counterpunch

Retinal Fetish says:

haha.. this had me laughing for a good five minutes.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

Timcat_blues says:

So what?

White people are a joke right?

Hypocrites.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

joshuajmorgan    says:

Ha! Obviously this guy crashed the "tea party" and the other protesters were too stupid oblivious to notice that someone was wearing a "listen to Bob Marley" shirt and brandishing a sign that wasn't written approved by Faux Fox News.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

esper999 says:

Now that's the kind of racist comment I'd expect from a statist. I mean, what kind of creep defends more taxes and less freedom?
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

wools    says:

esper, the big kids have learned to discuss issues of taxation and freedom without resorting to false dichotomies.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

superkev07 says:

You know, it's really heartwarming to see all the progressives enjoy a nice prejudicial chuckle over stuff like this. I can't even tell you how many "bunch of angry, rich white people" comments I've heard about the Tea Parties.

And wools... more taxes necessarily means less freedom. It's not a false dichotomy. You take more of my money, I am less free to do what I please with it... because I don't have it anymore. See how easy that is?
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

skylights76 says:

Superkev07, unless you make over $250,000 a year, your taxes are already going down under Obama. See how easy that is?
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

wools    says:

In a simplistic sense that only considers negative rights as freedom, sure, but that's not how the world is operating in the year 2009, when most advanced economies have strongly embraced social democratic institutions... and I'm not sure many people would like the reality of an anarcho-libertarian state, despite what Big-L-Libertarian propaganda might say.

Anyway, the sign is a clever way to point out that the demographics at this tea party are pretty far from the mark of Harris Co.'s demographics. The ideology of the tea party appeals to a very narrow group of fiscal conservatives, a laissez-faire minimalism that usually ends up being closely aligned with the interests of status quo elites. So it's not surprising in the least that the demographics of that group are much more similar to the Tea Party than the population at large. The fact that it's all white people is merely a relic of historical conditions, e.g. a self perpetuating white privilege. If you believe conservatives who say that racism no longer exists and therefore no action is necessary to equalize opportunity, then, ok, sure.

*note. I didn't make the sign. I was only there as a "journalist."
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

esper999 says:

The big kids are at these rallies with serious signs, not making racist commentary. There happens to be people of color at these rallies and mostly middle class. Whatever taxes you put on the "rich" get passed down to everyone else as higher prices on goods. And whenever politicians play classist games they always follow it up with higer taxes on everyone else because taxing rich people never does the job by itself. They are also taxing energy and a host of other things which is a tax on everyone.

And isn't it funny that all the outraged lefties who hated what Bush did with the Patriot Act are silent when Obama keeps and expands some of the provisions. The whole Republican/Democrat thing is a scam.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

manierisme says:

Sorry, esper999, but you are just flat out wrong in your second paragraph The "outraged lefties who hated what Bush did with the Patriot Act" ARE equally pissed off and vocal at Obama's continous backing off his previous statements on wiretapping and his use of the state secrets act. Many of the most prominent liberal blogs have been complaining about it non-stop for the past week.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

manierisme says:

Also, do you realize that the top marginal tax rate was 90%+ under Eisenhower and somewhere in the 70s under Nixon (commies)? Pretending that letting it go back up to 39.6% is going to cripple the economy is just laughable.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

monoape says:

esper999,

No, the racists are at these corporate 'tea bagging' sessions - and I'm not talking about the dude with the amusing sign. They're the same racists who were in the lines for the Palin / McCain rallies.

As for your simplistic 'freedom=no taxes', you should travel a little - or at least read. Start with any Scandinavian country - very high taxes, very high societal health and freedom in every category.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

Matt Shoots says:

esper999 says:
"Now that's the kind of racist comment I'd expect from a statist. I mean, what kind of creep defends more taxes and less freedom? "

LOL. First off, it's the exact plan he said he was going to use when he was democratically elected by the people of the US. Secondly, who massacred freedoms anymore than George Bush? Don't get me wrong, the warrantless wiretapping is pure BS, and that carried over stance from Bush pisses me off for sure. But don't go around trying to lay fault on Obama for everything that's going on, when Bush was responsible for nearly all of it. (less freedoms, out of control banks, the stimulus package, etc) Sorry but the very upper tier should pay more taxes, and if I was one of them I would agree.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

NotOnYourRadar    says:

<---White boy says this is funny. Well done.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

seekingmuses    says:

nice!
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

redwafer says:

Matt Shoots says: Sorry but the very upper tier should pay more taxes, and if I was one of them I would agree.

