NAACP Launches New Spy Site
by Tina Grazier
I don’t know whether the NAACP is driven by paranoia, self-hatred or just plain old fashioned politics but they do intend to spy on you Tea Partiers so beware! Yes that’s right, the NAACP has organized a community of like-minded groups in support of a new website to monitor (spy on) tea party patriots. They have put up a website and blog, teapartytracker.org where they will be posting proof in pictures and articles of racism in the Tea Party. They also continue to demand that the Tea Party denounce anyone in their membership who is racist or who makes racist remarks, as if any TPer wouldn’t do that in the moment fo his own volition anyway. .
The first blog post up when I saw the site today was the photo of a man, re-posted above, who is apparently at a tea party rally. His black t-shirt with white letters makes a definite statement…but is this statement racist or extreme…and is this the best they can do:
“Blacks own Slaves in Mauritania, Sudan Niger and Haiti.”
Or does this statement just state a fact that might be germane to conditions in these countries and the subject of racism? Perhaps it is meant as a rebuttal to charges that only white people are racist or that America is a hateful country because of it’s history of slavery. Was he attemting to speak out against the practice as a concerned citizen of the world? Does it matter what his motive in wearing the shirt was given his free speech rights? Here is the uncomfortably sad fact about the T-shirt message:
Slavery in Africa continues today. Slavery existed in Africa before the arrival of Europeans – as did a slave trade that exported millions of Africans to North Africa, the Middle East, and the Persian Gulf : Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Sudan ** Child slave trade: Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Ethiopia
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Poverty has forced at least 225,000 children in Haiti’s cities into slavery as unpaid household servants, far more than previously thought, a report said Tuesday. ** The Pan American Development Foundation’s report also said some of those children — mostly young girls — suffer sexual, psychological and physical abuse while toiling in extreme hardship. ** The report recommends Haiti’s government and international donors focus efforts on educating the poor and expanding social services such as shelters for girls, who make up an estimated two-thirds of the child servant population. ** Young servants are known as “restavek” — Haitian Creole for “stays with” — and their plight is both widely known and a source of great shame in the Caribbean nation that was founded by a slave revolt more than 200 years ago. ** Researchers said the practice is so common that almost half of 257 children interviewed in the sprawling Port-au-Prince shantytown of Cite Soleil were household slaves.
The T-shirt was factual.
Another feature on the website is “the gallery” where interested parties can submit examples of “Tea Party extremism from around the country”. The current crop of photo’s includes people holding signs, none of which is any more inflammatory, angry, negative or bigoted than signs held by activists or Democrats against Republicans and Republican administrations in the past. Many of the signs have to do with the economy, mortgages and taxes. The people themselves are mostly pleasant looking. None were as angry or disrespectful as two photos I have from the Bush years. One is of an angry young black man with his fist in the air screaming, the other is of an elderly, nicely dressed black woman in a hat holding a sign that reads “F*** George Bush” …she is laughing and having a grand old time with her fellow “lady” protesters. Such a message for a nice older lady though, huh? Oh…and another is of a man’s naked butt cheeks with BU on one cheek and SH on the other. (I can imagine Sharpton and Jackson laughing and yucking it up over that one, can’t you?) People are people, people! They do dumb things. Most just live and let live.
I would support what the NAACP in doing if there was any significant evidence that Americans in general, or Tea Party activist in particular, were committing acts of racism or violent acts in greater measure than any other groups. I’d support them if they had evidence of any incident as bad as the one in which Mr. Gladney wasattacked by an SEIU activist at a tea party town hall. There is no any such evidence against any Tea Party member or supporter.
The NAACP would do a lot more good if they created a website that portrayed incidents and photos that show racism as passe…dead…untolerated in America. That would be a site that is more indicative of the truth. A site like that would allow Americans to more easily flush away any last bits of “racist garbage” that might still line a few gutters in America and would go a long way toward influencing better relations across racial and religious lines across the world. We could act as a beacon for peace and brotherhood rather than a bunch of complaining inept whiners.
