shirt telling people to go reproduce with themselves, but I do frequently write and talk about all things Rhody.

The things I claim as birthright aren’t particularly interesting nor unique – the foods, the landscape, the funny accents, the weather. When I get the occasion to travel to my home state, I gorge myself with clams, coffee milk, maple walnut ice cream, etc. I smile at the loss of trailing “r’s”, and revel in the cold weather. As often as I can, no matter the season, I trek to the shore to smell and taste and hear and look. It brings me great joy.

The one difference is that I never seem to feel the need to proclaim life in Rhode Island as anything but perfect for myself, I certainly don’t feel as if it holds a special place in the firmament for all. Rhode Island is special to me, and millions of others, but that doesn’t translate into some sort of competition against any other place.

A lot of Texans seem to feel the need to compensate for something – I don’t know what – and confidently proclaim that life in Texas is superior to any other place on earth. It’s not just those who’ve never set foot outside the state, either. If anything, Rhode Islanders tend to poke fun at themselves, fatalistically pointing out the perpetually corrupt state and local government, the economic bleeding over the past 75 years or so. For generations we even had the sad sack pro sports franchises like the Red Sox and Patriots, but they heralded a new dawn in the 2000′s by actually becoming dominant, championship-caliber franchises!

To be sure, there’s a lot to like about Texas, especially central Texas where the verdant hills roll and slightly less conservative mindsets dwell. I love the food in Texas, there are many wonderful people and we’ve developed long and established roots here in Austin. I still can’t stand the summers, give me a Rhode Island winter over a Texas summer any day, but for at least half the year life in Central Texas is temperate.

A crowning irony of this “Texas is superior” mentality is that quite often the very same folks who proclaim this are the same ones complaining about the growth of Austin. We’ve seen tremendous population growth – fed rather than hindered by the recession – and both suburban and urban building has boomed. Brand new highways are jammed upon opening. Every chain restaurant imaginable has sprouted up. A business-friendly political climate has enabled many companies to entice employees to move here, where the cost of housing still pales in comparison with either coast.

Lots of people in town, most non-native, feel quite comfortable castigating the Californians, New Yorkers, Coloradons and others who have made their way to Austin in the past five years or so. Condo developers have transformed the humble downtown into a gleaming panorama of very expensive high rises. Certain parts of downtown Austin, once noted as a hippie town, more resemble Los Angeles or New York City, complete with outrageous prices. Those who made their way before the boom feel as if “their Austin” is going the way of the dinosaurs, and they’re not happy about it.

There’s no end in sight, the appeal of Austin continues. Each week brings a new load of people – everyone from technical professionals to scraggly rockers “living the dream” while they serve up your coffee. I’d like to hope that everyone already living in Austin could remember that once they didn’t live here either, and that if they were greeted with scorn it may have affected their love for this great mini-city. I’m not holding my breath, though.

“What cheer, Netop?” – a friendly greeting. The word “Texas” supposedly means “Friendly”. While for the most part I’ve found Texans friendly, I think they could use a dose of self-reflection, mixed with a jigger of good humor and a dash of appreciation of places outside of the Lone Star state.

And a big bag of clamcakes to share. That’s guaranteed to make anyone friendly.