In 2009 I received an e-mail from a friend regarding something called a Tea Party that was going to take place in the Bay Area. The group said it was in favor of limited government and fiscal responsibility. Since I agreed that the government was spending way too much money I decided to attend the Tea Party and see what it was all about.
We assembled in a suburban park on that beautiful sunny day. People threw down blankets, children played in the sun and my dog ran from group to group making friends and begging treats. Eventually several speakers stepped to a microphone and told us why they had come to the tea party, all had the same message protesting over-spending and bloated government. After the speakers a woman stepped up and led us in singing a few songs. I can”t remember all of them, but I”m pretty sure we sang God Bless America that day.
Throughout the day no one asked me to attend any KKK meetings, no one approached me suggesting we overthrow the government although one nice lady did offer me an oatmeal cookie. I heard no racial epithets and saw no signs comparing President Obama to Adolf Hitler. I did see one sign that said “Timmy, Pay Your Taxes,” the sign referred to Tim Geithner and seemed fair since it had become public knowledge that he had underpaid his taxes by a large amount. There was no pushing or shoving, no rage on display and absolutely no violence of any kind. It was a very mellow gathering, much more benign than the anti-war protests I had witnessed from my Market Street office in San Francisco when the United States invaded Iraq.
After a few hours of speeches and singing we packed up our blankets, picked up our trash and went home. I didn”t think much more about it until I sat down to watch the evening news. The newscast carried a lengthy story about our Tea Party; they said we were angry people, full of rage and racism, who presented a great risk to the security of the United States. I was stunned, I thought maybe the newscaster had been at another Tea Party in some distant location, but then the camera panned the park where the Tea Party had been held and I knew they were talking about me.
Since that day I have heard many people call the Tea Partiers lots of vile, mean things. Now I understand that in any large group you are going to have some fringe elements and I”m sure this is as true in the Tea Party movement as it is in any movement, but how can any responsible person go on TV and accuse us of staging Klan rallies, practicing sedition and preparing to mount a bloody overthrow of the government when there is absolutely no evidence to support these wild theories? I just don”t understand why we must be repeatedly slandered because we honestly think the government is moving in the wrong direction. The latest comment came from Bertha Lewis, head of the disgraced group ACORN who compared the Tea Party movement to a “bowel movement.” On April 15 I attended my second Tea Party, this time in Lake County. It was pretty much a rerun of the first one, beautiful day, speakers asking for fiscal responsibility from government and this time a teddy bear that sang God Bless America. As I watched my new puppy roll across the lawn with two little boys I contemplated how important I believe it is to leave a safer stronger and economically viable America for those kids, like the one my parent”s generation left for me and if that means I have to open myself to slander and derision, so be it.
Mary Becker is a former San Francisco business owner who moved to Lake County. Contact her at mbnorthernlights@gmail.com.
