I went to the Anti-TeaKlan rally today! (dial-up warning)

[Ian David]

Additions and Edits in Progress. Watch this space for changes.

Here are what BlueMass Group urged us to do:

We Have A Simple Plan to Counter Protest Sarah Palin
by: johnnyplankton
Sat Apr 10, 2010 at 18:57:51 PM EDT

(Oh goodness me yes. More like this. - promoted by Charley on the MTA)

LET'S FIGHT DUMB WITH DUMBER!
JOIN THE NUT- TEA PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!

Rally To Expose Tea Party for What They Are

Using a model effectively deployed by a San Francisco group when combating the hate-filled Westboro Baptist Church (the God Hates F#gs people), we have decided to have a simple response to Ms. Palin & her Tea Party minions.

Go to Facebook to get detailed info here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/...
johnnyplankton :: We Have A Simple Plan to Counter Protest Sarah Palin
LET'S FIGHT DUMB WITH DUMBER!
JOIN THE NUT- TEA PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!


More:
http://www.bluemassgroup.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=4088F7E6C154477E1E033BBC160CB9C8?diaryId=19470


And here is how the local media promotes the event:


Liberal Media my ass.


Here are some examples of people who went with The BlueMass Group plan:




Notice the sexy, hot Sarah Palin impersonator!




Here are two of the six People-of-Color I saw who were on the TeaKlan side:



I don't know for sure whether their sympathies are really with the TeaKlanners, or if they were just trying to cash-in on stoopid.

I arrived late to the party, so I had to ride the Red Line with a train full of TeaBaggers.

On the platform, one guy asked me what my sign says.

I told him it's still blank. "I haven't made-up my mind yet. I was thinking of maybe, 'Get your TeaKlan out of our Socialist Park.' Or maybe "You call it a Tea Party, but I know The Klan when I see it.'"

Then I had a chat with a TeaBagging Vietnam veteran. He complained about lack of care of veterans, and I agreed with him. I ran down a list of all the some things that Bush and the GOP have done to our troops and our Veterans. He walked away as I told him, "It's a shame all the things the Republicans have done to you." As he walked-off I shouted, "Thank you for your service!"

Anyway, this was the sign I eventually made:


TeaKlan out of our Socialist park!"

Ahhh, it was a great conversation-starter for both sides.

On the train, I sat across from a #TeaKlan woman I recognized from Twitter. She's on my Twitter list of "Right-Wing Nutjob Chicks I'd Like to Fuck."
http://twitter.com/IanDavidB/rwnj-chicks-i-would-fuck

I didn't introduce myself, because she was with her two little Klanling kids.


One of the first people I encountered was this dude:



I'm guessing he also wears that shirt to King Richard's Faire to watch the jousting tournament.

Surprisingly, he and I agreed on some things. He doesn't care if gay people get married. Thinks we should have public financing of elections. He and I agree that he doesn't belong with us OR the TeaBaggers. But I told him that he should vote for Democrats, because those TeaBaggers are "fucking crazy." I said, "We're getting fucked by some of the Democrats, but we're getting fucked even more by the Republicans, and those TeaBaggers are just fucking crazy."

A TeaKlan lady passing by told me I should watch my language. Mumbled something about "dropping the F-Bomb." I told her I was "fucking sorry."

Then I actually DID feel kinda bad, and actually apologized to her friend.

Earlier, Open-Shirt-Man said that he was worried that some of the anti-Palin people get violent and attack him. I told him that was unlikely, but that if someone attacked him, I'd have his back. And that I would help ANYONE being attacked, no matter WHAT sign they were carrying.

Well, maybe not if the sign said, "Please beat me up."

In case you haven't figured it out, there were no clear lines of demarcation between US and the TeaKlan. We all freely intermingled with each other. We argued, there was some yelling, but for the most part it was civil.

When we did our little Liberal Parade through the heart of TeaBaggistan, one older dude with the snake flag shoved into the middle trying to make us get physical with him. It didn't work. We were all shouting that nobody should touch him. Provocation FAIL.

Now, here's an interesting fellow. Not sure whether to classify him as Liberal or Conservative. But certainly BatshitCrazy fits.

