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Sorry, no pictures.
So last night I had a 7:15 kickball game on the D.C. mall that was, unfortunately, only about 250 yards from tea bagger ground zero. I got there about 6:00 because there was a Caps playoff game and tea bag traffic, so I wanted to get there early.
Things I observed:
1. First, several African-Americans...selling things to tea baggers. I asked one guy selling American flags and don't tread on me flags if he was "with these guys" and he said "hell no, but I'm happy to take their money!" I also asked him if he'd seen any overtly racist signs and he said no, but that he'd gotten a lot of suspicious looks, even from people who were buying flags from him.
2. I'd estimage the crowd size at kick-off time (6:00 PM) was about 2,000 to 3,000. So I'm sure Faux news is reporting ten times that.
3. The crowd was OVERWHELMINGLY white people who appear to be at least 40 years of age. While there were some younger people, I would place the mean age of the crowed at 50. I would guess that less than 2% of the crowd was of a racial group other than caucasian.
4. Very few hand-written signs. There were some, but most were carrying flags. I guess they're learning.
5. Way too much camo clothing.
Things I heard:
1. There was some band on stage (no idea who) playing various patriotic songs. They mostly played "patriotic" music. At one point they played a few bars of the Metallica song "Enter Sandman" which seemed to puzzle the crowd, then they stopped.
2. I walked around the crowed (a full circuit of which took about ten minutes at a lazy pace) and got quite a few suspicious glances (in my lime-neon green kickball shirt). One dude with a bad beard asked me if I was with the "movement" and when I said no, just observing, asked me to leave. I told him I had as much right to be here as he did which drew some muttered word that sounded like "infiltrator."
3. About the time our game started, that washed up old bag from Saturday Night Live took the stage. HOLY FUCK! I'd switch political paties to never hear that fucking voice again. It's like listening to a six year old with a sinus infection who just finished sucking down enough helium to fill a hot air ballon. I was paying more attention to kickball at the time but at one point she did a LONG parody song that had everyone on the field wishing they had brought ear-plugs...even the handful of conservatives on our team.
4. Only one overt threat and that was on the way home on the subway. Two ladies and some dude, all who appeared to be in their 50s and all of whom were wearing American flag outfits made out of denim. I was standing near them on the subway and one of the ladies asked me "Did you go to the rally?" Keep in mind I'm wearing a neon-lime green T-shirt with DC KICKBALL in big, black letters on the front and back (and I'm also pretty hammered). I said I had observed some of it. She then said "wasn't it wonderful?" I said "No, I think all of you are idiots." After a long, shocked pause the guy that was with them puffed up a little and gave the usual "if we were in a dark ally I'd kick your ass, punk." I mentioned that I'd be getting off at Falls Church West and knew of several dark allys in the general vicinity.
He did not take me up on my offer.
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