Trip Allen Seattle WA tea party pics

Here are photos from yesterdays Tea Party at Seattle's Westlake

Square from 5:45-7:45pm.

 

Seattle Times reported the turnout between 1,000-2,000. I'm a veteran

of many demonstrations over the years and several times I did counts

and determined they pulled about 600-700, and that's being generous.

Another 100-200 that milled about the perimeter were onlookers, quiet

counter-protest sign holders, and other citizen reporters/observers.

 

Each photo has a description content below it:

 

Westlake Square Tea Party - downtown Seattle - Wednesday, April 15,

5:45pm.

 

Seattle Tea Party. Messages were a mixed bag.

 

Seattle Tea Party. Mixed messages and one about putting a letter in

the mail bag.

 

Seattle Tea Party. This sign depicts the contradiction of the event.

Speakers would go on and on about the Tea Party attracting a diverse

crowd of conservatives, liberals, Republicans, Democrats,

Libertarians, et al. And, in the same breath, slam any and all

Democratic leaders as the scapegoats for all of our financial woes --

those woes primarily bitched about being, taxes.

 

Seattle Tea Party. Stirring up fear with anti-immigration ballot

initiative.

 

Seattle Tea Party. Spread the Glenn Beck love.

 

Seattle Tea Party. Spread the bitterness.

 

Seattle Tea Party. Two side to this mans fears.

 

Seattle Tea Party. Okay...

 

Seattle Tea Party. Fear and hate, stirred with pitchforks. I almost

took a pitchfork (nowhere near and sharp-tined) to an AIG protest

weeks ago and decided it would likely be confiscated by the police as

a potential weapon. During anti-war protests in Seattle, they took

any stick larger than a lathe away from people. In New York, at the

Republican National Convention protests, no wood sticks were allowed

at all. Signs had to be attached to wrapping paper tubes. Police

thought the cardboard tubes were less threatening. I told several

police that many of the tubes had 3/4" steel rebar inside of them for

our protection in case of a police riot. I made it up, but it sure

made them re-think the stupidity of their demands on the protesters.

Evidently pitchforks are okay at a right-wing Tea Party.

 

Seattle Tea Party. Right-wing activist and event organizer, Keli

Carender, dressed and "Miss Liberty". To her left is the first

speaker, for-profit right-wing political activist and ballot

initiative bomb thrower Tim Eyman. The message was entirely about

taxes, taxes, taxes, and aimed to whip up support of his latest

ballot initiative.

 

Seattle Tea Party. Counter protesters quietly hanging out on the

perimeter basking in the irony of the event.

 

Seattle Tea Party. Counter protestor. There's facts in that there irony.

 

Seattle Tea Party. Must have to be a Socialist to even know what

irony means.

Done