Teabaggin’ the Square

OK, back from the Market Square “Tea Party.” I have a mild headache as a result, and not a lot of time to really describe this event in all its splendor. I will say that for me, the high point was when a small number of black observers began chanting “Obama” in defiance of the general mood. They were shouted down with cheers of — what else? — “USA! USA! USA!”

Note to tea-partiers: Obama actually IS the president of the USA … though judging from a couple “Impeach Obama” signs I saw, some teabaggers wish he weren’t.   

(The counter-demonstrators were also told to “learn how to talk” and “get a job” by a couple members of the nearly-all-white Teabaggin’ crowd. The latter charge is especially mystifying: We were ALL here on a weekday, during the lunch hour. Why would anyone assume the counterdemonstrators were the only ones who needed a job? Unless, of course … )

Anyway, while I wait for the aspirin to take effect, i’ll just share some of my favorite posters from today’s event. 

This one actually made me laugh out loud, and unlike the vast majority of rhetoric from the stage and the crowd, it did contain a bipartisan critique:

By contrast, this was one of the uglier entries. If you’re going to accuse people of extortion, isn’t a a swastika overkill?

Perhaps it never occurred to you that “Obama”sounds like “Osama”?

Did I mention there were some Ayn Rand fans in the crowd? 

The picture quality here isn’t great, I’ll admit. But the sign says “Enslaved by big government spending. Slavery is back!” If you think black people had it bad in the 19th century, I hope this puts things in perspective. 

Finally, it seems fitting to end on this note … though I suspect I’d diagnose a different cause of death than many of the other rally participants. 

This article appears in Apr 9-15, 2009.