I like Bad Bunny.

There, I said it. I lost a few readers there.

I don’t speak Spanish. My daughter Abby does. (Shout out to Abby’s high school Spanish teacher, Gail Bromenschenkel. You done good!)

Abby has lived in Spain, Guatemala, and Colombia. Many of her friends are Spanish speaking.

Some years ago, Abby put me onto Spanish music. It’s my music of choice when I’m jogging the lake trail. Juanes, Shakira, and Morat are favorites. Bad Bunny has joined my playlist.

I don’t speak Spanish. But I enjoy the sound of the language. It has a beautiful cadence and rhythm, especially put to music. There is energy that even an old farmer can feel. I want the song “Despacito” played at my funeral.

A few months ago, came word that Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, aka Bad Bunny, would perform the halftime show at the Super Bowl. He is the most popular singer in the world, so it wasn’t a surprise.

Abby and her Colombian husband Jhonattan were instantly excited. I had a few friends who said they didn’t know who Bad Bunny was. I happily shared my positive opinion of him.

The National Football League is a business. They are entertainment for millions. At the same time, they are good at making money. They want to make more money. Part of that is growing the brand outside of our borders. Bad Bunny is popular with young people all over the world, exactly the group the NFL hopes to draw in.

As I and millions were celebrating a shared moment, I began to see disparaging comments. What author Tobias Stockwell labeled the “Outrage Machine” had been called to action. “The NFL made a terrible mistake! He doesn’t speak English! This is unamerican!”

Ignoring the fact that Bad Bunny is Puerto Rican, and Puerto Rico is part of the United States, the Outrage Machine was running on hyper speed. Negative posts exploded across right-wing media. This was an opportunity to tear our nation apart. The Outrage Machine never misses a chance to tear our nation apart.

I went from telling my friends how cool this was to telling them that this wasn’t the end of the world.

The show itself was great spectacle. The football field was magically transformed into a sugar cane field. The 13-minute show wound its way through that. There were symbolic nods to Puerto Rico. Some of which I caught, some of which I read about.

The thing is, it was perfectly enjoyable just on the level of singing and dancing and enthusiasm. It wasn’t overtly political. Bad Bunny, like most artists, has spoken out against ICE and their awful campaign. But there were no blatant protests in the show unless you count celebrating the lives of dark-skinned people who ICE is targeting.

There were dancers who were no lewder than an episode of American Bandstand fifty years ago. There was a touching scene when Bad Bunny gave his Grammy award to a young boy. An actual wedding took place. Stars of another generation, Ricky Martin and Lady Gaga, joined.

It ended with a message very much in English. “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”

The whole thing was awe-inspiring and head-spinning. My mind raced to keep up; it was effervescent as it pulled me along. Soon after it ended, I was in touch with my daughter. Abby reported that she had teared up. One of the songs they had used at their wedding.

Through social media, Abby immediately heard from dozens of her Spanish speaking friends. They were gleeful, moved, touched. Others reported tears of happiness.

For the Latino world both in and outside the United States, this was an amazing moment. In a time when dark forces seemed to align against them, this was a beautiful display of love and acceptance.

Of course, the Outrage Machine would have none of it. They hated it. Even those who never watched and saw the alternative show, which was more “Christian and American.” They missed Bad Bunny openly praying before his set, making the sign of the cross, and pointing toward Heaven. They missed the American flag proudly leading the finale.

ESPN reporter Rich Eisen, who was in attendance called it a “pure spectacle of joy.” He reported that the many Spanish speaking people around him were “losing their mind” in the exhilaration.

I kept seeing complaints that it wasn’t in English.

I recently attended a Concord Singers concert in New Ulm. Many of the songs they sang were in German. I sometimes attend Latin Mass where the songs and prayers are in Latin.

In both cases, I don’t understand the words but appreciate their beauty. In neither case was I tempted to stand up and yell, “Speak English!”

Speaking of German, this is a suitable time to remind many of us who aren’t Hispanic, that our ancestors were once not welcome here. The wave of German speaking immigrants who came in the 19th century make up most of the descendants of Brown County.

Many of them spoke German to each other. There was a German language newspaper in New Ulm until 1933. They brought with them beer and Catholicism, both of which were held in contempt by many who were here first. As there are those pushing to make America white again, remember at one time that didn’t include my ancestors.

So Latino people had their day. Or they had thirteen minutes to be exact. It was fun and millions of people felt good.

For some reason I don’t really understand, there are those who wanted us to hate this display of inclusion and love and acceptance. There are so many things we are supposed to hate: Immigrants, transgenders, woke people. It’s hard to keep track of.

2, 500 years ago, Chinese philosopher Confucius said, “It is easy to hate, and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get.”

2,000 years ago, Jesus talked up love every chance he had.

— Randy Krzmarzick farms on the home place west of Sleepy Eye, where he lives with his wife, Pam.