He got VERY upset when I started laughing out loud uncontrollably at him and his idea for a giant Rapture Survival Center.



Oh, it takes all kinds.

Here are some more photos:






I would say there were about 500 people there from each side.

The TeaKlanners seemed to think that we had crashed their party without permission and should leave the park, because we didn't have a permit.

I got into some good conversations, some heated arguments, but once you pierced to the heart of the argument, the TeaKlanners just walk away.

There was one guy I spoke to who said he listens to Glenn Beck and has never heard him say anything racist. I used my blackberry to google "Glenn Beck Racist" and showed him the hits that came up. "I don't have enough batteries left to play all these video clips on my phone. Go home and google it yourself."

I told him that a key difference between Liberals and Conservatives is that we will listen to the opposition and give them a voice. I told him to listen to The Thom Hartmann Show, and if he thinks Thom says something wrong, there is a special phone number for Conservatives to call-in and get to the head of the line.

http://twitter.com/thom_hartmann
http://www.thomhartmann.com/contact
Mon-Fri, 12-3 EST
1-866-987-THOM (8466)

(I can't find the Conservative call-in line on the webpage, but Thom regularly announces it on the show).

I told him I would listen to hear "Mike from Cape Cod" (I think it was Mike. Or Robert?) call-in to Thom's show on the Conservative line.

And in exchange, I would listen to an entire Glenn Beck show. We shook on it, so now I have to do it. And let's see if Beck takes my call.

Mike didn't believe me that Thom would take his call.

And then there was a beautiful young lady in an outlandish costume who silently held a sign that said, "You cannot have peace without civility."

I don't think she was on any side in particular, but some old teabagger degenerate lady singled her out to harass for the day. The Teabagger held a sign with an arrow pointing toward the young lady saying something like, "Fake Conservative Liberal Loon."

I didn't take a photo, because honestly I was too in awe of the young lady holding the "You cannot have peace without civility" sign. Whatever side she's on, I was not worthy to photograph her. Eventually, you'll probably be able to google her.

I had a conversation with the TeaKlan lady. I said, "That young lady is not a fake anything. She's got her own message that's for BOTH sides. I can't stand next to her with my sign (which says "TeaKlan Out of our Socialist Park") because I cannot live up to the standard that lady is setting.



"I have every right to be here and say blah blah blah..."

"Yes, you do. But why single-out one person to harass? I support your right to do this, but really you should be ashamed of yourself."

Then the lady tried to drown me out by sining, "My Country 'Tis of Thee."

I responded by loudly singing, "Clinton Got a Blowjob," but it's been so long, that I mangled the lyrics thusly:

George Bush lied about weapons of mass destruction...
Clinton Got a blowjob!
So there was deception in addition to the suction, but...
Clinton got a blowjob!
Now what's worse? Starting a war? Or using a vagina as a human humidor?*
And who got impeached? And what for? Oh, right. Clinton got a blowjob!

*Apologies to Mr. Eric Schwartz. It should have been "Or keeping your Cohibas in a human humidor."

From Eric Schwartz: Clinton Got a Blowjob... THE VIDEO!
Topic started by IanDB1 on Oct-30-06 04:47 PM (9 replies)
Last modified by flying_wahini on Oct-31-06 01:51 PM
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=385&topic_id=45

And then the TeaBagger lady started this spiel about not knowing if I was a man or a woman, blah blah blah. I offered to grudge-fuck her. I told her we could have some hot, Liberal-on-Conservative angry sex. Oh, she doesn't know what she was missing.

I could have done all sorts of Liberal things to her she'd never heard of, and never knew she'd love.

Oh, well. Her loss.

That was fun, but not really what I'd gone there for.

So, I wandered around, made some friends, made some arguments, and had lunch with a very lovely college student from New Hampshire who was studying Political Science.

And here's a short video clip of some Teabagger with a guitar singing some kind of TeaKlan song. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v653/ian02302/?action=view¤t=VID00195.flv

His guitar SHOULD have the words, "This Machine Enables Fascists" painted on it.




And THAT was my day.

Here's some of the selected Tweets from my Twitter feed from today: http://twitter.com/IanDavidB


ProAmericans Protest against AntiAmerican #TeaKlan 2day, #BostonCommon, 9:30 AM C U There! http://tinyurl.com/y52rmg6 #p2 #tlot #TopProg about 8 hours ago via web

Am deffinitely gonna be late for anti-#teaklan rally in Boston. about 7 hours ago via UberTwitter

That's what I get for being late. Outnumbered by #TeaKlan at train station. about 7 hours ago via UberTwitter

Brief convos with #TeaKlanners on Quincy platform makes it very aparent they're wilfully ignorant fools voting against own interests. about 7 hours ago via UberTwitter

There's a #TeaKlan chick on my train I recognize from her twitter avatar. She's on my RWNJChicksIdLikeToFuck list. #Boston #BlueMassGroup about 7 hours ago via UberTwitter

*Is there a hashtag for the anti-teaparty rally in #Boston today? #TeaKlan #p2 #tlot #topprog #bluemassgroup #seiu #rebelleft #demund #hcr

*Alas, nobody replied. I should have thought of this before I left, and BlueMass Group should have named one themselves before the event.

Pro-#Paliban #TeaKlan is on MY Redline train. RT @curseten: Is happy 2 C only anti-Palin signs on the train ths morning. about 6 hours ago via UberTwitter

RT @astevens: At the Tea Party rally on Boston Common. About 500 people here plus about 500 press/police/park-rangers- Where's the 10,000?? about 6 hours ago via UberTwitter

Sigh. I get off my ass and go to an actual rally and nobody retweets me. Sigh. Darmok on the ocean. http://myloc.me/60t1M about 3 hours ago via UberTwitter from Downtown, Boston

Most of the really hot chicks are on our side. #Boston Common Anti-#Teaklan Raly #p2 #tlot #DemUnd #topprog #RebelLeft about 4 hours ago via UberTwitter

RT @Gbarbieri13: Sarah #Palin in the Common. I have never been so disappointed with #Boston. Anti-#Teaklan Raly #p2 #tlot #DemUnd #topprog about 4 hours ago via UberTwitter

RT @shamonpr: Friend at Sarah Palin/Tea Party on Boston Common carrying sign which reads "Tea Parties R 4 little girls w/ imaginary friends" about 4 hours ago via UberTwitter

http://tweetphoto.com/18409806 #Boston Common Anti-#Teaklan Raly #p2 #tlot #DemUnd #topprog #RebelLeft (cont) http://tl.gd/s6s0e about 4 hours ago via UberTwitter

RT @iMatthew_: Teabaggers on Boston Common 2day. Think this guy flying "don't tread on me" flag frm (cont) http://tl.gd/s5c88 about 6 hours ago via UberTwitter

RT @imRyanElizabeth: In 1 hour, Sarah palin willB spewing her stupidity on Boston common... I wish I could go laugh at the stupid tea party about 6 hours ago via UberTwitter

RT @musiccitygal @AprilAMiller: If you go to the Boston Common today, remember the dress code is a white sheet & misspelled sign. #TeaKlan about 6 hours ago via UberTwitter

RT @aBostonGuy: Don't seem to be a lot of positive tweets about the tea party on Boston Common! about 6 hours ago via UberTwitter

RT @McMer314: 2 counter-protest 2 Tea Party ppl in Boston 2day, sum R holding an actual tea party on the Common http://bit.ly/9Fclk0 about 6 hours ago via UberTwitter

DUers & Tweeters pro-America side, #TweetUp at entrance 2 subway! #Boston Common Anti-#Teaklan Raly #p2 #tlot #DemUnd #topprog #RebelLeft about 4 hours ago via UberTwitter from Beacon Hill, Boston

Had argument w/ odious #TeaKlan lady. Offered her grudge-fuck w/hot, Liberal-on-Conservative action. Oh, what she's missing. about 2 hours ago via UberTwitter

# @julied200 Thanks for RT! Timba, his arms wide! about 1 hour ago via web in reply to julied200

I could have done nasty, #Liberal things to her she'd never heard of in her tiny, #Conservative bubble &didn't know she'd love. #TeaKlan about 1 hour ago via web

# .@astevens Actually, I counted six black people on the #TeaKlan side out of their 500, including two selling Palin t-shirts. about 1 hour ago via web

RT chary The Boston TeaParty provided the private jet & #BendyStraws & Diva Palin provided the BS: http://bit.ly/9qCApd tcot #p2 about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck Retweeted by you and 1 other

Additions and Edits in Progress. Watch this space for changes.

