# Beto O'Rourke gives a heckler a piece of his mind **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 11, 2022, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourke-gives-a-heckler-a-piece-of-his-mind/969516 "2022-08-11T23:18:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourke-gives-a-heckler-a-piece-of-his-mind/969516/1 "2022-08-11T23:18:32Z")
TL : DR - Someone started laughing when he started talking about the Uvalde shooting, and he called that person the MF word. > **[Weighing the pros and cons of Beto O'Rourke dropping an f-bomb on a heckler](https://www.npr.org/2022/08/11/1117026657/beto-f-bomb-heckler-pros-cons-political-future-texas-governor?utm_campaign=npr&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_term=nprnews&fbclid=IwAR2F9c6t4QiLPLLDj3AuztP9GmY-fcwHgp3c6CD-JR6CcdgneCadCEe4bd4)** > > Voters like to see a sense of authenticity in candidates, especially in Texas. But some experts say cursing and vulgar language in front of kids and the elderly more often than not crosses the line. One of my FBFs posted a tweet that said, “Profanity is using the word ‘motherfucker.’ Obscenity is joking about a weapon that liquefies children.” I totally get it now. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourke-gives-a-heckler-a-piece-of-his-mind/969516/2 "2022-08-12T00:47:43Z")
It can’t really generate that much outrage, simply because they’ll play it, yet beep it. And print such as : “motherf\*\*\*\*\*\*”, which will defang it. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourke-gives-a-heckler-a-piece-of-his-mind/969516/3 "2022-08-12T00:55:16Z")
Here’s an uncut version. I have not yet grown tired of watching it. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/0ma_HqR4_go/maxresdefault.jpg "Beto O’Rourke swears at Greg Abbott supporter who heckled him") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ma_HqR4_go) ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourke-gives-a-heckler-a-piece-of-his-mind/969516/4 "2022-08-12T01:21:59Z")
Beto fans will love him for it, Beto haters will hate him for it, and most everyone else will probably be pretty meh about it. I think anyone who is so puritanical as to not vote for him based on this, is probably bothered more by his homosexuality. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourke-gives-a-heckler-a-piece-of-his-mind/969516/5 "2022-08-12T01:27:10Z")
Are you confusing Beto with Pete Buttigieg? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourke-gives-a-heckler-a-piece-of-his-mind/969516/6 "2022-08-12T01:28:12Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > TL : DR - **Someone started laughing when he started talking about the Uvalde shooting, and he called that person the MF word.** > > [Dropping an f-bomb at a campaign rally will likely hurt and help O'Rourke. : NPR](https://www.npr.org/2022/08/11/1117026657/beto-f-bomb-heckler-pros-cons-political-future-texas-governor?utm_campaign=npr&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_term=nprnews&fbclid=IwAR2F9c6t4QiLPLLDj3AuztP9GmY-fcwHgp3c6CD-JR6CcdgneCadCEe4bd4) > > One of my FBFs posted a tweet that said, “Profanity is using the word ‘motherfucker.’ Obscenity is joking about a weapon that liquefies children.” I totally get it now. - it’s about time. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourke-gives-a-heckler-a-piece-of-his-mind/969516/7 "2022-08-12T01:39:56Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > I think anyone who is so puritanical as to not vote for him based on this, is probably bothered more by his homosexuality. Does his wife of seventeen years know he’s gay? > **[Beto O'Rourke | Personal life](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beto_O%27Rourke#Personal_life)** > > On July 3, 2001, O'Rourke's father, a longtime cycling enthusiast, died while riding his bicycle along the shoulder of Pete Domenici Highway, just outside the city limits of El Paso and across the New Mexico state line, when he was struck from behind by a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am, throwing him 70 feet (21 m) and causing severe head injuries; he was pronounced dead at the scene. O'Rourke delivered the eulogy during the funeral service at St. Patrick's Cathedral in El Paso. On Decem O'Rourke married A... ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourke-gives-a-heckler-a-piece-of-his-mind/969516/8 "2022-08-12T01:49:52Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > I think anyone who is so puritanical as to not vote for him based on this […] …presumably also disagreed with [conservative commentators’ 2018 dismissal and downplaying of Trump’s using swearwords such as “shithole”?](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-language/trumps-profanity-delights-supporters-horrifies-etiquette-experts-idUSKBN1F12SR) > [@](#): > > Conservative blogger Stacy Rush dismissed criticism of Trump’s language as pitiful and a distraction from the bigger picture: “It is pathetic our country and particularly the MSM (mainstream media) is wasting time on the word #shithole when we have real issues that need to be addressed.” Do I personally like public figures using direct insults and swearwords when speaking in their professional capacity? I don’t really, tbh, I prefer political speech to be more GD/P&E than BBQ Pit as a general rule. Do I think it would be hypocritical for anybody who didn’t mind Trump’s saying “shithole” to go all pearl-clutchy about O’Rourke’s saying “motherfucker”? Why yes, I do. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourke-gives-a-heckler-a-piece-of-his-mind/969516/9 "2022-08-12T02:19:01Z")
You’re being snarky about the homosexuality thing, I’m guessing? ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourke-gives-a-heckler-a-piece-of-his-mind/969516/10 "2022-08-12T02:25:00Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > You’re being snarky about the homosexuality thing, I’m guessing ? I think he probably mistook him for Pete Buttigieg. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourke-gives-a-heckler-a-piece-of-his-mind/969516/11 "2022-08-12T13:32:32Z")
Sometimes, a good curse word is just the thing you need. In my opinion, Die Hard is the only time I’ve heard “Motherfucker” put to better use. This quote from an NPR story I read is so ridiculous: “According Cal Jillson, professor of Political Science at Southern Methodist University, O’Rourke’s kneejerk reaction shows he’s passionate, which is good, but dropping an f-bomb in a room with elderly attendees and kids, not so much.” Why would you equate kids and elderly about a curse word? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourke-gives-a-heckler-a-piece-of-his-mind/969516/12 "2022-08-12T13:52:23Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > This quote from an NPR story I read is so ridiculous: > > “According Cal Jillson, professor of Political Science at Southern Methodist University, O’Rourke’s kneejerk reaction shows he’s passionate, which is good, **but dropping an f-bomb in a room with elderly attendees and kids, not so much.”** - Worse than laughing about a bunch of murdered children? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourke-gives-a-heckler-a-piece-of-his-mind/969516/13 "2022-08-12T13:56:08Z")
Let’s not ruin a good pearl-clutching with logic and reason. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourke-gives-a-heckler-a-piece-of-his-mind/969516/14 "2022-08-12T15:16:59Z")
I saw plenty of older people applaud Beto when he cursed the MAGAt. I’ll bet many of them would have liked to call that miscreant a lot worse. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourke-gives-a-heckler-a-piece-of-his-mind/969516/15 "2022-08-12T16:14:40Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > I think he probably mistook him for Pete Buttigieg. Yup. 🤦‍♂️ ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourke-gives-a-heckler-a-piece-of-his-mind/969516/16 "2022-08-12T16:25:07Z")
We all know profanity was only created in the last five or ten years. Older generations got by on “Cornsarn it!” and “Jehoshaphat!” That’s why you didn’t see it in tv or movies until recently. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourke-gives-a-heckler-a-piece-of-his-mind/969516/17 "2022-08-12T16:36:01Z")
I can’t help but be reminded of this. [![](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CWM1zDcmWXs/TroD0VsX4WI/AAAAAAAAAVA/Jc5bN5xSTkc/s1600/ch930919.gif) ](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CWM1zDcmWXs/TroD0VsX4WI/AAAAAAAAAVA/Jc5bN5xSTkc/s1600/ch930919.gif) ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourke-gives-a-heckler-a-piece-of-his-mind/969516/18 "2022-08-12T18:11:57Z")
Also, the “elderly” of 20 years ago were generations who grew up wirh pretty strong opinions about cussing in mixed company. But today’s “elderly” were closer to Boomers than the Greatest Generation, and Boomers don’t faint at cussing in quite the same way. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2022, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourke-gives-a-heckler-a-piece-of-his-mind/969516/19 "2022-10-16T21:10:10Z")
Beto is in San Antonio today. I, of course, made a custom sign… [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52433177765_d01d5ac389_b.jpg "20221016\_160721") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/68782016@N08/52433177765/) ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2022, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourke-gives-a-heckler-a-piece-of-his-mind/969516/20 "2022-10-16T22:05:27Z")
Cool! What kind of reactions did you get? Any from Beto himself? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beto-orourke-gives-a-heckler-a-piece-of-his-mind/969516.md?page=2)