Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Are the Tea Parties Racist?

Newsy asks the question. I say yes, absolutely.

23 comments:

  1. "I say yes, absolutely.


    Of course you do. Because you believe in some ridiculous concept of shared responsibility where one person (or, in the incident described here, a few people) somehow taints the entire movement, except when it's your movement.

    In Mikeb's world:
    One gun owner is racist, all gun owners are racist. One member of the TEA party yells a racial slur, all members of the TEA party are racist. One member of the gun control crowd breaks the law, they are just trying to make everyone aware of how the law needs changed.

    No surprise in your opinion here.

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  2. Did anyone actually record or video tape this happening? Until I am convinced this isn't some bogus claim to discredit the Tea Party protesters, I'll take the Jade Gold response: Myth, urban legend, didn't happen.

    I did find it amusing that all of the major news media covering the health care vote Sunday had no problem showing demonstrations from those that opposed it with their hand made signs and varying slogans. However, all of them when showing that there was "grass roots" support for healthcare showed the same small group of supporters with their preprinted, full color, matching signs and t-shirts. Who's astroturfing?

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  3. Gotta agree with the other commenter here Mike, even if I don't agree with the politics or tactics of the Tea Partiers themselves. Sure, a certain segment of the participants may be racist. Hell, the same can be said about any group of individuals.

    Generalizations can be a dangerous thing.

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  4. Teabaggers, unlike the leftwing fringe lunatics (which IS a fringe on the left), are not excused for their hateful speech by the DNC. The GOP is allowing the racist, homophobic and conspiracy theorist minded idiots who make up the bulk of the shitheads who are in the Teabagger movment to dictate policy. Huge difference.

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  5. "The GOP is allowing the racist, homophobic and conspiracy theorist minded idiots who make up the bulk of the shitheads who are in the Teabagger movment to dictate policy.

    The GOP has no direct link to the TEA party, any more than the Libertarians or the Constitution Party or anyone else. They'd love to, of course, but there's as much anger at the Republicrats as there is at the Democans. Two sides of the same dirty nickel, as far as most TEA party folks are concerned.

    All this hand-wringing over whether the GOP should distance themselves from the TEA party is happening on the left, because they don't see it that way---yet. And they are afraid of the TEA party, because they can see that people are mad about government largesse and wastefulness and higher taxes.

    The TEA party is a movement of people with two basic ideals: less government and less taxes. If I polled my neighbors, and asked how many of them would like to have lower taxes, I doubt I'd find even two that would not want lower taxes. That's a fairly popular idea.

    Add in the concept of reducing government, and by default, bureaucratic interference and government waste, and you have a pretty good chance of catching a lot of fish with that net.

    Now, are there people of racist and anti-homosexual slant within the TEA party? Probably. And there are probably some at the bus stop closest to your house, and within whatever social club you might belong to, and the grocery store too. But, that doesn't mean that they dominate the society, or are even a "bulk" of the society.

    There are racists out there. So what, get over it. Eventually, they will die out and their hatred will die with them. You want to make racists mad--ignore 'em.

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  6. I'd say that, as racism is alive and well in America, there surely are racists among the Tea Party-ers. Perhaps to a higher percent because anger and hate is the driving force behind this movement.

    What else could one conclude?

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  7. First, a bit of a grammar flame. I've seen references to multiple Tea Partiers as "Tea party-ers" or "Tea Partiers" or the like. The correct usage is a Scrotum of TeaBaggers.

    Second, anybody who believes the TeaBaggers are not associated with the GOP is a ripe candidate for a timeshare in the Arctic Circle. Given the origins of the Tea Party with Ron Paul (R-TX) and several GOP activists, it is difficult to claim otherwise.

    Third, are they racist? Let's see..Ron Paul has a long record of putting out a racist newsletter. Scrotums of TeaBaggers have shouted racial and bigotted epithets. One cannot help but notice TeaBaggers are overwhelmingly white.

    --JadeGold

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  8. "Let's see..Ron Paul has a long record of putting out a racist newsletter."

    Jade, how about providing us with a sample of this newsletter? Not that anyone really expects you to since you repeatedly fail to back up any of your lies.

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  9. Jagegold has always been a liar

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  10. FWM:

    http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/angry-white-man?id=e2f15397-a3c7-4720-ac15-4532a7da84ca

    http://reason.com/archives/2008/01/16/who-wrote-ron-pauls-newsletter

    --JadeGold

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  11. FWM could also look it up for himself. Just google "ROn Paul Racist"

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  12. I am not trying to get in on a Ron Paul debate here, but when I google “Jadegold liar” I get 2,270 hits.

    -TS

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  13. So if one gun control advocate says he wants to ban “all” guns, you surely wouldn’t fault the NRA for using it as a representation of the whole movement. One speaks for all, right?

    -TS

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  14. Those links provided by JadeGold seem to answer those incessant claims on the part of some of you guys that he says things without being able to back them up.

    TS asked, "One speaks for all, right?"

    No, of course one does not speak for all. Is it just "one, though?" What happens when the "one voice" becomes representative of the movement itself, then does it "speak for all?"

    No, of course not because as Zorro always points out, they're all individuals. But, in any movement there are characteristics and attitudes that pretty much apply to the group. That's what we're talking about.

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  15. As usual, JG shows up with twice the venom and half the facts, throwing feces.

    Yes, the TEA party co-founder was and probably still is a Republicrat. And he started the TEA party with the intention of getting more attention for Ron Paul, whom at the time was getting almost no media attention during his run for the presidency. In fact, as far as the media was concerned, the GOP had John McCain and Mitt Romney running, and no one else.

    That said, the same co-founder complained bitterly that the Republicrats, like the foul parasitic scum they are, tried to latch onto the movement and direct it, as though it was their own.

    Yet, there remains no organized Republicrat direction to the TEA party, because it is directed at state level and local level by grassroots groups.

    Yes, many of them are frustrated Republicrats, but there are also disgusted Democans, and neocons and wookie-suiters and libertarians and contitutionalists. But to claim that the GOP controls the TEA party is utter nonsense. They'd love to direct all that rage and hatred at their enemy-on-paper, the party of the jackasses. But there is as much frustration and anger directed at the GOP for their failure to control spending and letting government bloat to epic proportions as the Democans.

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  16. Mikeb: "Those links provided by JadeGold seem to answer those incessant claims on the part of some of you guys that he says things without being able to back them up."

    Those links provided by JadeGold rebut anyone who says that JadeGold can NEVER back up ANYTHING that he ever says.

    JadeGold has made many claims. Replies to JadeGold do often request substantion, which rarely follows. The fact that it has been forthcoming THIS time would more likely indicate that it was NOT available all those other times.

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  17. Are the Tea Parties Racist?

    That question was asked (in almost the exact same words) by Reason Magazine:

    Are Tea Parties Racist?

    Matt Welch from the December 2009 issue

    http://reason.com/archives/2009/11/16/are-tea-parties-racist1

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  18. "The GOP has no direct link to the TEA party, any more than the Libertarians or the Constitution Party or anyone else."

    Bullshit. They stand with them and support them. You are either incredibly stupid or a liar.

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  19. Someone said, was it Shrimp?, "The GOP has no direct link to the TEA party, any more than the Libertarians or the Constitution Party or anyone else."

    Democommie responded, "Bullshit. They stand with them and support them. You are either incredibly stupid or a liar."

    Now, now, demo, no need for exasperation. Calmly pointing out the obvious fact that the Republicans and the Conservatives have provided a safe harbor for these more vociferous brethren should be enough.

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  20. "Bullshit. They stand with them and support them."

    That doesn't mean that they run it, does it? The direct link that everyone seems to be referring to is one of control. If you can show me where the GOP 'runs' the TEA party, I will take back my statement.

    If by direct link, you mean that there are registered voters from the GOP within the TEA party, then yes, you are correct. If by direct link, you mean the GOP can and does direct what the TEA party does, where they protest, and what they protest, then you're the incredibly stupid one.

    As I said before, there are Republicrats within the TEA party, as well as real conservatives, libertarians and constitutionalists, and on and on. But none of those parties 'run' it. The TEA party is not 'owned' by anyone, but a grassroots movement of people upset at government in general, and 'liberal'/progressive slant in particular.

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  21. "Calmly pointing out the obvious fact that the Republicans and the Conservatives have provided a safe harbor for these more vociferous brethren should be enough."

    Latched onto the mob of angry voters in the desperate hope that they can make some political hay, is more accurate, mikeb.

    The angry vociferous voters need no safe harbor. Their jobs aren't at risk in November.

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  22. More on Tea Parties:

    Video Seems To Confirm No Spitting On Congressman

    http://www.riehlworldview.com/carnivorous_conservative/2010/03/video-seems-to-confirm-no-spitting-on-congressman.html

    Anatomy of a Racial Smear

    http://www.americanthinker.com/printpage/?url=http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/03/anatomy_of_a_racial_smear_1.html

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  23. FishyJay, Thanks for those links.

    What is your opinion, then? Is racism finished in America? Have we outgrown it in the last decade or two or three? Or are you saying that it's only absent in the Tea Party demonstrations and gun shows?

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