[tallahasseedem]

1. Those who are protesting...

Palin are the true patriots. Those signs were hilarious!

[Bitwit1234]

43. Gee CNN has an article up that says

thee were thousands and thousands at the rally. And I guess then that if you were there you were some of the few anti-rally people who milled around on the ends of the crowds. That's that they said.

[xxqqqzme]

67. When I got home yesterday after my Drs

appointment, I clicked on the TV just in time to hear tweety say '10,000 tea partiers in Boston today'. I knew that was BS from being on line earlier in the day. He's such a tool. Click.

[HipChick]

2. K&R!

[MadMaddie]

3. Thanks for sharing! This is the way to do it!

[Champion Jack]

4. Fucking great Idea!

[progressoid]

5. Looks like a few hundred media people too.

Way to go!!

[sfwriter]

6. Are you a Unitarian? I saw the side of love sticker...

Great report. thanks!

[Ian David]

14. If I were a Christian, I'd be a Unitarian. But I'm a Jewish Humanist.

However, I have donated to the Unitatians and United Church of Christ, and have gladly accepted their bumper stickers.

Oh, and I'm also a card-carrying Minister in Universal Life Church.

[chill_wind]

7. Great pics and information. Thanks

for taking time to share. K & R.

[ClarkUSA]

8. Thank you for speaking up and reaching out. We all should confront and disarm teabaggers similarly.

:yourock:

[Ian David]

15. Properly pre-medicated, it's not that scary. n/t

[ClarkUSA]

17. lol

:toast:

[HillbillyBob]

59. Good one, by the time I could be sedated enough

to deal with those teabaggers I would be too far gone to leave the house.
I only have a few braincells in similar orbits left that I can't afford to lose anymore.
Im sick and tired of pukes, thieves and teabaggers I would as soon pepper spray them as listen to their bullshit.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

9. That was funny

Thanks.

[NoSheep]

10. excellent job! Thanks for posting the pics. I'm grinning my head off now.

:D

[BlooInBloo]

11. 1) I like your tweets. 2) I heard it was a crowd of dozens. 3) Did Palin get her bendy straw?

[Ian David]

16. I'd say each side had about 500 people there. However...

... there were a TON of vendors there.

Apparently, following The TeaBag Express can be as lucrative as following The Grateful Dead or Phish.

Except you don't have those hot Zendik chicks selling "Stop bitching start a revolution" bumper stickers.

[BlooInBloo]

27. Pic from the copter...

[Ian David]

29. Considering that about a hundred or so of those people were vendors...

... who may or may not be actual TeaBaggers, how many people do you think that is?



Also, at LEAST half that crowd were the anti-Teabaggers on the Pro-America side.

[Ian David]

52. THIS rally was BIGGER

My photos from the Boston Health Care Rally today (dial-up warning)
Topic started by Ian David on Sep-07-09 10:23 PM (14 replies)
Last modified by BlueJessamine on Sep-09-09 07:19 AM
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=6487934


See also:

Guess The Crowd Size: Bird's Eye View Of Boston Teahad Rally
Thu Apr-15-10 08:24 AM
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=455511&mesg_id=455511

[valerief]

68. Thanks for the photos. I wish I could have made it. I was at the September rally and marched to

Copley Square.

[chelsea0011]

12. Just 500? That's a far cry from Boston.com saying there were thousands

and M$NBC that was saying thousands with 10,000 expected before the rally started?:crazy: CNN 1/2 hour before the rally was saying the crowd was small. One thing it seems is that Palin ratcheted down the rhetoric. Playing to the crowd, I guess. She must piack and choose how she speakes to each crowd. oh, and I hope they enjoyed The Commons because taxpayers have spent thousands re-seeding and fixing up the turf the past couple of years. Many events have not been allowed the last couple of years because of that.

