How the Tea Party Taught Me About Diversity. Really.
Talking to me for five minutes will reveal on which side of the political spectrum I stand. I'll probably tell you about how I want Rachel Maddow to be my best friend. Or how I went to the Capital Pride festival on my birthday just for the fun of it. Or why I still like Obama for the most part. In essence, I am the most utterly boring incarnation of hackneyed liberalism to get weekly updates from The Huffington Post.
But the Tea Party movement fascinates me. It's so taboo and misunderstood, especially in a Democratic hub like Washington, D.C. Whenever I mention my interest in the mystifying grassroots movement, I'm usually met with dismissal or confusion. "Oh, you mean those racist people? I hate them." Or like a slightly vacuous girl asked me, "You mean the people who dumped the tea in the river?"
It's the reporter in me. I would bore myself to tears if I only interviewed people who shared my exact values and beliefs. So for my multimedia class final project, I covered youth in the Tea Party, a concept I wasn't even sure existed. It took the campaign of a singing Jewish Tea Party patriot to make me think differently.
I went to the Joel Pollak for Congress rally in Morton Grove, Il with my video camera and a lot of trepidation. After all, this was a rally for the guy who wrote The Ballad of the Tea Party.
I walked up to the welcome booth and introduced myself. "Hi, I'm Julia and I'm a student at Northwestern working on a project about the Tea Party. Would it be okay if I recorded some video and asked some questions?"
"Of course," said the college-age guy behind the booth wearing a kippah. "Would you like to talk to Joel?"
I felt my heart skip a beat. What if he could smell the liberal on me?
He led me to an equally friendly man also wearing a kippah. Mr. Pollak wore comfortable jeans more befitting of someone in a blue collar profession than someone running for Congress. He flashed a kind smile. He didn't look or act like a politician to me. He shook my hand firmly and looked me in the eye when he spoke to me. He took the time to answer all my questions insightfully.
Then I met Jake. The senior intern for Joel Pollak's campaign is a rising freshman at Northwestern who reminded me of how I was just a year ago when I made that huge transition from high school to college. We talked about what to expect from such a liberal environment, and how he felt being Jewish and a Tea Party supporter under the age of 75. He was sweet and funny and proud to not fit the mold of a typical conservative.
I respected him because he was doing what I was never capable of- throwing himself into a situation where he would undoubtedly be judged and ridiculed, but facing the challenges head-on. I crossed out huge portions of the country when applying to colleges because I knew I couldn't handle the discomfort of people not siding with my politics.
I was reminded of my project with the news of the gubernatorial nomination of Nikki Haley from South Carolina. Haley doesn't deserve the flak she's received for being a Republican. She's not self-hating or crazy. She is merely a woman of Indian descent who also happens to be pro-life and have a Concealed Weapons Permit.
Both the Republican and Tea Parties have historically iffy relationships with minorities, but that's not the point. As easy as it is to automatically pigeon-hole people, factors like race, age, religion and sexual orientation aren't always guaranteed indicators of one's political affiliation.
It's become so easy to hide behind the label of liberal and boast superiority in tolerance, but that's not always the case. In college I've befriended the mythical gay Republican and now see assuming all gay people of favoring more government regulation as congruent to assuming all gay men of liking Lady Gaga. I can't even count on my favorite liberal media outlets anymore, as more light is being shed on the sexism prevalent at The Daily Show.
I'm proud to be a liberal in the traditional sense, from my support of marriage equality to my advocation of gun control, but being open-minded has nothing to do with it. That's something no political ideology can truly claim.
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Comments
There are no "guarantees" when judging people's political affiliations, but that doesn't mean that an unbiased analysis of the basic tenets of an organization aren't valid.
For example, I know several staunch members of the Log Cabin Republicans. They are good, caring, people. However, they are members of the Republican Party who's the basic tenets are inherently homophobic and sexist (i.e. the platform of the RP contains a plank that a marriage MUST be between a man and a woman.)
The same can be said of the Tea Party Movement. I am sure that there are MANY members who are good hearted, caring individuals. But the organization it self espouses ideals that can be construed as nothing short of racist, sexist and homophobic hate.
