Austin's motto that spread
Figure 1: "Keep Austin Weird" T-shirt 2013.[3]
The popular
saying “Keep Austin Weird” was first coined in 2000 by Red Wassenich, an Austin
community college librarian.[1] This motto, which at one time was only used in
the Austin, Texas context, has now been adopted by many other cities around the
United States.
This craving to keep Austin unique is not a recent phenomenon, however. Many people in the late 1970s and 80s sported the sayings like “Keep Austin Austin” and “Austin: not a little Dallas” on bumper stickers as a way of protesting the rapid growth that Austin was experiencing.[2] This was their way of gaining public support for city growth restrictions and cultural development projects. Many of these people feared the increasing economic development because it was bringing a flood of new people and culture that might have drowned out Austin's already-established culture.
This craving to keep Austin unique is not a recent phenomenon, however. Many people in the late 1970s and 80s sported the sayings like “Keep Austin Austin” and “Austin: not a little Dallas” on bumper stickers as a way of protesting the rapid growth that Austin was experiencing.[2] This was their way of gaining public support for city growth restrictions and cultural development projects. Many of these people feared the increasing economic development because it was bringing a flood of new people and culture that might have drowned out Austin's already-established culture.
Figure 2: Keep Austin Weird bumper sticker 2011.[4]
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These residents in addition to those city planners who saw the economic importance of a culturally rich city, helped maintain and even grow Austin’s cultural amenities. Without popular phrases such as this, city planners may have had a hard time convincing the city to slow its growth and put money into parks, museums, and art. Today, the saying “Keep _____ Weird” has been adopted by several cities across the United States as an effort by residents to support their city’s unique culture.
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- Lloyd, Richard. "Weird City: Sense of Place and Creative Resistance in Austin, Texas. By Joshua Long." American Journal of Sociology (2010): 297-299. PDF.
- Sherley, Connie. "What's Doing in Austin." The New York Times 11 May 1980. Electonic Newspaper.
- Kelsey, Hunter. "Keep Austin Weird" t-shirt. Digital image. Hunter Kelsey. N.p., 28 June 2013. Web. 1 Sept. 2014. <http://propertytaxloansfortexas.com/keep-austin-weird/>.
- "Keep Austin Weird" bumper sticker. Digital image. LOU MINATTI. Blogspot, 19 Jan. 2011. Web. 1 Sept. 2014. <http://louminatti.blogspot.com/2011_01_01_archive.html>.