" . . . it is like now that Obama is president . . .people feel like they can let out all of their racist thoughts that they have been hiding for all these years" - A thought held by a bunch of my friends "It is what it is" - JVG Funny thing to me. People are quite ok blaming me for what other black folx do. If I say some old woman clutches her purse when I step in the elevator I don't get jobs because of discrimination or Cops harrass me . . . I have been told here multiple times how is is simply statistics because black folx do alot of crime, etc and That if i don't like it I should teach other black folx to not commit crimes NOW! when that same logic is applied to white folx IT IS AN ISSUE . . .IT IS A PROBLEM IT IS JUST CRAZY TO DO . . . . . Rocket River "Not funny Ha Ha."
For what it's worth, three different people are relaying the experience: "Civil rights icon and veteran Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, said anti-health care bill protesters Saturday repeatedly yelled the "N" word at him as he left a heath care meeting and walked to the Capitol. "I haven't seen heard anything like this in more than 40 years, maybe 45." Lewis said. "Since the march from Selma to Montgomery really." "Yeah, but it's okay," Lewis added. "I've faced this before. So, it reminded me of the 60's. There's a lot of downright hate and anger and people are just being downright mean." The incident was confirmed by Rep. Andre Carson, D-Indiana, who was walking with Lewis at the time. Protesters were yelling, "'kill the bill, kill the bill' and the 'N' word several times," Carson said. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Missouri, released a statement late Saturday saying he too was called the "N" word as he walked to the Capitol for a vote and that he was spat on by one protestor who was arrested by U.S. Capitol Police. Cleaver declined to press charges against the man, the statement said." http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.co...nd-spit-at-democrats/?hpt=T1&fbid=4pkoz_vjlKk
I have no doubt that the Tea Party (and almost every group, be it political, religious, etc) is being used by some as a conduit for their hatred, bigotry or fear of certain people. Somehow, in their mind, it legitimizes their feelings (because they not only have a banner to march under, but like minded individuals at their side). They don't feel the need to censor themselves because in their heart, they are right, and the ends justify the means, methods be damned. This creates very dangerous people. The larger a group becomes, typically the more these voices are drowned out and cast aside, thankfully. The actions of those individuals is dispicable, but the premise of this thread is pathetic. Demanding people come in here and show their disapproval for YOU is just ridiculous. As if anyone owes you anything, or any poster here is automatically associated with anything that comes out of the mouth of some lunatic halfway across the country. Give me a break. And yeah, I'm policing you extra hard lately. Policing my own, as it were. Something you should obviously have no problem with.
Stunning. To be clear, my doubt that it was said did not stem from thinking people don't harbor those racist feelings, rather that the N word has become some taboo that I just couldn't imagine it being said in this manner. I am blown away.
Give people the anonyminity factor of a group and prepare to be disappointingly amazed at the crap they will do/say.
That's fine. I don't know how I was supposed to know that. Did Rush and Beck give report on the Tea Party movement or did they create it? We can all more likely "unanimously" agree on bad community theatre than we can on rating the values held by members of the Tea Party. These behaviors by a few in that movement probably aren't integral to the movement. No one here has defended what happened at the event. You are asking me to "blame" Rush and Beck and their ilk for what happened it would seem.... I probably should have phrased my comment thusly: "... a bad performance in local community theatre..." because that is more akin to what actually happened. I defend Limbaugh more than I promote him. I don't think he is the scourge that some here do. The PC police would destroy his career. I take him with a grain of salt and recognize the value of his thinking in seeking to find the true middle ground.
