Oklahoma's Own

[traxx]

This is something that I've noticed over the last couple of decades+ and it's kinda bugged me.

It's the overuse of the term Oklahoma's Own. Channel 4 used to call themselves Oklahoma's Own News Channel 4. I think channel 9 now uses the Oklahoma's Own moniker. When the Heartland Flyer began it's run, there were billboards in OKC advertising Oklahoma's Own Heartland Flyer rail service. Any time the news stations talk about a famous person from Oklahoma it's always Oklahoma's Own Garth Brooks or Oklahoma's Own Carrie Underwood, Oklahoma's Own Toby Keith etc. Lately I've noticed on KREF that Ozarka sponsers one of the call-in lines and the copy is always read as "Oklahoma's Own Ozarka..."

To me, it just seems like an inferiority complex. Like we're so desperate for fame or acknowledgement that we have to label anything from Oklahoma as our own. It's ours. Not yours. You can't claim it. That just sounds small time to me.

For those of you that have lived or do live in other cities, have you ever noticed other cities/states doing this? Is this a common thing around the country? Am I being overly critical of this or does it really reek of small time inferiority?

[LocoAko]

This is something that I've noticed over the last couple of decades+ and it's kinda bugged me.

It's the overuse of the term Oklahoma's Own. Channel 4 used to call themselves Oklahoma's Own News Channel 4. I think channel 9 now uses the Oklahoma's Own moniker. When the Heartland Flyer began it's run, there were billboards in OKC advertising Oklahoma's Own Heartland Flyer rail service. Any time the news stations talk about a famous person from Oklahoma it's always Oklahoma's Own Garth Brooks or Oklahoma's Own Carrie Underwood, Oklahoma's Own Toby Keith etc. Lately I've noticed on KREF that Ozarka sponsers one of the call-in lines and the copy is always read as "Oklahoma's Own Ozarka..."

To me, it just seems like an inferiority complex. Like we're so desperate for fame or acknowledgement that we have to label anything from Oklahoma as our own. It's ours. Not yours. You can't claim it. That just sounds small time to me.

For those of you that have lived or do live in other cities, have you ever noticed other cities/states doing this? Is this a common thing around the country? Am I being overly critical of this or does it really reek of small time inferiority?

I won't spend too much time rambling, but I haven't noticed this in other places I've been and I've certainly noticed it here. It bothers me to the point where I almost started a thread about it. In general I see my stuff about Oklahoma here (Oklahoma shaped billboards, Oklahoma shaped sinks, etc -- I never saw NY or NJ shaped anythings when I lived back East), but what gets me even more are the commercials advertising Oklahoma IN OKLAHOMA. Sure, NJ had tourism commercials, especially after Sandy to try to help fund tourism along the coast, but some of the commercials I hear here, say, about energy companies occasionally sound more like propaganda about Oklahoma than the company itself. It is absolutely puzzling, though I suppose some of this rant isn't necessarily exactly what you're addressing. Overall I just hear Oklahoma talking more about Oklahoma stuff than other places I've been.

[bchris02]

I won't spend too much time rambling, but I haven't noticed this in other places I've been and I've certainly noticed it here. It bothers me to the point where I almost started a thread about it. In general I see my stuff about Oklahoma here (Oklahoma shaped billboards, Oklahoma shaped sinks, etc -- I never saw NY or NJ shaped anythings when I lived back East), but what gets me even more are the commercials advertising Oklahoma IN OKLAHOMA. Sure, NJ had tourism commercials, especially after Sandy to try to help fund tourism along the coast, but some of the commercials I hear here, say, about energy companies occasionally sound more like propaganda about Oklahoma than the company itself. It is absolutely puzzling, though I suppose some of this rant isn't necessarily exactly what you're addressing. Overall I just hear Oklahoma talking more about Oklahoma stuff than other places I've been.

Kind of going along with this is the "Is this a great state or what?" segment on Channel 4, which I always thought was over the top. I have seen a lot of people here who have Oklahoma-shaped clocks or plaques on their walls. I rarely saw anything shaped like North Carolina when I lived in Charlotte. I am not sure I would say its an inferiority complex though. It's not that different from the Texas decor that many Texans display or the pride they show for their state. I am sure nobody would accuse Texas of having an inferiority complex.