The Fundie xians are fond of saying that hating the sin doesn't mean that they hate the sinner. It's bullshit when they say it and it's bullshit when a member of an organization says it, regardless of how they might spin their own personal beliefs.
Guilt by association remains a valid concept, because it is true.
There is nothing to learn for the "Tea Party" that hasn't been learned previousy from the John Birch Sociert and the Ku Klux Klan.
"Open-minded" is turning yourself into a fucking doormat!
Values and organizations are not synonymous. It is perfectly fine for an individual to be liberal and believe in many conservative principles (just described myself, BTW) or for a person to believe in social justice and be a conservative. However, when your values erroneously guide you to an organization that DOES espouse racism, bigotry and/or homophobia, you either need to separate yourself from it or admit that you ARE in fact guilty by association. Honor and justice don't shouldn't allow you to accept otherwise.
Isn't it funny how all these "open" people just threw you under the bus because you saw something in yourself and someone else that doesn't fit neatly into their "closed" view of a large percentage of the rest of the country.
You just keep looking a people with a truly open mind and eye and you will make it far with you graduate. While most here will not agree that Fox News is "fair and balanced" and MSNBC is, ask yourself why the ratings are so very, very lopsided.
What chuckle-headed idiot thinks that MSNBC is fair and balanced? I find myself in agreement with much of what their commentators may say, but would need to laugh in the face of anyone who suggested that MSNBC was anything like a news organization let alone fair or balanced.
I've lived through Nixon, Reagan, and both Bushes, as well as seen enough years of Republican controlled Congress to come to some basic, undeniable conclusions about that party, and anyone who supports it, none of which is flattering or even acceptable in what purports to be a civilized society.
It's one thing to have an opinion, it's entirely another to be a member of the Republican party. Anyone with any honesty or integrity left a long time ago. How many "chances" do you give a crazy person before you give up? I reached my limit decades ago with the Republicans.
Perhaps it is mostly the loud members of such organizations as the Tea Party who make it look so bad, but like many have said, the ideals of the organization are what get it in trouble with liberals, and if one is to associate with that organization, then logic follows that they believe in the ideals, or at least in some of them, or they wouldn't be a member. If they don't believe in any of the ideals, then why would they be there?
While I know that there are liberals who may not be the nicest people out there, the ideals of liberals as a whole are what I am for... so therefore, I'm a liberal. I don't agree with the ideals of conservatives as a whole, and therefore, I'm not a conservative.... even though I know there are some terrific conservative people out there.
My mom's side of the family is Republican... that is, most of them are. My dad's side Democrat. I know the ideals of Republicans, because of several members of my family grasping onto them (as well as my ex-husband). Do I hate them for it? Of course not. Do I still hang out with them and enjoy my time with them? Of course I do. But, I disagree with their ideals, because I see them as completely selfish and controlling, and if legislation is passed based on those ideals, it will significantly interfere with millions of people's lives.
Wow. Just - wow.
I'm tired of hearing that the tea party includes "smart people" some of whom have "good ideas". There's been no evidence of that. Anywere. Even on Fox News, which spawned the thing. If even they can't find a coherent person attending a tea party (oh excuse me "9/12") rally, it's a safe bet there aren't any.
Your article lacks clarity in several places as well:
"We talked about what to expect from such a liberal environment" -- that suburb, Morton Grove? or Chicago as a whole? The Chicago suburbs are known for being conservative.
"Haley doesn't deserve the flak she's received for being a Republican." -- Who's flak? What flak?
"Both the Republican and Tea Parties have historically iffy relationships with minorities, but that's not the point." --but this is a salient point to many of your readers. What do the Tea Partiers you talked to think of race relations? Why do they suppose their gatherings are overwhelmingly white? Did you ask these questions?
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/376/Wrong-Side-of-History
Here's some tough truth- Politics is not reality, for reality you have to truly know history and follow how the free markets respond to events- those are the tools that are used by the "elites"- no, not the snobby liberal intellectuals who were persecuted in school by right wing stupid imbeciles and now hate their insipid existence, but by the real elites, the ones that put their money where their mouth isnt and will never be- gentlemen (mostly men they are) don't tell!
