"Every revolution was first a thought in one man's mind."Ralph Waldo Emerson
There is a long and proud tradition of protest and change in America. Going back as far as the country itself. Ordinary citizens have gathered inspiration and said "change needs to be made."
As with most anything, be it wars, presidential administrations, literature and art or sporting achievement, we have a need to compare the present to the past. It gives us a reference point. What do Josh Gibson's Negro League numbers mean? We'll put them side-by-side with Babe Ruth's. Discuss.
In that spirit, I think we need to take a look at two of the significant movements of recent times. That of Civil Rights in 1960's, and the Tea Parties of this past year.
A good old fashioned tale of the tape. Ring the bell. Ding, ding.
Both Civil Rights supporters and the Tea Partiers had demonstrations in Washington D.C. Both have had an impact on society. Let's take a look at each. Total Numbers At Largest Event:
Civil Rights: About 200,000.
Tea Parties: According to the "University of I Don't Remember," somewhere between 10,000 and 3.3 billion.
Participants Involved:
Civil Rights: All ages. The downtrodden. The oppressed. Forward-thinking people of all cultures and races.
Tea Parties: White people over 50.
Events Inspiring Cause:
Civil Rights: Rosa Parks refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the murder of Medgar Evers, Freedom Rides, hundred of years of oppression, bigotry and slavery.
Tea Parties: A Black guy elected president.
Inspirational Leaders:
Civil Rights: Dr. Martin Luther King, John and Bobby Kennedy, W. E. B. Du Bois. Tea Parties: Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachman, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity.
Who The Movement Fought/Fights For:
Civil Right: Oppressed minorities. Those told they were worthless and forced to drink from separate water fountains.
Tea Parties: The rich and corrupt health care industry. Those that already have health coverage and privilege.
Significant Speeches:
Civil Rights: Dr. King's "I Have a Dream."
Tea Parties: Minority House Leader John Boehner confusing the Constitution with The Declaration of Independence.
Signs/Slogans Displayed:
Civil Rights: "End To Bias!" "Equal Rights Now!" "We March Together."
Tea Parties: "Obama's Plan: White Slavery." "Our tax $ given to Hamas to kill Christians, Jews and Americans." "National Socialist Health Care, Dachau Germany, 1945," complete with Holocaust imagery.
Celebrities Involved:
Civil Rights: Jackie Robinson, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Charlton Heston, Lena Horne, Paul Newman, Marlon Brando, Burt Lancaster, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. (Dylan sang "Only a Pawn In Their Game" at the March on Washington.)
Tea Parties: Chuck Norris, Jon Voight, John Ratzenberger. "Hey Normie, you ever seen so many angry Caucasians? Is that guy wearing a gun?"
Overall Message:
Civil Rights: People of all races, creeds and colors deserve equal rights.
Translation: People of all races, creeds and colors deserve equal rights.
Tea Parties: We do not agree with big government and Socialist programs.
Translation: Man, do we hate this Black guy in the White House.
In Conclusion:
Hard to say, but they look pretty even overall.
Selah...
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I Think the Government Needs to stay out of our lives, And regardless of skin color, the guy in the white house and his cronies in congress are doing a really REALLY shitty job. I wouldn't compare it to the Civil rights movement, but there's more to the Tea Parties than just whining about a Black Guy being president.
This should be the role of government: Build roads, Maintain the Military and Department of Veteran's Affairs, Protect OUR borders (and fuck everyone else) and otherwise stay the fuck out of my life. Is a little INaction in washington too much to ask?
Funny story of the day: Republicans (and conservative Dems) have fought hard to make sure no one getting subsidized healthcare has coverage for an abortion. But the RNC gives its staff health insurance, with abortion coverage: http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/29456
I am very offended by this entry, but that's ok, because no one has a right NOT to be offended.
The Tea Party movement is NOT, I repeat, NOT about a "black guy" being president. It is just the culmination of 40-odd years of disenchantment with a Government policy that steals resources from the ones who produce, and uses those resources to enslave an entire generation of people by making them dependent upon those resources. All the while, telling these people that they are "entitled" to those resources because they are "needy" and can't take care of themselves. Johnson's "Great Society" virtually destroyed the black American family structure by giving welfare to single parents with multiple kids. As a consequence, millions of young black men grew up in housing projects with no positive male role models to instill a positive work ethic, and a respect for self and others. So, those billions of dollars in tax money that have been put into welfare systems have not only not improved the lives of those receiving the funds, it has made the situation worse, by not giving those welfare recipients an incentive to work for something better. With the current system, instead of geniuses like Percy Julian (whom I consider to be the 2nd greatest American scientist behind George Washington Carver), you get bigoted, victim-mentality puzzlewits like Henry Louis Gates Jr.
I will agree that there is a fair amount (alot, really) of corporatism in America, but this is the result of big government, and massive regulation. Regulation, for the most part, does not help the consumer. It primarily serves to restrict access to the market by smaller competitors, reducing competition, and raising prices. Who do you think lobbys for these regulations?... larger corporations. The regulations protect their market share, and they can just pass the increased cost of compliance to the consumer. Who do you think lobbyed for the "can't sell insurance across state lines" rule?... big insurance companies. With "evil, corrupt corporations" using government against the people, why make that weapon (government) bigger?
But the point of all this rambling, is that no individual has a right to take that which another individual has earned, even if he uses the government to do so.
I thought of another similarity!
Civil Rights had ignorant gasbags like George Wallace opposing it every step of the way.
Tea Parties have JW.
Ha! Nicely done Swayze's ghost. There's the spirit of this. Irreverent satire. Putting me in there is fair game.
Come on people, these are jokes.
MLK said he loved Bull Connor, by the analogy, the tea baggers should love JW.
how do we go about doing away with the 2 biggest political parties?
in my lifestime there have been 9 presidents. during this time, every one of them have dug us deeper in the hole.
so i'm askin ya. how do we get away from business as usual in D.C.?
very well put sherriff pablo.
It' a question that plagues me Phatty. As seen/read here:
http://www.yesbutnobutyes.com/archives/2008/08/bidding_adieu_t.html
if this is complete satire, then i feel like a fool. :)
Either that or JW just isn't that funny.
But he was recently seen in a video wearing a Seattle Seahawks hardhat, so I'd go with your first instinct.
This is one of the most offensive posts I have ever seen on YbNbY. It may shock some posters on this blog to know that like the voting public at large, 50% of YbNbY's readers are Conservatives. Insulting half of your readership is just plain stupid.
most of the voting public at large are conservatives.
Now that's some funny humor right there.
Wow, I love it that there are so many people offended by this! I find it funny that corporations are so good at manipulating people that large numbers of them actually think that the Tea Baggers are a real grass roots movement and not the creation of powerful corporations in order to avoid a loss of profits.
If the Tea Baggers were real, why weren’t they pissed about wasting billions and billions of our dollars a month on pointless wars in the Middle East? If they were real, why didn’t they care about blowing billions of our dollars to prop up corrupt dictators overseas? How about $2 billion a year to prop up the dictator of Egypt. That does not bother them, but the U.S. finally catching up to EVERY OTHER INDUSTRIALIZED NATION ON EARTH and granting more extensive heath care to its citizens? OUTRAGE! Ironic and sad.