Texas Town Responds After Colbert Calls It An "Incorporated Outhouse"

CANTON, Texas — Stephen Colbert's one-man campaign against towns named Canton has its latest target firing back. A city councilman in Canton, Texas, joked that he would "mash his nose" after the comedian referred to the town as an "incorporated outhouse."

"What does that sucker know about it? He's never been here anyway," Councilman John Fuller said in a story Friday in the Tyler Morning Telegraph.

In an ongoing gag on his Comedy Central show "The Colbert Report," Colbert has been taking pot shots at various towns named Canton. It began when he referred to a Georgia town as "the crappy Canton."

Colbert then referred to Canton, Kan., with an unprintable epithet, and referred to Canton, S.D., as "North Dakota's dirty ashtray."

Cantons in Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Ohio have so far escaped Colbert's ire.

Leaders of the Texas town of Canton, which has a population of about 5,100, invited Colbert to the town's monthly flea market _ which, according to a city Web site, harkens back to Texas' frontier traditions, "when it was common to trade a rifle for a good hunting dog."

"Canton is known worldwide," City Manager Andy McCuistion said of the town, located about 55 miles southeast of Dallas. "You can go anywhere in the world, and people will say, `Canton? Yeah, I know where that is. It's where that big flea market is.'"

Comments

[paixa3]

When reading the headline, I thought he was talking about Crawford, Midland and anywhere else "the boooooo$$$h" has been.

[thegreatgiginthesky]

Crawford, will always be infamous because of W.

[NoCalDrummer]

Midland/Odessa smells bad. We had the idiotic idea to drive through there last year on our way home from Dallas. Although it was mid-morning when we departed Dallas, I thought it would be an interesting thing to wait until we got to Odessa to have lunch. Although we passed dozens of BK's, McD's, JitB's, etc., I wanted to wait. Well... We get there, and besides being greeted by a creepy sign warning... I mean inviting, you to George & Laura's hometown, I noticed it smelled bad - even worse than the Texas City refineries. And guess what? We couldn't find a fast-food joint in our trip through downtown. We got the heck out of there as quickly as possible, took the shortest route back to I-10, and ate in Ft. Stockton instead.
I'll never take THAT route again.

[racetoinfinity]

lol I had to stop there not too long ago on a flight to Vegas. Has to be one of the ugliest places in the USA, and guess what - W was born there and raised partly there, partly at WASPy tony prep schools in the NE. lol

[freaktown]

"Cantons in Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Ohio have so far escaped Colbert's ire."

colbert refered to Canton Ohio as "the good canton" unlike the "crappy Canton in Georgia"which is what started the whold gag.

[rmreddicks]

Who care's either way?

[SaltySaltillo]

Its only a matter of time before Colbert discovers there is a Canton in China...

[slobone]

Not anymore it's Guangzhong or something now...

[Marlyn]

Guang Dong = WIDE EAST

[Big0725]

I guess this epithet needed to be seen and heard in context cuz' I don't get it!

[66rock]

Please ,Colbert, pay attention to Canton, Illinois where the "big city" is Peoria, 20 min north.

[knerd]

Canton is where my maternal grandparents used to live. I have great memories of the place.
Fortunately, both of them passed on a sense of humor to my mother, who passed it along to me.
Colbert is great.

[JLTP]

I would say the entire state of Texas is an "incorporated outhouse," except maybe for Austin.

[GoodGuysandBadGuys]

Hahahaa, yeah probably 1/3 of the entire country is an incorporated outhouse.

[Big0725]

Sure seem that way.

[EarthToZoey]

As someone who drives to every state and every major city in this country on a weekly basis for work, I'm comfortable in saying that I have a unique perspective on this subject. The United States has profoundly beautiful spots surrounded by vast pedestrian fields of nothingness. But even in the nothingness there is beauty, if one takes the time to see it.

I'm a University of Texas at Austin alumnus and lived there for six years. It's a great place to work and play. :)

[SaltySaltillo]

Colbert is a comedian. You are just a bigot.

[johnmorgan]

No, I'd say that's a pretty good description of Texas.