So, your Tea Party friends march to infinite fantasy drummers, lets look at 2 which meet the previous descriptions-
1- This type of "conservative" came to power using the Southern Strategy. I strongly urge you to learn all you can about it. You will see that true history is that the awful liberals insisted on giving minorities rights, and this is what a Republic, not a democracy, is for, and after a southern prez, LBJ, did the right thing for humanity he said, paraphrasing, "We've lost the South for a generation or more ..."
2. The Free Market- your Tea Party friends are amateurs, non-sophisticates, uneducated and extremely credulous. This makes them imbeciles. You will find not one, NOT ONE! economist tasked with keeping the global markets running who subscribes to their views. Not one! This is because their "views" on the stimulus, etc. are not views at all, rather they represent institutional racism directed at a bi-racial president. The leaders who actually lead are meeting right now to discuss the global economy with the prez, not one, NOT ONE, of them is proposing any of the Tea Party's so called views, because not one, NOT ONE! of them is legitimate.
Follow the money and you find the truth.
Check this out:
- from Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs:
"Joel Pollak, the Republican nominee for US Congress in the 9th district of Illinois. He is challenging J(jihad) Street supporter Rep. Jan Schakowsky in the most corrupt city in the union - Chicago, a sewer of corruption. Obamaland: Chicago Is a 'Dark Pool Of Political Corruption'
"Contribute to Pollak. Support Pollak. Get out the vote for Pollak. Eradicate the crooks and scoundrels who have infiltrated and destroyed our system from within."
I think you may have two different posts in mind. One about viewing, finding, being surprised by, um, diversity (I guess because of a college-age student and a friendly politician); and another about how Tea Party People really aren't racists and xenophones. I don't see you proving the latter.
Otherwise, THANKS for writing. I don't mean to be rude, but I have great expectations for anything remotely touting itself as journalism.
And I have great loathing [bullshit meter set on "High"] for anything overtly or covertly bigoted, racist, sexist, and about any other 'ist' you can conjure.
Writing with your eyes and mind and heart open is firmly in the progressive, compassionate tradition. I would quibble with you about some details, but the fact of this post gives us all the opportunity.
How could it be simpler? Being fierce with our thinking and critical of ideas, and how leaders behave, is all well and good. But when we go to hate against a whole group -- "MoveOn leftists are are all hateful because of that Petraus Ad", "Tea Party supporters are all hateful because of the vapidity of their policy ideas" -- we lost track of ordinary, more moderate multitudes.
I find almost nothing worth supporting in anything the Tea Part presents and support. Like pseudo-scientists they are "not even wrong"; that is, they fail to rise to the level of arguable, falsifiable premises.
But I completely understand the value of what you do here. Ultras of both wings are the enemies of deliberative democracy, because they want to shut down deliberation.
Well done, Julia. Most of us get it, and there is nothing faux about your identification with the "foes". You tilt toward humanity, which is profoundly progressive.
"A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave."
--Mohandas Gandhi
Nobody is saying that Julia can't voice her opinion over this topic. And, it doesn't mean that people have to agree with her, either. You're making everyone who disagrees with her out to be evil, by your comments. People have a right to debate what someone posts, even if it is an opinion. No one is attacking Julia personally. Rather, they are debating the topic of the Tea Party and its ideals and actions. If she isn't open to debate, then she shouldn't have posted the article. If you are offended by debate, then perhaps you shouldn't read articles that allow comments to be posted under them.
As I said, no one is attacking Julia personally. People are pointing out that they understand what she's saying... that there are some people in such movements as the Tea Party who may not be evil and act out like the loud members of the group do. They see that there are people who don't fit the "typical" characteristics of what a conservative/Republican person is labeled with. But, what they are trying to point out that is just by aligning oneself with a movement such as the Tea Party, it makes them guilty by association of believing in all or a good portion of that movement's ideals. So, that is significant in that it can bring a different perspective to the topic. Yes, there are some Tea Party members who may not be evil and who don't fit the bill of what a typical conservative/Republican is... but they are aligning themselves with the Tea Party... therefore, they are aligning themselves with some or all of that org's ideals.
