In Search of Bubba

In Sea City for a day off yesterday, I passed a convenience store called Bubba's Quik Stop. It made me stop and reflect on who Bubba is.


Reflecting on Bubba is almost an oxymoron. Bubba does not reflect. Bubba acts. The idea of a philosopher named Bubba is ludicrous. He consumes white bread, never whole wheat. He eats red meat and plenty of it at barbecue restaurants. He goes to Motocross and Nascar events. He hunts and fishes. He drives a pickup truck, never a car. When the Texas legislature briefly considered making an exception to the seat belt law for pickup trucks, it was labeled the Bubba Amendment. Bubba does not like to be told what to do. When not in his pickup truck, Bubba roars across the country on his Harley, hailing the freedom to bike where he likes. Bubba is patriotic, lives in the south, and may or may not attend church. At least in name, he is probably Southern Baptist. Bubba seems to live in small towns and rural communities more than big cities.


Bubba is not a single person, yet he represents many people. He is very real. He is as pervasive as the trees and as little noticed. He is so much a part of this culture that he is taken for granted. Bubba is the myth of manhood in the South writ large.


Bubba is mostly but not exclusively male. Political analysts talk about the "Bubba vote" and include soccer moms as well as farmers and ranchers. The female Bubba character is less well developed than the male, but she exists. I will call her Bubba-Ann. After all, the Dixie Beach Boys had a hit song that went "Bub-bub-bub-bub-Bubba Ann" or something like that. Bubba-Ann has leathery skin from being outdoors in her garden. She can hunt and fish as skillfully as Bubba. Bubba-Ann is equally gifted in the kitchen and with a shotgun. She will use the shotgun on anyone who messes with her "babies." Bubba-Ann's "babies" are like vehicle speeds, with ages ranging from zero to seventy.


Before I moved from up north, I had never heard of Bubba. I now suspect that Bubba lives all over the United States, but with different names in different regions. Researching the origins of the name Bubba, I found that it is derived from the word "brother" and often given to boys to indicate their role in the family, especially the oldest male sibling. If given, the name sticks and often replaces the original name.

So how would Jesus deal with Bubba? He would deal with the person, not the stereotype. He would not assume that just because someone drives a pickup, s/he eats white bread and barbecue, hunts, fishes, and thinks the last line of the National Anthem is "Gentlemen, start your engines." He would look past the myth and relate to the human being in front of him. Not a bad idea.