[traxx]

I won't spend too much time rambling, but I haven't noticed this in other places I've been and I've certainly noticed it here. It bothers me to the point where I almost started a thread about it. In general I see my stuff about Oklahoma here (Oklahoma shaped billboards, Oklahoma shaped sinks, etc -- I never saw NY or NJ shaped anythings when I lived back East), but what gets me even more are the commercials advertising Oklahoma IN OKLAHOMA. Sure, NJ had tourism commercials, especially after Sandy to try to help fund tourism along the coast, but some of the commercials I hear here, say, about energy companies occasionally sound more like propaganda about Oklahoma than the company itself. It is absolutely puzzling, though I suppose some of this rant isn't necessarily exactly what you're addressing. Overall I just hear Oklahoma talking more about Oklahoma stuff than other places I've been.

Yeah, that certainly touches on what I'm getting at. They say Oklahoma's Own Carrie Underwood but we already know that. They're preaching to the choir. Tell people outside the state that she's ours and we claim her. They may not know where she's from. It's like with their tourism commercials and energy commercials you talked about, that they're trying to convince us Oklahomans as much or more than people outside the state.

Also, Oklahoma will claim a famous person as our own if they stopped and took a leak in Oklahoma. Oklahoma tries to claim Brad Pitt even though he spent very little of any of his life here.

As far as Oklahoma shaped things, it's kind of an off shoot of what they do in Texas. In Texas, everything is either shaped like the state or has a lone star on it or both. Texans are super proud of their state. I've never seen anything like it. It goes way beyond state pride with them. And even transplants fall into it. A girl I know from Oklahoma moved to Texas after high school and she now calls herself a Texan and has that same Texas pride as if she had lived there her whole life.

[LocoAko]

Yeah, that certainly touches on what I'm getting at. They say Oklahoma's Own Carrie Underwood but we already know that. They're preaching to the choir. Tell people outside the state that she's ours and we claim her. They may not know where she's from. It's like with their tourism commercials and energy commercials you talked about, that they're trying to convince us Oklahomans as much or more than people outside the state.

Also, Oklahoma will claim a famous person as our own if they stopped and took a leak in Oklahoma. Oklahoma tries to claim Brad Pitt even though he spent very little of any of his life here.

As far as Oklahoma shaped things, it's kind of an off shoot of what they do in Texas. In Texas, everything is either shaped like the state or has a lone star on it or both. Texans are super proud of their state. I've never seen anything like it. It goes way beyond state pride with them. And even transplants fall into it. A girl I know from Oklahoma moved to Texas after high school and she now calls herself a Texan and has that same Texas pride as if she had lived there her whole life.

It definitely reminds me of TX, though to a slightly lesser extent. Certainly I've adopted a lot of the OK pride stuff (more than I ever thought I would)... have an Oklahoma flag in my room and enjoy the OK shaped stuff, I guess especially just because Oklahoma has such a distinct shape and is so identifiable (a square-shaped Wyoming just wouldn't have the same look, ya know?). But outsiders I've brought in immediately notice it and have suggested in the past that there's an inferiority complex here, which as much as I love it here may be true to a certain extent.

[traxx]

It's not that different from the Texas decor that many Texans display or the pride they show for their state. I am sure nobody would accuse Texas of having an inferiority complex.

But Oklahoma is just now learning to take pride in their city and state. For so long we didn't feel like we had anything to be proud of. We always ranked on the bottom of the good lists and the top of bad lists. We're still, to some extent, living down The Grapes of Wrath and the okie stereotype. Our urban renewal (Pei Plan) just about killed our downtown. The oil bust of the 80s hurt us a lot.

Texas is quite different. They have a state pride that is unparalleled. This Texas Monthly cover below may seem humorous, but if you've dealt with Texans at all, it really is how they view the world.

[venture]

I think there is something to say about having pride in a state, but I also think it is taken way too far by the local media. Last year during the May tornado coverage when Scott Pelley was in doing the CBS Evening News, Amanda ditz head from News 9 was going on and on about welcoming him home. The kicker...he has never lived in Oklahoma. His grandparents did. To me this was an example of just overstretching to bring some attachment to Oklahoma to a more prominent figure.

