My Apology to the Tea Party
Many of you will recall that several Tea Party members attended the September 20th City Council meeting to oppose the idea of a ban on single-use plastic bags. Subsequently, quite a few Tea Party members contacted me and chastised me for using the term "teabaggers," which they regard as derisive.
I did not recall using this term, and in fact I referred most of them to my blog on the plastic bag issue, in which I did use the term "Tea Party activists" but not the term "teabaggers". However, I stand corrected. As the video of meeting shows, I did use the term "teabaggers" in noting that we would welcome any further late testimony on the topic. (One Tea Party member had shown up after public comment because we had moved the item up.)
I did use the term in a kind of a flip way (pairing it with a reference to "tree-huggers"), which
I actually hope shows that I did not mean it derisively. That's no excuse for using a term that the Tea Party dislikes, however. I was unaware that Tea Party members dislike the term and did not know that it has a sexual connotation that the Tea Party, understandably, finds offensive.
I am sorry that I used this term in public and I certainly won't use it again. Thanks for understanding.
so let me get this straight, the mayor understands that the Tea Party members dislike the term "Tea Baggers" and find its sexual connotation offensive but he doesn't? That's a half-ass appology if I ever saw one.
ReplyDeletenot necessarily sexual...our boys "teabag" their slain foes in various war video games as a sign of dishonor and disrespect... really shocking if you think about it...
ReplyDeleteI find it very reveiling when elected officials are so quick to join the lefist hypocritical swarmmy 'band-wagon' in their easy public use of the perjoritive word, 'tea baggers' so confidently. Now they have to eat 'crow' apologise to all around them for diplaying their own stupidty. We tea party people were so 'ahead' of the weak politicans learning curve on all issues and we are coming for their badly done jobs in next time elections.
ReplyDeleteEver notice that the same left wing nuts that get all a twitter over gay rights then hurl gay or sexual prejorgatives such as “tea bagging” to disparage anyone they disagree with? It shows a sure lack of counter ideas, aversion to listening to ideas different than their own and a likewise ability to talk with a sack in their mouth.
Considering most of the good people at these protests have no idea what "tea bagging" really means, the left can take pride in contributing to yet another rude, insulting, word into the American lexicon. That's their idea of "education" and I'm sure they all must be so proud. Urbandictionary.com, offers a number of colorful definitions for the term "tea bagging." if you are not experienced with the left wingers personal habits and sexual insults. Amazing how many lefties are intimately familiar with the term.
Of course the Star allows the vulgar insults to be posted when it is flung against decent people protesting at the Tea Parties. How perverted and deviant does a comment have to be for the Star to remove it? CNN’s commenter Anderson Cooper eventually apologized for these same type of smug derogatory oral sex “tea bagging” insults against the Tea Party Protesters. Most mainstream media have also ceased with this type of sleazy attack.
When is the Star going to show some basic decency and remove these same type of off base "tea bagging" insults?
Or maybe the Star staff doesn’t consider “tea bagging” vulgar or insulting but instead enjoys the practice as part of their regular routine? Maybe they should do an in depth story on the practice if they are no problems with the phrase.
Thank you, Mayor. I, for one, appreciate your apology.
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