A Drive through Oklahoma with a Kerry shirt on....

[kerryin2004]

If you ever want to experience the partiality of the right wing, one only needs to travel through the midwest to get a good perspective.. Several things happened today that makes me think these monkeys would have a Dachau if they thought they could get away with it..


First situation.. So I am at this Oklahoma gas station, pumping gas, and I proudly have on my Kerry Edwards shirt on, and this woman behind me is staring at me.. This is not staring as in I want you, bu the kind of stare that says I would ice pick you if I could get away with it.. I pay no attention to her, or her husband, and I finish pumping the gas.. I then go inside...

So I go in to use the restroom and the 6.00 hr clerk, who has obiously benefitted from the Bush presidency has to inform me that wearing a Kerry shirt is not good because this is Bush Cheney country.. I laughed and said," I thought this was the country of America?" No response, so I went in the restroom and when I came out I informed him since I was a Texas resident I have a good perspective of the deficiencies of Bush as a leader. Then I asked him what he thought about Mankiw's estimates for the economy, to which he replied," Who is Mankiw?" I looked at him and said," I thought this was Bush country?" and walked out..

So I pull my vehicle to a parking spot so I can walk my dog who is traveling with me.. Well the psycho woman is still staring.. So finally her husband completes filling up, and going out of their way they make sure to drive by where I could see their two Bush Cheney bumperstickers... I laughed, and I am sure that didn't please the woman..

So then I pull into a rest stop near Tonkawa to walk the dog again and relieve myself.. Well as soon as I come back out there is a woman that saw me walk in who is walking in the front of my truck while her husband is parked three spaces down.. As soon as she saw me come out she walked straight to her car.. Not sure what she was up to..


All and all it was pretty eventful, although no one gave me a gracious finger, but the reception was very cold.. Makes me wonder if these people really like the American poliical system when they are so spiteful to those whse views differ from their own?

[madmax]

1. Sounds like you turned the corner into Stepford country.

Glad you and the pooch are safe. :hi:

[ablbodyed]

2. Spiteful?>>>>

I find it hard not to react negatively when I see a */Darth sticker.
There's real trouble coming to this country. I think that progressives have to be very careful. The thuglums of the right really are scary.

[Mr_Spock]

27. They talk big scary when in power, the average Repuke is a coward.

In fact, the macho tough-guy image of the methamphetamine dealer in the White House is clearly a cover for some glaring deficiencies!

[lottie244]

47. This is probably how blacks felt traveling in the south during the 60's

Just think, you can take off your T-shirt and bumber stickers.

[Piperay]

3. Ech

these people act like we don't even have a right to run a candidate against the chimperor. x( I have noticed that with repukes going back several elections, seems we are just supposed to coronate every 4 years, it's creepy. :-(

[Meldread]

4. I know exactly what you mean.

I had a little run in yesterday myself.

[kerryin2004]

19. My brother says his boss is like that person,

(I had a little run in yesterday myself.)

The guy is a big Rush Lmbaugh fan s instead of telling him how he feels and really objecting to his idiocy my brother goes back and forth between moderate conservative and then crazy conservative.. It was funny to hear how he goes from talking abou how the conservatives are going to balance the budget(which conservatives never do) to using Ann Coulter's lines like," We need to convert all those muslims to christianity or kill em all.." It makes for a good laugh because even some Rush fans find her too extreme..

[The empressof all]

5. You probably just frightened her

Never saw someone with a brain before.

[Ernesto]

6. Remember the song "Hearts full of love"?

Repukes should have their own song, I think you know where I'm going on this...... Thanks for the report KI'04.

[greenbriar]

7. I wore mine in Okla and got nothing but smiles and waves

no one was spiteful at all

I wore my Kerry/Edwards shirt at Frontier City

[demosincebirth]

8. They are probabaly ...

all good Christian people.

[RummyTheDummy]

9. Lifelong Okie here

The encounter with the store clerk sounds made up.

"But I thought this was the country of America".

It has sort of a cheesy, melodramitic movie of the week quality to it. Not sure I buy it.

The encounter with the woman confirms my suspicions that you were trying to elicit a reaction.

I run into Bush-Cheney people all the time. At gas stations, grocery stores etc. I sometimes have my Gore 2000 hat on or my Donkey t-shirt. I've never had any negative comments and I live in the most conservative county in a very conservative state. Then again, I don't make it a point to laugh at them or provoke them, as you did by openly laughing at the woman.

You have every right to laugh and provoke to your heart's content, but don't be surprised when you get a reaction. It's Human Nature 101. It doesn't have a lot to do with whatever state you happen to be in at the time.

