Not really sure where to post this so I will post it here: I thought the speakers last night did a great job. I think Obama had a great speech. But, was anyone else kind of stunned by the crowd? Screaming and cheering like that? It seemed...awkward. Everytime someone mentioned Arizona, University of Arizona, etc. you heard this roar from the crowd. I think Obama was somewhat disappointed as well because a few times he tried to talk through it when they cheered at things that weren't really to be cheered about. How many college kids were there? And the people screaming "We love you Obama!!!" when he walked up...I mean damn. It was just out of place. Obama saw the night for what it was, a solemn night of memorial and tribute. It was disappointing to me that apparently so many in the audience saw this as a cool night out on the town and a chance to scream for their school.
the whole thing was/is odd. If it truly was supposed to be a night of memorial, then why did they decide to have this thing in the mchale center and not just a small room with a select few?
Yeah I didn't mind that part of it. Lots of people were touched by the event. What did you think of the crowd's behavior though?
Yea, I thought the kids (especially the ones yelling after applause had stopped) were a little much at times, but by the time Obama recognized the people that acted heroically that day and the opened eyes of Giffords, the crowd noise was genuine and appropriate.
john king of cnn brought it up and, iirc, he indicated that the town had been in shock in the past few days and was looking for anything to pick them up. somebody clarify that if they remember the comment. it bothered me at first too, but like rimmy said, the applause became appropriate. i was more concerned with the smattering of boos i heard. i don't care what your politics are, you should show the president some respect when you're in the same room. i've made this statement in the past and yes, i would make this criticism if any president was booed. one of the coolest moments of my life was seeing dubya a day or so after the 2000 election was "decided". anyone who was here back then remembers how heated it got during that time (even though a big group of us met for drinks right after election day, both conservative and liberals...wouldn't ever see that now) and even then, i got chills when i saw him.
I didn't hear the boos for Obama personally. I heard some for Brewer and then I heard "We miss you!" for Secretary N.
i thought the memorial was well done. The logistics of putting this together are incredible. As is the politics. Let the critics chirp....they did a good job. Sad that they had to.
I want to clarify that I'm not criticizing anyone who put any of it together or did the speaking. I just think there was a section of the crowd that was college kids that did not appreciate the situation and did not know how to behave. By the way, glad that the intern said he rejected the label hero, and even happier that Obama told him too bad you are one anyway. I was surprised it took until Obama for someone to go off script and tell him he was a hero whether he liked it or not. Normally the word hero is falsely applied, but son, you saved this woman's life at a moment when many would have run away.
justtxyank, I thought your comments were fair. Good actually. It's the partisan crap around everything connected to this event that's getting me down. You did none of that.
By and large I thought the most participants and attendees were respectful but the sheer number of them and the venue being in an arena may be different than what people normally expect for a memorial service. In fact I think a lot of the talk about the crowd being inappropriate is other people placing their ideas and expectations of a what a memorial service should be on this one. People have seen movies and television magnifying emotional morose displays at memorials. Some probably are almost all this, but everyone reacts differently, and applauding, cheering, or being loud and vocal at a memorial service may be appropriate depending on the circumstances.
"WE LOVE YOU OBAMA!!!" as he tries to speak and going crazy everytime your university is mentioned is out of place. It doesn't mean people need to act sad and cry and stuff, but that stuff was ridiculous.
I too felt that it was a bit weird with the cheering and whooping. But keep in mind that it was a college kid from that school who played the part of hero and another intern was one of the victims. I read somewhere that the area had been really down in the days following the tragedy and that people wanted something positive to celebrate about. So it's hard to judge since we aren't there and knowing what's going on, but it certainly didn't feel like it was somber as it should be. Not sure if there's much you can do about it. It's a public memorial service to help the wider community come to terms so it has to be open to many.
Yeah, I mean it is what it is. I'm not saying anything should be done about it, it just felt really awkward. I wonder if some of the people who were in the crowd though were not among those who were "down" about the situation and were just there for the cool factor of the president coming. Another example was when the Native American blessing was given and he said he was part Mexican and the crowd went wild. Seriously, come on. A lot of that crowd was acting like this was a concert or a campaign rally. And I know for a fact that Obama felt awkward about it because he dropped his eyes on a few occasions to avoid the awkwardness. Also, last thing. LOL moment at the end when the UoA president called for a moment of silence. A large portion of the crowd stood. Obama tried to stand and Michelle grabbed his arm to hold him in his seat. LOL They couldn't see behind them to see that the rows were standing. It was very amusing.
Yeah, I recall seeing that and Obama was sitting down and everyone was standing around him. Still, the cheers felt weird. And you could see people crying in the front rows. I guess all that matters is how people who were hurting felt, and for that, I really don't know.
Great to see some members of congress are already trying to help end the vitriol. The gesture is a nice one in helping tone down the rhetoric. It isn't work on any specific bill, but it's a great starting place. It matches Obama's invite to Boehner to ride with him in Air Force One to the memorial. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politi...ld-parties-sit-together-at-State-of-the-Union
