Does anyone else think the memorial crowd is acting wrong with all the cheers and yelps?

I agree. It is very disconcerting.

Yes, it seems inappropriate.

I agree. It’s not about the speakers but those who can no longer speak.

Yes.

OK, what Obama said about the Representative opening her eyes, that I would applaud, if not quite so raucously. But, like the hostess who drinks from her finger bowl if a guest has by mistake, Obama rolls with the punches, doesn’t he?

As an aside, I think Daniel Rodriguez has a great political future ahead of him if he wants to take advantage of it.

I just said that to my husband. A little too… something, I can’t put my finger on it, but it feels odd.

Okay, here we go….very inappropriate at a memorial service for the dead…getting into political speech. Wrong. Is this a campaign speech or a memorial service?

@bkcunningham : I don’t think that Obama means for it to be a campaign speech – people are just responding in the wrong way. That isn’t his fault.

@troubleinharlem , its been through all the speakers.

@troubleinharlem it is what he is saying.

I agree, struck me as odd, also.

I found it odd too, but then the president ended speaking about the little girl who was killed, and I couldnt stop crying.

So the audience may have been a but boisterous, but the message was spot on.

I think it is to be expected. Senseless tragedies like this is a lighting rod for confused spectators looking for answers where there are none to be had. Reality has set in and there is only a neglected man who is clearly schitzo and cannot be held fully accountable for all the voices in his head but in the end the pitch forks and torches remain and someone has to be at fault. Who is it gonna be??

With all due respect, this question just seems like yet another opportunity to capitalize on the killings. Crowds mourn in strange ways. Large memorials draw people who want to find something to cheer about. I’ve been to wakes that turned into dance parties. There is simply no one right way to grieve.

Rather than make the incident itself political, why not take it as an opportunity to have a serious conversation about political rhetoric that does not seek to figure out who is to blame for past tragedies. Without pointing fingers, why can’t we just say “hey, let’s stop with some of what we’re doing—regardless of whether or not it is actually responsible for anyone’s actions.”

Or is that too much maturity to ask of politicians and other partisans?

Yes, I said the same thing to my husband. I told him it sounded like a football game rather than a memorial service. Clapping would have been fine, but cheering was innappropriate I thought. Undignified.

Exactly like a political rally. I was waiting for the marching band to stroll in.

I overheard this while at work last night and thought it was offensive to the families of the deceased that it seemed so shamelessly like a political suck up.

@Neizvestnaya But do the families agree? Again, it just seems like people are trying to force a political interpretation on this while pretending that the other side did it first. Do we really never learn anything?

@SavoirFaire: Who knows? To me though, it sounded less like a sincere memorial for the slain than a political rally.

@SavoirFaire, Well it’s done and I don’t think we will know. Your right, who are we to question it. It’s for the families and our opinions on this are really irrelevant.