[fishwax]

12. Yeah, spite works both ways

I haven't seen a lot of negative reaction to Kerry stickers here, nor did I ever get any negative reaction for various Dean paraphernalia I displayed on body, car, and abode from last August through February. In fact, I've seen a lot more Kerry stickers and "dump bush" stickers here in Oklahoma then I ever expected I would. I know the state will go Bush's way, but there are plenty of Kerry supporters here as well.

And on top of that, I don't see ridiculing a 6/hr clerk b/c he doesn't know the president's chief economic adviser as particularly progressive.

[kerryin2004]

14. Hey, it's Bush country...

The clerk should know who the president's economic adviser is if he supports the chimp enough to make this claim..

[fishwax]

21. You don't have to support Bush

to know that Oklahoma is Bush country. Living here will tip that off ;) (Clearly driving through was enough to convince you)

Still, if I run into a Kerry supporter, I won't tell him not to bother just because he can't tell me who, say, Gene Sperling is.

[kerryin2004]

24. You make a good point..

I wasn't aware that Kerry's economic adviser will be the same as Clinton's??


But if he goes home and looks up who he is because he is angry with me pointing this individual out to him, and then finds out what he promised, then maybe his eyes will be opened.. I could tell i all day Mankiw promised 6,000,000 + jobs and he would just write me off as a "liberal." Bringing him to his attention this way makes him have to find out who this guy is..

[fishwax]

31. He's one of Kerry's current advisers, at least

As in Rubin :)

And here's hoping Gas Station Guy does look Mankiw up when he gets home ... he'd definitely learn something :)

[kerryin2004]

13. reply

)The encounter with the store clerk sounds made up.)

It happened.

("But I thought this was the country of America". )

That was my reply..


(It has sort of a cheesy, melodramitic movie of the week quality to it. Not sure I buy it.)


thanks, but sometimes reality is better then fiction..

(The encounter with the woman confirms my suspicions that you were trying to elicit a reaction.)

How so?? I paid no attention to her.. She was staring at me from the outset, I only glanced over to see whose eyes were burning me..

(I run into Bush-Cheney people all the time. At gas stations, grocery stores etc. I sometimes have my Gore 2000 hat on or my Donkey t-shirt. I've never had any negative comments and I live in the most conservative county in a very conservative state.)


I never had any problems Texas, but my first trip through Okie ellicited these encounters..

( Then again, I don't make it a point to laugh at them or provoke them, as you did by openly laughing at the woman. )

Nor do I, if you paid attention you would notice I didn't laugh until she was leaving... The fact is they went out of their way to make sure I saw their BUsh cheney sticker on the back of their vehicle as they left..

(You have every right to laugh and provoke to your heart's content, but don't be surprised when you get a reaction. It's Human Nature 101. It doesn't have a lot to do with whatever state you happen to be in at the time.)

Pay attention next time..

[RummyTheDummy]

36. Sorry

But I have to call bullshit on your story. No offense.

[kerryin2004]

49. no offense taken

but I have to say that you are wrong... Sorry..You must be an okie, you seem to be as hospitable as the ones I met.. Thanks..

[Kipepeo]

18. So a DUer is ridiculed for being Cheesy?

Well count me in that category. Whenever I'm confronted for my bumper stickers or T-shirts I usualy don't have any kind of non-cheesy comeback ready.

I live in Los Angeles, where nearly every stickered car I pass is one for Kerry, but that doesn't stop the occassional Bush fan from yelling shit out the window at me or VANDALIZING my truck.

My standard "comeback" is usually something pretty "cheesy."

[RummyTheDummy]

37. You prove my point

That this kind of stuff (real or not) can happen anywhere. Not just in a region that many DUers have a hatred for in the first place.

[Kipepeo]

41. I thought your point was that

cheesy = made up

??

Of course there are Bush-zealots everywhere, but I couldn't see from this account what he did to provoke them or make something up. What's the point in that?

In any case I agree that Bush-zealots are everywhere. Obviously all of Oklahoma is not Bush country, but I'm sure a large part of it is...just like if I leave LA-the-city just a teensy bit and venture into Orange County I am shocked and awed by the "W" stickers. No wonder Arnold was elected. *cry*

[flaminbats]

10. I had similar strange things occur to me in 1992..

In 1992 I used to drive everywhere wearing my Clinton/Gore shirt. In late October of 1992, I was shopping for Christmas presents in my shirt at a book store in Lakeside Mall at Gainesville, Georgia. Everywhere I walked, the lady at the counter stared at me!

After finding my books I went to the counter and asked if there was problem. She replied "don't you know wearing that shirt could be dangerous, that most people don't think highly of Clinton around here?"