That said...I think hometown/state pride is good. I just think the media over does and cheapens it. Of course you have politicians doing the same thing, but they aren't any better than the media.

[Dennis Heaton]

This is one use of "Oklahoma's Own," as in "taking care of Oklahoma's own," that's bugged me...



How many Foster Children is Governor Fallin taking care of?

[Mississippi Blues]

On the note of "state shaped things"; when I went to Dallas at the beginning of this year for a test, I had a waffle for breakfast on one of those mornings and it was a Texas shaped waffle. Considered getting rid of it, but was hungry so I ate it. I'm still nauseous from eating it....

[traxx]

I think there is something to say about having pride in a state, but I also think it is taken way too far by the local media. Last year during the May tornado coverage when Scott Pelley was in doing the CBS Evening News, Amanda ditz head from News 9 was going on and on about welcoming him home. The kicker...he has never lived in Oklahoma. His grandparents did. To me this was an example of just overstretching to bring some attachment to Oklahoma to a more prominent figure.

That said...I think hometown/state pride is good. I just think the media over does and cheapens it. Of course you have politicians doing the same thing, but they aren't any better than the media.

Yeah, they tend to really reach to find how a story or a subject has "Oklahoma ties." It's annoying to say the least.

[kevinpate]

Less so today than even 15 years ago, but there are still folks outside the state, and some transplants that have no clue what is interesting in and about Oklahoma. And there are a lot of folks in the state as well. There are many who will rarely, if ever venture far from their community, save for a sporting event or a trip to the big store if they do not have one in their town, and many towns do not.

The existence of numerous pitches for OK as a place to enjoy vacation is actually quite sound. So sound that even the various tribal governments are now also more actively doing this as well. We are a blend of rolling hills, desert, plains meadows, and yes, mountains, with an abundance of rivers and lakes. And yet, you have residents and visitors who quite literally ahve to be led to the shores or the trails or the vistas before they ever see.

We've transformed into being seen more and more by outside eyes. To being the Heartland, not the dust bowl of our history. To a river with top tier rowing instead of a river with constant mowing. To regular television exposure that is not focused on someone's execution or missing trailers, though of course we still have these stories as well. But these days, when a storm hits, the story is of how the people join in to overcome the destruction, not how the destruction overcame the land.

For those under 30, if you've been in Oklahoma mos of your life, there has been change happening throughout your life, sometimes fast, sometimes less so, but it has been there. For those over 30, and 40 or more, some of the change has been pure whirlwind all its own in comparison to what is remembered from younger days.

I like to see the OK pitches, in state and external to the state as well. I meet a lot of people across the state, and while most have strong local pride, the number who still today have rarely if ever cross a county line continues to amaze me.

[bchris02]

I think there is something to say about having pride in a state, but I also think it is taken way too far by the local media. Last year during the May tornado coverage when Scott Pelley was in doing the CBS Evening News, Amanda ditz head from News 9 was going on and on about welcoming him home. The kicker...he has never lived in Oklahoma. His grandparents did. To me this was an example of just overstretching to bring some attachment to Oklahoma to a more prominent figure.

That said...I think hometown/state pride is good. I just think the media over does and cheapens it. Of course you have politicians doing the same thing, but they aren't any better than the media.

I totally agree with this. I wish the local media would stop digging so deep to find some outlandish Oklahoma connection to every major national story or prominent celebrity. That is definitely signs of an inferiority complex.

[Mississippi Blues]

Also, I agree that the media is very obnoxious with their "Oklahoma claims ...." insanity. I'm fine with state pride and having state related items to decorate parts of a home, but I love Oklahoma no matter who's from here or what big name we can claim. Spread that propaganda somewhere else.

[TaoMaas]

...outsiders I've brought in immediately notice it and have suggested in the past that there's an inferiority complex here, which as much as I love it here may be true to a certain extent.

Sounds more like your outsiders are reading their feelings about Oklahoma into it to me. Do people wear Thunder gear because they're embarrassed by our basketball team?

[traxx]

Sounds more like your outsiders are reading their feelings about Oklahoma into it to me. Do people wear Thunder gear because they're embarrassed by our basketball team?

I don't think that's really what he meant.