Interesting thread. What's most fascinating is the desire of some people to treat this a fringe element or absolve the Republican Party of involvement. There has always been an argument as to whether the Tea Party is a grassroots or astroturf movement. Regardless of the origins, one cannot dispute that Republican Party leaders have tried to manipulate and use it. Dick Armey, the guy who once was the second highest ranking Repub in the House, has a group, FreedomWorks, that claims to be at the forefront of the Tea Party happenings. Fox News pimped all their meetings and built them up for months. Roger Ailes is not allowing that degree of support unless it is cool with the party leaders. The RNC endorsed the Tea Party movement. The RNC Chairman sent a letter supporting the Tea Party cause. At the recent CPAC Convention, the new darling of the Republican Party, Marco Rubio, said this about the Tea Party movement: Sarah Palin, Rick Perry, Michelle Bachman, numerous other elected officials and party leaders at all levels have spoken at Tea Party events. I could go on. Likewise, Tea Party people are Republicans. You hear significant silence on behalf of Repub leaders because they don't want to criticize their base. What the Tea Party moniker has allowed is for the wingnuts to be more true to themselves than they would be if attending "Republican" events. What positions and actions has the Tea Party taken that we haven't seen from Repubs in the past? If you think this is a fringe group that doesn't have much to do with the Republican Party, you are willfully deluding yourselves.
I don't know why everyone is so down on Communism. I mean, all that authoritarian stuff that happened after Lenin died was just a few bad eggs (Mao/Stalin/Castro). Those tanks in Hungary in '56 and Czechoslovakia in '68 -- it was the work of a few loonies. What's everyone getting so upset about?
It's also interesting to see some Republicans come out and denounce what happened... all the reports I've read about Republicans denouncing the actions that took place were in a response to a question by the media. As far as I can tell, nobody has come out on their own and made a statement with no prodding from media. I could be wrong of course, as I'm sure there are Repubs who are truly upset about this, but again, everything I've seen today is in response to a question, not a self-offered statement of condemnation. I guess we'll have to wait and see if the RNC, RCCC, RSCC, or anyone not on TV today issues a statement.
I have mixed feelings on this. I don't think in general that a whole political party of movement should be held responsible for the actions of some but at the sametime we have heard many of those on the right embrace the idea of collective responsibility for the actions of a few individuals. Consider how frequently Muslims as a whole are taken to task for the actions of some Muslims. A lot of time this is frequently explained as that while not every single Muslim is violent and radical most of the violence and radicalism is coming from Muslims and Muslims should do something about it. Or consider what happened with ACORN when a few boneheaded individuals in ACORN offices were used to tarnish ACORN as a whole. In my own opinion I'm not going to hold all Republicans or Tea Partiers responsible for the actions of some but I think it is in their own best interest to take a stand against those in their movement who engage in such hateful rhetoric.
Here's my problem with the tea party and racism. At their convention their first speaker got up and talked about the need for literacy tests regarding voting. Anyone who has studied or remembers the civil rights movement knows this is racist, and brings back one of the worst eras in race relations in our nation's history. The tea party invited this individual to be the opening speaker at their convention. That makes it harder to swallow that it is just a few bad apples. We've seen their racist signs at rallies. We have the opening speaker at their convention using racist jargon, and we have this incident of shouting racist slurs at heroes of the civil rights movement. They've apologized for only one of these things. Their effort to erase racism from their ranks is lackluster at best. I still don't believe all tea baggers are racist. I do believe it is more than one or two bad apples, and in fact a significant branch of their party that harbors these feelings.
LOL! okay I've just never seen someone who straddles the fence and not take a stand on anything like you do. I guess one could look at that as an asset, but as my granddad used to say; "if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."
Actually, it's a common refrain from conservatives for Muslims to police their own. For moderates to shout down the extremists, for moderates to check the fringe groups of their religion. Why should it be any different for conservatives?
And then there's the flipside: Rep. Steve King (R-IA) brushes off the tea partiers who yesterday screamed racial epithets at a black congressman and spit on another. "I just don't think it's anything," King said. "There are a lot of places in this country that I couldn't walk through. I wouldn't live to get to the other end of it."
It was two African American politicians who heard it, Reps. Andre Carson and John Lewis. http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-brief...h-bill-protesters-called-rep-lewis-the-n-word I don't like the premise either. I doubt Republicans can contain being teabagged as much as hitching them on as a VP candidate in the throes of political and intellectual desperation.
