Tea Party Terrors

I am quite fascinated by Sarah Palin - she is remarkably ill-informed and uneducated yet she is adored by a seemingly large group of Americans. I laugh everytime Tina Fey impersonates her on SNL, but as a laugh there is a tickle of fear in the back of my brain, a scary what if scenario...What if she did get elected to high office at some point? What is she becomes truely influential? At the same time I have wanted to see if she is maybe just incredibly charismatic and that is why she has so many fans. Her Facebook page has > 1 million fans, she is always on the news...I am also intrigued by this Tea Party Movement (I really hate using title case for this since I think it gives them some legitimacy). What is their appeal? Is it just like Sarah in that they are always on the news? Is it because they shout so loud?

So how to do this? Ah yes those "patriots" the Tea Party came to Boston today and their key note speaker was Sarah herself. In preparation for this (working on a know thy enemy theory) I went to the Tea Party Express page and to the FB page dedicated to the event in Boston. I did upset a couple of people and I was called a sarcastic twit - oh well guilty as charged. So off we went - me, Robert and Poppy on a bright sunny morning to Boston Common. it was shockingly quiet, especially since before we left the house we breifly polluted our living space with Fox News who said that 30,000 people were expected. When we got to the area where the rally was being held there was the expected number of white people with their signs declaring President Obama a communist/socialist. decrying the government for the bailout, for the overall current econiomic state, the health care reform bill etc etc etc - nothing unexpected there. They weren't terribly loud, just generally milling about waving flags with snakes on them (apparently a flag from the American Revolution). There were some vendors selling scary t-shirts (see photos), there were the expected number of white supremacists and bikers, and in the distance it seemed there were speakers. here's the thing the accoustics were dreadful so you really couldn't hear much unless you were tight up front with the press. There were the anti-teaparty folks who had the best and most inventive signs.

So do I actually have any answers to my questions? No - I could barely hear what Sarah Palin had to say although the line "We'll keep clinging to our guns and constitution and you can keep your change" was disturbing, and obviously designed to make the crowd scream in joy - which they did. The tea party folks really did nothing to make me want to hear what they had to say - they just reinforced what i already thought that they are ill-informed, ignorant and yes they are homophobic and racist. They are shouting for lower taxes, smaller government - meaning less government involvement in their lives, they want more freedoms (as the government denies them this apparently). So here are my questions - yousay you want less government control and more freedom , but you don't want people who disagree with you or who do not fit into your belief system. But you want unemployment benefits, and judging by the majority of people I saw today, you freely use social security and medicare all provded by the government/taxes. Many of you I am sure used public transport to get to Boston Common today - on roads paid for by the government/taxes, and your children go to schools paid for by the government/taxes. You want to see a doctor when youare sick, but don't want universal healthcare. You want these things - but you shout for lower taxes and less government control so do you want schools to be more financially strapped than they are already, do you want roads to fall apart, to you want no social security or medicare? What are you going to do if you have a catastophic illness? For those who were there with their children - what are you going to do if your child gets a catasrophic illness? What if you give birth to a child with a serious illness? You will certainly be screaming for health care should that happen. Not one of you complains about the money that was poured into the Iraq war - a war which was started under false pretences. Not one of you admits or recoginises that the financial collapse happened on GWB's watch and President Obama is trying to dig us out of that bloody big hole. You are all very happy to tell those of us who disagree with you to go to Canada or Europe if we want to maintain our support for the President and if we believe in him. Here's a thought - if you hate the USA so much why don't you leave? As one sign said "If you want less government go to Somalia."
While the crowd today was not a big as Fox news would have us all believe I am nervous enough to say to all my rational friends, do not listen to these people, and please do not blindly agree with them, they are potentially pretty dangerous.