They hate them because they don't allow them to marry--like people do. They hate them because they force gay couples to live in exile if one of them is a foreigner. They hate them because they do not allow them to raise children. They hate them because they call their gay-bashing platform "pro-family." And yes-- any Democrat who subscribes to any of the planks of the anti-gay platform hates gay people as well. This means that Barack Obama hates gay people.
All of those anti-gay measures have the effect of dehumanizing gay people. If you do not consider a person equal, or sub-human, then you hate them.
Am I dehumanizing people who subscribe to the anti-gay platform? No. I recognize that Republicans are people; they're just hateful people. Hating is a very human trait.
It wasn't until the projected deficit was quadrupled under the Obama administration that people began to express a bit more concern. A lot more concern. There was a WaPo bar-chart comparison - I linked to it a good few pages back on my blog-page, and you should be able to find it through google-search. A lot of early Tea-Partiers cited that as something which got their attention.
I am going to jump in because I have not heard anyone make this point.
The Teabagger movement is Not a grassroots movement.
It is a movement Organized by monyed interests of the worst part of the Republican party. Organized by Dick Army and Freedom Works and supported by racists politicians like Steve King and Tom Delay. People who should be in jail, for crimes against the people of these United States. The Teabagger movement is in response to a half black democratic president being elected by a majority vote this time.
Honestly I don't know what they are so upset about Obama has continued all of Bush's worst policies, Many most he campaigned against to get people like me to vote for him.
--Tea Party supporters were 89% white and 1% black, compared to 77% and 12% of all respondents, respectively.
--18% or about 1 in 5 Americans consider themselves Tea Party supporters.
--90% of Tea Party supporters think the country is headed in the wrong direction.
--Tea Party supporters tend to be Republican, white, male, married and older than age 45.
--54% of Tea Party supporters have a “favorable opinion” of the Republican party compared to 38% of the general public.
--6% of Tea Party supporters have a favorable opinion of the Democratic party compared to 42% of the general public.
--30% think President Obama was born outside the United States compared to 20% of the general public.
--More than half (52%) told the pollsters they think their own "income taxes this year are fair."
--25% think that the administration favors blacks over whites — compared with 11% of the general public.
--7% approve of how President Obama is doing his job compared to 50% of the general public.
--92% feel that President Obama's policies are moving the US towards "socialism", compared to 52% for the general public
In surveying only those who had participated in Tea Party activities (with a sampling error of +/- 9%), the CNN poll found that:
* 80% were white, compared to 71% of all respondents
* 60% were men, compared to 50% of all respondents
* 40% were college graduates, compared to 28% of all respondents
* 4% described themselves as Democrat, compared to 32% of all respondents.
A Quinnipiac University poll of 1,907 adult Americans conducted in March 2010, found that of those who identified themselves as part of the Tea Party movement:
* 88% were white
* 55% were women
* 77% voted for 2008 GOP presidential candidate John McCain
* 74% identified themselves as Republicans or independents who lean Republican
* 16% said they are Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents
* 60% have a favorable impression of the Republican Party
* 82% have an unfavorable opinion of the Democratic Party
A study conducted from the University of Washington suggests that Tea Party movement supporters were more likely to be "racially resentful" than the population as a whole within the states surveyed.[106] Of white poll respondents who strongly approve of the Tea Party, 35% believe that blacks are hardworking, compared to 55% of those strongly opposed to the Tea Party, and 40% of all respondents.