[Ian David]

18. I'd say there were less than 2,000 people there.

But the TeaKlan and the Anti-TeaKlan mingled and mixed freely, so nobody can easily say which side had more.

However, the TeaKlan came with their own army of vendors, plus another whole army of local vendors selling pretzels, drinks, etc. who didn't appear to have any political alliance.

There was a whole tent city of vendors that would make an accurate count of "participants" even more difficult.

It was like The Folsom Street East festival but without the safewords.

[Ian David]

13. Oh! And I got a free bumper sticker!

Standing on the Side of Love is a public advocacy campaign that seeks to harness love’s power to stop oppression. It is sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Association
and all are welcomed to join.
http://www.standingonthesideoflove.org/

They had people out there in force with their big orange banner and their bumper stickers. From their website, it looks like they've also convinced some of the Quakers to support them as well.



I had to pixelate my reflection out of the image, as well as obscure the license plate.


I am trying very hard to exercise the control to NOT make my new car look like my old one:

[eShirl]

31. It's my understanding there's been a lot of Quaker-UU cross pollination over the decades & centuries

idea-wise and otherwise :)

[JustAnotherGen]

35. Cool

I'm a Unitarian! Lovely to see our philosophy and approach out there! And you gave me a good hearty laugh! Good for you! :fistbump:

[BurtWorm]

19. What a great report, Ian!

:applause:

Thanks for being our eyes and ears up on the Common.

:toast:

PS: And voice.

[YOY]

20. So two of the black folks were selling Palin shit...

Perfect sales tactic. Brilliant actually. Bet they made a profit.

[Ian David]

21. There were lots of people selling TeaBag crap.

One had stuff that said, "Teapartiers are Patriots. Barney Frank is a teabagger."

Yeah, stay classy, TeaKluxKlan.

[Ian David]

26. Makes everyone feel non-racist.

They should call it, "TeaKlan T-Shirts from Your Black Friend Rodney."

[frylock]

22. what a delightful post!

i am flmfao! rwnjciwf?!! bwahahaha! can't wait to get home and check out yer twitters. peace! :rofl:

[gatorboy]

23. Ooo! Pretzels!!!!

If there's anything a conservative likes, it's a good pretzel. Just ask Dubya.

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Ian David]

28. Yep. The Tea Party is Still Racist. New Poll:

Yep. The Tea Party is Still Racist. New Poll:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=8150446&mesg_id=8150446

[lunatica]

30. You nailed it! It's the conservative sex that has their panties in a knot!

No wonder they're so mad!

[Ian David]

32. I just realized that not once did I even glance up at the stage.

I had zero interest in hearing or seeing anything they were putting on.

[proud2BlibKansan]

33. Excellent report

[Dystopian]

34. Sweet. KandR.

peace~

[dccrossman]

36. K&R

Nicely done

[Dawgs]

37. You should have started a rumor that Fox was dumping Beck because of lack of advertising.

It probably would have cleared the park of the crazies.

[Carnage251]

38. K&R

:thumbsup:

[BlancheSplanchnik]

39. Wow, I wouldn't want to be a non-drop dead gorgeous woman that you disliked.

seems you have a special brand of *ahem* INCIVILITY for women who aren't gorgeous.

Why not dish out the same ugliness to the male klanbaggers?

jeez

[Ian David]

47. If the opportunity had presented itself, I would have.

But to be clear, the woman started with the sexual stuff first.

I'm just the one that turned it into sexual advances.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

79. I don't know what to say to you..I've got to stop and collect my thoughts

and hope that you're the kind of person interested in participating in thoughtful discussion and constructive critique....between intelligent equals.


I don't see where any women there started any sexual stuff with you, but.......


......I do see a huge difference in your behavior towards the men there, as compared to the women there. You may have had issues with all the baggers (and who doesn't?), but from your account, you still maintained a level of human respect and communication with the men. That basic attitude was missing in your reactions to the women.

