Vice-president elect Mike Pence went to see the hip-hop musical “Hamilton” on Broadway Friday night, and the performance was disrupted when the audience wouldn’t stop booing him....Rod Dreher is beside himself:
Upon arrival at the Richard Rodgers Theater, he was loudly booed — although some audience members also cheered him on....
During "You'll Be Back (Reprise)" they had to keep pausing the song while people jeered Pence on every line. https://t.co/ZSIG7qnfiM
— Shannon (@TheStagmania) November 19, 2016
This makes me angrier than it should....Funny, I don't recall Dreher reacting this way two months ago:
The man was elected vice president of the United States, and this is how they treat him.
Don’t think people outside your cultural bubble aren’t noticing all this, taking note, and learning. You think your emotions and your passion entitles you to crap on everybody else, and not even to show them basic respect. You people saw about ten days ago where that gets you, but you won’t stop and can’t stop politicizing everything, filling it with your spite, even a night out at the theater.
You are taking America to the brink.
With the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks coinciding with the first Sunday of the NFL season, the league commemorated the day with pregame ceremonies involving field-size flags and a non-partisan video tribute featuring Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama....Or in November 2013:
Several social media users who attended NFL games across the country on Sunday reported hearing boos when the video started playing. According to someone who attended Sunday’s Jets game at MetLife Stadium, the scattered boos intensified when Obama appeared on the big screen.
The mention of the U.S. president elicited booing during a halftime ceremony at the Missouri-Tennessee game.Or in October 2012:
During halftime, new members of the Missouri National Guard were being sworn in on the field of Memorial Stadium, said team spokesman Chad Moller.
Part of the oath the service members took reads, "I will obey the orders of the president of the United States." During a pause after that line was read, members of the crowd could clearly be heard booing and jeering, said LeMari Porter, an MU student present at the game.
MU student Julia Bosley was sitting in the general admission section on the hill during the game. She said she thinks the man standing behind her, who appeared to be a Missouri fan was the first to boo.
"He started booing, and then it just sort of spread around the stadium," Bosley said. "I was sitting with my boyfriend's family, and we all just turned around and looked at him in disbelief."
Bosley said no one said anything to stop the man, and several people nearby joined in.
The president of Clemson University reprimanded the school's football fans Tuesday for booing President Barack Obama during a military ceremony last weekend, saying there is only one president, "and he is president of us all."Or in November 2011:
The display came as students were taking their oath upon being inducted into the university's Reserve Officer Training Corps on Military Appreciation Day during Clemson's 38-17 victory over Virginia Tech at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, S.C. The booing began as the members recited their pledge to "obey the orders of the president of the United States."
First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, Vice President Joe Biden's wife, were booed by some NASCAR fans as they served as the grand marshals for the racing circuit's final event Sunday.Or in March 2012:
Obama and Biden were at the Homestead-Miami Speedway to promote Joining Forces, an organization that promotes the hiring and training of veterans. They were joined by Army Sgt. Andrew Barry, a veteran of the Afghan and Iraqi wars who now volunteers at an Orlando, Fla., veterans center, and his family. The clip shows that people cheer for the soldier, but boo when the two women's names are announced.
Or in June 2009:
On a charm offensive in support of his health care reform efforts, Obama addressed the American Medical Association, the nation’s largest physician lobby. The doctors in the audience booed him for revealing that he didn’t support the group’s pet cause—caps on damages in medical malpractice lawsuits.I'm not even going to mention "You lie!"
Here's an interesting theory about why Pence attended:
@anamariecox bannon nudging trmp/pence into spaces of potential conflict, hoping for response.
— News personality (@JAMESAKERS1) November 19, 2016
My favorite Twitter responses? This:
What? He got booed? pic.twitter.com/oq2JU9SSS8
— David Waldman (@KagroX) November 19, 2016
And this:
Think best way to analyze Pence booing is to respect regional subculture which outsiders like Pence have disrespected & treated w disdain.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) November 19, 2016
Rod Dreher was also upset about this:
At the end of the show, the cast addressed his presence, with Brandon Victor Dixon saying “Vice President Elect Pence, welcome. Thank you for joining us at Hamilton-An American Musical. We are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights. We hope this show has inspired you to uphold our American values, and work on behalf of ALL of us.”But imagine if President-Elect Hillary Clinton or Vice President-Elect Tim Kaine had gone into a white working-class neighborhood this week and heard a lecture like this from one of the locals -- a lecture saying, "You must pay attention to us." Commentators across the spectrum -- from Sandersites on the left to centrist pundits to the entire conservative movement -- would agree that Attention Must Be Paid. And any boos would be deemed more Clinton or Kaine's fault than the booers'.