(Whataburger, TX) Howdy there and welcome to Texas. Come, sit down and dust off your boots, it’s a hot one out there and I’ve got some iced tea burning a hole in my fridge. Now that you’re settling though, we have something to talk about. You see, as a Texan who takes her statehood very seriously, I believe in all things Texan. I believe that we should be our own independent country, I believe Chip and Joanna Gaines should rule that country, and I believe that we should never, under any circumstances, export Whataburger. But the one thing I haven’t made my mind up about, which I would like to ask y’all about, is should non-Texans be allowed to say ‘yeehaw?’

I’ve struggled with this on my CASPER MATTRESS for months. It has literally kept me up at night, despite those COOL, DREAMY SHEETS. Part of me would never want to deny another person the human right to say yeehaw, but another part thinks that maybe it is okay for people to have things that are just for them. Like, maybe I want to enjoy something with a few of my close good friends and just keep it between us.

Because that is what I don’t think a lot of people understand about Texas. It’s about the friendship. Texas literally means ‘friends and allies’ in the native Caddo language and even though you may not realize it moving here from another place, you will soon find out. I believe that the word ‘yeehaw’ embodies so much of that spirit and I kind of want to keep that amongst us Texans, you know?

But then, what is more friendly than sharing something that brings someone joy? And yeehaw does bring joy. Maybe we need to reverse our approach and spread yeehaw to everyone in the entire world. As you can see, I’m pretty split on this decision.

Ultimately, the truth is that no-one should be able to say yeehaw other than the Miccosukee tribe, who use it to refer to wolves. Undoubtedly cooler and more culturally sensitive if you ask me, but unfortunately I don’t make the rules. It seems like we are just going to have to allow everyone to say yeehaw whether we like it or not.

Sorry Texans. Sorry to the Miccosukee people. Sorry in general.

This was written by Nathan Ellwood who loves being by the water, near the water, and later consumed by the water. Follow him @NPEllwood.