This response to Jonathan Thompson’s essay is not
about the right to bear arms and the purpose of firearms
(HCN, 9/3/07). (I do bear arms and I hunt with
firearms.) Rather, it is more about the changing West. Thompson’s
encounter with the Lexus-driving “bird man” reminds me of the sneer
I got when I drove up to the gas station pumps in my 1979 Jeep with
Hank Williams singing out of the speakers. Next to me pumping gas
into his Mercedes was a gentrified “New West” fellow. The sneer on
his face clearly told me that Hank Williams was not on his musical
menu. The West is being ruined by the gentry.
Tom Taylor
Mesa,
Arizona
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline He probably hates Johnny Cash, too.
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