At some point we must claim victory. We must put an exclamation point on the validity of the civil rights movement and on the wisdom of the founding documents, otherwise, what has been the point? We have worked hard as a nation to put racism behind us. A continued focus on racism as a “cause that never ends” only creates resentment and division and becomes counterproductive.
The NAACP should be celebrating the fact that America has overcome. They should be looking for evidence to prove it. they should creatively seek entrepreneurial solutions for and by the black man to improve conditions for blacks across America. Peer pressure within the ranks works well. Bill Cosby has pointed the way. These things would be more in line with the original charter of the NAACP.
I don’t always agree with the NAACP, but making sure the TEA party does NOT become another bunch of Brownshirts is an excellent idea!
We saw what happened when a upstart political movement melded with corporate interests in the the 1920s!
It took a World War to finally stop them!
The person telling the truth in the picture does not help the NAACP’s political mission, so he’s a target for their mocking. How brave of them…and how odd you didn’t pick up on this part Quentin? Instead you’re off this strange effort to connect brown shirts, the NAACP and the TP’ers and you are supporting the NAACP even when they are wrong? Strange.
Hmmmmm, let’s see, the “brown shirt” equivilent would be the purple shirted SEIU union thugs melding with the upstart political community organizing communists to “transform” America…interestingly they too associate with certain BIG corporate entities, banks, special interest lobbies and the like. I think it’s this group playing the deflection game, picking a target, isolating it, demonizing it.
In what way are they wrong?
I don’t see them mocking this fellow!
I don’t see anyone in this guy’s face, or mocking him for a disease, or trying to have him arrested for holding a different viewpoint like you TEAbaggerz do!
BTW
Slavery has NOTHING to do with racism.
Read the man’s shirt–again!
Did you post this, perchance, as some attempt to deny your own racism?
Quentin, you do realize what the term tea bagging means don’t you? Why are you saying that about millions of patriotic Americans who are very much like yourself in beliefs and enthusiasm?
“The NAACP would do a lot more good if they created a website that portrayed incidents and photos that show racism as passe…dead…untolerated in America. That would be a site that is more indicative of the truth.”
I’m trying to formulate a reaction to this statement beyond the phrase “lol what?” but I’m having a difficult time.
OK, I think I’ve got one: such a site would be neither truthful nor useful. It would be overly optimistic fluff designed solely to make white people feel better about themselves. Meanwhile, people of color would still experience racism on a daily basis regardless of what a website tells them.
Seriously, Tina, it’s becoming more and more clear that the desire to “move beyond race” shared by you and others has very little to do with helping POC, and everything to do with letting yourself off the hook so that you don’t have to hear about it anymore.
Also, this is hardly a “spy” site. The Tea Parties are public events open to everyone. Your title is extremely alarmist and sensationalistic, and in so doing you have completely contradicted the message you were trying to get across in this article. By telling Tea Partiers to “beware” of these “spies,” you are implying that they have something to be afraid of. Something to hide. Now why would you want to do that?
“Or does this statement just state a fact that might be germane to conditions in these countries and the subject of racism? Perhaps it is meant as a rebuttal to charges that only white people are racist or that America is a hateful country because of it’s history of slavery. Was he attemting to speak out against the practice as a concerned citizen of the world? Does it matter what his motive in wearing the shirt was given his free speech rights?”
The motive is quite obvious to those of us who are familiar with this tactic. The man is trying to downplay racism here in America by pointing out that there are worse atrocities elsewhere. It certainly helps that those committing these atrocities are the same race as the historically oppressed minority here. Again, it’s an attempt to let himself off the hook, which is in and of itself somewhat racist, because it places the burden of overcoming racism completely on the victims and not on the historically oppressive class. It’s victim-blaming. It’s also possible that he is getting in a dig at black leaders in general, given that many Tea Partiers have outrageously accused President Obama of running a “slavery” type of government here in the U.S. Is he implying a comparison here? It’s not that much of stretch.
