Question of the day:

Following Michael Moore's acceptance speech at the Oscars (after which he claimed that his supporters were actually booing the other booers, which is just silly) and the recent report that Bill Clinton was booed at a Willie Nelson concert, I've started to wonder: would you ever actually boo somebody? I'm talking about a situation where you've gone to a concert or a commencement or some other formal ceremony, and some plausible speaker or guest is brought out whose politics or personal conduct you find objectionable. (Not an opposing sports team, in other words, or, say, Qaddafi.)

Upon reflection, I think that I might boo if the speaker said something really offensive, but I don't think I'd ever boo anyone on sight; I'd clap for President Bush, for example, even if only because the office deserves respect, and I'd probably clap for someone like Kissinger, although having just seen The Trials of Henry Kissinger at the Thalia, I'm not sure I'd be too enthusiastic about it. And I might refrain from clapping altogether if I felt that clapping at all might be taken as a real political signifier, as it was at the Oscars a few years ago when Elia Kazan received his lifetime achievement award. In most cases, though, polite applause is just a lubricant to ease the transition between speakers, so I don't have any strong opinions about applauding or not. (I do, however, refuse to give a standing ovation unless someone really, really deserves it.)