DENTON COUNTY, Texas--I was 18 when I started work for the 2020 Census in Denton County, a suburb of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, though more rural than most suburbs.
Since this is Texas, a lot of people flew Gadsden flags, as well as a healthy mix of
“Come and Take It” cannon flags. One house I went to had both. And for good measure, they also had a “We Don’t Call 911” sign posted above their entryway.
I thought to myself, “this will be fun.” So I parked my car around the corner and knocked on the door.
The Gadsden flag is the “Don’t Tread On Me” flag with the snake on it, and is usually associated with American revolutionary patriots. The cannon flag, or at least the “Come and Take It” slogan printed below the cannon, is a really old one, but it’s most closely associated here with the Texas Revolution because it was used during a battle taunting the Mexican army to retake their cannons. They’ve both been co-opted by more hardcore right-wing people, so at least I knew what I was getting into approaching this house.
A thirty-something, white, balding guy with wraparound sunglasses opens the door and asks me what I’m doing here. I say I’m with the U.S. Census, and he asks what that is, so I explain it and finish by adding that it’s required in the original Constitution that a census is conducted in every year that ends with 0, 2020 being no exception. I ask if he has 10 minutes to fill out the form and I hand him a paper that details the confidentially of the census. He takes the sheet, and I think at that point he realizes I’m from the government, and he tries to hand it back to me. I tell him I’m really not supposed to take any papers back (because of Covid-19) and so he just drops it on the ground.
After this he points to the sign above his entryway (the “We Don’t Call 911” sign) and tells me to fuck off. I explain if we don’t conduct the interview now and he doesn’t take an online interview paper, then I or someone else will have to come back and try again later, at which point he threatens to shoot whoever comes to bother him next. So I say “You got it sir, have a nice day” and take off. I don’t think his reaction was racially motivated, since I’m Mexican, just more an anti-government sentiment he held.
I mark the place as a DNI (did not interview) and go across the street to his neighbor. A super-tall Black guy answers the door. I ask him if he knows anything about his neighbor, like how many people live there, etc., just trying to get some info on the household. He says he knows how many people and asks if I met the guy who lives there. I say yes and explain what happened, and he goes “yep sounds about right, those folks are assholes.”
And that was the last time I took any cases in that neighborhood.
--NMG
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