“Keep Austin Weird” vs “Keep Georgetown Normal”
Is Austin really a “weird” city fighting a gravitational pull toward normalcy? Is Georgetown really the world’s standard for normal living, threatened by a geographical proximity to a city known for its not-Georgetown-ness? In this essay I present each standpoint in an exposé of how ambiguous each campaign – and our thoughts about weirdness and normalcy – really are.
Let us first discuss the origin of each phrase. “Keep Austin Weird” was allegedly coined by Austin resident Red Wassenich while donating to one of Austin’s public radio stations; Wassenich was praising public radio stations for continuing to play music from up-and-coming independent artists, music rarely found on what most consider mainstream or “top 40″ radio. The phrase was soon adopted by the Austin Independent Business Alliance to promote small businesses in the city. Wassenich took ownership of the phrase, launching keepaustinweird.com and creating a keep-your-money-local campaign that spread like wildfire through Austin, mostly due to the campaign’s legendary bumper sticker. Rhetorically, Keep Austin Weird describes local businesses as “weird” because they aren’t what’s considered “normal” in America, where large national chains dominate both the retail market and major urban arterials.
“Keep Georgetown Normal” was a bumper sticker created in 2005 by Duke’s BBQ Smokehouse – ironically, a local Georgetown business. The phrase quickly caught on in Georgetown and nearby Round Rock; T-shirts and caps were soon made by Duke’s and sold at local festivals and shops. The campaign received quite a bit of attention in Austin, and even spawned more a ideologically-agnostic campaign by the city of Pflugerville in 2007, claiming it lay between a “Rock and a Weird Place.” Rhetorically, Keep Georgetown Normal assigned no particular meaning to “normal,” but rather acknowledged that Georgetown was, in fact, different than Austin, and that most Georgetown residents weren’t interested in becoming more like Austin – whatever that meant.
Marketing the terms “weird” and “normal” is obviously lucrative in that people can assign their own meanings to the words. Indeed, folks in Austin can apply blanket stereotypes based on what they believe is “normal” to Georgetown residents; folks in Georgetown can do the same to “weird” Austinites. But while we can acknowledge that this type of stereotyping happens in both cities, we must also acknowledge the fact that Georgetown’s phrase isn’t based on an actual doing-good-for-the-city idea. It’s based on an idea that people in Georgetown think Austin is weird.
In actuality, if we’re going to be literal with the origins of each phrase, Keep Georgetown Normal implies that folks in Georgetown don’t like local businesses, and actively try to keep money flowing only to national chains. But that’s not the case at all. While many people in Georgetown enjoy eating at big-box restaurants like Applebee’s and Chili’s, many also enjoy eating at Monument Cafe and Duke’s BBQ. In Keep Austin Weird terms, Georgetown residents are keeping the city both weird and normal. But Georgetown’s phrase doesn’t share the same meaning.
So what does Keep Georgetown Normal mean, then? It’s not hard to find the answer. Since the phrase is a reaction to Austin’s “weirdness,” and because the weirdness is not defined as “supporting local businesses,” we must instead discuss other differences between the two cities.
First, Austin has more people. Nearly 700,000 more people at least. That alone presents such key differences as more traffic, more crime, and more of everything else. Austin’s also more ethnically diverse than Georgetown, where whites still dominate in every category – and due to its size more culturally diverse, which is common in any large city. Austin is statistically more liberal than Georgetown, primarily due to a large Hispanic and Black population and a larger percentage of residents with college degrees. Austin’s economy is very tech-centric, while Georgetown’s micro-economy is more agricultural in nature.
From this we deduct that the Georgetown phrase deems the following “weird”:
1. That Austin has more people
2. That Austin is more diverse
3. That Austin is more liberal
4. That Austin’s economy isn’t agriculturally-oriented
Now let’s get to the bottom of this. It’s perfectly fine to prefer living in a place with less people (re: “weird” thing No. 1). Living in a smaller town yields less traffic and less crime simply because there are less people. It’s also okay to prefer living in an ag-centric micro-economy, all financial and industry aspects considered (re: “weird” thing No. 4). And since by nature humans prefer being close to people who are similar to them, it is perfectly natural for folks in Georgetown to feel more comfortable around people who share the same ethnicity and political outlook as them (re: “weird” things 2 and 3).
What’s troublesome is how the phrase is presented. When you break down Nos. 2 and 3 a little further, you realize Keep Georgetown Normal is essentially saying that being (a) white and (b) conservative politically is “normal,” and that being Hispanic, Black, etc and Democratic in outlook is “weird.” With this in mind, Keep Georgetown Normal is no longer the cute reactionary phrase that’s funny to see on the back of cars – it becomes a form of ideological and ethnic bigotry.
But let’s turn the tables. Keep Austin Weird – though purposed intentionally to promote local business – gives Austinites the opportunity to assign their own meanings to “weird.” Since many people in the 18-35 age range visit local eateries downtown, Keep Austin Weird can be stretched to mean “Keep Austin Young” or “Keep Austin Hip.” Similarly, Austinites can define “normal” as anything not-weird, or “not like us.” Since generally diverse Austin is overwhelmingly liberal while generally homogenous Georgetown is overwhelmingly conservative, Austinites can easily demonize white conservatives by deeming them “normal,” rallying around a definition of “weird” they’re actually defining as “the same as me.”
This is the essence of both phrases: original purposes aside, each represents a celebratory phrase people can use to feel connected to those like them in their communities. To some stereotypically white, conservative long-time Georgetown residents who eat at Applebee’s and drive a Ford Excursion, “Keep Georgetown Normal” really means “I enjoy living near people I can relate to.” Likewise, stereotypically young, liberal Austinites eating trailer food and commuting by bicycle exclaim “Keep Austin Weird” and really mean “I enjoy living near people I can relate to.”
That being said, which phrase wins? There is apparent prejudice on both sides – an equal offense – but because that prejudice neglects the original purpose of the phrases, we must judge the two based on their intended meanings, not those popularly extrapolated from them. Keep Austin Weird encourages people to spend their money at local businesses instead (or in addition to, at least) of national chains in order to best support the local economy. No legitimate case against this ideology exists since it’s a “good for everyone” cause. Because of the campaign, eating and shopping locally has become extremely popular in Central Austin, so much so that few chain restaurants and stores can be found north of Ben White and south of US 183.
Keep Georgetown Normal has no public purpose, but was rather created as a new revenue source piggy-backing off Keep Austin Weird. In opposition to Keep Austin Weird, Keep Georgetown Normal promotes ditching local businesses for corporate Anytown USA stores – but in reality encourages Georgetown folks to value what distinguishes themselves from Austinites: less diversity and less tolerance. This encourages outsiders to perceive those from Georgetown as bigots – not folks who value the community they have in smaller-than-Austin Georgetown, which we can assume is often the case.
That’s why Keep Austin Weird trumps Keep Georgetown Normal. Now take that phrase and make it mean whatever you want.
