What was done to Mike Pence at Hamilton bothered me.  My wife and I have gone back and forth on this over the last couple of days.  We both love the music, and have listened to the sountrack several times.  It really is an excellently well done show.  I, much more than her, have been bothered by the political actions of the cast.  I want to see the show, but I have a hard time supporting people I don’t agree with with my dollars.

I have to give credence to her argument, that what was said by the cast was rather inoffensive:

We, sir, we are the diverse America, who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir. But we truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us.

I haven’t been able to put my finger on exactly why this bothered me.  I think I finally have cemented my feelings.

Hillary Clinton saw Hamilton in theaters, twice.  The cast did a fundraiser for her, even the show’s writer, Lin-Manuel Miranda, rewrote one of his songs to support her.

This was AFTER Hillary said that Republicans and NRA members were her enemies.  This is AFTER her “basket of deplorables” statement about half of Trump supporters.

The cast of Hamilton performed at the White House.

This was AFTER Obama’s famous “bitter clingers” statement.

I don’t know much about Mike Pence.  He was governor of Indiana after I moved out of the state.  From what I read about him, I can’t say I’m much of a fan.  I can see why Trump picked him… to appeal to the Christian Right.

What bothers me is that I lived in small town, Rural and Rust Belt America.  Terre Haute, Indiana, Rapid City, South Dakota, and Omaha, Nebraska (the capital of flyover country).   I am a Republican.  I am a gun owner and an NRA member.  I am an engineer and I work in manufacturing, so factory closings, environmental regulations that hurt American industry concern me.

The President of the United States ran on a platform that openly insulted me.  Hillary Clinton ran on a platform that was openly antagonistic to me, declaring me her enemy.

The cast of Hamilton heard Obama’s rhetoric and Hillary’s rhetoric and never once questioned if Obama was or Hillary would be the president for all America.

They challenged Mike Pence assuming that he wasn’t.

It is the default assumption that the Republican is the bigot while the Democrat boasting that half of the nation are terrible people that he/she is opposed to goes unquestioned.

This is the offence that bothers me so much: is the attitude that we must have tolerance for every race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. (and we should, tolerance is what makes America work, I mean this sincerely), but fuck the Republican, and lets assume the worst about him, always.