Well, it's a contradiction. Truth is, it always has been. Texans can be kind and generous, and mean and spiteful. I've shared before that I've been in small Texas towns where I've heard people say horrible, mean, racist shit....and people from that same community stopped, person after person, to help me when my truck was broken down. They offered time, help (real help, getting under the hood with me). So, Texas is a bunch of both. Sure, I think the ethos, especially the public one, has shifted in the shitty direction, and has elevated "mean" for no fucking good reason, and it's awful and embarrassing.
But it's a complicated world, and people are always different shades of gray. Growing up, I experienced a lotta kindness and generosity from those oilpatch types. I also heard the N-word from them, saw them get too drunk and into stupid fights, all the shit that wouldn't surprise you.
I don't know what to do with all of that. The worst of it makes me sad and angry. But the best of it makes me spend a 3 hour drive thinking about the place that made me.