Is Violence from the Right the Fear?

[JackC]

For a year now, the tea baggers have been holding "protests" against the healthcare bill, and other Obama policies. Despite how worked up and angry they are, as far as I know, there has never been any violence at any of these tea bag protests.

On the other hand, Arizona just passed a tough new law against illegal immigrants. Immediately, a protest there got violent.

http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/im ... iot_042310

No, it wasn't as bad as when the lefty/anti-globalization folks get together to have their "fun", but some cops still had bottles thrown at them.

So why is there all this concern about violence from the tea baggers??

[Ralph]

I haven't heard about any such concern. I have seen instances of the tea baggers preventing speakers who disagreed with them from being able to speak but even that is occasional.

[JackC]

I haven't heard about any such concern. I have seen instances of the tea baggers preventing speakers who disagreed with them from being able to speak but even that is occasional.

I have heard that concern expressed, and often.

[jbuck919]

It's not any real violence that people (meaning me) are afraid of. It is the real and potential political influence of the private-militia-mentality types who are insufficiently marginalized to be shrugged off or ignored by elements of what in the US is part of mainstream politics. They are not the whole Tea Party, but the point is that they are a visible part of a party that gets serious attention.

[JackC]

It's not any real violence that people (meaning me) are afraid of. It is the real and potential political influence of the private-militia-mentality types who are insufficiently marginalized to be shrugged off or ignored by elements of what in the US is part of mainstream politics. They are not the whole Tea Party, but the point is that they are a visible part of a party that gets serious attention.

I'm just not sure I'm going to lose any sleep over what you call -- "the real and potential political influence of the private-militia-mentality types who are insufficiently marginalized to be shrugged off or ignored by elements of what in the US is part of mainstream politics" - whatever that is.

I thought people were talking about violence - at least that's what I kept reading about, and what lots of Dems in Congress said I should be worried about.