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NYC Tax Day Protest Brings Tea-Bagging to City Hall
By
Gothamist Staff
Published Apr 16, 2009
Modified Apr 16, 2009
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By
Gothamist Staff
Published Apr 16, 2009
Modified Apr 16, 2009
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Yesterday was tax day, and, as you no doubt know, "tea parties" were held across the nation to protest the current state of the union, which is going to hell because the Muslim terrorist president wasn't even born in America, as these insightful demonstrators know all too well. Last February, a modest group of New Yorkers held their first tea party at City Hall, but yesterday close to 2,000 tea-baggers (yes, ha) spilled out of the park and onto Broadway, eventually overwhelming the wide street on both sides. Tea bags were in short supply, but there were plenty of signs ("Washington: You have run out of our money!"), derision ("If it were a bunch of Democrats this would be unruly!"), and chanting (ranging from "USA!" to "Abolish the Fed!"), which at times drowned out the speakers .
One protester who declined to give her name told us she'd been fed up for a long time: "I've been working from age 17 to 66, paying taxes and supporting people who won't get off their butts and get a job. All of our money is going towards the poor and illegals." For others, the economic anxiety was a new experience. One young man explained, "Ever since this new administration came in, I feel like my country's been taken away from me. This protest makes me feel like an American."
Newt Gingrich seconded that emotion in his closing remarks, reminding everyone about demonstration's historical affectation: "The [Boston] Tea Party was a symbol and a beginning; it wasn't an end...For the first time, people thought of themselves as Americans." But the crowd, a mix of fiscal and social conservatives, didn't always present a united front. Earlier, as one radio host directly addressed the social conservatives, booing rippled through the audience, and when he elaborated on his pro-life stance, one demonstrator cried, "Separation of church and state, loser!"
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taxes
tea party
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