Whiskey Wednesday

The Spirit of Oklahoma

Thanks to Andy for posting this amazingly sad story of a real Brokeback Mountain-type story that has played out here in Oklahoma. It's one of the most horrible and disgusting things I've heard in a while, but I hope you will all read it. This is exactly why denying marriage equality to all citizens is so obviously against the U.S. Constitution.
To think, I sat in a packed theater in Tulsa (about 30 minutes and a world away from Bristow) earlier this month to watch Brokeback Mountain with an incredibly diverse group of people (Variety even noted what a strong regional market Tulsa was for the film). It was an uplifting experience, but stories like this quickly snap me back to the reality that outside my narrow parameters lays a big hateful world.
This mostly boils down to a culture of fundamentalist Christian repression and profound ignorance and self-righteousness. And the degree of control which we are currently seeing this faction exercise on our national political landscape has been at work in Oklahoma for decades (in both parties).
I'm not "from" here and can objectively say this isn't the spirit of Oklahoma. The state was founded by misfits and people who didn't follow society's rules - people who followed the model of live and let live. These are the kind of folks you would never call "pro-gay," but they would stand up for their neighbor no matter what. Let's hope that spirit will survive and outlive hatred wearing the mask of righteousness.
Update: More on this story from the Gayly Oklahoman. I hope there is a special brand of hell for people like Mr. Meadow's cousins.

posted by ThomG @ 3:59:00 PM