When is it appropriate to boo the President of the United States?
Let me back up and ask when is it appropriate to boo anyone?
The purpose of catcalls such as boos is to convey contempt or disapproval punctuated by an exclamation point. In other words, when we want to make it unambiguously clear that we don’t like someone or don’t approve of their actions, we boo.
We are most accustomed to this type of heckling at sporting events. Crowds boo the opposing team or game officials when they disagree with a call — even if the call was accurate — that goes against their team.
We teach our children not to boo at youth sporting events. We tend to discourage heckling at the high school level, too. But, fans who pay significant sums of money for event tickets feel little or no compunction about sharing their negative feelings with the world. Indeed, sporting event jeers are socially acceptable.
Why do we find heckling professional athletes acceptable but not other professionals? The gallery seldom boos a lawyer making her closing arguments. Hecklers are not allowed in the operating room when doctors do surgery. College students may whisper disapproval but rarely yell catcalls at a professor delivering a lecture.
Clearly a sporting event is a different environment than court, surgery or school. The outcome of a sporting event doesn’t matter in the end because it is just a game. These venues are one place we can all let our hair down and cheer… or jeer.
I was in Allen Field House in Lawrence, Kansas watching my beloved Jayhawks easily defeat their instate rival Kansas State Wildcats. It was a night of cheers. It was senior night. Fan favorite Sherron Collins was playing his last game in front of the home faithful.
During one of the lengthy television time outs, an MTV-style video featuring Sherron was broadcast on the giant screen hanging above center court. The video featured pop up trivia about Sherron’s life and interests. The crowd celebrated each bit of new information.
Midway through the video a pop-up flashed on the screen that read: “Who is the one person Sherron would like to trade places with?” A picture of President Obama appeared on the screen with the words, “Fellow Chicagoan President Barack Obama.”
The cheers stopped. The crowd reflexively boo’d the President. Hisses were audible in my section. The video moved on to new tidbits and the celebratory mood resumed.
I’m not surprised that President Obama lacks popularity in Kansas — even in a relatively liberal college town. President Obama’s popularity is flagging everywhere. I was mildly surprised by the visceral response of emphatic disapproval expressed by a crowd otherwise in an extremely good mood.
The momentary chorus of jeers led me to my question. When is it okay to boo the President of the United States? Is it more appropriate at a sporting event — a venue where heckling those you don’t like is considered to be socially acceptable behavior? Or, does the office of the President deserve respect under any condition?
I live in Boulder County, Colorado. The residents of southwest Boulder county — Boulder proper — are about as liberal as any group of people in the country. Few people who call the city of Boulder home hold affection for former President George W. Bush.
I have observed, since the 2000 Election, abhorrent bumper stickers on people’s cars protesting our 43rd President. I believe in free speech. I don’t appreciate having to explain to my young children slogans that turn the names of President Bush and Vice President Cheney into crude sexual vulgarities. Each time I saw those bumper stickers I felt my own visceral reaction: Show the office of President respect; I don’t care how much you despise the current office holder.
Now the political tables are turned. Republicans are no longer in power. Democrats are. The jeering once denounced by supporters of President Bush is being returned in full force directed at President Obama. One side can’t claim behavioral superiority over the other. Jeering our elected leaders is now just as socially acceptable as booing officials at a sporting event.
The degree to which we shout each other down is a relatively new development in public life. There always has been venomous speech in politics. But, bitter speech tended to be at the margins rather than a staple of conversation. At least, that’s what I witnessed in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s.
Perhaps the shift toward crude speech is correlated to politics becoming more entertainment than substance. Our political leaders now parade on cable television as if they are panelists on the Jerry Springer Show. They gather in twos or fours (always important to be balanced) and bicker with each other in ways we would never tolerate at our own dinner tables. If it is okay for political leaders to trash talk each other why shouldn’t we trash talk them?
Crude speech is not the greatest challenge we face in our society. But, the tenor of our discourse is both a measure of past success and an indicator of future potential to get things done. The more we shout each other down the less likely we will agree on plans for action.
There is a need for tough conversations in public life. It is important to preserve room for people to criticize policies and actions they do not support. It also is important to preserve respect for the office people hold even when we don’t respect the person who holds the office. We can start this effort with thoughtful consideration of the question: When is it appropriate to boo the President of the United States?
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John Creighton can be found on Twitter @johncr8on and on Facebook.
Photo Credit: Lucy Boynton (Flickr)