There seems to be at least one strong common theme here... MOST Tea Party supporters are WHITE.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://sarahpalintruthsquad.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/birthers-forgot-racism.png&imgrefurl=http://sarahpalintruthsquad.wordpress.com/2010/03/03/tea-party-hysteria-rooted-in-racism/&usg=__zdnKFn_xe6VFT9_RZwatKFnWI_M=&h=312&w=400&sz=246&hl=en&start=101&sig2=5jCYTwYtJoKH-S0ChVlqHg&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=u8wWjkYAsyhZaM:&tbnh=97&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtea%2Bparty%2Bmovement%26start%3D100%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26ndsp%3D20%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=sWQlTKf2FMWOjAfDvqRp
Trust me the conservatives I know still want a tunnel vision world.
Here in the Bible Belt (not to flame anyone) in North Texas, I see plenty of conservative hypocrites including the governor himself.
There are plenty KKK clans still alive and well here also.
Perhaps you should see some of the film footage on racial segregation from the 60's. It was not that long ago. Homophobic hate crimes are not uncommon here. Be open minded to the fact that not all conservatives are like the ones you interviewed.
Religion ruled the Middle Ages, something conservatives tend to forget. Good Luck with your Journalism.
Susan May
"automatically pigeon-hole people"
I don't know about others but this kind of tactics is the only tactic I see from the tea party.
Jerks, basically.
I'm well aware it is far more complex than that, but in terms of my personal experiences I would have to call it a vile and hateful movement by and large.
The fervor that the more liberal of us as a group can't seem to channel anymore is there in abundance from these poor schmucks!
Why should you expect these poor mushroom-people (their leaders keep them in the dark and feed them bull-shit) to automatically know anything?
WE haven't been telling them, so how could they? If they could figure things out for themselves they wouldn't say ditto like it was clever!
The Tea-Patsies may be falling for anything but at least they are trying to stand! Are you/we?
(R)ated for understanding beyond the call of a sorority!
You & my daughter would get along famously.
"bore myself to tears if I only interviewed people who shared my exact values and beliefs".
I just wrote an almost diametrically opposed piece on the same subject. Interestingly, I still like your take.
Rated for diversity!
the majority of the country is conservative, we are a center right country and heading back in that direction. thank God. america will not tolerate being pushed in the socialist direction.
I think the extreme amount of intolerance directed toward the 'tea parties' (or even just 'intolerance in general') is not ever helpful. That is particularly true once one realizes that we are the product of our environment, and if the cards were dealt differently (different parents, education, etc.) the WE would be tea partiers, or militant terrorists, or whatever.
So I think your post gets to the heart of the matter. Live out your own value system to the best of your ability and try to be tolerant of others, maybe even keeping in mind that hateful arguments never win people over to your side.
Highly rated.
You know what you saw. Are you such a bad judge of people that you were fooled by them? So while people here want you to look down on the Tea Party movement tell me who the haters are. Let's look at some of the things people called those you talked to, without ever meeting them. BTW, some are directed at you.
racist, sexist and homophobic hate
And the out-right hated toward homosexuals in the Texas GOP's platform?
Republicans hate gay people. It's in their platform
women as second class citizens
There is nothing to learn for the "Tea Party" that hasn't been learned previousy from the John Birch Sociert and the Ku Klux Klan.
"Open-minded" is turning yourself into a fucking doormat!
...an organization that DOES espouse racism, bigotry and/or homophobia, ...
I'm tired of hearing that the tea party includes "smart people" some of whom have "good ideas". There's been no evidence of that. Anywere.
So, your Tea Party friends march to infinite fantasy drummers,
your Tea Party friends are amateurs, non-sophisticates, uneducated and extremely credulous. This makes them imbeciles.
So you come here and you posted a great piece based on what you saw. I didn't see it. The people here didn't see it. You were attacked because you saw something that "they" didn't like. It goes against what they "believe" to be true.
So tell me please, who are you going to believe, the people who made the above comments or your own lying eyes?
And the country isn't majority right wing. That was very apparent during the last presidential election. There are more people in urban areas than in rural areas, and most urban places are liberal. There are a lot more ignorant people in rural areas. I know, because I've lived in both rural American and urban America.
"Republicans hate gay people. It's in their platform"
And I'm stickin' to it. (see my post near the middle) And for the record, I've met a lot of Republicans, so I did not make that comment lightly, or as you say, "without ever meeting them."
