Pitts: Tea party and racists -- 'isolated incidents' no more

[maddezmom]

Pitts: Tea party and racists -- 'isolated incidents' no more
By Leonard Pitts Jr.

Miami Herald

Updated: 03/23/2010 02:45:46 PM MDT

So it turns out that, contrary to what I argued in this space a few weeks back, racism is not "a major component" of the so-called tea party movement. I am informed of this by dozens of tea party activists indignant and insulted that I would even suggest such a thing.

In other news, tea party protesters called John Lewis a "nigger" the other day in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol.

For the record, Lewis wasn't their only target. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver was spat upon. Rep. Barney Frank, who is gay, was called "faggot."

But it is Lewis' involvement that gives the Saturday incident its bittersweet resonance. The 70-year-old representative from Georgia is, after all, among the last living icons of the Civil Rights Movement. Or, as Lewis himself put it, "I've faced this before."

Indeed. He faced it in Nashville in 1960 when he was locked inside a whites-only fast-food restaurant and gassed by a fumigation machine for ordering a hamburger. He faced it in Montgomery in 1961 when a group of Freedom Riders was attacked and he was knocked unconscious for riding a Greyhound bus.

more: http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_14741383

[babylonsister]

1. Rec'd. I do believe KO addressed this, too. Sing it out! nt

[Enthusiast]

2. This is why Limbaugh

rails against 'political correctness'.

Limbaugh and his ilk want the freedom to call names, the most vile names.

We know this is how it started in Nazi Germany. It didn't start by gassing the Jews or even knocking out their windows or beating them up. It started by calling the Jews names. They called Jews vile names in public, it was encouraged.

Eventually this name calling was accompanied by beatings. This is the way it works. It is incremental.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

4. I truly think Limbaugh and Beck are encouraging this.

They think it is cute and funny, and a perfect response to having a black man as president. When the riots start, they will blame us, because our policies forced them to go that far. If only We liberals had listened to them earlier, obeyed their every demand, they would not have been forced to riot and worse.

[Enthusiast]

6. Hell yes they're encouraging it.

They have been encouraging it for years.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

8. Unfortunately, their message is taking root.

And those bastards smile all the way to the bank.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

3. There seem to be some who don't take this seriously.

They should. Society, our fragile society, exists because people implicitly agree to a certain set of behaviors, to rules, and to an unspoken politeness and respect, even of strangers. Rip that away, and aggression goes unchecked, people's nasty side becomes the norm, and society can break down. Just like those university electrocution experiments of the 1960s, acts that we would never consider under normal circumstances can, under certain circumstances, become standard behavior. If you look to the French revolution, you can find numerous accounts of normal people acting crazy. Riots and mob action sprung up and those in the way suffered dearly.

The Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, published in 1841 is not only entertaining (And it is VERY entertaining) but instructive. The madness of crowds can be a very, very dangerous thing. Once a mob begins to move, to act, to riot, all bets are off.

The Becks and the Limbaughs are poking a stick at an already unruly group of poorly educated, poor, unread, AND ARMED group of people, many of whom seriously think that all the truth we ever need to find resides in their bible. If we fail to follow their rules, their bible-based rules, we condemn all of society to their hell. If we don't change our ways, they will change them for us. These people are dangerous precisely because facts and rational thinking have absolutely no impact on them. If they argue against evolution because their good book tells an accurate story of creation, how can we expect them to understand that there are no death panels, no forced abortions, and worse?

Broken windows are but a start. They will not stop. Bigger, more splashy events will take place, some by design, others in response to Beck and others, and many more, because many of these idiots wish to mimic the violence they see (and applaud) on tv. We are approaching a very dangerous, very unstable situation in America, and we must be prepared for it. Things will get out of hand. Violence will be committed. People will die.

I've walked into one mob scenario in my life. It was not pretty. It took on a life of its own, and believe me, you really want to get out of the way.

[NJmaverick]

5. They have always had racial and bigoted motives

their recent anger simply exposed their core beliefs

[maddezmom]

9. Hoyer and Clyburn on MSNBC right now discussing these racist incidents

They are taking these threats very seriously, over 10 members are getting extra security. :(