Cassie Wallender // Firewallender

First, I want to say, racism is abhorrent and I don’t want to be associated with it. Hence this post. I went to the tea party, and wanted to share my experience.

The above video is from DC, and I was in Seattle – but the attitude towards race here was the same. It would have been a non-issue, were it not for those misrepresenting the movement. Those across the sidewalk protesting the tea party shouted, “Fascists, Nazis, KKK. Racists, bigots, anti-gay… tea party go away!” But those actually attending the tea party showed them that they would define their own movement. The volunteer organizer got on stage and railed against racism, not in response to the chants, but before they had even started. She said there was a no-tolerance policy against racism, and that everyone was welcome – no matter what race they were, how much money they made, or what their family looked like. The crowd cheered in support.

A majority of the folks on stage were women community organizers, and the founder is a teacher for low income adult learners at a local non profit, and has a Latino heritage herself. Speeches I’ve heard at tea parties, both in Seattle and DC, have been given by non-white speakers, and received by a crowd full of support and admiration for them. I saw tea party signs in English and Spanish, and one sign that even said “Not just angry white people, angry Asian people too” – held by an Asian woman.

Photo of speaker Jennifer Burke by Don Ward

There were some offensive signs, but they were outside the event. There was a group of Lyndon LaRouche folks with their standard, sickening Obama-wearing-a-Hitler-mustache signs. A bunch of twenty-somethings with the tea party stood next to them with signs with arrows that read: “Caution: Not everyone here represents the rest of us”! They argued that though they didn’t agree with the president politically, he was deserving of more respect, and couldn’t be compared to Hitler – the signs were downright disgusting. A few non-tea party folks tried to pose as if they were in the group and then make idiots of themselves – one stood at the front, drinking, and yelling, “Bring back Bush! Bring back Bush!” For all his trying, he could not get anyone to join him in the chant. Many at the tea party were very critical of the policies of Bush as well as Obama.

Photo by Don Ward

On that note, I spoke to an observer who exclaimed, “Bush was a part of the problem!” I told him I agreed, we should have been more vocal about it then. “But,” I added, “I don’t understand how people can say, ‘The spending problem is old. Where were you then?’ and not expect me to reply, ‘Where are you now? If you agree, why don’t you stand with us now that people have finally woken up? The problem still exists!’ ”

Partially, it’s because the movement has successfully been defined by people outside of the movement, and though I saw nothing but neighborly love between tea partiers of many races, ages, and genders; and even though I saw nothing but outright rejections of racism yesterday – the people there kept insisting we were racists, because that’s what they’ve been told to believe. Even friends of mine keep believing what people outside the movement tell them about it, rather than their friends who are actually involved. People are literally purposely showing up at tea parties with awful signs to discredit the movement – there are web forums dedicated to organizing people around this idea, and I saw their shady tactics multiple times yesterday. Rather than fight on the issues, they are willing to make fools of themselves in hopes that it will discredit us. It’s downright lacking integrity. It’s no wonder people see mostly white people at the events, when everyone else has been told “they don’t want you – they are the new KKK.” Most of the people protesting the tea party itself were also older white people, however, that doesn’t make me assume they are racists or start telling others that theirs is a KKK event, because that would be a huge logical jump to take (and make me an irresponsible jerk).

If you disagree with me politically, that’s honestly fine (90% of my friends do). But do it with integrity. Fight on political philosophy – not on this immature rumor peddling and fear mongering about the Tea Parties being all about race. Please, let’s give each other and this country a little respect.

Me neither!