Tea Party vs. Occupy Idiots

As I watched the ragtag group file in, escorted by police, I remembered a Tea Party rally in front of the state capitol in downtown Atlanta, only a few blocks away. There the police and state troopers were omnipresent amidst a group of suburbanites occupying flag-adorned lawn chairs on the sidewalk and listening to speeches about politically legitimate efforts in overturning health care legislation and enforcing immigration laws. Complaints from the podium were specifically about government actions, like taking over the private company, General Motors.

Back then, amidst the flags and bunting, the police were omnipresent, with prison vehicles at the ready and parked along the streets that were the pathway to the prearranged site. Police were omnipresent as the Pledge of Allegiance was recited. They were quite visible as the National Anthem and America the Beautiful were sung, and as prayers for our country were sent up to heaven.

The police stood around, looking relaxed.

The Tea Partiers never blocked a street, and left quietly down the sidewalks after their allotted time, leaving no traces, picking up trash that may have been dropped inadvertently.

The Tea Party never occupied public land illegally. They assembled peacefully with permits arranged beforehand. Yet the media repeatedly characterized them as “angry,” “extremist,” and “racist.”

The police officers probably welcomed the Tea Party gigs as a respite. In contrast, I can only imagine the indignity of having a punk holding up a camera in your face as you try to protect a hospital from a mob. But the Soros-supported organization, Cop Watch, trains extreme leftists to create or exacerbate conflicts with police and record them in order to make claims of police brutality. These guys seemed to be itching for valuable footage.

But I know what I did see: a mob of lawbreakers impeding those who were trying to save lives. And there was no punishment.