Putting the gorgeous one up on a pedestal, as if she were above human and "too good for you"--you couldn't even engage with her as one person to another, also de-humanizes; it sets an attitude of polarization, and on the other side of that extreme idolization, it's easy to jump to the other extreme--non-gorgeous women being worth no more than a turd with lipstick, and fair game for any ugliness you want to hurl at them. Still, the bottom line is, Women are different and something you can't really identify and empathize with. There's an underlying message in the whole thing, that the only women who deserve to NOT be treated with contempt are gorgeous, beyond normal human qualities.

In fact, the ugliness even got some responders in your thread whipped up into the spirit of stomping on women (that ugly old woman specifically) and getting a huge belly laugh out of it.



I just tried to give you a little deconstruction of the patterns of sexism just there, and I'd really love to discuss it together--rather than stand on my soapbox lecturing, in the spirit of trying to get you to see what I'm seeing. To get what I'm getting at, however, usually takes some self-examination and willingness to take a moment and feel your own reactions in the different situations. I don't know, however, if you're willing to go there--and without that willingness, it would be hard to have any useful discussion.

If you're willing to think about it, though, here's a good contrasting example, that you might be able to use: I happened to see another post of yours (NO, I'm not stalking! Just came across it and it happened to illustrate what I'm seeing very well, so it stuck in my mind), responding to some crap example of racism. You are a true anti-racist and damn proud of it. Me too, and also damn proud of it.

So when I see that engrained respectful response for black people, brown people, and male tea-baggers, treating them like human beings--- and compare it to the automatic reaction of gleeful disgust turned on the women... I am very saddened, actually. Very saddened, indeed.

[Ian David]

80. I didn't relate the entire conversation. But the segue was a natural one.

And FWIW, in the past, I *have* done the same thing to men.

(And I would have been MORE likely to do it if she'd been hot. It's not just the homely ones.)

For example, a few years ago in Downtown Crossing (Boston) I was arguing with some sidewalk evangelists from South Africa.

There was another dude there arguing with them, a gay man whose Yahoo screen name was JohnnyOhNo or something like that (he later told me).

For a while after I showed-up, I pretended to be the missionary's gay boyfriend.

It made the missionary dude very uncomfortable, and I was convincing enough that "Johnny" didn't believe me when I tried to explain that I had been kidding about being the missionary's boyfriend.

I flirted mercilessly with both the male missionary (cute) and his female cohort (super-hot).

Anyway, the TeaKlan woman on Boston Common wasn't THAT ugly or THAT old, and SHE started in with the look-ism stuff on ME, first. Called me a fat, ugly maggot. Said she couldn't tell if I was a man or a woman.

The rest went something like this:

"Really? You have a little gender confusion? I'm a man."
"Well, I can't tell."
"Has this lead to problems for you before? Waking-up the next morning surprised and ashamed?"
"No, really. You're like this ugly maggot. I can't tell if you're a man."
"This gender confusion is common with Conservatives. Maybe that's what happened to Larry Craig?"
"No, I think it's just you."
"Well, I can prove it to you. How about a grudge-fuck?"
"You're no Tom Cruise. I wouldn't fuck you."
"Well, you're no prize either, but it might be worth it for some hot, Liberal-on-Conservative action."

As for putting "the gorgeous one" up on a pedestal, it wasn't about her looks. It was about her bravery, conviction and he message.

Anyway, I appreciate your concern, and if nothing else I will keep it in the back of my mind to make sure that I am sensitive the issues you have raised.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

81. Ewww, well, that's pretty repulsive

yechhh.......
that puts it in a different light...... though the hotness judgement seems pretty strong with you--just something to think about. For another parallel, it would be unthinkable to judge every Black person you met with announcements about how light-skinned they were! I see it along the same continuum.



Well, thanks Ian, I have to say, I appreciate your actually replying thoughtfully to me----kind of rare! And being willing to think about my points-- that is really nice to see, and again, really rare!

That's the most important thing, our actual behavior (as opposed to bleating about ideologies), and whether we strive to keep improving it....something Buddhism teaches, which (in my not very humble opinion) progressives know.

Happy Trails!

