Essential Estrogen

Every so often some of my friends in Oklahoma like to give me a call or shoot me off an email to let me know what I've been missing. Usually these amount to the latest gossip, family announcements and (at least lately) reports of sunshine. When the email arrived tonight, however, it contained a link to a video on YouTube that features a portion of a speech to constituents made by Oklahoma Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City.

For those who don't want to watch the video, here's a sample:

"The homosexual agenda is destroying this nation; it's just a fact."

"I honestly think it's the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam."

"No society that has totally embraced homosexuality has lasted more than, you know, a few decades."

Blunt honesty? I still have family in Oklahoma, many of whom share the views expressed by Kern. I don't find her views nearly as shocking as the fact that most don't understand that they are mainstream for those on the right.

Don't believe me? Kern told The Daily Oklahoman, "I said nothing that was not true, I said nothing out of hate..." She went on to add that the recording was made while she was speaking to "grassroots individuals who are Republicans."

Kern hails from the Woodlawn Park/Bethany area of Oklahoma City. For those of you who are unfamiliar, this is a mostly affluent area west of I-44, north of I-40 and south of Lake Hefner. The proximity to both Lake Hefner and Lake Overholser has raised some property values, but it still has a long way to go in order to reach the extravagance of Nichols Hills (an area of the OKC metro just northeast of Kern's district).

I've gotten some jeers for saying that Iowa is basically the Wonder Bread basket of the Midwest. In my own defense, the statement was made primarily due to culture shock. It is seriously difficult to function in a place that has such a drastically different ethnic make-up than what you have grown accustomed to. I grew up surrounded by a wide variety of skin tones -- and most of Oklahoma is full of many different types of people. The Woodland Park area, however, is Oklahoma's Wonder Bread basket -- sans crust.

To put it all in perspective, however, consider 62-year-old Steven Domer. In November 2007, Oklahoma City law enforcement were called to gather Domer's remains following a brutal death -- a crime that likely began roughly 5 miles from Kern's home. Domer was last seen leaving a gay bar district, and his dumped body -- a wire hanger wrapped around his neck, his body bound with duct tape -- was discovered several days later in McClain County.

The investigation led law enforcement to the home of 37-year-old Darrell Madden. A computer, disks and a spiral notebook labeled "Hitler letter" were seized by search warrant. Police also found burned wires and clothes hangers with duct tape on them. Madden had a MySpace page that listed Adolf Hitler as a personal hero and interests including "securing our white race." When charges were filed, Madden was accused of Domer's death as well as the death of another man, Bradley Qualls. Police believed Domer's murder was meant to be the violent act that earned a place in the United Aryan Brotherhood for Qualls, who died about 10 days after Domer disappeared.

Despite all of the evidence, Madden was not charged with a hate crime. Oklahoma is one of 17 states that does not include sexual orientation or gender identity in its hate crime law. Several bills were written and introduced in the Oklahoma Legislature in an attempt to change the way hate crimes are treated as well as to add sexual orientation to the recognized categories. All have been buried in committee by the Republican leadership.

There is much more that could be written about Kern -- in particular, her bill that requires students to receive a passing grade even if they list their opinions as answers on a fact-finding test -- but the important thing that needs to be said in relation to this video is that words have consequences.

When I first moved to Iowa several years ago, I was asked to name one of the largest differences between this state and my birth state. Although I've seen just as much sexism, racism and other assorted nastiness in both states, the differences lie in how the discrimination is handled. It's been my experience (and I realize I'm painting with a very broad brush) that the further south you travel, the more open and direct discrimination becomes. When I was growing up, people didn't move from a neighborhood because a black family moved in. People confronted the black family and made their life unbearable until they moved. Yet, in Iowa, I've now met two families who quietly moved from their neighborhoods because a black family moved in down the street.

In that sense, even whispers have consequences. There are whispers about reduced property rates, increase crime rates and safety issues. There are whispers about how this group or that group is going to bring an end to my lifestyle, my religious beliefs, my family, my community and my life. Whispers behind closed doors or words spoken on capitol steps, the consequences are the same: hate, fear, violence and division.

That friend that sent me the link to the video? I'd like to write a note back and laugh, say how happy I am to be away from that craziness. But the truth is, I'm not really missing anything. The same misguided and ignorant beliefs are being toss about -- albeit quietly -- right here in Iowa.