New Black Panther Party members have been caught trying to intimidate whites at polling places and even calling for the extermination of whites.
Mr. Obama this week said al-Qaida is essentially racist against Africa (agreed, but what about its racism against the rest of us, Mr. President?)
Anti-Semitism, particularly in the Mideast, is on a frightening rise.
So naturally, the NAACP issues a statement against racism -- targeting the nascent Tea Party movement.
How horribly sad and misguided. It is pure, racist slander.
In fact, it's safe to say no other mass slander in recent memory has been so unjust since that which was hurled against the other great social movement of our time, the civil rights cause.
The NAACP's unabridged slander of the Tea Party activists brings into focus the difference between an organization and a movement. The grassroots, non-hierarchical Tea Party may yet become an organization, and may need to; for now, it is still a mass of very loosely-knit citizens who are worried about America's impending financial disaster and want it prevented. They also want to bring individual freedom back into style.
Ironically, freedom was what the civil rights movement was all about.
But that, too, illustrates an important distinction: The NAACP is not the civil rights movement. Whatever it purports to be, or what the turn-a-blind-eye federal government considers it to be, the NAACP is a highly partisan political organization whose malicious broadside against the increasingly influential Tea Party is no doubt intended to protect the political status quo in Washington.
How regrettable to see a formerly great movement hijacked for transparently political ends.
And how unfortunate if demagogues are allowed to further divide us by skin color and turn this urgent discussion over our nation's financial future into a racial red herring. This isn't about black and white people -- it's about young and old: We are, in short, robbing future generations of their hoped-for wealth, and endangering both their lifestyles and their ability to hold onto this country with our rampant and immoral deficit spending.
This sorry incident says more about the myopic NAACP than the citizens of the Tea Party movement. Every budding movement has its rogue elements; the civil rights movement had its own. To condemn a great movement because of that is morally wrong and disingenuous. There is no evidence whatsoever that any local or national offshoot of the Tea Party movement has embraced, encouraged or tolerated racism.
Again, any movement, especially in a country that cherishes free speech, can attract unseemly elements. To condemn a movement for that is nothing short of slander.
I would say that the NAACP should take a history lesson, to see who, the Dems or the GOP, really helped them achieve civil rights in the 1960's. I won't go into specifics here. Those of you knowledgeable understand. I have to believe that the NAACP understands as well. So what is the explanation for today's stance? Purely politics is all I can guess. The TEA Party is simply asking for politicians adhere to the Constitution. If that is racist to the NAACP, so be it.
Something else is to be learned from history. That is the will of the silent majority. Polls are showing, primaries showed and citizens being active in local politics proves that the silent majority is awakening.
We want secure borders. We don't want govt take over of private industry. We don't want socialized medicine. We don't want a Socialist govt. We don't want the race card being played when we disagree with our President. We don't want our Constitution side stepped on a regular basis.
Is that too much to ask?
Wrong again, Chronicle. The tea party was started by Dick Armey, it is not a grass-roots organization. Everything else is revisionist, as well.
Best video ever. It's 3 1/2 minutes so be patient and watch it through especially at about 1:40 it gets very good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZyVUS-TC2g
In a nutshell it shows clip after clip after clip of black leaders condemning the NAACP and supporting the tea party.
Tea Party movement racist?!
Make up another story to tell liberals. This one has no basis in reality or fact. And, we are all sick of it. But, if you can post a non-made up video here proving otherwise, I'm all eyes and ears. I'll be waiting......
Call me what you will. When are you "patriotic" americans going to realize that Adolf Hitler took his sterilization and euthanasia cues from 1920's America. Look it up! Instead of storming Normandy, You should have been storming West Africa. Too late now, the damage is done. So quit your lost cause "conservatism' and face the end that you created. By the way, I am sober as a judge. For all you pagans, I'll see you in VALHALLA.
Mr. Ryan, I can't take it any more. I am cancelling my subscription as many of my neighbors have already done. Last year there were 11 neighbors taking the Chronicle. Today,. I am the only one still subscribing.
