Re: Has anyone noticed how...
Yeah, but that's no reason for people to degrade another place with inuendo and stereotypes and downright hatred.
You all probably see me chime in on those forums (since I live in Seattle but am from OKC), and I always try to speak the truth. Like when someone from up here said OKC was all white, so therefore there's less crime or something; in informed them at OKC is actually more diverse than Seattle (who is over 86% white) in that OKC has more than 3 times the black population and more than double the hispanics than Seattle (giving OKC less than 70% white).
Seattle is one of the whitest cities, yet we try to pretend we are diverse since we are a pacific rim city. There are asians here but NOTHING like in Vancouver and San Fran and LA. Those are diverse places, heck - even Portland is more diverse than Seattle is.
And those FACTS are often hard for those little Seattleites (who probably dont even live in the city actually) to hear. That is, that some place named OKC with a smaller metro population than Seattle has, 1) has a similar city population 2) a more diverse makeup, including gays 3) is more sports supportive instead of being 'fair weathered' like Seattle 4) has WAY MORE people in its region vs. big bad Seattle basically in the middle of nowhere 5) that this same place has economic viability that is going to be like a BIG SLAP in the face when the Sonics/Storm do move to OKC.
Those things are hard for some here to take, but not most. Those who comment so ridiculously are young and die hard Seattle fans, and most just want to pin their frustrations. Sure, it would be more difficult to pick on Chicago, NY, or LA if the Sonics were moving there - but Im sure they'd have something negative to say about just about anywhere else, and the OKC portrayed in the 'Grapes of Wrath' just gives everyone fuel.
I think that book/movie is the worst slap in the face for OKC, just think of ALL of the stereotypes and rhetoric about OK, most came from that book/story along with the religious and conservative zelics that also seem to have been the vocal minority in the past.
Good thing times are changing, but it takes information (like I provide) to change people's minds. And it also takes OKC to act like a big city. So far, so good but there is much more to do!
Stereotypes are hard to break so that fuels much of what you see from these people. Only Facts and pointing out THEIR faults will change this.
Oklahoma City, the RENAISSANCE CITY!
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