The South Carolina and the internet are in love with a new hero, and his name is Trombro.
Trey Hogan, the now-famous Trombone Guy or Trombro, is a freshman at the University of South Carolina and a member of the school band. And boy, has Hogan had an interesting start to his college life. During the second half of August, Hogan heard there was an anti-Black Lives Matter protester on his college campus. He then grabbed his trombone to confront the man, who was wearing a MAGA hat and waving a sign saying “BLM [Black Lives Matter] are racist thugs.” But the man’s racist and homophobic slurs couldn’t stand the fight against Hogan blasting his trombone.
Student chant “Black Lives Matter” in response to a man with a sign on Greene Street. pic.twitter.com/2mfhmBCkJO
— The Daily Gamecock (@thegamecock) August 21, 2020
“I just had the idea to drown his sound out with mine, so I got my trombone and … I was kind of hesitant at first, but then everyone supported it,” Hogan told CBS affiliate WLTX News19. “He was saying some pretty hateful stuff, and I just didn’t agree with any of it.”
As always, there were plenty of people with phones ready to record and share the moment online. Since then, Trey Hogan has been praised online for his action. This includes Bob Caslen, president of the University of South Carolina, who responded positively to Hogan’s actions on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/saw__your/status/1296900886548160512
“The demonstrator on Greene St. today may have a constitutional right to be there & say what he wants, but his words do not reflect the values & principles of our university,” Caslen tweeted. “I applaud our @UofSC students who peacefully voiced their opposition to the hate he was spewing.”
https://twitter.com/Bob_Caslen/status/1296900275907760129
literally just got twitter to see peoples post about me 😂✊
— Trey (@Trombro7) August 21, 2020
“I didn’t really expect so many people to react the way they did but it feels really good, and it feels really nice to know that people are so supportive of what I did and they want to show their support to me,” Hogan said.
Hogan says he just hopes his moment with the protesters will show his fellow students the types of creativity they can use to fight the current hate overtaking our world and immediate area.
“It shows that we support everyone here. It’s just not okay, and we don’t want that on this campus.” Hogan said.
Check out @Trombro7 on @wachfox tonight at 10 and hear why people are calling him a local hero! pic.twitter.com/yuWrTNJ6Ir
— ChloeCarlsonTV (@ChloeCarlson_TV) August 24, 2020
Unfortunately, according to MetroWeekly, the moment also inspired more racist and homophobic protesters to appear on the campus. Caslen then urged his students to continue responding peacefully.
“Students, I share your frustration with demonstrators who take advantage of our public campus to agitate our community,” he tweeted.
“Hold fast to our Gamecock values; if you respond, do so peacefully,” he continued. “Our commitment to each other & to the values we hold as Gamecocks will always win the day.”
Thankfully, Hogan then called in the cavalry, aka his fellow band members.
https://twitter.com/saw__your/status/1298711408889085952
Since that second protest, Trey Hogan has celebrated the praise but also tried to stay humble. It’s been a whirlwind a few weeks, though, as his name has circulated online and on tv news stations. But all of that is warranted for his good and creative deeds. Bless Try Hogan and the school band at the University of South Carolina. You all are true heroes.
Source: WLTX News19, MetroWeekly
