When I heard that the Tea Party was coming to DC this weekend, I decided to attend and make a video of the event or something. The "taxpayer protest" was planned in the same day -Saturday 12- when the Anti 287g Program and Immigration Reform rally was going to be held in the National Mall and the White House.
When I was on my way to the immigration rally I got news on my phone that the Tea Party protesters had taken over the area of the protest, and that some rally attendees were discouraged. At that moment I run into some protesters coming out of Woodley Park Metro station and I spoke to them for a couple of minutes.
Honestly, the people that I encountered seemed like a nice family -about 7 white folks in their 40's and 50's- and they were really convinced they were doing the right thing, by protesting the federal government's expenses and bailouts to Wall Street, and the Health Care reform. Point taken.
While talking, they looked to me like working class people from a small town somewhere -I didn't ask- but I also noticed they all were wearing well made t-shirts, signs, and pins -lots of money and creative work involved. Those signs didn't look to me like those of a true grass roots movement, but more like a corporate sponsored event. Perhaps the insurance companies or the GOP friends? I didn't ask neither.
The organizers of this protest call themselves The 9/12 Project -silly name- and its main spoke person is the racist radio and TV host Glenn Beck. Wrong. They say the DC rally was attended by 2 million people -no way- that is an anti government, anti spending, anti taxes and non partisan movement. They also say they are not angry mobs who hate Obama, racist and hateful people, that this is all for America's best interest.
However by looking at these pictures -thanks to Huffington Post and Jillstanek- and listening to their blah, blah, blah on TV, we can realize the tea baggers are mostly lying.
When I finished talking to the family of protesters, I felt really bad. To me, these people were used and manipulated by corrupted groups. They seemed to really have convictions that their efforts were intended to make this country better. I was shocked on their level of ingenuity, or perhaps falseness. They called me "brother" and invited me to join their movement. I told them I was going to an Immigration rally -then they looked at me weird until one man broke the silence "I am also in favor of an immigration reform!" he said.
Right after that I went home and got ready to attend the Afro Colombian Mural inauguration party. I didn't have the nerve to go and run into thousands of naive/fake/angry people yelling nonsense, and who didn't protest during the 8 years of the absurdly abusive Bush administration, who wasted billions of dollars in illegal wars and giving more privileges to the rich.
Instead of going to the Mall, I preferred to witness a celebration of displaced Afro descendant peoples trying to survive in a country, where sometimes I get impressed by the levels of ignorance and selfishness.
This is a nation where corporations have too much political power. With their corrupted money, interest groups are trying to copy the grass roots movements that helped Barack Obama get into power, and are using well intentioned folks who have some much anger withing themselves. Almost all of the Tea Party protesters are white and "mature". Signs of the times we live.
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I attended the rally with my 79 year old mother. I definitely saw it through a different set of eyes than you. The only people I saw carrying well made, uniform signs were the 4 buses of union workers that were bused in in favor of the health care plan and the immigration reform people in their brand new orange T-shirts that I'm sure were handed out to them along with their marching orders. As for the health care reform protesters, you only have to look at the diversity of their signs and the fact that most of them are home made to realize that it is a grass roots group. I saw well mannered people-young and old, that chanted and sung, thanked the DC police for their service. I have nothing against immigration reform, but as for the health care reform protesters... You are only seeing what you want to see.
ReplyDeleteLynn
no duh lynn, you saw it through different eyes, just like fox reports masses when its a few like you put it mad white folks , lol hilarious. tea sackers are a constant mention in my philosophy class, great article
ReplyDeleteYou are an idiot. atleast fox represents both sides for the most part. Also, I was at the DC protest this year. You could hear a pin drop during the speeches, people were friendly, polite, and "ANGRY"...though you could not tell by their behavior. We were 5 and not one of us is RACIST!!! We are hispanic doctors and nurses and proud of it! The only line/excuse you liberals use is "They're racist". It's old and no one is falling for it except you ignorants!
ReplyDeleteIf you don't like Capitalism, free markets, etc. GET OUT OF OUR COUNTRY!
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