I also stick by my critique of Julia's numerous journalistic errors. These critiques are relevant because she's a journalism student.
I'm still convinced that the majority of the people are racist, whether they want to admit it or not. Not many people like being called a bigot, but it doesn't mean they aren't bigots. A gal I know who I went to high school with makes racist comments all the time but claims up and down she's not racist. It's really hard to deny it when your thoughts, comments, and actions are racist. Perhaps there are a lot of people in the movement who aren't, but my view, from what I've seen, is that the majority is racist. The fact that 80%-90% are white supports my hypothesis.
You are doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing as a college student. You are not accepting the words of your elders just because they're your elders, you're investigating for yourself what certain things are, what they mean, etc. I didn't take this piece to be "I became a Tea party member today." I took it to be, "I had some notions that as a bi-racial woman, I would walk into a tea party meeting and be asked to leave. Since that didn't happen, I had to ask myself if some of my other assumptions were wrong." I would love to see the article that comes out of this, because I'm sure that in it will also be the reaction of many people to what you've written. I cannot believe that people are frightened to have you talk to teabaggers. Yeah. I think they're a bunch of racist, homophobic assholes, too, but I also believe in dialogue. And while it would test my patience, I would at least attempt to talk to these people, to try to find out why they believe what they believe and whether they are open to discussion. How difficult is it to say "I could be wrong?" I learn something new every day. Doesn't mean I'm going to suddenly join the KKK. But it does mean I'm reminded that, even though I vehemently disagree with these folks, they are human, and if we are ever to get along on this planet, we have an obligation to try to understand why our fellow humans believe like they do. Maybe we can't change their minds. I'm strong enough in my beliefs to believe that there are very few that will be changed by having contact with a conservative. But talking to the choir gets boring. If we truly believe in diversity, then we have to talk to folks with diverse opinions, even if we think those opinions are way off base. What harm does it do to us to listen to them for 15 minutes?
You have done nothing wrong. Keep learning. Keep working at your craft. You're training to be a journalist, and I like that you have already decided that sometimes, that means you have to talk to people who you don't agree with.
Long and short of it is, your political ideas are not all that make you or define you. I have met really fine people who occasionally spout leftist or rightist garbage that makes me cringe. I realize they lack critical thinking in that area. That doesn't make them always wrong or always bad. There is separating fact from opinion from belief in argument, which isn't done well at OS or Salon either.
I sincerely hope you didn't think I was bashing you for talking and, god forbid, actually listening to people who's views are different than mine. As FLW said, that's what you are suppose to do as a journalism student. So kudos for venturing into their midst.
Please also understand though, where my and many other people's passion comes from - this is our lives we are discussing. It is "us" that can't get married or visit our spouses in the hospital and it is "us" who NEED the benefits of things like health care to protect our loved ones. We are surrounded by hate and apathy and we are frustrated.
Please don't take our frustration over groups like the Tea Party personally. I'm pretty sure that I'm speaking for everyone here that we are not questioning your journalistic integrity.
Please also keep writing. I really like the way you present things.
While I think FLW is a nutjob for thinking that I'm a racist, homophobic asshole her latest message is correct in it's point.
Kind of like me hanging out here. You went to a place where I'm guessing you figured you would not fit in or like it. When you got there you talked to people and wrote a straight forward piece here. What you didn't do was spin it to the point I became dizzy.
IMHO, you did what a good reporter does. You went, you saw, and you reported what you found. I think to many reporters, not commentators, go, see what they want to see, and report findings that were colored by their beliefs and emotions prior to getting there.
If you would care to send me a link to the finished piece, I would love to read it.
If I may, I think you are using a very big brush to cover way to much ground in your last comment. Just because we see somethings differently doesn't mean I hate something. It just means we disagree on one point or another. There is no hate to it.
While the subject sounds minor, and it is, I went to dinner with my ex-wife a few weeks ago. Without thinking I ordered meat rare. I forgot, we have been divorced since '89. Anyway, ordering went like this, she ordered. I ordered. She gagged. I changed my order.
