Epic Tea Party FAIL in "Real" America

Epic Tea Party FAIL in "Real" America
by APA Guy
Sun May 02, 2010 at 05:40:10 PM PDT

I live in Tipton (IN) county about an hour north of Indianapolis. It voted 57-41 for McCain in 2008. It also happens to be in the same district that keeps sending Dan Burton to congress every two years.

True, there are only about 16,000 people in this fairly conservative county. But when I saw signs littered on roads advertising a Tipton Tea Party on the courthouse lawn and scheduled for Saturday, May 1, I expected at least somewhat of a decent turnout.

What turned out instead made my study groups in college look like pep rallies:



Folks, this is not photoshopping or a narrow-view picture being taken. I was very careful to take my picture in a manner that didn't disrupt their meeting, yet still portrays an accurate picture of those in attendance.

more:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/5/2/862923/-Epic-Tea-Party-FAIL-in-Real-America

When flags of States, cities, or localities, or pennants of societies are flown on the same halyard with the flag of the United States, the latter should always be at the peak. When the flags are flown from adjacent staffs, the flag of the United States should be hoisted first and lowered last. No such flag or pennant may be placed above the flag of the United States or to the right of the flag of the United States (the viewer's left). When the flag is half-masted, both flags are half-masted, with the US flag at the mid-point and the other flag below.

The reason I say that is because I am a progressive who participates in many demonstrations, some of them are large but others are very small. Not every event can bring large crowds, but some of the small demonstrations I have went to have been pretty damn effective. I encourage people to get out and take a stand even if you have to stand alone, but when people attack the other side for having small crowds that also discourages people on our side from getting out there if they can't find a group of hundreds of people to go out with.

Please go after the teabaggers on their message, they are wrong and they need to be challenged. All I ask is that when you go after them consider those of us on the left who are getting out there day after day and trying to make a difference, when you attack the right for having small crowds it does us no favors because as much as we would like to we can not always have large crowds either.

Many times I want to attend rallies and protests but a lot of them tend to be held on Saturdays (at least here in AR) and I have to work on Saturdays.

It's either I have to work or I have class.

::sigh::

I understand your point, and I've participated in any number of very small demonstrations as well. However, I've never proclaimed that I represent the vast majority of the nation when I've participated in those anti-war or anti-death penalty demonstrations. I know that bucking a society awash in the language, forms, images and actual violence is bound to put me in a very small group; violence is just too damn popular, as it must be to survive and succeed as it does.

But the Tea Baggers? They hold themselves out as the One Voice of America, the people who possess the very Soul of America. All of their rhetoric is geared toward holding themselves out as the True Majority. Of course their message (whatever it is this week) is wrong; but their boast of being some kind of mainstream group, rather than being the fringe element they are, is belied by their meager numbers, and is a fit criticism of a group that claims to represent a broad swath of the population.

I have absolutely no problem with you challenging their claims that they represent the majority of Americans, in fact I strongly encourage you to do so. They clearly do not represent the majority and they should not be able to get by with claiming they do, please do everything you can to challenge them on this. All I am saying is that we have small crowds at some of our events as well, so I would suggest that rather than citing crowd size as your basis for showing that they do not represent the majority perhaps use statistics or other means of showing that they represent a small fringe.

If they do try to use their turnout as evidence that they represent the majority then it becomes appropriate to point out that their crowds are not that large, if they try to grossly inflate their numbers then they need to be called on their lies. While I don't think it is wise to start the attack by focusing on crowd size, I am by no means suggesting that we don't respond when they try to pretend that the majority of Americans have a desire to attend a teabagger rally.

I think we should also never miss a chance to point out how small their crowds are. Especially in contrast with what they CLAIM their crowds are. They're the darlings of the media right now, and their attendance is constantly vastly over reported.
I've yet to hear one reported in local coverage as anything less than hundreds, and yet to see one that actually had a hundred people at it.

And the media props the Teabaggers up as if they are the real voice of America and justifiably angry at the socialist president. This is a completely different issue.

I have attended some very very small meetings as well.
thanks, kp

THOUSANDS!

of being out-attended by the porta-potties.



:headbang:
rocktivity

But I don't remember the name of the college. Hell, I don't even remember the professor's name. Without a chalkboard I can't even remember my name!

For sitting in lawn chairs, anyway.