The dark side of Tea Party Protests

I saw this video floating around. It's disturbing on several levels. First, it's disturbing because there are so many uninformed people making themselves and MORE importantly the entire tax protest movement look bad. Second, it's disturbing because it's clearly cherry picking by a left leaning group or person to smear the efforts and to group all tea party protesters together to ridicule them all as ignorant fools. Third, it's so disturbing on a personal level because of how many people I have seen throw this video around on facebook and other places to tout the efforts of Obama and decry these protesters all as fools, idiots and chumps without knowing the first thing about it themselves.

This video undermines SO much of what generally a lot of good-willed, smart and concerned citizens are fighting for. It takes the uneducated few and props them up as the entire movement and then the uneducated on the left side of the fence use it as ammo to show to everyone what a pathetic attempt at change this is. It's basically manipulation of both sides by the video makers. The fools in the protest are manipulated as fools often are and then the fools viewing it believe it encompasses an entirety of a party/protest/change.

D.C. Tea Party

I want to know. Is there any footage of anyone who knows the issues, speaks eloquently and doesn't come off as either a racist, zealot, idiot, reprobate or blemish on the face of liberty? Was there anyone there who made a video which can counteract the damage done?

I am personally appalled all around. By the ignorance of the people in the video, by the manipulators who made the video, and by the watchers who believe this encapsulates an entire viewpoint.

"The Dark side"..

I believe this video is a pretty fair representation of the majority,Sadly.

Terribly misinformed, frightened and more willing to believe lies and half-truths, than the truth itself.

You know, I actually DON'T think those people represent the majority. In fact, the majority of people I speak to about this situation know the issues through and through.

How many interviews do you think were removed from that video? Because clearly, once again, people go to all lengths to smear the movement.

reply to post by merryxmas

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Here's the problem. And it's something that I have had to teach myself over the past decade to really pay attention to. Or else you are going to be like most of the people that are viewing that video.

They will swallow it hook line and sinker. The problem is, you give me a demonstration of liberals or libertarians or constitutionalists and I can create a video just as bad or worse. They purposefully didn't show any of the people that actually knew what the hell they were talking about.

It's like with "In Plane Sight". If someone were to watch that video as the first introduction to 911 they may find themselves overwhelmed that the planes had bombs on them and on and on. They would probably buy into it without question. You see, we need to weed through the BS. There are always the ignorant at these marches. There are always those that are mindless followers.

What I hated to see most was that poor kid. He had no clue. He was just parroting the midless dribble that he obviously hears on a daily basis at home. He had NO idea of why he was really there. Just damn sad.

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This video and ones like it are for the purpose of making one side look ignorant and foolish but really the only people who pay attention to these are the people they are made for, i would hate to think biased videos like this actually sway peoples views.

usually people who make these videos are equally ignorant and close minded to the facts also a good piont would be the people who call protestors terrorists or unpatriotic but yet seem to forget any of the facts in how our country was created,

you just can't help some people.

Great video. This tells me that these people have no idea at the scope to which they have been manipulated. I am a supporter in the tea parties, but it is going to take some time for those older people to listen to those younger people that have done the research. This gives me great hope...it is an awakening and it has just begun. Wait until Fox turns their back on these people. They place their faith into a media station without knowing the facts. They are being used by the right agenda, and still do not understand what true freedoms are. I'm just glad they are standing up. The reporter though obviously takes advantage of the situation, instead of focusing on how they feel, he focuses on facts of how they feel. Sometimes we feel things aren't right, before we realize they aren't right. Shame on him for deflecting the issue.

It's not about making "one-side" appear foolish and ignorant. It's about THOSE folks being uninformed and foolish. Lo and behold, every single thing they say that is ignorant and foolish comes straight from the mouth of right-wing media. It's not foolish to say, "I love the USA". It IS ignorant however to try and tell me that Obama is a communist muslim terrorist or that socialism is some kind of heinous evil. I am so sure that these folks have no idea of the truth that I would have liked to ask them who started the bailouts. I am willing to bet cash money the majority will tell you Obama when it was Bush who set it up with no controls and then just weeks later we had to hear that they didn't know where the money went to.

No I don't think anyone who criticizes Obama is a racist but you can bet your sweet bum that some of them are. Especially the ones that hate him but can't tell you why beyond Glenn Beck right wing talking points, most of which are lies.

Agreed. That was really sad. How can ANYONE expect a child to understand for one and be able to clearly demonstrate in a soundbyte the depths of partisan politics, the structure of a fractional reserve system, the difference between communism, fascism, libertarianism or what they even mean to you. That is way above the understanding of a child and he is just there because he (I'm guessing here) probably loves his parents and as kids do will take after their parents. Shame on the video makers for hauling out a child to humiliate on the internet. No child is going to understand the intricacy of this even if his parents were the most educated on the subject. His parents should have not let him speak on camera.

While the ideology may not be completely evil (wrong though for sure), the application of it and the "leaders" who embrace it most certainly are, proven over and over by history.

Karl Marx was not one of our founding fathers and if you want socialism go to a country that is already imposing it on their people because we most certainly do not want it here.

[edit on 16-9-2009 by I_am_Spartacus]

[edit on 16-9-2009 by I_am_Spartacus]

[edit on 16-9-2009 by I_am_Spartacus]

[edit on 16-9-2009 by I_am_Spartacus]

WOW, You calling this movement misinformed, I think we need to invoke an old saying here, we all know what it is. YOU are the clueless and brainwashed if you "believe" this.

[edit on 16-9-2009 by I_am_Spartacus]