Enough is Ehough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The NAACP has sadly chosen this unwarranted attack on the TEA party, as a way to try and make this pathetic organization relevant once again, IMHO. However, by making the mistake of choosing this specific soft target, they have only succeeded in subverting their cause, and displaying to the whole world, that they are no longer worthy of their noble purpose. IMHO, this is also going to have a negative result, as they vastly underestimated the far reaching effect that the movement has had, as indeed the ideals put forth by this organization has resounded with the American people, and many of them now consider themselves to be aligned with their cause. Therefore, I am confident that they do not appreciate the NAACP labeling them as being racists, because I count myself a member, and I, like them, resent the implication. In the end, I feel that this will do more damage to their credibility than they can even fathom now. The organization will discover quickly that this was a very bad decision, and will directly reflect on the poor leadership of Ben Jealous, who encouraged and backed this error in judgement.
So Willie, like your other 11 neighbors you just want to shut the world out and be uninformed? Whether you agree or not you should read and listen to what others have to ...oh, screw it, why do I even bother.
Scott, I read several newspapers a day. Namely: The Washington Post The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The AJC and The State.
Also, I read: Time Magazine, Newsweek, Atlantic Monthy, Fortune, Business Weekly, and Forbes. I have also taught various courses in the journalism department of a college in the Northeast and wrote for a newspape for years.
Where were the Tea party the last 8 years when America was being sold to the highest bidder. This all happen before this guy got into the White House come on lets be fair there was no out cry like this. Now you want to take back something you gave away to the last group calling them great Americans ? Ask you friends who lost money in 401ks houses etc. This is pure and simple hatered that's been pinned up for years it's easy to blame this guy he's different take responsibility tea party people and go get your friends that sold you out. This is classic 101 Ra--sm blame the other guy for my failing.
"This is classic 101 Ra--sm blame the other guy for my failing."
You must hate Obama then.
The NAACP shouldn't have called the Tea Party racist. The Tea Party isn't racist. But the AC is still ridiculous.
"It is pure, racist slander."
So the Augusta Chronicle is calling the NAACP racist. For calling the Tea Party racist. Uh what? Oh wait, they didn't call the NAACP a racist organization. Its only an organization that says racist things.
My, my, my, WILLI7, what will you and your 11 neighbors use now to line the bottoms of your bird cages? 'Tis sad indeed, no cage liner, no bird cage hygiene in your home. Woe, woe, whoa!
GGpap
wow,dodo, your 11:29 post came across as a NAACP comment. Misguided and misunderstood piece of information regurgitated as fact.
Just because Martha Sanger (planned parenthood) and the evolving NAZI machine came to the same conclusion doesn't mean they cued off of each other. Basically, the best common conclusion that can be drawn is that "radical communists of a feather often flock together", so to speak.
Your rather provocative parroting of the PBS perspective DOES identify you, though.
The two pronged effort of racism being used today consists of the NAACP and the New Black Panthers making outrageous comments for the media and the obama administration supporting them on one of the prongs and the Arizona suit to support illegal immigration on the other prong. The purpose for the sudden surge of racism is to try to stimulate the uneducated base of the Dem party to go vote so fewer Dems will be flushed from office this November.
I find this to be a foolish effort since the 65% of voting Americans that are disgusted with the mad Marxist is hearing the same pitch and becoming even more energized. I guess we'll see if the obama machine is right when the voters finally get a say.
Willie7, interesting exactly what post made you decide to stop taking the Chronicle. By the way, are you going to stop reading online and posting here? That would really hurt them if you did that.
Retired Army, the TEA party will quit whining after the mad Marxist and the damage he's done is gone.
The Tea Party and its scapegoating all of America's self-induced problems onto the backs of undocumented Mexican workers is racism, pure and simple IMHO.
Scott Hudson, a member of the right wing media in Augusta defends right wing Augusta Chronicle editorials. What a surprise! It is possible to be well informed on international, national, and even local news stories without subscribing to The Chronicle. Why feed the beast and its radical right-wing agenda?
