I disagree totally, Ryuan. It was a great article. You can’t BUY press loike that. And, speakin’ as a rancher’s son who dang near married a rancher’s daughter, the day Oklahoma loses touch with its roots, which you mistakenly call “stereotypes,” is the day Oklahoma starts become just another one of those boxy states that no one knows a dang thing about—except with that long thing sticking out to the west. Oklahoma IS the West, AND the South. .... Huff, puff. Sorry. Picked a scab. But, goor Lord, man, what do you want us to like? Fricking IOWA?
Sorry to pick a scab Richard. I guess the constant overplay of prairie references picks one of mine.
I don’t deny that it was a well-written article, and a fair assessment of the sights Mr Jones mentioned, but it’s heavy reliance on old-west reference, with little airtime given to modern Oklahoma, simply feeds the incorrect impressions (stereotypes) that many outside of the Midwest seem to hold onto - that Oklahoma is still a fairly undesirable, dust-bowl-like land filled with Cowboys and Indians living off the land.
We’ve all heard the redneck references that quickly follow the assumption that we Okies are uneducated and unrefined. It’s an undertone that flows through most national press that our beautiful state receives, even when the headline of the article is a positive one.
I have no shame in our roots, and I embrace our heritage, but I also see the modern-day strides that our state has made that simply aren’t noticed or publicized by the national writers yet. I’m sure there’s still a bit of the old apologist in me, that makes me sensitive to the stereotypes, but we can move forward and improve our image, without abandoning our roots, can’t we?
Sure. But any travel piece by the New York Times that did not mention the things it mentioned would ring false—because those things *are* not only part of our past and heritage, but part of our *right now.*
I mean, the writer *did* mention the surprising things, too, like Bricktown and the Chihuly art, and the eccentric shops along Western Avenue. 
Take someone from Back East, up north or wherever to the stockyards. They will be pleasantly impressed that there’s an actual stock sale every week here in town. And that people eat steak FOR LUNCH. If you really want to freak them out, take ‘em to the Cattlemen’s in the morning and they’ll see people eatin’ steak for BREAKFAST. Seriously, I’ve flooored out-of-towners with that.
Anyhoo, since my white collar cain’t cover up my red neck, I’ll always stand up and holler if I think we’uns from off of I-40 and I-35 are gettin’ slighted in the least.
But then again, I was a card-carryin’ member of a rooster-fightin’ club in Sequoyah County. And we got beat down and beat out fair and square. And I’m a mite sensitive about that, myself.
Peace out, Dawg.
... Dang. I mighta just wrote a column.
--rm
I debated on whether to share this one on my blog or not and decided against, due mostly to the over-the-top cowboy and old-west references. This piece started out on the right track, but then took the easy landslide into stereotypes that are just plain boring, don’t you think?
If he really only saw Western, The Cattleyards, and Club Rodeo, I guess I could understand it.