Is the statement factual? Yes. Does it have anything at all to do with the stated goals of the Tea Party, which focus on reducing taxes and limiting government intervention? No, it doesn’t. But it has everything to do with the unstated yet equally prominent goal of the Tea Party to downplay the grievances of minorities in America, thus setting themselves up as a somehow more legitimate civil rights movement than the original. That’s just racist, and it echoes the critiques of “uppity Negroes” that were so prominent back in the day.
“I’d support them if they had evidence of any incident as bad as the one in which Mr. Gladney wasattacked by an SEIU activist at a tea party town hall.”
So…none, then? Would “none” be an appropriate amount of evidence for the NAACP, since that’s the amount conservatives have against the alleged SEIU “thugs?”
Q: “In what way are they wrong? I don’t see them mocking this fellow!”
Did I say they were wrong for posting it ortake exception to their notion that the T-shirt is an example of racism or extremism? As far as “mocking” him I don’t believe I said that either. If you’re looking for a reason for them to post this picture you’ll have to ask them because it is unclear to me.
“I don’t see anyone in this guy’s face, or mocking him for a disease, or trying to have him arrested for holding a different viewpoint like you TEAbaggerz do!”
There are countless examples of the left being in someones face…even going to their private home and frightening nchildren so back off on the “in your face crap!
The jerk that mocked a person with a disease was just that…a jerk…we have no idea whether or not the “diseased person” was also a jerk, which is quite possible since he is a human being (and having a disease doesn’t give him the right to be a jerk or play the vidctim with impunity).
I know of no examples of TP Patriots trying to “have someone arrested” for having a “different opinion”. I do know of TP Patriots reporting you but not it wasn’t for holding a different viewpoint.
“BTW * Slavery has NOTHING to do with racism. * Read the man’s shirt–again!”
Then qwhy did it bother the NAACP? What has it to do with their purpose in posting it? I agree it’s a complete mystery!
“Did you post this, perchance, as some attempt to deny your own racism?”
Oh boy…gettin cranky now…better go get on the ol’ jammies and say goodnight.
Ick!
For your information, anywhere on this planet where you have poverty of the spirt-chrushing variety you can find people willing to sell themselves or others. This is a matter of economics and psychology … not race.
It is the well-fed fellow with the T-shirt who is making it a racial issue, and that makes him a racist.
Chris: “Seriously, Tina, it’s becoming more and more clear that the desire to “move beyond race” shared by you and others has very little to do with helping POC,”
Why do you believe they need your help after all these years? Do you think them lesser? What evidence do you have to support this?
“and everything to do with letting yourself off the hook so that you don’t have to hear about it anymore.”
Letting myself noff the hook for what? What do I owe? And yes it woulod be refreshing to have us all think of each other as equals, with equal opportunity, equal access, and that includes being free to fail or be a bum. We all know that there are examples of all of these in black, white, yellow and brown segments of society.
“Also, this is hardly a “spy” site.”
Common…they set the site up for that purpose…to spy on the tea party people. They admit it! They even called it “tea party tracker”. It doesn’t bother them; why should it bother you?
“By telling Tea Partiers to “beware” of these “spies,” you are implying that they have something to be afraid of. Something to hide. Now why would you want to do that?”
For laughs of course. We know who we are…and who we are not!
“The motive is quite obvious to those of us who are familiar with this tactic. The man is trying to downplay racism here in America by pointing out that there are worse atrocities elsewhere.”
Oh…so he was saying people are people…they do atrocious things…what’s the prob, bob?
“Again, it’s an attempt to let himself off the hook, which is in and of itself somewhat racist, because it places the burden of overcoming racism completely on the victims and not on the historically oppressive class.”
