Go ahead, ‘Try That in a Small Town’. On Monday, July 24th., American Songwriter ran this headline, “Ted Nugent Responds to “Idiots” Reacting to Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town”.
Ted Nugent has slammed all the criticism of Jason Aldean’s new single and video “Try That In A Small Town,” calling all his detractors “idiots” without a soul. “I know there’s a bunch of idiots out there, but you need to learn to get a kick out of the idiots,” said Nugent. “The idiots hate this Jason Aldean song because they hate when we push back against violence.”
Aldean received backlash after releasing the video for this “Try That In A Small Town” on Friday (July 14). The video features him performing in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, the site where 18-year-old Henry Choate was lynched in 1927. The singer has received criticism as some say the song’s lyrics encourage gun violence.
Aldean was specifically criticized for the lyrics Got a gun that my granddad gave me / They say one day they’re gonna round up / Well, that shit might fly in the city, good luck. The singer received criticism since he performed and survived the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas in October 2017.
Nugent said that Aldean’s lyrics are anti-violence and are centered more around protecting loved ones. “They always get it 180 degrees wrong,” said Nugent. “This song is against violence. The song is about self-defense. The song is about protecting your loved ones in your neighborhood.
“Try that in my small town”, said Thomas Robb, the National Director of the Knights Party of the Ku Klux Klan, based in Harrison, Arkansas. “If this were a rap song about drugs, murder, and rape nobody would say a word, but since it’s about protecting ourselves, and giving a fair warning that rural America is alot different than a big city, because we will defend ourselves, our families, and our neighbors, it’s considered a racist song. I didn’t hear anything in Jason Aldean’s song that was even remotely racist. Some Americans move to rural areas for the peace and tranqulity it provides. Most times, your neighbors are your White kin, so naturally you feel safer, it gives off a feeling of when America was a safer place, a time when criminals were punished, a time when God was a big part of our culture, so what is wrong with that? Everything our forefathers stood for, everything thing they sacrificed, the blood that was spilled, to make America a White, Christian Nation is now racist. I wonder what would happen in Africa if 13% of it’s population were White, and raised the fuss over their native people being racist towards us?”