Oklahoma Standard Forgives Connie Chung…

I hope Tim McVeigh has a sweater, because Hell has officially frozen over!

In a sign that the Oklahoma Standard™ has gone full woke – or at least to therapy – Connie Freakin’ Chung was recently honored at a ceremony at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum to begin their 168 Days of Remembrance.

Yep, that’s right. Connie Chung returned to the scene of her on-air crime… and she didn’t do it in secret! We are getting soft, Oklahoma. Very soft.

If you remember correctly, Chung was the CBS News anchor who went full hostile witness on Assistant Fire Chief Jon Hansen the night of the bombing, pointedly asking him, “Can this fire department handle this?”

Her question – and the ultra-direct, almost skeptical way she asked it – quickly triggered the full wrath of our state’s inferiority complex, with even an El Reno High School math class calling for her microphone.

Via an April 1995 edition of The Oklahoman:

Connie Chung Upsets Students in El Reno

Students in the sixth-hour math analysis class at El Reno High School have written a letter to CBS anchor Connie Chung about questions she asked while reporting on the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, live from Oklahoma City April 19.

Chung was interviewing Oklahoma City Assistant Fire Chief Jon Hansen and asked him, “Can you handle this? Can this fire department handle this?” The students were offended by her remarks as well as by her tone of voice and facial expressions.

They sent a copy of their April 20 letter to Chung, along with a cover letter to The Oklahoman.

Yes, you read that correctly – Connie Chung’s question was so insulting that the kids at El Reno High School learned how to read and write to vent their frustration. That says a lot, huh?

They also weren’t the only people to get mad.

I think the Route 66 Bowling Alley taped her face to pins, and some radio station printed and distributed “Screw You, Connie Chung” T-shirts. Hell, Greg Zoobeck even stopped going to the Samurai Saki House for a brief moment. It was pretty intense.

Flash forward to 2025, and Connie Chung has returned to OKC – not under cover of night, but as an honored guest. I guess the Oklahoma Standard has a revisionist historian’s heart and wanted to apologize and make things right or something.

More than 30 years after covering the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, former TV anchor Connie Chung wasn’t sure how she’d be received back in Oklahoma City…

On Monday, Nov. 3, Chung joined retired Oklahoma City Fire Chief Gary Marrs for one of two conversations focused on reconciliation, healing, and forgiveness during the annual Day One Luncheon hosted by the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.

Yeah, I don’t know about this. I know the people who run the Bombing Memorial and Oklahoma Standard are better people than me, but the only reconciliation I want with Connie Chung is to forgive her for being married to Maury Povich and, as a result, unleashing the Video Vigilante on America!

No lie, I bet if you looked in the Chung–Povich basement, you’d find a picture of the OKC skyline on their dartboard, and Steve Lackmeyer in the corner informing them they’re using an outdated pic.

Anyway, what were we talking about again? Oh yeah, we’re supposed to hug and cheer for Connie Chung now:

When Chung got the call to attend the Day One Luncheon this year, she told Watkins she wasn’t sure she would feel welcome.

Marrs said during the bombing and days after, he didn’t have time to worry about how an interview went with a reporter. He said Hansen talked about the help coming in and wasn’t “flabbergasted” by the question.

“In fact, we did need a lot of help and we got a lot of help,” he said. “So looking back on it, I just don’t know that it was (out of line), so to speak.”

Marrs’ answer earned a hug from Chung and a standing ovation from the audience.

Listen. I get it. The hate for Connie Chung was reactionary and probably a bit racist. We, as a community, were shocked, saddened, and angry, and likely took our emotions out on her. The question she asked, although lacking couth, was legitimate and not intended to be a dig. We should all probably move on.

But…

I don’t know if it’s the fact that I watched her interview with Hansen live as it happened, or that I never fully recovered from spending two months in the spring of 1995 driving around town with my headlights on while listening to the bombing edit of Live’s Lightning Crashes, but I’m not sure I’m ready to forgive Connie Chung just yet.

First, this all feels a bit like revisionist history. Everyone despised this woman — and it wasn’t just her comments that rubbed people the wrong way. There were rumors she snuck into funerals and hospitals chasing stories and generally made herself unwelcome. Let’s not pretend she was some misunderstood saint.

Second, Oklahoma City needs all the living villains it can find. Seriously, who else do we got? John Steinbeck? Kevin Durant? The lady who called our cheerleader chunky? Hell, even they have their supporters. In fact, hating Connie Chung was one of the few things that brought solidarity and togetherness in our community – and now that’s gone. Un-cancel culture strikes again!

Third, if we forgive Connie Chung, that means I really can’t use her as a punchline or reference anymore. You know, like I recently did when Kevin Stitt fired the state forestry chief for not prioritizing the governor’s property over all others:

I don’t think Oklahoma firefighters have been this mad at someone since Connie Chung questioned their competence back in 1995. Kudos to the Governor for topping that high-water mark… I guess.

Come on, that was world-class, un-award-winning writing right there. We can’t let that go!

Anyway, if you disagree with my take on whether or not we should forgive Connie Chung – or you’re simply nodding in agreement – one thing we can all agree on is that the OKC bombing was an all-time tragedy that this city is still healing from. Be a good Mole and donate to the Museum today. Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.