We’re all part of the human race…how long must we bear the guilt for all of the atrocities that man has ever inflicted on his fellow man? How will we ever know if we’ve overcome? Why bother to have a dream if you aren’t going to celebrate when you see it made manifest in the country?
“… given that many Tea Partiers have outrageously accused President Obama of running a “slavery” type of government here in the U.S.”
Outrageously? You haven’t been listening to the man. Obama didn’t start this type of government but he does believe in it…just ask him. Spreading the wealth, taking from some to give to others puts central government in charge of man’s affairs. He loves being the man in charge and he loves redistribution of wealth…he wants to decide how my hard earned money will be spent…that is a “slave type” of government…it certainly doesn’t represent freedom! I work and he spends the fruits of my labors.
“Is the statement factual? Yes. Does it have anything at all to do with the stated goals of the Tea Party, which focus on reducing taxes and limiting government intervention? No, it doesn’t.”
OMG…quick, you need an entire squad of PC cops for this one. Holy cow he wore a shirt that doesn’t match the stated goals of t-partiers…arrest him before he can influence anyonbe. Good Lord, listen to yerself! Did I suggest the book Brave new World?
” But it has everything to do with the unstated yet equally prominent goal of the Tea Party to downplay the grievances of minorities in America, thus setting themselves up as a somehow more legitimate civil rights movement than the original.”
Yeah, we’re a bunch of bad a**es, wanting to celebrate and honor the goal of MLK of freedom and justice for all…wow, Chris…that’s really terrible!
FOR THE RECORD…the civil rights movement DOES NOT belong to Democrats, they (and now you with your PC badge) just like to think it does.
“That’s just racist, and it echoes the critiques of “uppity Negroes” that were so prominent back in the day.”
Tell you what…try monitoring leftists that toss around the “Uncle Tom” slur on black conservatives…you’ll find a lot more to mine there.
“Would “none” be an appropriate amount of evidence for the NAACP, since that’s the amount conservatives have against the alleged SEIU “thugs?”
That’s a lie Chris. None is the appropriate amount for the NAACP.
I would gladly let go of the Gladney incident and chalk it up to human nature if you and your PC friends could do the same.
Double ick! Libby, the mind reader!
You guys have become addicts! You just can’t stop yourselves. Better start a program, PCAA. These slurs are petty, intolerant, insensitive, and narrow minded. You’ve become classic hall monitors….”Miss Jones, Billy said a bad word!”
The only thing that makes the PC cop feel powerful is his PC construct. Trouble is, anyone with the guts to examine these bigoted, blanket smears will find they are made of silly rules glued together with a magnum of judgement!
BTW…isn’t that in itself against your PC rules? Like maybe the big major one: Thou shalt not judge!
When the guy in the T-shirt starts trying to keep folk from going to the bathroom, drinking from a public fountain, or applying for work somewhere let me know, otherwise close your little PC pie holes and join the conversation.
We have a (half) black man in the WH, a nation filled with successful black businessmen, bankers, investors, actors, sports figures, congress critters, TV personalities, doctors, lawyers, professors, scholars, and middle class working folk. They own homes, cars, jewelry, flat screen tv’s and the like. They have arrived in full measure within our society, shouldn’t we start celebrating that fact?
Are you sure you want to join that crowd that sees racism everywhere? If so I suggest you back off of conservatives and try monitoring a few late night black, Latino, and white stand up comics…you should be able to fill your quota for the week in just an evening. Since most of them agree with you politically, you’ll have a few laughs in a safe environment.
Only time to respond to a few things right now.
Tina, African-Americans suffer higher rates of unemployment, are less educated, have higher crime rates, higher poverty rates, higher teen pregnancy rates, etc. etc. etc.
I think any community in which that is true needs our help. That doesn’t mean they are lesser, unless you are going by a Calvinist moral doctrine which assumes that all people deserve exactly what they get, a worldview that seems to remain in many conservative circles.
