Quote Originally Posted by Celebrator View Post
It gets crushed because it is not constructive. Again, saying something sucks "is not a take." And honestly, it is harder to hear from posters who do not even live here, which, given your screen name, I assume you don't, just like PluPan doesn't. Just lobbing insults from afar is not only not constructive, it's frankly annoying and rude. You don't live here, I assume, because you like it better somewhere else, well that is good for you, but the rest of us live here and many of us on here love it, despite the challenges. Can it be better, sure, (what place shouldn't be working on continuous improvement) but I am certainly not bored here and am happy to call it home.
I’ve been with you but I don’t think someone not living here makes their critiques any less valid, at least intrinsically. If the person is saying it with a trite mind built on an outdated notion or it is clear they aren’t familiar with the city, I agree and they shouldn’t be entertained; however, outside perspectives - particularly those that have lived there but have also spent a chunk of time elsewhere - often push the thinking forward since they can more easily take down their blinders and tribalistic tendencies to identify what can be improved. Some of the best perspectives for how I’d like to see Oklahoma City develop have come from posters that live outside of Oklahoma. Heck, Pete didn’t live in Oklahoma for years while also being the one that had the best information about the happenings around the city. It’s healthy to both recognize how far the city has come and be proud of that while also acknowledging it has some work to do and just because it comes from someone outside the city doesn’t inherently make it offensive.

To be clear, I’m speaking only to the notion that those who don’t live here just don’t value the intricacies of the city/state enough for their negative feedback to be considered, not that this is an instance where those living elsewhere have a more realistic handle on the situation being discussed.