"Imagine if the Tea Party was Black" - amazing read

http://ephphatha-poetry.blogspot.com/2010/04/imagine-if-tea-party-was-black-tim-wise.html

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. Whoever gains the most insight into the workings of race in America, at the end of the game, wins.

So let’s begin.

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 whites as a danger to the republic? What if they were Arab-Americans? Because, after all, that’s what happened recently when white gun enthusiasts descended upon the nation’s capital, arms in hand, and verbally announced their readiness to make war on the country’s political leaders if the need arose.

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 recently in Washington.


the rest is at the link - please read it. it's amazing.

I'm trying to find a link directly to the writer's blog but can't.

Remember how some people got their undies in a bunch because of the million man march?

:faceticous:

Many were eventually killed.... and no one cared. Amerika

It was a long time ago, but it was very "Waco."

I was about 19 at the time. I later actually met and worked with the guy who piloted the PSP helicopter that delivered the "incendiary device" that was meant to smoke MOVE out of that house. The guy had nightmares for as long a I knew him. WACO is a good analogy: cult lead by a charismatic leader, with a sh$%^ ton of guns. And BTW - MOVE was pretty universally hated by Philadelphians - black and white.

The whole Bay Area, hated these idiots as much as everybody else. Still the obliteration of their L.A. hideout was brutal.

This has ALREADY happened with black folk being the actors, i.e., the militants of the 60s, including the Panthers. And we saw what happened with them.

That's how I felt about profiling...the talk of profiling being a bad thing is still a new phenomenon for me. Many have been and will continue to be profiled, and no one cared. Make no mistake, profiling has always been bad. But, blacks in America have ALWAYS BEEN PROFILED, regardless of what any law says. Let me see your papers? You mean this is new?

Maybe it's a Mississippi thing, but lesson 1 for us growing up has always been, "you had better have some identification on you, and take a friend". My parents were ever alert that you might wind up in the right place, but seen by the wrong person. I've grown up paranoid, basically. We didn't walk in "good neighborhoods" at night. I still don't let my sons do it either with groups of their friends. Any more than two is a recipe for disaster with phone trigger happy neighbors.

Although individual policemen could be your friend, random policeman were definitely not to be trusted. Respected yes, trusted no. My father made it plain years ago, and his words are as true today, to me. America cares if you profile "some" people. And, we were not in that group. He didn't want us to hold a grudge. He just didn't want us to be clueless and have some expectation of a personal right that America was not planning on offering to us.

I remember dating a guy years ago in college, a preppy geek would best describe him. We were at an ATM so he could get some cash for the movies. Some little white guy (no offense meant), is sooo nervous when my date stands behind him that I'm afraid he's going to wet his pants. This guy is so nervous, he leaves his ATM card sticking in the machine and proceeds to walk to his car. My date gets the card, and tries to call out to him that he left his card, by this time the guys hands are shaking so badly, he can't even open his door. At first it was funny. But then, not so much. We just felt weird. A police car goes back, but returns just kind of making a run through. So, even my date is nervous by now, but eventually the guy realizes he's trying to return his card.

The guy thanks him profusely, and then tries to apologize but flubs it because I mean, what is he going to say. "Look, clean cut black guy wearing the local university tshirt standing near young black girl that weighs 100 lbs (maybe). I thought ya'll were there to mug me...or eat me (heck I don't know). Who could've gone out on a limb and guessed you wanted to use the ATM, too?"

The officer pulls up and asks if we're having problems, we all insist NO. And, he eventually drives off, but doesn't go too far.

No major incident, but we were definitely out of the mood for a movie. All we could think about and talk about was how things could have gone terribly wrong.

I hope that kid shared his side of the story with others the way you're sharing yours--although I would be surprised if he did. And not that it would do all that much to change anyone's mind if they grew up with that kind of institutionalized racism.

There are little things you keep with you. Memories you'd rather forget. I have my own set of prejudices that I fight. But, they're there, at times way too close to the surface. My children are growing up in a better world than I did. I grew up in a better world than my parents and grandparents. I'm excited about the possibilities that my future holds. My grandmother's father was killed here in Mississippi. Some say for "passing".

