I was a taught a critical lesson about people this weekend.
I barfed up my usual snark on Friday about Nebraska and Okla. suing Colorado over its legalized pot. I took shots at the usual political whack jobs in those states. While the response from extremist haters was predictable, what I didn’t expect was the outpouring of comments and support from a whole world of people there ashamed by the nonsense elected officials impose on just regular folks, who silently suffer.
Never paint people with a broad brush. Despite the certifiable crap the goes on in NE and OK, there’s a world of eloquent and righteous people hoping for something better. So when Colorado’s own flavor of nutcases make ugly waves, and you know it’s coming, read from the Okie below to find out best to handle it.
Mandi from Tulsa summed it up best:
“I, too, am an Oklahoman. I laughed at everything you said about my state, because if I didn’t laugh I would cry. It’s all true! When I saw that our attorney general, the one who argued that state’s rights should prevail and Oklahoma should be allowed to keep its ban on gay marriage, sharia law, and every other unconstitutional law that’s been approved by my ignorant fellow Okies, was suing Colorado to basically nullify an actual state’s rights issue I was appalled. Was I surprised? Not even a little bit. I find myself apologizing a lot for my state. I have had a lot of people ask me why I stay if I am so disgusted by my elected officials, I’ve even had plenty of my supposed friends tell me to leave if I don’t like it. I will not leave the only home I’ve ever known because of ignorance, I will stay and fight for what I believe is right. One day the stagnant ideas of a not so great past will be gone, and the voices of those that think like I do, that believe in equality, tolerance, and compassion will be heard. Until then, we’ll do what we can to change the hearts and minds of those that are open minded enough to listen.”
If you liked that, read more of the comments that will lighten your heart
I read your other piece @EditorDavePerry . If you take out the ridiculous generalizations and knocking Oklahoma’s rattlesnakes and spiders (wtf does that have to do with stupid politicians?) you would only have about two paragraphs.
While I side with your opinion that these two states should not be threatening the sovereignty of another state you seem very dim. Just as a person can close their eyes and hit a bullseye on a dart board you have a valid point that some OK and NE politicians are zealots. Attacking fuggin spiders and snakes to create a more wordy article doesn’t give it any more substance though. Painting ALL citizens of the states as racist meth heads prompted this add on article. What that portrays is, while in the end, you realize you were wrong in publishing a Sophmoric article in the first place. While you think you have performed a commendable act in showing there are some sane people in OK you should have been a little more tactful in your first article.
Again, I agree. States should not impede on the sovereignty of another but it appears as if you would choose to demean people to advance your beliefs whether you were a writer or a politician. A tactic of yours, it’s clear, is to make someone seem dumb so that you appear smarter. This article shows that you are trying to mitigate that but the existence of your first article demonstrates you are like someone who acts first then thinks.
Like Fox News, SOMETIMES they get a story right but they are still buffoons in the way they present it or frame certain argument within the piece. Aurora Sentinel = Opinion rag