MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA: A fight that occurred on Saturday, August 5, in Montgomery, Alabama, prompted a flurry of memes and videos that compared the incident to the lyrics of the song 'Try That In A Small Town' by Jason Aldean. Montgomery law enforcement officers reportedly said that the event occurred on Saturday, around 7pm after a floating boat allegedly prevented the Harriott II Riverboat attraction from parking close to Montgomery Riverfront Park. Videos of the incident shared online showed a group of White men attacking a Black dock worker as a result, as per Newsweek.
Due to its lyrics, location and the fact that Country Music Television (CMT) removed the song and video from its usual rotation, Aldean's song, which was released in July, attracted both praise and criticism. The video was shot in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, where a mob of White people murdered a Black man, Henry Choate, in 1927.
Why is Jason Aldean being dragged for Alabama boat brawl?
Aldean has recently been under fire for his contentious song 'Try That in a Small Town' and the music video that accompanied it, which sparked discussions regarding how urban versus rural settings are portrayed. As he addressed the contentious subject of gun culture, the artiste was accused of "promoting violence" in the song. The lyrics read, "Cuss out a cop, spit in his face/ Stomp on the flag and light it up/ Yeah, ya think you're tough/ Well, try that in a small town/ See how far ya make it down the road/ Around here, we take care of our own/ You cross that line, it won't take long/ For you to find out, I recommend you don't/ Try that in a small town."
Aldean's further sings, "Got a gun that my granddad gave me/ They say one day they're gonna round up/ Well, that s**t might fly in the city, good luck/ Try that in a small town/ See how far ya make it down the road." On the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, the song peaked at Number 1 in July.
'Jason Aldean has made white kids way too brave'
Netizens drew comparisons between Aldean's song, 'Try That in a Small Town', and the said brawl. A user tweeted, "The best part of the Alabama river boat brawl is that the internet has adopted Jason Aldean's 'Try that in a small town' as the soundtrack to the a** whipping those racists b******s got." Another person wrote, "Jason Aldean has made white kids way too brave. A black security guard at a Mobile, Alabama River asked some white kids to move their boat and they decided to jump him. So the rest of the black community that was there jumped in to defend him. Try that in a small town!"
A third user remarked, "The way black people are repurposing Jason Aldean's "try that in a small town" as a black anthem after the Montgomery Riverfront Brawl is the kind of delicious irony I live for." Another one quipped, "I didn’t know who Jason Aldean was until Alabama River boat brawl. Never heard of his music. Lol." Someone else wrote, "Congratulations to you @Jason_Aldean for adding fuel to the smoldering fire of racial tension in our country. The Alabama brawl is on you." Another one noted, "I just think it’s f*****g hilarious how this brawl happend in Alabama weeks after all of the @Jason_Aldean controversy of his song try that in a small town. To me, the song is like a threat to the black community…. But they f****d around and found out"