I'm a black woman in Mississippi married to a white man. The stories I could tell. LOL. My grandmother (daughter of a father slain by racist white men) was the only one in my family who didn't give me any grief about my decision. She made it clear, she'd love me regardless. His family disowned him and doesn't speak to him (or our children) to this day.

But, even my state isn't the same state my grandparents grew up in. I know that and I'm thankful. It's not where I want it to be. But, neither is my country or the world. So, oh well. I'm optimistic.

Each generation gets a little better. I don't know what we'll do about things like profiling. I know it hurts. I know it sucks. But, I also know it isn't new. Arizona didn't invent it. And, I haven't been to a state yet that doesn't do it. Perhaps Arizona has been the only state seemingly insensitive enough to attempt to make it legal and justify it. They won't be the last.

You must never, ever stand directly behind someone who's keying in his password. Always keep a privacy-respecting distance. When people get right up behind me, I politely tell them to back off. When that doesn't work, I..................... slow................. right...................... down................. until............... the.............. person................. gets............. so............. frustrated............ that........... he............. uses.............. another............. machine.

We weren't idiots. (I do know you didn't call us idiots) We weren't standing "that" close. It is generally acceptable to be close enough to the ATM to actually see it. There was no possibility of reading digits.

Not everything is a black/white thing. But, I doubt had a young white couple or a young white guy, clean cut, stepped up on the platform, the man at the ATM would not have felt so threatened.

Or, if a police officer had driven by and noticed three white people talking, he may not have given it a second thought.

:applause:

While white middle class angst is on parade in bedded in almost every newscast...

:applause:

Tim Wise has said what needed to be said a long time ago.

and had to post it here

Send me a message and I'll "friend" you...if I haven't already. I lose track of alter egos...

I just read it there too. And replied that I'm embarassed that these people call themselves American. It tarnishes the name.

than they do. Not a lot of support, but more than the white tea party is getting now (which is none).

Well, there might be a few who would support that; but the majority would not.

but more than the white guys are getting now.

they might actually have a reason for the outrage instead of some manufactured Teabagger bullshit.

Face it, there is plenty of reason for outrage, just not the illegitimate reasons on Teabagger signs.

I don't think so. Even in the darkness of the bush years, it was rare to see a call for armed insurrection to "take back our country" on this board, and usually they were issued as one liners from contributors that didn't last very long here. I can't imagine the Progressives/Liberals on this board supporting any group who advocated violence, particularly for a cause that was self-serving, regardless of the color of their skin.

The tea-baggers garner no support on this board because they do not have a cause worth supporting.

some would suggest that we just don't really understand them, and that the media was misrepresenting them. There would be DUers willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. While that would not result in wholehearted support, there would be some willing to give them a lot more leeway.

You can find some (again not a lot) of DUers who denounce the violent tactics but still "support" or at least defend the Black Panthers, ELF, ALF and even Hamas and Hizhollah, all groups that advocate violence.

He advocated violence in self defense and was absolutely DEMONIZED for it by the white establishment. Even as a white kid in Alabama in the 60s, I saw no problem with self defense.

Now it gets a LITTLE more iffy if you extrapolate self defense into group action against repressive government actions, BUT folks who did this, including the Panthers, had a legitimate point IMO. They WERE being killed on a regular basis by the police, often without any provocation.

Who are the Teabaggers defending themselves against? How many of them have been killed in police shootouts of dubious legality? Astroturf outrage and victimization. They don't have any REAL, provable grievances, ergo they don't have a leg to stand on when advocating violence.

I'd like to see who defends the Black Panthers, ELF, ALF, Hamas and Hezbollah.
:hi: Thanks in advance.

From that post...

Now it gets a LITTLE more iffy if you extrapolate self defense into group action against repressive government actions, (and here's the key part...)

BUT folks who did this, including the Panthers, had a legitimate point IMO.

They WERE being killed on a regular basis by the police, often without any provocation


I didn't put a whole lot of time into this, but if you check these threads, you'll see more of a defense for Hamas and Hizbollah than you've seen for the Teabaggers here.

Hizbollah
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3391819#3391848

Hamas
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=124x309428#309430

Indeed. We called him names. We asked for Dems in government to act instead of follow. We said they should be arrested, and brought to trial. Who marched on Bush armed? (What good are hand guns if you're caged in a remote "Free Speech Zone" anyway?)