[gage]

Obama supporters are snobs AND bigots.

[KOisGod]

Texass is the execution capital of the nation. If they can't barbeque it, they just give it a letal injection.

[PhantomAviator]

..

Just in.....

The mayor of Canton, TX defends his town from accusations that it is an "incorporated outhouse", and said simply that Canton wishes to remain known simply and humbly as The Gateway to Nowhere.

More at 6 & 10!!!!

.

[YellerDawg]

Canton, TX is also the home of a huge dog sale that would send a PETA member into myocardial infarction. There are some nice people in Canton, and the countryside is lovely, not an outhouse at all, but First Monday and the dog sale are just plain tacky. That's why they are so popular around these parts.

[EarthToZoey]

Haha! I saw the Colbert Report on the day he slammed Canton and I nearly spit my water as I fell to the floor laughing!! My grandmother used to drag me to the flea market in Canton and I hated every single solitary second of it.

Stephen Colbert rocks :)

[Redrover666]

He sucks.

[MiddletownHal]

I've driven through Canton, there are precious few English few words to describe the sensation, or lack thereof. There must be an abundance of German words that speak directly to that experience however.

That part of Texas is well, best left to those who attend cousins reunions in the hopes of getting laid. These are Rednecks with a capital "R" proud of their heritage, culture, lack of education or sanitation. Most left school at 18 yrs old since the state of Texas instituted Term Limits to help those who had to repeat elementary grades four or more times, to move on. To the Army. Canton, TX is where the joke about foreplay got started, the one in which a girl is told to strip and lay down in the back of the pickup. Texas foreplay. LBJ couldn't buy the county, he said, "These folks are too dumb to take money and I don't have the whiskey they want!"

I have however met several very nice people from Canton, TX and none of them were inbreds and all said they had at least one cousin marriage in their families.

Who's to say. I had some cute cousins, but we were far from Texas.

[YellerDawg]

Such absurd stereotyping! I don't know where you come from, Hal, but I'm sure there are some unfortunate regional stereotypes associated with your location, as well. You would understand Texas and Texans better if you did more than drive through, but then you would have to deal with the fact that Texans come from all sorts of economic, educational, and social backgrounds. Texas jokes always get laughs, though. Cheap laughs, but laughs all the same.

[EarthToZoey]

So true. I'm a Texas gal who is proud of my state. I'm nothing like the Texan stereotype, but I can laugh at a good Texas joke. MiddletownHal failed in this regard. (Good try though, Hal.)

[ElvisGump]

It never fails to amuse me how many people that Colbert goofs on don't seem to get the joke. I only fear some morom will hurt him one day with their knee-jerk reaction to the silliness.

[Dave24]

Colbert is brilliant, brilliant, brilliant (as are his writers).

[peorgietirebiter]

As a proud North Texan I must strongly suggest that Mayor Andy rescind Mr. Colbert's invitation to visit
Canton's famous flea market. I have a nagging suspicion that Mr. Colbert would spend an inordinate amount of time reviewing the ubiquitous "kountry kitchen" kitsch - Aunt Jemima ceramics and tea towels, pickininny watermelon platters and plates wtth various bucolic summer scenes of happy negros just lazin' about.
then again, it could be fun.

[EarthToZoey]

Not to mention the flea market's obsession with cows. Have you noticed this? I've gone with my grandmother a few times and it seemed that just about any object could either be made into the shape of a cow, painted with scenes of cows, made from a cow, or made by a cow. The only other place I've seen to rival the cow obsession was at a cheese fair in Wisconsin.

[larry278]

I have more than enough fleas. I'm not going to Canton, Tx to buy more. My fleas are most fetrile & breed constantly. Besides, I get embarrassed when I get thrown out of flea markets & flea circuses & I get accused of russeling their fleas. If I ever do go to a flea market or flea circus, I'd be there to sell my fleas, not to buy or steal more fleas. I don't know if the people who run flea markets or flea circuseses are uppity or dumb, maybe it's a combo of the 2. They sure are strange though.