My response was "no I did not!" Becoming a little defensive she began to claim she was not pointing this out because she hated Democrats, just because she was surprised to see a local wearing the shirt. Despite almost universal agreement among Freepers that it couldn't happen, Clinton won Georgia narrowly that November.

I have finally received a Kerry-Edwards shirt, among other things, from FedEx yesterday. I'm looking forward to promoting my candidates, as well as giving the Bush backers more hell!

[RummyTheDummy]

33. Clinton won Georgia in 1992, didn't he?

My memory is failing me.

[scarface2004]

11. yeah well i m wearing a

bush is a fucking asshole t-shirt and have had to beat the shit out a few right wing wackos today!!

[LibraLabSoldier]

16. Try

being a liberal soldier in Oklahoma....next to my Kerry Edwards bumper sticker I have "get a taste of religion, Lick a witch" and "Freedom of religion means Everyones religion"

What can I say, I love dischord....

[PROGRESSIVE1]

15. Oklahoma is Toby Keith Land, need I say more?

[kerryin2004]

17. I am staying the night in Toto land..

I decided to take my Kerry sticker off so that my vehicle wont get vandalized, but I will place it back on it tomorrow morning..

[Doomsayer13]

26. I heard TK was a Dem

a conservative Dem who supports Bush, but who campaigns for southern Dems. I think he campaigned for the current Gov. of OK and is campaigning for Brad Carson, Democratic senate candidate.

[RummyTheDummy]

38. That's all true

But I still hate his guts. He's a douche bag.

[RummyTheDummy]

35. Yeah

Toby speaks for all 3.5 million of us. Careful not to paint with too broad a brush. Illinois produced Ronald Reagan. He made his living in California. Are those wingnut states? Texas produced Willie Nelson and LBJ. Were they wingnuts as well?

[juslikagrzly]

20. Lifelong Okie here

and we've never had any problems like this. We wear our Kerry/Edwards Democrats Care tshirts all the time. We currently have two K/E yard signs and two cars with several Kerry/Edwards stickers. The only "W" bumper sticker I've seen was in Texas.

Not to disparage your story, but I wonder if your encounter took place at an interstate gas station. If so, it's very possible that those freepers were from out of state.

Despite being from an incredibly conservative and largely fundamentalist bible-belt state, most folks here are very friendly.

Sometimes it gets a bit hard when my own kind (democrats) write off my state just because we're usually painted republican on all those maps. We do have lots of democrats/liberals here. Our governor is a democrat. One of the early democratic candidate debates was held here and believe me, there were thousands in attendance.

If indeed those folks you encountered were from Oklahoma, please don't paint all of us with the same brush.

[yardwork]

29. I understand what it's like to be steretyped by state

I live in the state that reelected Jesse Helms for what felt like a hundred years. Needless to say I never voted for him, and I can count the people I know who (openly) supported him on one hand.

Everywhere I went, though, people were always jumping on me about Jesse Helms. They assumed that everybody in NC was a wild-eyed conservative wacko. It got annoying.

[juslikagrzly]

32. You are so right Yardwork

What absolutely pisses me off the most about those so-called red and blue state maps is the assumption that everyone thinks/votes/behaves the same thing. We need to remember that 50%+ of the voters in 2000 voted for Gore. The "color" of my state in no way reflects the opinions of all people in this state. The media's use of those color-coded maps encourages people to make sweeping generalizations and stereotypes.

As a native Oklahoman, I am extremely aware of my state's shortcomings....and they are many. But, again, not everyone here is a redneck mullet-wearing moran!

[Sugarbleus]

22. Yikes...creepy.....

Reading this is like reading a "thriller/science fiction" Novel.

What a sad shame we are so divided. I like your reply: ..'I thought this was the country of America'... Great response.

Happy Trails... :thumbsup:

[RummyTheDummy]

34. Fiction is right

nt

[T Town Jake]

44. Agreed.

n/t

[Kazak]

23. Did you drive through Norman at all?

If you had, you'd notice that Kerry/Edwards signs and stickers far outnumber Bush*/Cheney signs and stickers by a long shot. Of course Norman is sort of an oasis. Also remember, spiteful people and Bush*/Cheney supporters aren't exactly exclusive to Oklahoma.

[kerryin2004]

28. No, I missed Norman

(If you had, you'd notice that Kerry/Edwards signs and stickers far outnumber Bush*/Cheney signs and stickers by a long shot.
Of course Norman is sort of an oasis. Also remember, spiteful people and Bush*/Cheney supporters aren't exactly exclusive to Oklahoma.)

I am not exclusively trying to denigrate OK.. I am currently in Kansas and I took my Kerry sticker off for fear of vandalism.. Being from Texas I have experienced fanaticism there, but not all at one time in one area. It was weird..

