RSS
Home
Tax Day Tea Party, ACORN and violence; Twitter fuels fire on #tcot
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
With April 15 dawning, Twitter and social media Tea Party chatter is increasingly grisly, with speculations that the tax day tea party protests may turn violent, especially if liberal activist groups such as ACORN attempt to disrupt Tea Party supporters' First Amendment rights --or steal the spotlight. Just how viable a threat is protester violence on Tea Party day?
First, a casual glance at Twitter channels #tcot and #teaparty, for example, may lead a casual reader to ponder if an American revolution is pending on April 15. In fact, the Apocalypse Examiner opined on this very topic and received hundreds of comments, ranging from emotional to venomous –often against the writer, not the substance of the content.
Houston Tea Party Banner
One of thousands of Tax Day Tea Party and 'revolution' images from CafePess merchandise.
Not limited to Twitter -- or the Examiner, the Tax Day Tea Party hate speech, ad hoc baiting and innuendos threatening violence – by both liberals and conservatives – resembles that which surrounded PUMA: an anti- Obama / pro- Hillary Clinton political activist group that gained notoriety prior to the last presidential election.
For whatever PUMA accomplished or didn't, the armagedon-esque hype surrounding the movement – by outsiders and pundits mostly -- didn't manifest; A Democratic National Convention (political) bloodbath never occurred and the American people's votes were counted. Protester violence was nearly non-existent.
Since the presidential election, most citizens have moved on, resentful or not, coping and debating economic issues –passionately and peaceably. Should not the same civility be expected regarding the tax day Tea Party? Probably, but...
With fringe elements, irresponsible pundits, buzz word baiting (e.g. 'racism' and 'socialism') and an economy that increasingly threatens social stability, civil debate can turn ugly on a dime.
Tea Party tactics on Twitter
Again, regarding Twitter --as unreliable as the microblog is – it is also being used for Tea Party tactics – a scary thought that the future of America relies on this quite fallible technology. For example, some tweets (public messages) advise recommended handouts for #tcot or Tea Party supporters, including "The Law" by Frederick Bastiat. Not inherently wrong,"recommended reading" would probably benefit from some context (e.g. beyond 140 characters) such as that found on local and national Tea Party websites.
An excerpt from The Law:
The law perverted! And the police powers of the state perverted along with it! The law, I say, not only turned from its proper purpose but made to follow an entirely contrary purpose! The law become the weapon of every kind of greed! Instead of checking crime, the law itself guilty of the evils it is supposed to punish!
Other tweets include warnings for #tcot members about ACORN, with instructions to avoid its members. More adversarial ACORN and tea party related warfare strategies fuel political blogs, websites and social networks such as Meetup.com. However, the animosity towards opposing activist groups is not a universal Tea Party sentiment.
WorldNetDaily reports that --when asked about Tea Party infiltrators-- Sacramento Tea Party organizer Mark Meckler told Fox News financial analyst Neil Cavuto:
"We don't care whether they are from ACORN, the Huffington Post, Daily Kos, we want them all there," he said. "We're excited to have them all attend."
Subsequently, Cavuto warned:
“that he is receiving early reports that infiltrators will try to make the tea parties look like they are fringe group efforts and, in extreme cases, racist undertakings.”
Meanwhile, a Huffington Post article takes a 180-degree aim at so-called Tea Party 'fringe elements,' with the article and video mashup entitled: Tea Party Video: Right-Wing Tax Protests Caught On Tape Tea Party Video: Right-Wing Tax Protests Caught On Tape.
Raleigh NC, Tax Day Tea Party Protest Signs (by Ivy Dawned on Flickr)
A hype-free look at the Tax Day Tea Party and ACORN
What is often overlooked in the coverage of political activism is the average supporter who works smart, assertively -- but civilly -- and in good conscience. Regarding both the Tax Day Tea Party and ACORN, this includes everyday Americans who simply have passionate -- oftentimes heated and variably reasoned -- disagreements about current and recent (to include former president Bush) administration policies and priorities -- sans both warm fuzzies and violence.
Unfortunately, the let's-agree-to-disagree-responsibly attitude rarely makes Internet buzz. Come April 15, it should.
Click, if you liked the content...
UPDATE: An advisory was apparently given to the Maryland Army National Guard on April 9, 2009 in response to TEA party protests. See the excerpt below and the full memorandum and interpretation at The Jawa Report. (Guard on Alert for violence from TEA Party protesters?)
HEADQUARTERS, MARYLAND ARMY NATIONAL GUARD
JFHQ-MDARNG-G3 9 April 2009
MEMORANDUM FOR SEE DISTRIBUTION
SUBJECT: Planned TEA Party Protests (FPCON Advisory 09-004)
1. (U) This Maryland Army National Guard (MDARNG) Force Protection advisory is in response to a nationwide planned protest activities scheduled for April 15, 2009. Although there is no known direct threat to MDNG facilities and MDNG members, they may become a target of opportunity during plan protest activities throughout Maryland.
Related Websites:
Learn more about Tea Party events online and off in the article, Tax Day Tea Party local events, videos and anti-tax boom.
Related Articles:
Comments
