I’m not comfortable and it’s not easy to call an entire group of people racist. Very rarely is an entire group of people *anything* … however I’m firmly standing behind the NAACP as it moves to condemn elements of the Tea Party movement.
Not because I think every one in the Tea Party is racist. Not because I think the ones that are even REALIZE they are racist…and of course there are those attracted to the Tea Party because they are racist – but because we need to stand up and say enough is enough. Your ignorance does not get you off the hook.
When the Tea Party meme of the day is that the unemployed are lazy and undeserving of benefits, when they push ‘taking up arms’ to ‘take back the country’ and when they remain predominately white- with their bigoted signs and controversial slurs … enough is enough.
Show me a diverse Tea Party rally and I’ll reconsider. Show me a ‘leader’ of the movement that isn’t a white Christian and we’ll talk. Show me a gathering without racially charged, and 1st Amendment protected, signs and I might think the NAACP has gone to far. But no. Because that does not exist.
Today the First Lady promoted ‘Let’s Move‘ – an initiative aimed at fighting childhood obesity and promoting healthy lifestyles for kids. Guess who was up in arms? The Tea Party blew a gasket on Twitter and elsewhere because Mrs. Obama spoke in front of the NAACP. They talked about government interfering with their lives (“She cares more about if you feed your kid a Twinkie than killing them in the womb”) and then proceeded to mischaracterize her speech.
Of course her speech had nothing to do with the Tea Party or race and everything to do with eating right and exercise.
Why? Why would this predominately white group be so up in arms? Our Black First Lady just spoke to a Black organization and they assume it means whitey will be punished. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann recently said she feels like a ‘slave’ under this administration. Yes…she actually said that. These white folk are so afraid they are screaming about taking back their country.
Of course they deny this has anything to do with race. They are so ignorant they either don’t see it or they can’t bring themselves to admit it in mixed company. They complain that people like myself play the race card, when it’s been in their deck and plain as day for months now.
Yet it’s so amazingly obvious to anyone with common sense that the premier African-American organization in this country is calling the Tea Party out- loud and clear and under no uncertain terms.
Perhaps even if the Tea Party leaders are shocked and disgusted by this accusation, they should at the very least, take a look within. Would they consider working with the NAACP to rid their movement of perceived racism? Would they do minority outreach to show they really are more than a handful of people of color? Would they work to support issues important to people of color and perhaps acknowledge their white base has some learning to do?
I’m not holding my breath. A movement based on fear and hate, with elected leaders championing it’s rallying cry of victimhood and oppression, instead of educating themselves on history and the needs of anyone of color, can’t possibly see beyond their own, white goals.
I’m ashamed of the Tea Party. I’m ashamed that what should be a movement based solely on taxes and policy and issues, is really a KKK rally in a thinly veiled disguise. A sad commentary for those non-racist members who really want to change the country.
I stand firmly behind the NAACP and hope the Tea Party leaders do something about their image and the dangerous rhetoric spewed by their white members.
AMEN.
Sheila stole my words.
.-= Keyona´s last blog ..A New Challenge =-.
Right on!
I do not wish to offend, but as non-White, non-American, it always irritates/amazes/amuses me when White Americans talk about reclaiming their country. What country are they talking about? It wasn’t theirs in the first place!
I’m related to a Tea Party whack-job. Thankfully she doesn’t live in the same state or even region of the country. Me=North East / Her=South. The most racist, bigoted person I have ever met in my almost-40 years. There is no changing people who think like that. As harsh as it sounds, our only hope is to stop the spread of the insanity and let them all die off and maybe our kids will have a chance at fixing this mess.
.-= Lynette´s last blog ..Why I’m Not Following You on Twitter =-.
Sadly, it’s not just the Tea Party folks. A link to Michelle’s speech was posted on a popular breastfeeding site’s Facebook fan page and the comments section went nuts. Michelle brought up the fact that AA breastfeeding rates are way too low and that we need to start breastfeeding, that THIS is how you get a healthy start in life. HUGE. Has there ever been a FLOTUS to discuss this issue, let alone to talk about the racial disparities in breastfeeding rates? Yet these women, lactivists who care more about breastfeeding than just about anything else, let loose with the anti-Obama comments, including Birther crazytown talk. It’s easy to point at the Tea Party folks because they are such fringe lunatics, but there are a lot of people in this country who can’t stand seeing a black family in the White House.
Thank you for this post. My daughter and I have been talking about this for months. The tea-partiers are upset because the NAACP is shining a light on code language that the tea-partiers hoped would convey their hidden agenda. Otherwise those in the tea party wouldn’t be so upset and their first inclination would be to work with the people they are accused of excluding. The behavior of members in the tea party movement says it all, and the light needs to stay on that until November.
Before pointing too many fingers at Tea Partiers, please remember that there have been issues of racism within the NAACP as well. They are not completely innocent. While I do not, and will not, allow any particular label to be pushed on me for my political beliefs, both groups seem to be extremists. Ignorance is alive and well within both organizations, and without dialogue that will not change. One would think that a desire for knowledge would out-weigh a need for name calling.
“Would they consider working with the NAACP to rid their movement of perceived racism? Would they do minority outreach to show they really are more than a handful of people of color? Would they work to support issues important to people of color and perhaps acknowledge their white base has some learning to do?”
All good questions! I’ve been a bit out of the loop on the goings-on of the Tea Party since I moved abroad last year, kind of tuning them out by choice. To my chagrin, now that I’m back in the US for the summer, they’re all over the place. I came back to the “controversy” the NAACP supposedly stirred up by calling out certain elements of their leadership (well, leadership or lack thereof). You know what, the NAACP was just doing its job. The vitriolic commentary and attitudes of the Tea Party are not only alarming to people of color, but to contemporary American values.
In my opinion, if the Tea Party wants to counter the NAACP’s claims (and opinions of a lot of people out there) someone is going to have to step up, accept responsibility and say, “you know what? That concerns us, too. We’ll look into it.”
Otherwise, they’re just a bunch of angry winge bags with dangerously easy access to hand guns.
PS — Elita at Blacktating, I’d love to see a link to the website you referred to . Maybe I’ll reach out to you on your blog.
.-= DigaMama´s last blog ..…With Liberty and Burqas for All =-.