[Ian David]

82. The analogy you gave makes sense, and I will keep it in mind. Thanks.

Also, my last post emphasized relative levels of hotness because I was addressing your concern that I would only say these things to women, and only to women low on the hotness scale.

I find that verbal sexual aggressiveness is an effective tool to discomfort uptight conservative moralizers of either gender, and of any hotness-level.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

83. thanks Ian, you are refreshing!

Not that I mean to make you sound like the latest soft-drink.... :D


Yeah, sometimes I've replied with verbal heavy artillery...sometimes I've paused a moment, --get calm! That's a reaction they don't expect-- staring the asswipe in the eye (if you get the right intensity, they can't look away), and then simply and quietly ask something like, "do you realize how disgusting/ignorant you sound?", or something to that effect. Whew, that usually stops them in their tracks! ;)

[janet118]

40. Chris Matthews lied about size of crowd on Hardbull

Tweety said Palin was soooo popular that she attracted a crowd of 10,000 on the Boston Commons. He was interviewing Bill Maher and Bill didn't rebut the lie. How would Maher know? How would anyone know? The MSM wants Palin to be a "rock star" so they make it so.

Link to interview with Maher

Will Pitt estimated @ 2000 in his live blog on Truthout.

Will Pitt live at Tea Bagger rally

[Maraya1969]

41. LOVE IT and have one suggestion. The best sign IMO was Teaklaners!

off socialized Property, (a little wrong on the words but that is the gist of it)

I think it is too complicated for these people. Maybe if it said something like:

"Teaklaners get of of our government funded park." They would understand better.

[grahamhgreen]

42. Are you not letting them set the framing?

[Hubert Flottz]

44. About the picture on the front page of your newspaper.

Isn't that the famous Pokey-h0t-ass in her native costume and did you notice how big her box is?

[nxylas]

45. LOL at "Stop Plate Tectonics"

Many teabaggers would probably agree with that sentiment, or at least with teaching the "alternative theory" in schools, that earthquakes are cause by God shrugging his shoulders.

When I still lived in the States, I thought about going to a TKK rally with a really offensive, racist placard just to see if any of them objected. Something like "Obama is three-fifths of a president" over a picture of Al Jolson eating a watermelon. But I never had the cojones to go through with it.

[jefferson_dem]

46. Well done and documented, Ian.

I'm thinking about paying a visit to today's teabagger hoedown...but not sure if it's even worth the trip.

[DeeDeeNY]

48. If you go, bring a Teabonics-to-English dictionary if you can't figure out their spelling

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pargon/sets/72157623594187379

[jefferson_dem]

51. Ha. I know that well.

Here's an image I took at last year's teabag-fest in Atlanta.

[lame54]

49. What do you have against Paris Hilton...

remember that great anti-McCain she did?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySc12uzoxqU

[Ian David]

50. That wasn't MY sign. But that was so hot. n/t

[newtothegame]

53. Disgusting. Referring to women as "bimbos" and my race as "people of color."

Get the fuck off DU. This shit isn't welcome.

ed for sp. and language after I calmed down.

[Ian David]

74. I told the guy I had problems with the Bimbo thing.

He said the people complaining the most about it were right-wingers trying to look feminist, and that I was one of the few Liberals to complain.

[Tony R]

76. Bimbos exist

I was the guy holding the Palin/Hilton bimbo sign. I expected grief from liberals about this but the surprising thing is not a single woman complained. Most were laughing hysterically at it. I asked several women if they were offended but they served up Harsher insults than I could have dreamed up. I guess this is proof that feminists have a sense of humor. Only one liberal (above poster) complained. All the other complaints came from people close to the stage who I assume were Tea Partiers.

I only got assaulted once but the coward was driven off by a crowd of 20 something women who screamed at him that this was a Public Park. That'll all change if the right wingers win and privatize everything. Make sure to vote.

[Ian David]

78. And like I told you, women are smart enough to know the difference between snark and hate.

Your sign was snark.

Great seeing you there! Keep up the good work!

And welcome to DU!