There was no hate, just a very, very big disagreement. I believe she would starve to death before eating rare meat. It's that big of a deal.
So be careful. Disagreement does not equal hate until it gets to the extreme. We disagree, some, but I don't hate you so why should you hate me?
By posting this piece here, you proved you are capable of exactly that.
I commend your attempts to find the reality among those who consider themselves part of the Tea Party movement. It doesn't matter whether your assessments were right or wrong; what matters is your willingness to look, listen and learn.
In reading the comments here, like another poster, I found more rigidity, stubbornness and hate than I've seen from Tea Partiers. The people here are simply regurgitating the talking points fed them by the media and blogs like OS. I could be wrong, but I doubt they took the time to go out there during a rally and simply meet and talk to these people.
YOU did. You're the better for it, whatever your conclusions.
Your understanding is incorrect. According to numerous polls concerning the demographics of the "Tea Party," it is predominantly white, middle-class, male, and Republican. Nothing "homogeneous" about it.
But as for my journalism, I don't appreciate my actions being questioned.
Then act like a journalist. Don't substitute your opinion for facts, as you did in the statement I pulled above. Your feelings don't matter when you're covering a story - and a good journalist doesn't even let those show in the course of writing.
No, what you've offered is an opinion piece disguised as resporting. Opinion writing is of course part of the broader practice of "journalism," but is not "reporting."
"I opened myself up to a lot of new ideas without necessarily believing them, and I don't see anything wrong with that."
Only doing it uncritically - it's hard to judge whether you did that in your project, since it isn't presented here. But in this piece, you do indeed provide and promote an uncritical view of the Tea Party. Your piece, in fact, very much resembles the puff-pieces that appear in right-leaning media, where they pick the most inoffensive, centrist person they can find at a Tea Party and pretend that person is "representative." (You even did them one better, in fact: you found someone Jewish and ostensibly liberal, a hat-trick which suggests to more than one person you have an agenda.) I'll take your word for it that you don't have an agenda, but you ought to know why you've received this reaction. That is, if you are interested in being a better journalist.
You should know also, Julia, that we are not criticizing your work in a vacuum. I think I speak for every liberal here when I say that we were pretty scarred in the slow-motion trainwreck that was the buildup of the Iraq War. The media's behavior back then was abhorrent, and it has remained largely unchanged. The NYT apologized for it's timid behavior, but to my knowledge no other news agency has. The line of work you want to get into is largely irresponsible, cutthroat, profit- and access-driven. In other words, if you want to be a responsible reporter, you have to do more than follow their rules. You have to know when to break them-- when to be independent. This piece does not indicate to us that you are capable of being independent. Your feelings and impressions upon meeting your subjects --"I felt my heart skip a beat. What if he could smell the liberal on me?", "He didn't look or act like a politician to me.", "[the aide] reminded me of how I was just a year ago"-- are troubling statements. The "smell the liberal" quote betrays a reluctance to rock the boat. The "didn't look like a pol" quote is naive. Of course he doesn't. He's a good pol. Finally, the quote about the aide is just wrong. Never identify with your subject.
One more thing. Don't be more combative with your readers than you are with your subjects. These are politicians. They determine when people live or die.
You need to learn to report things every bit as objectively as Limbaugh, Beck and Hannity... They appear to be some people's gold standard of excellence. :eye roll:
Now I know you are an excellent student, so this should be easy for you... Repeat after me:
"Kindly get off my freak'in back, you bunch of self serving, opinionated, dick weasels!"
(if you are polite as your mom, you may say an optional "thank you" at the end )
WTF is right, dude. What I'm referring to are comments like:
""Open-minded" is turning yourself into a fucking doormat!"
"Elisa, Julia does, in fact, endorse the Tea Party because this is a puff piece. Puff pieces are implicit endorsements. This is unfortunately how modern journalism works. Amirite, Julia?"
"I learned nothing from this post. Good luck in college. Your analogies are ridiculous and your worldview is as deep as a mud puddle. Who edits these posts and picks them anyway?"
