Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Images of the Tea Party II

I thought this sign was pretty clever, especially the hack on the Obama logo.



Seeing the this sign made me think of Mike Davis' Prisoners' of the American Dream




I was glomming onto the "socialism" theme due to the historic irony that 100 years ago the Socialists (real ones, not a label for "liberal") were gaining support, on their way to being the de-facto second party in Dayton munciple politics, and close to taking over the city council.

Maybe some posts on that as yet another contribution to Daytonology's desultory "peoples history of Dayton".

Yet there were other themes, like the "revolution/freedom" theme, as shown by this frequent appearance of this wonderful flag from the American Revolution, with the "Don't tread on me" snake (That other Revolutionary snake symbol, "Join or Die", also appeared on flags seen today).


The red stripes always reminded me of the shield of the German state of Hesse


No connection, but a great flag nontheless. It was the first Navy Jack, and here is it's history.

One wonders if the impetus behind this protest can be sustained and transformed into a political movement as a revival of conservatism or perhaps a more Perot-style or libertarian independent political movement. One saw a lot of sentiment against the GOP today, too, so a definite "pox on both houses" attitude was in the air, and was refreshing to see local folks aroused from their usual apathy.

6 comments:

Brian said...

I'm not sure what to think of the Tea Party idea. On one hand I think it's a tad early to be judging the results of a president barely into his term, but at the same time, as you mentioned it IS sort of rousing to see the typically indifferent crowds muster to SOME sort of action for something they believe in.

You had mentioned that there were several people who felt dissatisfaction with both parties, and I'd be more inclined to think that way myself, which leads me to believe the tea party is more about frusteration over the country's current state of well being than anything else. It's good to see the people takings a degree of action in their own communities instead of waiting for someone else to do it.

Anonymous said...

Knuckleheads through and through. Protesting government spending is meaningless unless Teabaggers say what they'd cut.

If you favor no bailouts, then say so. If you want to see the banking system collapse, then say so. If you think the recession demands no fiscal stimulus, then say so. If you favor big cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, social security and defense, then say so. I keep waiting for Teabaggers to tell us what these protests are for; not what they they are against.

All protests against spending that do not tell us how to reduce it are fatuous pieces of theater, not constructive acts of politics. And until the right is able to make a constructive and specific argument about how they intend to reduce spending and debt and borrowing, they deserve to be dismissed as performance artists in a desperate search for coherence in an age that has left them bewilderingly behind.

Jefferey said...

"Protesting government spending is meaningless unless Teabaggers say what they'd cut."

Many of them would tell you they want all of it either cut or greatley reduced...or devolved to the states and localities.

tg said...

I love the tax portion of the argument. My guess is just about everyone in that crowd will see a DECREASE in their taxes. Yet the events were organized by current and former GOPers and FOX news - very wealthy people who WOULD benefit from a tax cut. The ultra rich are manipulating the middle class to fight their battles for them.

Are our deficits out of control? Yes. But to blame it on Obama when he's barely 3 months into the job and the bulk of the bailouts took place before he was elected - well come on people, just stop and think.

A little common sense would go a long way about now!

Jefferey said...

Are our deficits out of control? Yes. More to do with rising medical costs and eligibility levels for entitlements.

Globaliaztion means we are going to become a poorer society (or there will be a smaller middle class), so an entitlement structure assuming a broad-based middle class isn't sustainable. Not to mention the high costs of medical care probably driving up costs in medical aid programs.

As for this stimulus stuff, this is just a one-time-good-deal for publics works spending. Not too concerned about that really, because infrastructure investments (partcularly projects that replace worn out stuff) are needed.

Anonymous said...

Some people are bound and determined to shout down the voices of the tea party's and discredit them. Why is it so hard to respect others opinion. A peaceful protest that American way and so many have to say it is not real and tied to the GOP and fox and truthfully just get downright mean and nasty. We too have a voice and we too count. Just like the illegal immigrants that march in our streets, how about PETA. We are the silent people that normally just send our faxes and call our Congressional rep, but guess what - they are not listening. Yes I get to keep any extra $13/week of MY money, but I am also intelligent enough to see where the future is going with the 2010 budget proposal. I have watched congress pass spending bills without reading the bills, yet I have read them and they worry me. When Obama campaigned he said he would bankrupt the coal industry, I believed him and his budget shows he is going to do it.
I will continue to fight for my freedoms and beliefs, you can go ahead and call me names for standing up for what I believe.