[Ian David]

54. See also: The Boston Tea Party 2010

The Boston Tea Party 2010
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=455541&mesg_id=455548

[Ian David]

55. UPDATE: Was the Boston Tea Party crowd a disappointment?

Curious about the recent #Boston Tea Party crowd? MassBeacon.com, most unbiased MA Political blog, calls the numbers http://bit.ly/bVAaQe
http://twitter.com/davidgerzof/status/12225535186

Was the Boston Tea Party crowd a disappointment?
April 15, 2010
By Conor

<snip>

The Boston Globe this morning said there were 6,000 in attendance. The Boston Herald says 5,000. Politico says 3,000. And Tea Party leader Mark Williams unsurprisingly estimated a crowd of 10,000.

Since I assume a great majority of attendees at the event were Boston Herald readers (the paper actually got a plug from the stage apparently), I am going to use their number and say it the crowd was around 5,000.

Is that a disappointment?

As recently as Tuesday, Garrett Quinn noted on his new Boston.com blog that organizers would be happy with 10,000 (I take that to mean they were expecting more).

More:
http://massbeacon.com/2010/04/15/was-the-boston-tea-party-crowd-a-disappointment/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Massbeacon+%28MassBeacon.com%29

And remember: There were at least as many counter-protesters intermingling freely with the TeaKlan.

Not to mention at least a hundred or so vendors who may or may not have had a political agenda.



See also:

Guess The Crowd Size: Bird's Eye View Of Boston Teahad Rally
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x455511

[Rockholm]

56. A friend went. She said they were lucky to have 1,000.

She is a total lefty, a great friend who had to go see the insanity. My husband saw the "crowd" from the Hancock. Tiny crowds.
Good Morning America repeated the 10,000 number....while I was reading the Globe article where it mentioned the 6,000 estimate by park police.
I am sure by the end of today, they will be spinning "tens of thousands."
And, this being Boston, there were probably just as many curious types and anti-teabaggers as there were baggers.

[japple]

63. AP is reporting that there were 5,000 at the Boston rally. n/t

[Ian David]

73. That would mean 2,500 of them and 2,500 of us. n/t

[myrna minx]

57. K&R n/t

:rofl:

[HillWilliam]

58. Hey, IanDavid

Yes, I would like to follow you on twitter. I'm loving the OP, man, great job. The request from @redneckqueer is me. I don't use twitter very much (I've been following the Prop H8 trial, Rachel, Keith, and a very few others). Good to read you always.

[Ian David]

62. Thanks! n/t

[Ian David]

60. See Bill Pitt's Blog: Sarah Palin came to Boston and all I got was this lousy blog...

Sarah Palin came to Boston and all I got was this lousy blog...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=8148091&mesg_id=8148091

[Raschel]

61. I LOVE "Get Your TeaKlan Out of Our Socialist Park"!!!

Hey old teaklanners, your old White hatred rule is over:

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
Don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters

Are beyond your command

Your old road is rapidly agin'

Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend a hand

For your times
They are a changin'

[femrap]

64. I love sarcasm....

only the intelligent and witty can understand it. It could be lost of the Nut-tea ones.

[markbark]

65. Um... point of order

The fellow you picture with "This machine kills fascists" is none other than Woodie Guthrie just about the polar opposite of the teabagger movement.

[Ian David]

72. I know. I said the Teabagger should have one that says HIS machine ENABLES fascists. n/t

[markbark]

77. Ah...

I see, gotcha.
<Emily LaTella voice> Never mind!</Emily Latella voice>

(I really should look into that whole reading thing.... it sounds really useful! {grin} )

[JoeyT]

66. The batshitcrazy guy

with the bizarre poster and the goofy uniform looks to be a Rastafarian.
At least they're the only people I know of that use the word "Jah".
He was probably high as a kite when he made that sign.

[Ian David]

71. I'm sorry I didn't get a photo of the other side.

It was all about The Rapture and different things about Israel and shit.

[political_Dem]

69. Thanks for doing this. I enjoyed the "Sarah Shut Up!" Sign immensely.

It always fills me with hope to see people fighting back against these authoritarian monsters.

Bravo!

[Ian David]

70. I'm over my bandwidth limit on PhotoBucket, so here is the TweetPhoto feed

http://tweetphoto.com/user/967631

[xchrom]

75. Kick