"Your piece, in fact, very much resembles the puff-pieces that appear in right-leaning media, where they pick the most inoffensive, centrist person they can find at a Tea Party and pretend that person is "representative." (You even did them one better, in fact: you found someone Jewish and ostensibly liberal, a hat-trick which suggests to more than one person you have an agenda.) "
Want to offer CONSTRUCTIVE criticism of her writing style, her subject or her conclusions? Cool. I'm there (and as I stated about I take exception with a few of them).
But what we don't need to do is start slamming her personally. God knows there are enough people around here (probably myself included) that deserve it a hell of a lot more. This young lady is not one of them, in my opinion.
I'd suggest that you read some of her other posts and you'll see what I'm talking about.
It was a Sunday afternoon, and families were sitting on their patios or in their dining rooms, have dinner and the air was filled with laughter. And the Lord said, “It is good.”
It was a Sunday afternoon, and over in the blogosphere, some people were pounding at their keyboards, angrily attacking a college student who had the temerity to see the humanity in people who disagreed with her. And the Lord said, “What the hell’s the problem with these jackasses? Oh, right, I forgot to give them lives. Oops, my bad.”
Checked back in and I hope you take the time to read this. This is how American History in this vein goes, and as a student I hope you study FACTS, not apologist drivel:
Slavery-Civil War-White League(learn who they were/are!)- KKK-Jim Crow-John Birch-Southern Strategy- TEA PARTY!
This is History, undeniable- I challenge anyone to challenge any of it. As a student you ought to learn FACTS- the rw's on os are an apologist lot- and they have a lot to apologize for- they hate gays- hate em! They hate mexicans (Arizona- whites living in an Aztec State!- f'ing hilarious, can you say hypocrisy?) and, they back it all up with the backwards ass, completely disproven DARK AGES religious "views"- bwahahahaha- Google Codex Sinaiticus or just read the news this week on the FIRST images of St. Peter- 4th Century! 4 centuries after Christ- again, it would be hilarious if it wasn't the legacy of jew killers, homophobes, child predators and so much more terrible horrible Hater stuff!
Now, you can feel good about yourself by listening to the silly apologists here who feel the "right" to claim absurd, hater ideas which completely goes against the idea of a Salon in the first place, but, instead, I suggest you, at your age, visit the truth, from the source, right here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOEhAsxIx7U&feature
Any deniers left after viewing the FACTS?
Just like gay Republicans are hard to find, you must be the reasonable liberal.
On a personal note, I recommend you avoid any party affiliation. Being an Independent is far more flexible.
R F
"Your understanding is incorrect. According to numerous polls concerning the demographics of the "Tea Party," it is predominantly white, middle-class, male, and Republican. Nothing "homogeneous" about it."
Ignorance rules. By your own definition, hHomogeneous is EXACTLY what it is. Learn before leaping: "Homogeneous" Of a same or similiar nature.
Julia Anne, your critics here are progressive, liberal running dogs. I daresay they've done little ground level investigating. They're knee jerk, pajama wearing, blog jockeys who write from their sad safe bedrooms, reading and watching those in their own tent, ridiculing those in other tents.
Take pride in your venture into the real world. It is the first step to understanding. You may come to wrong conclusions, but you're out there looking and listening, which is more that the critical yahoos here have done.
They remind me of the reporters in Iraq who stay in their hotels and report about the action in the field, of which they know dipshit.
OS is yet another example of liberalism as a structural disease. Uncurable and worthy of discarding. Trust YOURSELF.
"the libs fool them selves into believing that it is all repubs"
Also, as I already stated, 80%-90% of Tea Partiers are white, and the majority is Republicans.
The bark fits. Wear it.
"liberal running dogs", "knee jerk, pajama wearing, blog jockeys", "totalitarian nature of the liberals", "nanny-sucking agenda"... Seriously????? Muahahahahahaha!
Sorry, Julia Anne, I tried to be nice, but this dude is a freak'in buffoon!
You don't know how to be nice. Besides, a response that simply cherry picks words from another post suggests a mind with very little to say, with few ideas to express and a sad existence there in the middle of Iowa.
Sigh.