"Right Winging It - Harmon Leon Infiltrates the Bay Area Tea Party Patriots"

In order to understand the opposition, I can’t appear empathetic to the plight of immigrant rights. I’ve infiltrated an anti-immigration protest on International Worker’s Day, May 1. The Bay Area Tea Party Patriots and Golden Gate Minutemen have descended on the steps of City Hall to vocalize what they feel is polluting our country – and they don’t tolerate outsiders. Regardless, my goal is to get a frontline view as these Don Quixotes scream about the brown invasion and a black president who has jolted the hinges of their world.

Tea Party members have been portrayed as elderly racist clowns. These fringe conservatives claim that the liberal-bias media wrongfully paints this iconoclastic portrait. So as a member of the liberal media, I want to get inside the ranks and see if there’s any truth to the reports of racism within the organization – to find out what part of illegal they might not understand.

In this time of economic downturn, these are pissed-off people. They’re taking a microcosm life situation and maximizing it into anger at The System, liberals, and anyone who is different.

A soccer mom comes over next, beaming with pride: “I’m putting the final touches on my sign.” ... She lowers her voice: “Ten years ago I got divorced. I was a single mom. I had to move to Concord and go on food stamps.” She explains how illegal immigrants have it better than she does. Anger resonates in her voice. She talks about being put under house arrest when accused of making false claims on her unemployment benefits. “I got on the phone with this colored gal who told me I filled out the wrong form.” She keeps using the words “colored gal,” putting on a cartoon-y voice to re-create said person.

http://thebolditalic.com/harmonleon/stories/947-right-winging-it

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And this is what happens when progressive populism is not communicated well or acted on enough by elected officials.

This woman should be angry at the wealthiest Americans who have destroyed the jobs, looted the tax base, lobbied to annihilate benefits needed to survive, and have sympathy and common cause with those that are on the bottom of the financial ladder. Poor people going after other poor people is about the best situation the wealthy and corporations can think of which is why they are more than happy to quietly put out racist ideas.