Those of us that follow the news or are active on social media have seen the increase in the vitriol spewed by many, whether it be from political or media figures or even the average person in our community. It seems to have become more acceptable, in fact almost expected, from those on the left side of the aisle.
We attended the Sun Bowl football game in El Paso this past Monday. Overall, it was a fun time with music, good food, and adult beverages. Supporters of Stanford and Pitt got along well, as did the folks like us who were just attending the game without a real rooting interest. Well, except for those darn Dallas Cowboy fans who kept yelling "how 'bout them Cowboys" every time one of the teams made a big play. Obnoxious is hardly a strong enough word, but that's a story for another day.
At half time the bands from the respective schools took the field to entertain the crowd. Stanford's band is well known for their free roaming style of play and antics. An organized chaos would be a good way to describe their performance at half time. But it was the commentary from the band members that were describing the activities on the field that really took a strange turn and uncivil turn.
Normally the band's announcers talk about the next song to be played giving a little history about the piece. Not Stanford which prides itself on making people uncomfortable and, at least in theory, sparking open discussions about the topics of the day.
Stanford started off by insulting Texans for passing an open carry law several years ago. They claimed California had followed suit, but their open carry had nothing to do with guns and everything to do with recreational marijuana. The kids opined that they don't need guns to protect themselves since everyone is now so mellow and happy. I wonder if they've spent any time in Haight Ashbury lately? Or seen the stories about the murders, rapes, violent crimes.... I guess not.
They went on to say that Texas can have Ronald Reagan's legacy because CA is now a state that welcomes everyone without judgement. It doesn't matter about race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, etc. We accept everyone for who they are, inferring that Texas is full of bigoted, hateful rednecks. Of course, the kids ignored the banning of conservative speakers from most of the state's institutions of higher learning.
They went on to spew stereotypical liberal views about several other topics, but it made me wonder how any administrator could approve such a hateful message at an event that is put on for fun, entertainment and charity. To go into someone's home and insult them in such a manner used to be socially unacceptable but now the left wing seems to expect such behavior and that's said.
It would be nice to have an opportunity to carry on a true conversation about the views and opinions of the Stanford band members but based upon what we've seen from them in the past, one would be shouted down with screams of "racist or bigot" just before the highly offended were carried off to their crying closet for some quiet time with coloring books and stuffed animals in a sorry attempt to sooth their hurt feelings.