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

25. Oddly enough, I talked to a young woman in OK this morning.

I called about my satellite dish. We started talking about the weather in our locales - WA cool and raining, OK, hot and humid. Then I said I was glad to be cool and she said something about OK being a nice place to live. I said, chidingly, "I'm not a Republican so I stay away from the place." She responded, "Well, I'm not a Republican and neither is anyone in my family." Then we went on at some length about Dumbya, and ended the conversation laughing.

Made my day and, hopefully, hers.

[Catherine Vincent]

30. I can only imagine how they felt when Clinton was president.

These were the real Clinton-haters, I'll bet.

[RummyTheDummy]

39. Oh Bill Clinton was hated here by many

And not because he was a Dem. Although many hated him for that reason. But what got him off on the wrong foot was his decision to allow Tyson Foods dump poultry waste into a river that flowed into Oklahoma. It caused a great deal of pollution.

[Behind the Aegis]

40. Where the winds blow..all the damn time!

It is difficult to paint any one place with a broad brush, but I do believe your story. However, there are quite a few of us "wild eyed" liberals here. I find that Oklahoma is very friendly, IF you are from here or you are a Christian (i.e Baptist). I have lived here for five years and this has to be one of the most repressive states I have ever lived in (and I have lived in 11 states). Every place has its ups and downs, but I absolutely loathe this state! As far as I am concerned, the only good thing to come out of this state is my partner (who is a life-long resident)! That being said, I bear no ill will to those Okies who love Oklahoma. I love the South, even with all its faults.

The moral: it doesn't matter where you live, someone will hate your state! If you love it, then be proud and fight to make it the best state possible! This is Shrub country, but I, and thousands like me, will still vote Kerry! Hopefully, the next trip through OK, you will run into a few supportive Okies! I may not like living here, but I sure can point out some of the beauty of this state!

Brightest Blessings!

[T Town Jake]

42. Don't buy it...

...first off, voter participation percentages are consistently ranked so low in Oklahoma that I find it hard to believe that an "6.00 hr clerk" (nice of you to disparage a low-income wage earner in such a sniffy, elitist manner, BTW) really cares all that much about a political T-shirt worn by some interstate transient there to pump some gas and use the restroom. Most Oklahomans simply aren't all that wrought up about politics, period. College football, yes. Politics? No.
...second off, it simply rings untrue knowing Oklahomans as I do. Perhaps if you'd said "I was wearing a Texas Longhorns T-shirt" your story would be more plausible to me - I could see in that instance where you might draw some "stares," though I doubt that even in that case there'd be any snide commentary. This sounds, IMHO, more like a wishful I drove through this dreadful Red State on my way somewhere and you'll never guess what happened! legend.
Not saying it didn't happen just as you say, mind you. But I have serious doubts that the scenario you depict played out in quite the manner you claim...
Oh, and while we're at it: In Oklahoma, the Democratic Party holds the governorship, the state legislature, and all but one statewide office. Just FYI.

On edit: grammar correction.

[UdoKier]

43. Yeah, but you've got Uncle OJ Watts and Pissquik Inhofe to your credit!

But I guess Bartcop makes up for that!

[T Town Jake]

45. LOL. Not to...

...my credit; thank you, but no, I must decline to accept such "credit," LOL. :-)

[UdoKier]

46. Just assuming that you are an Oklahoman...

I meant "You Oklahomans' credit"...

[Kazak]

50. Rough estimates, but...

Oklahoma has about 700,000 registered Republicans to about 100,000 registered Democrats. Of course, it take a cock fighting ban to get them to the polls. :crazy:

Edit: minor re-wording

[Kazak]

51. Oops, make that 70,000 Reps to 100,000 Dems.

Won't let me edit again for some reason.

[sendero]

48. Regional stereotypes...

.... may bear a grain of truth like all stereotypes, but only a grain.

I have a place in the country 10 miles from Oklahoma. In the process of getting the place set up, I've dealt with a lot of people. With several of them, the conversation has turned political.

I have not run into ONE single Bush-bot up here. The 3-4 people with whom I've had discussions of Bush* either feel about the way I do about him, or did a pretty good job of faking it.

There is no regional monopoly on fools. I know a lot of people think Texas is filled with flaming idiot freepers, but it just isn't so.

A couple of weeks ago NPR ran a story on Ohio and the campaign. They had a couple audio clips of interviews with Ohio working men. All I can say is I better not hear anyone here from Ohio bitching about Texans, because these idiots were stupider than anyone I've ever met in my 40+ years here :)

[molly]

52. You forced them to think and they don't like that

it's a lot easier to follow.