Ag Policy Blog
On Rogue Clowns and Butter Cows
We were talking last week at the Ag Media Summit about dealing with social media, advocating for agriculture and reporting on extremism.
These issues are coming together today because of separate events in the state where I was raised and in the state I now call home. One event involves free speech, race and decorum. The other event involves a criminal act against Americana.
On Sunday, I saw this photo, video and blog surface about the Missouri State Fair rodeo. A clown is wearing mask of President Obama, a cowboy hat and jacket. Two clowns stoked the crowd, which cheered quite a bit. I saw this first on a Twitter feed. The scene and the crowd response offended someone who wrote about it. By early Monday morning, it's on the Google news feed. Missouri's Republican lieutenant governor commented, "We are better than this." Before noon Monday, other Missouri politicians weighed in, the rodeo announcer denied his participation and both the state fair board and rodeo association issued apologies. A lawyer declared the rodeo clown went rogue.
Yes, the rodeo clown went rogue on us.
Talk about going viral on social media. Some people are livid over this. The reaction is so fast; the perception is so quick. What are we going to do about this? Well, let's boycott Missouri.
All of this because of some clowns one night at a state fair. We have little tolerance for unsanctioned crudeness at President Obama's expense.
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I thought we have right to make fun of our elected leaders. There is seldom anything classy about it. Just thinking of people in Richard Nixon or Bill and Hillary Clinton masks, I have seen individual acts of perversion so profound and disgusting that decorum prohibits listing them here -- to steal from the famous Doug Niedermeyer.
I wouldn't be surprised if the clown is drinking a cold with the president before the end of the week.
Why Do that to the Butter Cow?
The Iowa State Fair also suffered vandalism Sunday night. Someone had to make a point by defiling the butter cow.
Whoever did this -- I want you to know -- you are screwed. You would be better off turning yourself in because if they have to go hunt you down it's just going to add to more time in the Big House.
You threw paint on the butter cow. Why would you do that? The butter cow is one of those items everyone asks you about when you return from the fair. "Did you see the butter cow?" As the Des Moines Register wrote, the butter cow is a fair tradition going back to 1911. People wrote books about Norma "Duffy" Lyon, who was basically known as the "Butter Cow Lady."
A group called "Iowans for Animal Liberation," formerly known as "Idiots R Us," took "credit" for pouring red paint on the cow and painting "Freedom for All" on the window. The group claims there were symbolic reasons for defiling the art at the state fair. Who cares? This entire event will only anger people in Iowa and agriculture, in general. It was a crude stunt pulled off by an anonymous group that has no legitimate public sway, so it went for shock value. The people in this group don't have the right to inject their beliefs into the state's traditions and culture in such an offensive manner.
Now I have some concern about the reaction to the vandalism. I'm taking my family to the fair on Thursday. I want to see what's in store at the butter cow. Is everything normal, meaning a long line of people who slowly gawk at this dairy shrine? Or is there now a memorial? Or will there be guards to keep everyone off the glass? Or security people do the worst thing that could happen by stepping up their game and cordoning off the area to keep viewing a minimum of 20 feet away. Maybe we implement x-ray scans before we enter the building.
In other words, I hope this stupid act doesn't change the way we go pay homage to the butter cow.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/…
I can be found on Twitter @ChrisClaytonDTN
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