I can’t find the quote right now, but Dr. King once said that simple legal equality, without any redistributive measures taken specifically to benefit the black man, would never be enough to bring about true social equality. He used the analogy of an actual race, in which the black man was starting far behind the white man, but was expected to catch up.
“Outrageously? You haven’t been listening to the man. Obama didn’t start this type of government but he does believe in it…just ask him. Spreading the wealth, taking from some to give to others puts central government in charge of man’s affairs. He loves being the man in charge and he loves redistribution of wealth…he wants to decide how my hard earned money will be spent…that is a “slave type” of government…it certainly doesn’t represent freedom! I work and he spends the fruits of my labors.”
Tina, you don’t know it, but you have just argued that Martin Luther King, Jr. supported slavery. He too believed in redistribution of wealth, to a greater degree than anything Obama has advocated.
“You guys have become addicts! You just can’t stop yourselves. Better start a program, PCAA. These slurs are petty, intolerant, insensitive, and narrow minded. You’ve become classic hall monitors….”Miss Jones, Billy said a bad word!””
When Billy has spread a false rumor about Bob that a fifth of the class now believes to be true, I think it’s the duty of those students who know the truth to stand up and say “This is a lie.” I don’t know who “Miss Jones” is in your metaphor; Libby and I haven’t reported you to any higher authority. We’ve talked to you personally about your actions, explained how they are wrong, and asked you to take responsibility for them. You have refused.
I’ll admit that this man’s t-shirt is hardly the worst example of racism I’ve ever seen. It’s not the worst example I’ve seen specifically from the Tea Party either. I wouldn’t go as far as to say he’s “a racist,” because that judges him by his character rather than his actions. However, his shirt does play into a larger narrative which denies American racism as a legitimate problem. This is extremely counter-productive to our society.
As for the Gladney incident, it’s my understanding that it was never established who started that fight. The video certainly doesn’t make it clear. Yet you and others have argued that it is proof of the SEIU being violent against Tea Partiers. Some have taken this further and claimed that they are a modern-day version of Nazis, with Obama as Hitler. This is not based on verifiable fact, but on political preference.
“…suffer higher rates of unemployment, are less educated, have higher crime rates, higher poverty rates, higher teen pregnancy rates, etc. etc. etc. I think any community in which that is true needs our help.” Chris
There isn’t enough money in the world to do what you would like. And there is a big problem. You ((figuratively speaking of people on the left) think there is. You think we can wipe poverty and educate people by throwing money at them and eventually we’ll all be equal.
In reality, by doing wealth redistrubution we simply lower the bar for everyone! Thats not fair but this is what Obama is doing for us right now!
There is no end of worthy causes, they suck up money and resources like a black hole. Better we give people the tools to raise their own standards, tools being freedom, opportunity and a smaller government that doesn’t obstruct creative thought and enterprise.
Jack, that is a perfectly reasonable stance, both morally and politically. I may disagree with parts of it, especially in application, but I don’t find it at all offensive.
What does offend me is when someone like Glenn Beck wraps those principles in the impenetrable cloak of a civil rights hero who advocated the exact opposite. It’s offensive and shameful to pretend that the Civil Rights Movement was the complete opposite of what it actually was. It would be like using Ghandi’s image to promote a pro-Iraq War rally.
It’s OK to disagree with MLK on some things. It’s not OK to then invoke his name in order to justify a cause which he profoundly disagreed with.
Chris: “It’s offensive and shameful to pretend that the Civil Rights Movement was the complete opposite of what it actually was.”
Are you suggesting that the civil rights movement wasn’t about freedom of opportunity and equality under the law? Are you saying that the only thing it was about was exacting retribution and compensation from the “class” (or race) that was the “oppressor”? If so, how many generations must pay the price?
I certainly hope not because that would mean that freedom and civil rights have no meaning.
“It’s not OK to then invoke his name in order to justify a cause…”
What “cause” are you talking about?