Over the past few days I've been trying to figure out just what this Tea Party protest movement in the US is all about. I've been getting glimpses here and there, but because of a debate on Ravelry I decided to try to track down more information. What I've discovered is that it's a total moving target: there is no identifiable leader or political platform, the message morphs frequently, and the participants tend to scuttle back into their foxholes whenever anyone tries to pin them down on anything. It seems to boil down to rogue aggression, and it's hard not to see an undercurrent of at least class-ism, if not outright racism bubbling under the surface.
The "voices" of the movement appear to be Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann, and this Glenn Beck fellow, who is new to me because he cropped up on the national stage after I left the US (I apparently went to high school with him though, since he graduated at the end of my Freshman year at Sehome High School). In other words, a perfect storm of people who are diametrically opposed to me ideologically.
Recently pollsters have attempted to map the movement (in this case, quite literally) and determine its make up. The New York Times/CBS poll suggests they're richer and better educated (WTF?!) than previously assumed. Not surprisingly, their own website doesn't reveal very much, particularly since you have to register to gain access to anything but the most superficial information.
The best opinion piece I've found is Ron Rosenbaum's from Slate.com. He takes the movement to task for its imprecise (understatement!) use of big words like "tyranny," "fascist," and "progressive" on all those hilarious (but scary, and often misspelled) signs they've become famous for.* I think Rosenbaum's article a must-read for anyone following the current US political scene.
* I just discovered that a counter movement of infiltrators have begun making a sport of displaying equally ridiculous, but far more witty fake signs at Tea Party demonstrations. That's almost enough to make me want to go to a rally!
A Tea Party operative (or missionary, or organizer, or whatever you call them) apparently gave an address at the Norwegian Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet) national convention last week. So I guess it won't be long until we start seeing misspelled signs expressing random anger at misrepresented targets in Norwegian too. Or not. Surely not even Fremskrittspartiet is that idiotic?
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