Besides, if they were black or hispanic, they'd get 3 seconds on the ticker at the bottom of the screen because there are so FEW gathered at these events.

Or I should say "against" because they aren't for anything, just against everything that might help the middle and working classes.

:eyes:

Interesting.

Like complaining that the Nazis don't get more support, so somehow WE'RE just as bad...

NO SALE.

Not a lot but some would suppose that we didn't really under their motivations and that the MSM was not expressing their real opinions.

Again, I'm not COMPLAINING about anything, however, if they were black, people here would be a lot more willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and LOOK for reasons that maybe what they're doing is justified. I don't believe that they SHOULD get ANY support here, I'm saying that they would, if they were all black.

If you don't believe me, look at some of the responses here, there have already been people willing to justify this sort of behavior. Yes, some say that if a group of black people had the same opinions as the the teabaggers, we still wouldn't support them, but if they were all black the FIRST thing many would do is assume that they are being falsely portrayed by the MSM.

The OP set up the premise that if they were all black, "the general public" would view them differently and in a far more negative light, based on nothing other than skin color. I think that's absolutely true. I am suggesting that if they were all black, some DUers would also view them differently, and in a less negative way, based on nothing more than skin color.

But you refuse to get it.

Figures...

someone feels one way about the group when it's white, and another way about the group when they're black, then that's EXACTLY what I'm talking about. I don't refuse to get it, nor am I denying the hypocrisy exists. I'm just pointing out that it happens here on DU too. Based on the responses I've seen so far, my statement was correct.

Are you seriously going to argue that if this group was black, there wouldn't be a contingent of DUers who would suggest that we just don't understand them and their goals because the MSM is distorting their objectives?

if they were black, it wouldn't be "news". and the "liberal" news media wouldn't cover it. you just know it. I don't ever remember this amount of coverage for the Million Man March that the Fucktard Jerk Parties have today.

Based on the premise (everything is the same except the skin color of the protesters) If this many black conservatives were actually legit teabaggers and were protesting Obama because of his "liberal" policies, it would be EVERYWHERE. Black people protesting the black president, you think Faux news isn't going to send every person they have? This would be Christmas day to the right wing media.

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They were hounded to death.

They were radical, they were in your face, and they were doing things for their community that the authorities would not do. They carried firearms as a right, as a symbol of defiance, and as a necessity to protect their community. They complained about the government. What happened? They were infiltrated and actively destroyed by the FBI's COINTEL program.

No imagination needed.

Kick

Make a few people think.

others do this as well.

Off to Cuba they would be sent.

Better yet, email this to every faux news journo and every journo you know.

"Would that be okay?"

Oakland courthouse steps - scared the shit out of a lot of people, and they spelled their signs correctly, too.

m

:applause: Bravo!

n/t

Loaded guns in public banned - Mulford Act, 1967

A frightened California legislature passed the Mulford Act which gave us Penal Code 12031.


The edicts President Reagan endorsed and enacted could very well have resulted in your death—or the deaths of people you love—or the destruction of your life if found in defiance of them, if caught claiming the birthrights supposedly guaranteed by the Constitution he swore an oath to defend.

It’s not like he didn’t know better. “Ronald Reagan: The Gun Owner's Champion,” reveals a man fully aware of the true intent behind the Second Amendment, as well as its applicability in modern times. As a young man, he actually used a gun to rescue a nursing student. He even “began packing a .32 Smith and Wesson pistol, holstering the gun on every morning for months and wearing it until he stepped into bed at night,” in response to a threat. Yet in spite of this, he still imposed “gun control” on America.


http://www.keepandbeararms.com/NewsArchives/XcNewsPlus.asp?cmd=SHOWTOP

Next time they invoke the name of St. Ronnie, they're gonna get an earful!

What if they were half a million peaceful anti-war protesters?
They'd receive no coverage.

Not sure...wait...that did happen. :D

expresses it eloquently.

n/t

We take for granted white entitlement that we never see this angle, until someone points it out to us.

would be treated the same.

Thanks for finding it.

They could call it the NRAACP -- The National Rifle Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
What's the blast radius of an exploding freeper head?

--MAB

edited for typos - damn fingers :)

Thank you so much for the post.

:kick:

bookmarking this.

This is wonderful. Thank you!

We received the benefits of New Deal policies, but you can't have any.

A generation of selfish, self-centered jerks who can't accept notions of equality and opportunity for all.

But I agree that most of the Boomers wasted a great opportunity to change the world for the better. Of course, most of the boomers weren't really part of the counterculture movement anyway. It got sort of popular for a few years in the 70s, but it was easy for them to turn into Yuppies in the 80s because they didn't believe in it anyway.

Then they would sue, win, and bankrupt the city.

At least, that's what happened a couple of years ago, when a bunch of brown people held a picnic in support of immigrant rights.

Our police force isn't the brightest. They beat up journalists, while the cameras were on.

very good post.

I love Canada for our diversity and acceptance, even in the rural north it is much more tolerant than in the USA.

I sure hope there is a big turn out on April 29th on Wall street.

The Tea Baggers are just the Republicans puppets and I don't think they'll be there to protest the banks.

I think this fantasy is a bit absurd, and we should be living and dealing with the reality of the situation, not messing around with what-ifs. Obviously there would be different reactions if that were to happen, but it's not, we need to find a way to defeat the ACTUAL jack-offs that are doing this, not the hypothetical ones. Sorry I see no need for this and I find it a waste of time to even think about it. Interesting enough, but, eh, I'm gonna stop.

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:think:

Here's hoping your fantasy can garner that much interest. :hi:

You don't have to work to hard to imagine the scenario Mr. Wise proposes one only has to look at what happened to the Black Panthers and the Move group to know that what Mr. Wise has said is absolutely spot on.

If anybody hasn't read the complete piece - do so - it's worth it.

:thumbsup:

Replace the entitled, self-appointed "real Americans" with any other group, and the smug dismissals of the "patriotism" of showing up at presidential speech with guns strapped to their legs evaporates in a hurry. Imagine a few thousand ARMED Mexican-Americans rallying in Texas to "take our country back." (Or don't imagine: look at the hysterical outrage that actually does occur when Hispanic Americans gather to protest immigration policy).

This is why it's hard to give credence to the supposed motives of the "Tea Party," and why it's hard not to attribute a lot of their energy to, say, racism. Where was the panic when Bush actually did trample the Constitution? Really did threaten to imprison Americans as "enemies of the state," really did spend the country into massive debt in order to "redistribute wealth?"


It's the same lie of identity politics over and over again. They have the same look in their eyes as the people screaming at black students entering the Alabama schools. It's the same tacit acknowledgement of a group of people who believe they have something that doesn't belong to them, which is about to be taken away.

k&r AND posted to my Facebook page. This is a succinct, powerful, and well-reasoned piece about a staggering double standard.

-app

And I don't have to imagine, I saw what they did to the Panthers.

Excellent and explains it perfectly for those who pretend that they don't get it...:kick: :kick: :kick:

I am a halfbreed Indian/White kid raised first in Oklahoma, then in Louisiana, where I still am. Many races live at my house, we ARE the New South.

You have to understand... it is NOT just that he is black.

It is because he is SMARTER than them.

Do you people not realize how BADLY that goes over? Not only is he black (or brown of any nation really), but he is SMARTER THAN THEY ARE.

THAT is what really what pisses them off most.

Once you understand that... then it becomes much clearer. Imagine what an insult that is to their already very low intelligence. Racism, is, after all.... a product of ignorance.

So then... I guess that means I win huh!? TYTY.

What do I win?

Thanks for posting this excerpt. Here's where you can find more from Tim Wise, author of Between Barack and a Hard Place:

http://www.timwise.org/

I love this, I'm going to share this with all of my friends.

could be confronted with exactly these words.

But of course, they would lie and distort and deflect- and say the messenger doing the confronting had it all wrong. That's the most disturbing thing of all-- the adamant denial and self-delusion. But MAYBE some listening to such an exchange would be forced to think and see them much more clearly for what they are.

K & R.

drug addicts or put them in prison (as many as they can).

USA, the Big Joke Experiment.

And yes, I understand that exceeds the estimated number of atoms in the observable universe. All are encouraged to become familiar with the unobservable universe.

citizens of this nation who are Latin American, all took up arms and marched in Arizona to protest their new law.

No guns were at the DC rally. There was another rally in Virginia where guns were lawfully carried

I know that's not the point, but just for clarity.

:kick: