An old civil rights veteran explained to me why Charleston, a city once steeped in Jim Crow Laws, never got ugly during the fight for equal rights in the sixties. It was simple- “Charlestonians are much too polite-we would never, ever riot or throw things at one another in the street, we just weren’t raised that way-black OR white.” And true to our municipal character, Wednesday’s Tea Party Protest went down like a smooth brew. There was none of the histrionics or hate-filled rhetoric of a Sarah Palin rally. The signs were tame, with repetitive slogans pulled from a website specifically constructed to provide inspiration to the teabaggers. While I personally disagree with everything they stand for, I do believe they have every right to rally for their cause. Had these Tea Parties happened five years ago, they would have credibility in my eyes, we would have been standing side-by side. A few observations: I didn’t see a single black, Latin or openly gay person. The crowd thinks Glen Beck is some kind of sage; and Obama elicited a strong chorus of boos and hisses.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Tax Day Tea Party-Charleston, SC
An old civil rights veteran explained to me why Charleston, a city once steeped in Jim Crow Laws, never got ugly during the fight for equal rights in the sixties. It was simple- “Charlestonians are much too polite-we would never, ever riot or throw things at one another in the street, we just weren’t raised that way-black OR white.” And true to our municipal character, Wednesday’s Tea Party Protest went down like a smooth brew. There was none of the histrionics or hate-filled rhetoric of a Sarah Palin rally. The signs were tame, with repetitive slogans pulled from a website specifically constructed to provide inspiration to the teabaggers. While I personally disagree with everything they stand for, I do believe they have every right to rally for their cause. Had these Tea Parties happened five years ago, they would have credibility in my eyes, we would have been standing side-by side. A few observations: I didn’t see a single black, Latin or openly gay person. The crowd thinks Glen Beck is some kind of sage; and Obama elicited a strong chorus of boos and hisses.
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"Teabagg'in" in Paradise!
ReplyDeleteI walked through the "tea party" while in D.C, it had nothing to do with spending, it was just a bunch of redneks looking for an excuse to hate Muslims and the President, about half of the signs were just hate speech with nothing to do with spending, and the other half were people either mad at Obama or mad, not at spending, but at having to pay for spending. Funny how these people never protested the cost of the Iraq war or the record deficits created by Reagan and Bush II
ReplyDeleteI agree 100%. It was just fine with the "teabaggers" when Bush blew 3 trillion on a war and tax cuts for the wealthy. Now that Obama's spending money on health care, tax cuts for the middle class, education, and infrastructure they are complaining. Too late-most Americans want to re-invest in our country, Republican Rule has hurt many and benefited only themselves and their cronies.
ReplyDeleteThe address of this blog should be nancysantoshasabigmouth!
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