The top 1% of earners earn 19% of the money and pay 28% of the (federal income) taxes. 4HhQg They also only get 1% of the vote.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

Matthew Dolezal says:

right on!
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

Patrick T Power    says:

They also only get 1% of the vote.

Not when you consider that they have the ability to pay lobbyists.

It's so amazing how easily those who do have all the money have convinced these Tea Party schmucks to do their bidding for them as if they (the demonstrators) actually have much (if anything) to gain. That has been the Republican Party's modus operandi for decades... pretend they are of the working class in order to get their votes, then make laws that screw them and support their rich friends.

It's precisely the psychology the Republicans used to get us into the debacle in Iraq, yet these Tea Party people seem to not care much about the financial disaster that has been — not to mention the millions of lives ruined (American and Iraqi).
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

kudzumaster says:

"Freemarket, not Freeloaders" apparently translates to "I want roads and schools, but I don't want to pay for them!"

Or, really, "I'm too stupid to understand that my taxes are lower now!"
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

wools    says:

Thanks everyone for making this photo so popular! And thankyou to my beautiful, generous wife who bought my new camera as a surprise gift. Now I have some results to show it was a worthwhile investment!

@Patrick T Power: yes, absolutely, Matt Taibbi wrote about this the other day -- the right wing peasant mentality.

@redwafer: the tax system in this country is minimally progressive until you look closely at how much taxes very high income individuals are paying. The most elite in this country derive the majority of their income from capital gains, which is taxed at 15%, and end up with effective tax rates of 12-18% on millions of dollars in income. It's no wonder that capital gains is such a hot topic among the conservative elite, along with their efforts to get the base behind it, even when it's not a major issue with middle income earners who earn almost all of their income from wages, which is taxed at much higher levels than capital gains.

@monoape: I envy the social programs of the Scandinavian countries, but according to Privacy International, many of them are endemic surveillance states. It's a shame no country has the perfect mix of social democracy and privacy. Perhaps we can nudge the US in this direction eventually.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

Aka Hige    says:

Wondering if Fox News will sponsor/recreate a Ride of Paul Revere on April 18th. Haven't heard anything about it.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

tastygiant    says:

i know this is a politically charged issue but I just wanted to say yours are some of the better shots I've seen of the "protests". The low angles really help in showing other's signs. nice job.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

banter says:

i hate liberals
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

ASurroca    says:

I just think it's a breath of fresh air to see my party in control and Republicans wasting their afternoons protesting like hippies for a change...
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

LifeSunDeath    says:

Lol.

Seen on reddit.com (?²ˣ)
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

wools    says:

thanks jeremy, I tried to use a crouched position with a wide angle lens for more dramatic perspective. :)
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

The Searcher    says:

Someone complained to me that all the "stupid" comments coming from these events could have been edited, or they ignored the people making "smart" comments. If that were true, I suggested, then why did FoxNews, one of the sponsors of this whole thing, still only manage to show footage of people saying really really ignorant things?

This sign isn't making fun of "rich" white people, it's making fun of the fact that there only seemed to BE white people at these rallies. And many of them were proudly carrying outright racist signs. Not exactly the "inclusiveness" they sold these rallies as.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

dpswireless says:

@skylights76 sure your income tax goes down if you make under $250k... But what are you actually saving? $500? Now imagine all the NEW TAXES that will make up for that $500 your saving. They aren't actually saving anyone money. They are just keeping the masses content. Tax the rich and give to the poor... Right? Wrong. They are just taxing EVERYONE now, in acceptable ways.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

Tirch    says:

Great article on the hub bub..

"And therein lies the beauty of the whole Tea Bag "movement." Affluent people like Michelle Malkin and Grover Norquist and the army of radio "personalities" convince working people, most of who have a relative or are themselves on Medicare or Social Security, to denounce taxes on affluent people. Many of the people at the rally were from the eastern foothill communities that are pretty impoverished and would benefit from Obama's health care, economic, and education policies. The foreclosure rate alone east of Sacramento would lead one to think that far more people in this region could use some government help."

my.auburnjournal.com/detail/111921.html
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

wools    says:

I'll settle a couple things real quick. There were some minorities at the protest (I noted this in my dailykos article), but the presence was far, far less than you would expect given the demographics of the city.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

Ftopuer says:

Thats because we all know brown people do not have to pay taxes or work. They are all sitting at home watching this after oprah and judge brown.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

blmurch    says:

Go grab yourself some credit where credit is due...
blog.indecisionforever.com/2009/04/16/teabagg ers-celebrat...

these guys are linking back to you
thedw.us/post/96807396/sign-of-the-times-of-t he-day-spott...
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

Tirch    says:

Honest Teabaggers!

static1.firedoglake.com/1/files//2009/04/bbcs till1.png

from
firedoglake.com/2009/04/15/honest-conservativ es-at-todays...
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

tastygiant    says:

@Ftopeur: Most people would be ashamed to be so ignorant, but not you!
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

Patrick T Power    says:

I see The Rude Pundit agrees...
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

Janeile says:

Just wondering...
If I want to be wealthy based on my own hard work and not a government handout (or redistributed wealth), want the government to live within a budget (instead of raising taxes to cover their pork, backdoor deals), want the government to stop acting like the mob and taking over private industries by threatening and blackmailing CEOs, want the President to stop apologizing to the world for being American or redefining America to be something that is more Europe-friendly...and happen to be a black, middle-class female that attended (and agree with) a tea party, does that make me a "rich, white racist" too?
Quite simply, the issues listed above is what the tea parties were about. No deep analysis needed. It wasn't a black/white, Democrat/Republican or even Bush/Obama thing. So the over-generalizations are simply stereotypes.
Just saying...
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

wools    says:

Right. Conservative arguments are stupid regardless of the skin color of the person advocating them!

I'll expand on this just a bit. It's not that limited government is a bad idea, or excessive deficit spending, or government reorganization of failing sectors of the economy. These are all worthwhile positions to have and debate. What's stupid is the deeply hypocritical positions the Bush apologists who didn't say a word over the past 8 years as the Federal Deficit exploded due to military misadventures in *two* countries, corruption of social health programs, erosion of civil liberties, etc. Fiscally conservative arguments have their place even among the Left -- even government run sectors should be efficient and well run! -- but the people who are advocating them with a new vigor are completely intellectually bankrupt tools.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

QueensownTalia says:

Janeile: You're wrong, at least partially. Most of the peole involved with these "protests" are doing it for far more ignorant reasons than the ones you stated.

"want the President to stop apologizing to the world for being American or redefining America to be something that is more Europe-friendly.."

1) America has a lot to apologize for. We've made a lot of mistakes and behaved in a ludicrous manner.

2) don't you mean more world friendly? Or is it so important that America continues to be a haven of ignorance and backward ways? Is that what it means to be American?
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

Esther Lin • all elbows    says:

HAHA!!! H-Town!!!!!!
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

madxmoogle says:

I find that hard to believe! Most Caucasians spray-tan themselves to a healthy, roast-turkey shade of brown, and that sign is clearly caramel-toned.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

Laser Burners    says:

hahaha, i just saw this on reddit :)
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

brittney    says:

hahaha
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

wools    says:

:) I just posted it on citynoise as well.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

sgnp    says:

Hi, Janeile.

You will never be a rich, white racist.

Most rich, white folks were probably too busy being rich to attend these themselves, so I think they most likely appreciate the middle class for picking up the slack.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

John Clifford    says:

Well, looking at the other pictures showed that there were people other than Caucasians at the Houston Tea Party. Certainly the Seattle Tea Party that I photographed had diverse ethnic cultures represented.

All this is besides the point, however. Does it matter that mostly blacks marched for civil rights, especially at the beginning? Or that mostly women marched for universal suffrage? What does skin color or ethnic background have to do with the merits of an argument? Nothing... but dismissing the argument as racist is merely a way of trying to ignore the real frustration and anger behind the Tea Parties.

The people I photographed and talked to in Seattle were equally angry at Democrats and Republicans, equally disappointed in George Bush and Barack Obama. The universal sentiment was anger at the political leadership of the country, regardless of party affiliation, and a belief that the political leadership was corrupt and incompetent.

You don't have to be a rich Republican to be angry at a deficit that overwhelms any that came before. You don't have to be a poor Democrat to believe that the political leadership only cares about itself. And you don't have to be working-class, or middle class, to realize that this bill is going to come due soon... and we will all be stuck paying for it.

Maybe many folks received a pittance of a tax rebate this year, but what if they're more interested in the well-being of the country than in receiving a bribe if they just keep quiet?
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

undergroundmess says:

Awesome shot! easily a favorite of mine :)
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

cybermanikan    says:

RULE!!! RULE RULE RU-EL!111

This is one of my fav shots... and subjects. Thanks for bringing this to us Wools.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )