Lubbock Has a Way to Go Before Being Friendliest City in US

Whenever I hear a bold claim, I have to research it. It's just something that I do. The claim that Lubbock is "The Friendliest City In America" seems to be no more than an advertising slogan. It's no different than one version of mac-n-cheese saying "it's the cheesiest."

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First off, a quick Google search will show a few lists with "The Friendliest Cities In America" on them, and Lubbock is nowhere to be found.

Somebody just made up the slogan and went with it. That's cool and its totally something to aspire to.

Lubbock has the second highest violent crime rate in Texas. It's kind of hard for me to believe those crime victims think it's all roses around here.

Our motorcycle and bicycle riders will tell you that people sure as hell don't drive friendly around here. Then, there's the fact that we have a minority population that still mostly lives on one side of town -- a side that, in my understanding, a certain minority was actually legislated to live in up until 2006.

Lubbock, taking a cue from Gov. Greg Abbott, certainly isn't friendly to the idea of Syrian refugees. Lubbock is also chock full of anti-government types, including one particular judge who thought he was going to have to stand in front of tanks to protect us from Pres. Obama.

I don't think that combative political nature is friendly. Ask the visiting teams at Jones AT&T stadium how friendly Lubbock is to them and you're likely to get an earful about how poorly they're treated.

Oh, then there's the murder at a local restaurant this past weekend, the murder at 66th and Sherman on Sunday, the 7-11 robbed at gunpoint and the fight and gunshots on East Colgate on Friday night.

I love this town and work daily to try to make it a better, more friendly place. It still has a long way to go. I love the idea of trying to make it "The Friendliest City In America" at some point, but it's not there yet.