Country music star Jason Aldean has found himself painted by controversy by the media.
Yet despite this, his song “Try That In a Small Town” has soared to the top of the charts.
The attempts to cancel Aldean are an interesting case study on whether the establishment still has sway over public opinion.
On May 19, Aldean published the now controversial song. He wrote on Twitter, “To me, this song summarizes the way a lot people feel about the world right now. It seems like there are bad things happening on a daily basis, and that feels unfamiliar to a lot of us. This song sheds some light on that.”
The music video shows scenes reminiscent of the Antifa and BLM riots that swept across the country. It addresses the violence carried out in big cities, and the acts of lawlessness that are being normalized, and says “try that in a small town.”
Critics are doing all they can to paint the song as racist, and as advocating for violence. There’s nothing in it technically about race. And the parts about “violence” are more saying people in small towns don’t tolerate violence and lawlessness, and will defend themselves and others if they see it.
As for race, the song does appear to criticize the violence, riots, and attacks against the country and law enforcement that were carried out by groups such as BLM and Antifa. And it gives reference to acts of violence that are often painted as being in support of so-called “racial justice.” In other words, it’s being called violent for advocating for rule of law, and it’s being painted as racist for opposing violence from groups like BLM.
It also talks about other crimes such as when it says “sucker punch somebody on a sidewalk,” this is likely a reference to the “knockout game.” This was making headlines back in 2013, when teenagers around the country were sucker punching random strangers. The challenge of their game was to try and knock the people out in a single punch. That year alone, the so-called game killed four people.
When it says “car jack an old lady at a red light,” this is likely in reference to the car jackings that are becoming more common in the United States. Many of these have likewise led to the killings of the victims though. In a case last year, four teenagers held a 73-year-old woman at gunpoint to steal her SUV. She was allegedly caught in her seatbelt and was dragged by the vehicle. Her arm was ripped from her body before she died.
Many of these crimes are generally viewed by being symptoms of lawlessness, and of loose on crime policies in American cities. The perpetrators are often seen getting light sentences, even in cases where the victims are killed.
The message in the song references these acts of violence, and then says “well try that in a small town; see how far you make it down the road; ‘round here we take care of our own.”
For conservatives in the United States, this is a fairly common sentiment.
When people were watching Antifa attacking conservatives, when they saw the left burning down communities, it was common to hear people say “I’d like to see them try that around here.” I’ve personally heard many people say this.
The perception is that Democrat cities no longer have rule of law. Things deemed “acceptable” in Democrat cities are not deemed “acceptable” by most of America. Criticism of the song just looks like another case of the “ivory tower” liberals, criticizing what they call “flyover country.” It’s the elitist disdain and disconnect from the values and culture that’s still held by most of the country.
But the powers that be still feel otherwise. Controversy really took hold after Country Music Television (CMT), pulled the song from its rotation. As Billboard reported on July 17, the music video was being featured regularly, but then the network removed it. It noted that CMT declined to comment on why.
The report went on to frame the general narrative that other media would repeat. It says the video “Aldean performing in front of courthouse with an American flag hanging from the entrance.” Yet it also says “The performance is interspersed with footage of a flag burning, protesters screaming and attacking police in various scenarios, and robbing a convenience store.”
Of course, for anyone who watched the video, context is important here. The song and video were obviously criticizing the burning of the American flag, criticizing attacks on police, and criticizing robberies. But if you were to only read the Billboard story, you could easily think it was the opposite.
But despite being canceled, and despite the attacks that would follow, the song has soared in popularity. And it has now become the focal point of a national debate.