A horribly sick editorial. First, the resolution did not say that the Tea Party was racist, but rather that the Tea Party tolerates racist elements, which is obviously true. Even your hero Rand Paul repeated the ideas once promulgated by the monster George Wallace, almost in the same words: covering the Satanic ideas of segregation with sweet words about liberty. (Only showing interest in white people's liberty, of course!) At almost the time this editorial was written, a Tea Party group offended even other Tea Partiers with a tasteless billboard. Look into your souls, if you have souls, and repent. The Tea Party's willingness to cotton to its own extremists marks it as a fringe movement of people who are misinformed, misguided, or just plain wicked. Yes, there are decent people in the Tea Party movement, but they are cowed into silence by their own extremists.
A couple of low-level Black Panther thugs yelled at voters at a polling place. The police were summoned and chased them off. Yes, I think they should have been prosecuted, but this trivial incident does not compare with a systematic effort by a mass movement, the Tea Party movement, to appeal to people's fear and hatred and bigotry in an effort to turn our country back to the Dark Ages.
Come to Washington on 8/28 if you love this country.
What better way to quell the Tea Partyers than to affix the "OH MY GOD", pollitically incorrect "Racist" label to it. Every color in the rainbow will run for the hills with that word attached to it. And just for everyones enlightenment, the tea party is not just a bunch of light haired, blue eyed, lily white caucasions, I've seen every color of skin in the US at these gatherings. The biggest things they have in common is that they consider themselves to be Americans, not some "ethnic" group, and they WANT to work.
And, I don't care what group you get in one place, out of a couple hundred, you are going to get one idiot. IN ANY GROUP!!
Quit being lemmings and work towards making the United States the United States again, and get away from the direction it's going.
If all Tea Party folks are racist, then all Hispanics/Latinos are a race unto themselves. Both statements are UNTRUE! Illegal aliens are not part of the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Movement was about the civil rights of American citizens. Illegal aliens are NOT citizens! Illegal aliens have the right to emergency medical care and a swift, humane deportation. The Black Panthers are obsolete. The NAACP is obsolete. All these organizations are doing is thumping a drum in order to justify their existence, because they don't have anything else to cry about.
SouthernGuy, quit being silly. 1. The Black Panthers did not organize into mobs to systematically murder hundreds of white voters. They did not organize into mobs to murder white businessmen. They did not beat white voters senseless. They did not shoot white voting registrars and dump their bodies into the creek. Yes, what the Panthers did was wrong, and they should have been prosecuted, but there is no comparison to the evil of the KKK. 2. No one of any substance is calling the President's opponents racists except, of course, for those who openly advocate racist ideas. Tea Partiers show up carrying signs depicting the President as a monkey. Their candidates tout the slogan, "Take America Back." (Back from whom? Back from our elected representatives?) There is the billboard. The racist elements in the Tea Party are too many, and too vocal, and too obvious, even including some of the leaders, to be ignored. To gain any credibility with normal voters, the decent people among the Tea Partiers must repudiate their own vermin instead of nominating them for office.
Lemmings? Lemmings? People who listen to Rush Limbaugh and Ron Paul have the nerve to call anyone a lemming? Thanks, handoff57, you made my morning.
LOL @ the editors of the chronicle. I take it they believe there's NO element of racism at the tea parties, how so CONSERVATIVE. Heck just look at the billboard sign on yesterday from the Northern Iowa tea party. The NAACP is right to label them for what they truly are. Now that the NAACP has passed this resolution, we will now see the tea party folks up their racial antics and signs. Can't wait. I will be at the 8/28 OTHER rally not Becks.
How do you know, Rhetor? Have you listened to Rush or Ron? If you have, does that make you a lemming? If you haven't, where do you get your information about them?
Who pays attention to what the NAACP says? AC, don't they have free speech? Why do you feel the need to defend the Tea Party so vigorously?
The New Black Panthers isn't any different than the KKK. Ignore both of them, and you will be better off.
All editorials like this accomplish is to give undeserved attention to people that the rest of us ignore.
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