Is W. a cowboy? Please.
The myth that has developed around the "cowboy" is a particular interest of mine. So I am very interested in the ranching and swaggering elements of the W. public persona.
In Texas, the cowboy and the oilman are different figures, with opposing values. Larry McMurtry, in Horseman, Pass By, contrasted the world views of the cowboy and the oilman. This novel was filmed in 1963 under the title Hud with Paul Newman playing the oilman—memorable for fast cars, fast women, and lots of alcohol. Hud's stepfather, Homer, the family patriarch, was a rancher who worked cows his whole life. The conflict in the story revolves around Hud's desire to drill the ranch for oil and Homer's refusal to allow it. Homer compares drilling with raping the land. Hud shoots Homer, and we assume he will now "rape" the ranch, as he has already raped the housekeeper.
In Texas mythology, the oilman is a less heroic figure than the cowboy. The cowboy exhibits a self-contained power, while the oilman's power comes from money and its influence. The oilman supplanted the cowboy, so the cowboy's appeal is nostalgic.
Another portrayal of rancher v. oilman is the novel/movie, Giant, which projects the waning power of the rancher, Jordan Benedict, against the waxing power of the oilman, Jett Rink. All the honor in the movie goes to Benedict, who illustrates the heroism of the cowboy figure against the drunken, groping power-hunger of the oilman.
W. is an oilman, not a cowboy. He is Hud, not Homer; he is Jett, not Benedict. Not only does W.'s youth mirror the characterizations of Hud and Jett, but oil is his business background and his most primal political base.
W.'s family fortunes were built on oil, so plundering the land is in his blood—and in his domestic environmental policies—and in his foreign policies, especially Iraq. The continued fighting in Iraq is fueled by the anger of those who feel their country was violated by the American oilman.
Texans have a put-down for men who attempt to appropriate the heroism of the cowboy–"all hat, no cows." I can't be the first to brand W. with that put-down, but I can offer this: he's all swagger, no cows.
In Texas, the cowboy and the oilman are different figures, with opposing values. Larry McMurtry, in Horseman, Pass By, contrasted the world views of the cowboy and the oilman. This novel was filmed in 1963 under the title Hud with Paul Newman playing the oilman—memorable for fast cars, fast women, and lots of alcohol. Hud's stepfather, Homer, the family patriarch, was a rancher who worked cows his whole life. The conflict in the story revolves around Hud's desire to drill the ranch for oil and Homer's refusal to allow it. Homer compares drilling with raping the land. Hud shoots Homer, and we assume he will now "rape" the ranch, as he has already raped the housekeeper.
In Texas mythology, the oilman is a less heroic figure than the cowboy. The cowboy exhibits a self-contained power, while the oilman's power comes from money and its influence. The oilman supplanted the cowboy, so the cowboy's appeal is nostalgic.
Another portrayal of rancher v. oilman is the novel/movie, Giant, which projects the waning power of the rancher, Jordan Benedict, against the waxing power of the oilman, Jett Rink. All the honor in the movie goes to Benedict, who illustrates the heroism of the cowboy figure against the drunken, groping power-hunger of the oilman.
W. is an oilman, not a cowboy. He is Hud, not Homer; he is Jett, not Benedict. Not only does W.'s youth mirror the characterizations of Hud and Jett, but oil is his business background and his most primal political base.
W.'s family fortunes were built on oil, so plundering the land is in his blood—and in his domestic environmental policies—and in his foreign policies, especially Iraq. The continued fighting in Iraq is fueled by the anger of those who feel their country was violated by the American oilman.
Texans have a put-down for men who attempt to appropriate the heroism of the cowboy–"all hat, no cows." I can't be the first to brand W. with that put-down, but I can offer this: he's all swagger, no cows.
posted by Lynn Holleman Rudloff | 9:43 AM
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