Harry's Gang: Keep your boos to yourself

I have never seen someone get booed at a high school graduation, or at a wedding or funeral. Have you? When I hear boos, it's usually good-natured ribbing - for example, when a Packers fan, all dressed up in green and gold garb, shows up at a Vikings party.

But not always. Sometimes I hear boos in very inappropriate places.

I first heard it in 1990, in the Metrodome at a Minnesota Twins game. It was a lousy season for the Twins, who had won the World Series just a few years earlier. But on that particular afternoon, the Twins were on their way to the bottom of the league, and some fans felt they were in a rush to get there. It sure seemed like it at times.

I loved the game, and at $3 for an outfield general admission seat, I saw quite a few games that summer. One night, with an unusually large crowd of about 15,000 fans (the dome could seat about 55,000), stadium announcer Bob Casey announced a "very special guest." Governor Rudy Perpich was in the house.

A waving Perpich stood and faced the crowd, which immediately burst into loud boos. I was mortified. How disrespectful. Sure, by that time "Governor Goofy" had worn out his welcome, and was defeated later that year, but he was still our governor. Even though he was campaigning for another term, I felt the crowd's reaction was disrespectful. He wasn't giving a speech. He didn't say anything controversial. He just stood there and waved at us.

It happened again last week, when President Trump and his wife paid their respects to Ruth Bader Ginsburg as she laid in repose at the Supreme Court. Mourners spontaneously started to boo when the president and his wife appeared at the top steps in front of the casket, and heckled him for a few minutes until he left.

Regular readers of this column know I have little patience for this president. I think he's immoral, his policies are bad for America, and his personal attacks are simply unacceptable. I doubt his sincerity, and I don't trust a thing he says. I suppose many at the memorial felt the same way. Justice Ginsburg was a beacon of equality who championed many of America's disadvantaged during her time on the Supreme Court, and many felt her passion. They were probably irritated that the president wasted no time after her death to announce he would appoint a new justice as soon as possible, contrary to recent tradition. It was a despicable move, I think.

But I also think Justice Ginsburg deserved a memorial service where no one loudly boos one of the attendees. I miss a time when the president could attend a major event and no one would consider such disrespectful behavior. I wish our politics could exist without the negative, divisive rhetoric that seems so normal nowadays.

Maybe such a time never existed. I suppose when you grandstand and look for attention in places where attention is not supposed to be about you, you should expect some pushback. If the president had used the occasion to make some remarks, all bets are off. But he's the president, for crying out loud. The boos were unacceptable. He wasn't giving a speech. He didn't say anything controversial. He just stood there. And they booed him.

Try this one: This year, six candidates are running for Cloquet school board. Only three will be elected. Would anyone expect supporters of the losing candidates to boo the school board members at graduation when they are handing out diplomas? Of course not. National and regional leaders deserve the same courtesy.

I am hoping for a return to civility in politics, and in everyday life. That would be great.

Pete Radosevich is the publisher of the Pine Knot News and an attorney in Esko who hosts the talk show Harry's Gang on CAT-7. His opinions are his own. Contact him at [email protected].