How Complaining Connects The Lubbock Community

If complaining were an Olympic sport, Lubbock would take gold every single time.

Not because people here are genuinely unhappy. Quite the opposite. Some of the happiest people in town can also spend 45 minutes explaining why the newest road construction project is a terrible idea, followed by droning on and on about a restaurant that "isn't as good as last time", and topped off with negative banter about how Lubbock was a better place to live 20 years ago.

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

Lubbock's Biggest Complaints

In the 806, complaining is basically a community activity. You see it in every comment section. You do it in every conversation. It's the glue that holds us together.

New restaurant pops up? Someone quickly says it's overpriced.

The restaurant closes down? Suddenly, it was the same person's favorite place in town.

Everyone loves road expansions and fix-ups until they happen somewhere on their commute to work. Then, it's the gosh darn end of the world.

Our weather is basically the Super Bowl of complaints. We can't stop talking about it, as if we haven't endured it for years with no real plan to move in sight. Too windy. Too dry. Too hot. Too cold. Not enough rain. Too much rain. The only thing capable of temporarily ending the discussion is a perfect 75-degree breezy day. Doesn't happen often.

So, Why Do We Complain So Much?

The truth is, if Lubbock folks stopped complaining, that would be the first sign you should start worrying.

Complaining is, more or less, how we show we are paying attention to what's happening in our city. We complain about the roads because we drive on them every day. We complain about restaurants because that's where we invite our pals out on Friday nights to blow off steam. We complain about the weather because...well...there's not much else you can do while you watch your lawn furniture blow away to Oklahoma.

It's All Love! (I Think..)

I think deep down, most of us love it here and want the best for this place. We just have a weird way of expressing our affection. We may grumble from time to time, but we defend our city to outsiders pretty passionately, and we will argue to the death over who has the best tacos in town.

Lubbock won't ever be perfect, but as long as there is something to complain about, the conversation isn't going away, and that's what's most important.

Stay on top of your local officials, complain when necessary, but don't forget to shell out a little praise here or there when you can, whether it's tagging your favorite business in a photo online or leaving a nice review on Yelp when you've had a good experience.