[KenRagsdale]

Well said, Kevin Pate. I believe this represents the perceptions of many Oklahomans.

[TaoMaas]

I don't think that's really what he meant.

I don't understand what the big deal is about people having Oklahoma 'stuff'. To me, it's no different than having a Thunder flag on your car or wearing an OU sweatshirt. Now...the "Oklahoma's Own" deal is a different conversation. That very much IS all about marketing and branding. People do have pride in Oklahoma, I believe, and calling your station "Oklahoma's Own" is an attempt to tap into that pride. It's a gimmick. I think it started quite a few years back when The Oklahoman approached Ch. 9 about joining forces and trying to capitalize on the fact that they were both locally owned. That's the first of those marketing pushes I remember.

[LocoAko]

Sounds more like your outsiders are reading their feelings about Oklahoma into it to me. Do people wear Thunder gear because they're embarrassed by our basketball team?

I think you misunderstood me. I even have Oklahoma stuff (tees, an OK flag in my room, maps, etc) and I admitted I find it clever since our shape is so distinct. My point was that there is an odd degree of pride about certain things here that I don't witness elsewhere. And I'll probably be criticized for saying this, and it is just an observation of mine, but I've gotten the impression that a lot of the locals I've met here think OK is more special and/or "unique" than it is. Certainly some of it is deserved, and I can't emphasize enough how much I (mostly) enjoy it here, but I feel like I hear more comments along the lines of "Only in Oklahoma!" or "That's how it's done here in Oklahoma!" more than I would elsewhere. Even after the Moore tornado, I was really amazed and inspired by the degree that the community here came together, but I heard comments about how that sort of spirit is an "Oklahoma thing", which is pretty insulting to the way other communities came together after Sandy, etc. Why can't it be a people thing? Additionally, I certainly see more OK flags here than I ever saw NJ flags back home, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing... I think that is regional more than anything. I just think there's a tiny bit of Kool-aid drinking by some folks here about what an amazing place it is here, when I think it should speak for itself (for example, through statistics of our low cost of living, unemployment rate, etc.).

Flame away!

[TaoMaas]

Less so today than even 15 years ago, but there are still folks outside the state, and some transplants that have no clue what is interesting in and about Oklahoma.

This is very true. I used to think I knew quite a bit about Oklahoma. I didn't know squat. LOL

[Plutonic Panda]

This is something that I've noticed over the last couple of decades+ and it's kinda bugged me.

It's the overuse of the term Oklahoma's Own. Channel 4 used to call themselves Oklahoma's Own News Channel 4. I think channel 9 now uses the Oklahoma's Own moniker. When the Heartland Flyer began it's run, there were billboards in OKC advertising Oklahoma's Own Heartland Flyer rail service. Any time the news stations talk about a famous person from Oklahoma it's always Oklahoma's Own Garth Brooks or Oklahoma's Own Carrie Underwood, Oklahoma's Own Toby Keith etc. Lately I've noticed on KREF that Ozarka sponsers one of the call-in lines and the copy is always read as "Oklahoma's Own Ozarka..."

To me, it just seems like an inferiority complex. Like we're so desperate for fame or acknowledgement that we have to label anything from Oklahoma as our own. It's ours. Not yours. You can't claim it. That just sounds small time to me.

For those of you that have lived or do live in other cities, have you ever noticed other cities/states doing this? Is this a common thing around the country? Am I being overly critical of this or does it really reek of small time inferiority?

I agree with you. It really sounds like a small town thing to say and I just don't like it overall.

[bchris02]

I don't understand what the big deal is about people having Oklahoma 'stuff'. To me, it's no different than having a Thunder flag on your car or wearing an OU sweatshirt. Now...the "Oklahoma's Own" deal is a different conversation. That very much IS all about marketing and branding. People do have pride in Oklahoma, I believe, and calling your station "Oklahoma's Own" is an attempt to tap into that pride. It's a gimmick. I think it started quite a few years back when The Oklahoman approached Ch. 9 about joining forces and trying to capitalize on the fact that they were both locally owned. That's the first of those marketing pushes I remember.

Like others have said, its not Oklahoma 'stuff' thats the issue, its the local media and the way they go to extreme measures to find an Oklahoma connection, however minute it may be, to every major national event or prominent celebrity or claim something as unique to Oklahoma that really isn't.

