Is the Tea Party Racist ? No,Just Some People
Is the Tea Party Racist? Well,some of the people are.Thats no doubt.The Tea Party is not anymore racist than the Republican party or the Democratic party.
The respective parties consist of people with various agendas.I am not that naive to believe that all Democrats are prejudice free and have not subscribed in the past to anti black comments or statements.
and I do not believe that all Republicans do not like black people.
Nor does the press treat offensive terms from Republicans and Democrats alike. Governor George Allen of Virginia was castigated for calling a Indian a"macaca".
That would be a black monkey.We saw this story week after week.
Meanwhile Vice President Biden articulated about the number of Indians working in convenience stores.A short news story that created little attention.
Two different stories,one a politician in attack mode, and another politician in gaffe mode.
Recently a good friend sent this to me and it gives me food for thought.
What if the shoe was on the other foot. Would the Tea Party still be a active participant in the political process if it was a black organization ?
The letter I received said in part:
Let’s play a game, shall we? The name of the game is called “Imagine.” The way it’s played is simple: we’ll envision recent happenings in the news, but then change them up a bit. Instead of envisioning white people as the main actors in the scenes we’ll conjure - the ones who are driving the action - we’ll envision black folks or other people of color instead. The object of the game is to imagine the public reaction to the events or incidents, if the main actors were of color, rather than white....
Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition. And imagine that some of these protesters —the black protesters — spoke of the need for political revolution, and possibly even armed conflict in the event that laws they didn’t like were enforced by the government? Would these protester — these black protesters with guns — be seen as brave defenders of the Second Amendment, or would they be viewed by most as a danger to the republic? .....
Imagine that white members of Congress, while walking to work, were surrounded by thousands of angry black people, one of whom proceeded to spit on one of those congressmen for not voting the way the black demonstrators desired. Would the protesters be seen as merely patriotic Americans voicing their opinions, or as an angry, potentially violent, and even insurrectionary mob? After all, this is what white Tea Party protesters did in Washington.
I have several friends that are members of the Tea Party.My friends and I are civil with our discourse but I will say that no political party or organization has a monopoly on common sense or idiocy.Idiots come in all sizes,colors,and political orientation.Our challenge as Americans is to treat each other civil and with respect.
posted by EdGray4America.com at
3:28 PM
6 Comments:
I agree some of the tea-party people are racist, but so are some democrats, so are some Blacks and some Latinos. I think we have to be honest with ourselves.
While I agree that racists (or at least prejudiced folks) from both sides say stupid things,the difference is the Democratic Party leadership.Even when elected officials speak ignorantly, they backtrack.Contrast that with Sarah Palin,saying members of Congress who voted for health care should be targeted (remember her call? "LET'S LOCK AND LOAD!"). What about Sen. Cornyn saying he could understand why someone would try to assassinate a Federal Judge. Or Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell saying that catastrophes (natural and man-made) were God's vengeance on the "liberal" society. And talk of secession; recall when the Texas Governor suggested it, as did his primary opponent who thought him not sufficiently conservative. KBH railed about "interposition",and purported to validate this drivel through the grossest misinterpretation of the Tenth Amendment. Knowing it is a stupid proposition is something we both agree upon. But again, I did not see a single person from the leadership on the Right condemn it.
You simply don't see the leadership on the Right taking a position against this hatred, the divisive and the downright violent.In fact, as we see above, they encourage it. THAT to me is the huge difference.
Ed,it's not that I disagree with you, but I think you need to be more strident. The fact that you know TEA Party members with whom you can have a civil conversation isn't the point.
The uncivil,intolerant,threatening and potentially violent and, yes racist atmosphere that tends to float around this 'movement' is the issue. That, and the unwillingness of TEA Party leaders to acknowledge and publicly repudiate and disavow these people is the problem.
Republican politicians and millionaire TV entertainers, posing as pundits and demogaguing spokepersons, are playing them like a fiddle and they don't even know it. These are people who could never make it in a GOP that recognized politics as the art of negotiation, debate and compromise, because they don't have the capacity or the stamina to deal with the complexity of the issues we face. They seem to believe that once they can 'take their country back' this is a genie that can be put back in the bottle. It can't.
We cannot simply tamp this down with 'there are racists in all parties'. These aren't Democrats out there. They aren't ACORN members. They aren't the New Black Panthers (seriously, have you even seen a 'new Black Panther?!). And if they are not called out and are not condemned as boldly as they are determined to carry out their 'agenda' we will all be sorry.
Ed, I think you hit the nail right on the head with this one. I think a lot of the stupid comments the left make are not really covered, except for at length on FOX. Right stupid comments are covered everywhere including FOX. For example, did you know that two Black Panthers broke a federal law and the case was simply dropped? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neGbKHyGuHU&feature=pyv&ad=3265020430&kw=black%20panthers%20election
I think the tea party exists at is core because the citizens of this country felt/feel that those who we elect were no longer listening to us. I think its shameful that OUR representatives from all levels don't hold meetings to simply talk about the issues with us, but they will sure hold a campaign Fundraisers. We need hold them accountable for their vote. Once we open a dialog and stop playing partisan politics we might get somewhere.
I think we need to remember these words, "Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future."
Ed, I think you are correct on this issue. While there may be some racist elements in the Tea Party movement, there are certainly racist elements in many other political organizations as well. The race card has simply become a debating/political strategy for some. And it is something that is used all too often. When some want to end discussion, they throw the race card. Far too many people are equating disagreement with the current president as racism, just as with Bush 43 disagreement was painted by some Republicans as being un-American, or that you weren't patriotic.
The entire basis for our revolution and formation of our Union was the questioning of authority. The principle that true power comes from a decree of the masses is what lead to our form of government. It is unconscionable that someone expressing their displeasure with the politicians in Washington get tarred with the label racist.
The last time I looked, we all bleed the same color.
You're right on with this one frat. AS well as your FB status. We've got to stop giving Fox News power and allow it to exist in a vacuum.
Shawn P.
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