Don't mess with Raytown.
That's a lesson The Kansas City Star learned the hard way last week, when a cheeky and seemingly innocent photo caption drew the ire of the city's residents.
The November 13 FYI section featured this cutline next to a small photo of Billy Ray Cyrus, who was sporting a mullet-ish hairdo:
Desperate times call for desperate measures, but bringing back his mullet? Bill Ray Cyrus, right, who is divorcing his wife, rocked it like Raytown on the red carpet Wednesday at the Country Music Awards in Nashville.And the citizens of the town let The Star's Toby Flenderson look-a-like/one-man complaint department/readers' representative, Derek Donovan, know just what they thought of the hick humor. In short, it was a chorus hollering, "Y'all cut it out, now! Ya hear?"
Raytown readers told Donovan that they didn't care for the paper further
the city's reputation as, what one resident described to me, a "redneck
but integrated" town.
"I can't believe The Star still condones this stereotype. I find it
offensive, and other people I talked to said the same thing. ... Printing
it sends a message that the newspaper agrees and approves of it,"
assailed one indignant reader.
Another railed, "How is this different from any other kind of cultural
stereotypes? Do you think the newspaper would be so blasé about it if it
were something about women, blacks or some other group that it used to
'OK' to make fun of? More discretion, please."
Another authoritative-sounding Raytowner added, "We are not the redneck
community that we are painted as by the media. We are an up-and-coming
multicultural community that is close to everything."
After pointing out that the caption was printed in the on the paper's
"Stargazing" page, which, "usually takes an irreverent look at
celebrities, with gossip and glamour photos accompanied by
sometimes-snarky commentary on the famous names in the news," he
conceded that it probably was ill-advised. He noted that while people
with richly tanned necks embrace Jeff Foxworthy's brand of humor, it's
different when it comes from a newspaper. "I think readers are justified
to balk at jokes that trade in typecast roles," he concludes.
Clearly, the Mama's
Family days are behind Raytowners.
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Which looks better: There is white people in Raytown, Theres wpir or there are wpir? Come to Raytown and look around, Dufus. There are hicks everywhere, obviously. A whole bunch of them commented on this moot issue. Lots of people out of state think Kansas City still has cow surprises on the sidewalks.
Patrick have you been in the city of Raytown lately?? Redneck is not the word I would use. By the way, next time use spell check smart one.
If raytown citizens don't want to be stereotyped as rednecks then maybe they shouldn't act like rednekcs. I thought the joke was funny.
"Y'all cut it out, now! Ya hear?"
Must be from South Raytown. Seriously the only time I heard talk like that was when I made the mistake of pausing on a Duke's of Hazard marathon while channel flipping.
I have lived in Raytown for over 20 Years and People r getting bent out of shape for no reason. People just need to LET GO LET GOD!!
Obviously whoever wrote this has not been to Raytown in the last decade. Rocked it like Lone Jack? Maybe.
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