[Plutonic Panda]

Kind of going along with this is the "Is this a great state or what?" segment on Channel 4, which I always thought was over the top. I have seen a lot of people here who have Oklahoma-shaped clocks or plaques on their walls. I rarely saw anything shaped like North Carolina when I lived in Charlotte. I am not sure I would say its an inferiority complex though. It's not that different from the Texas decor that many Texans display or the pride they show for their state. I am sure nobody would accuse Texas of having an inferiority complex.

Yeah, many places in Texas have Texas themed decor.

[Plutonic Panda]

Yeah, that certainly touches on what I'm getting at. They say Oklahoma's Own Carrie Underwood but we already know that. They're preaching to the choir. Tell people outside the state that she's ours and we claim her. They may not know where she's from. It's like with their tourism commercials and energy commercials you talked about, that they're trying to convince us Oklahomans as much or more than people outside the state.

Also, Oklahoma will claim a famous person as our own if they stopped and took a leak in Oklahoma. Oklahoma tries to claim Brad Pitt even though he spent very little of any of his life here.

As far as Oklahoma shaped things, it's kind of an off shoot of what they do in Texas. In Texas, everything is either shaped like the state or has a lone star on it or both. Texans are super proud of their state. I've never seen anything like it. It goes way beyond state pride with them. And even transplants fall into it. A girl I know from Oklahoma moved to Texas after high school and she now calls herself a Texan and has that same Texas pride as if she had lived there her whole life.

Well, he was born here if I remember right

[traxx]

I think you misunderstood me. I even have Oklahoma stuff (tees, an OK flag in my room, maps, etc) and I admitted I find it clever since our shape is so distinct. My point was that there is an odd degree of pride about certain things here that I don't witness elsewhere. And I'll probably be criticized for saying this, and it is just an observation of mine, but I've gotten the impression that a lot of the locals I've met here think OK is more special and/or "unique" than it is. Certainly some of it is deserved, and I can't emphasize enough how much I (mostly) enjoy it here, but I feel like I hear more comments along the lines of "Only in Oklahoma!" or "That's how it's done here in Oklahoma!" more than I would elsewhere. Even after the Moore tornado, I was really amazed and inspired by the degree that the community here came together, but I heard comments about how that sort of spirit is an "Oklahoma thing", which is pretty insulting to the way other communities came together after Sandy, etc. Why can't it be a people thing? Additionally, I certainly see more OK flags here than I ever saw NJ flags back home, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing... I think that is regional more than anything. I just think there's a tiny bit of Kool-aid drinking by some folks here about what an amazing place it is here, when I think it should speak for itself (for example, through statistics of our low cost of living, unemployment rate, etc.).

Flame away!

It's interesting to get a transplant's take on these things.

I think the "Only in Oklahoma" and the "Oklahoma Spirit" stuff comes from Oklahomans looking for their own significance because we've felt so insignificant for so long. With The Grapes of Wrath and the okies thing and being looked at as bumpkins, Oklahomans have felt like they've been kicked while their down for a long time. However, I'm with you, we need to not drink the kool-aid. We need to let some of what makes Oklahoma great, speak for itself instead of manufacturing false pride or false significance.

[LocoAko]

It's interesting to get a transplant's take on these things.

I think the "Only in Oklahoma" and the "Oklahoma Spirit" stuff comes from Oklahomans looking for their own significance because we've felt so insignificant for so long. With The Grapes of Wrath and the okies thing and being looked at as bumpkins, Oklahomans have felt like they've been kicked while their down for a long time. However, I'm with you, we need to not drink the kool-aid. We need to let some of what makes Oklahoma great, speak for itself instead of manufacturing false pride or false significance.

Yep. And believe me, I've actually been called out for talking about OK too much and "cheerleading" on places like Facebook (but haters gon' hate, right?). I get into it, too, and I think you're right about why that sort of attitude exists. It is a pushback to the negative national stereotypes people often proclaim, and I can't blame people, myself included, for wanting to "prove" to everyone else that Oklahoma is so much more than people give it credit for. I just think it should be done in different ways and not by trying to make Oklahoma into something it isn't.