Tea bagging hypocrites

I know I said earlier today, in the post about the recent Chomsky speech, that we’d be doing ourselves a disservice if we just looked at the Tea Party folks with derision, mocking them for being stupid, and lashing out at them individually. I believe that, and I think it’s a costly diversion. I think, instead of reacting with outrage on a case by case basis, we should be looking at the big picture, and working proactively to offer an alternative to the easy answers of Glenn Beck. But, with all of that said, sometimes I can’t resist a little finger pointing and righteous indignation. Case in point – check out this clip from Boston Globe:

…Early yesterday morning, Valerie and Rob Shirk corralled their 10 home-schooled children into their van for the 2 1/2-hour drive from their home in Connecticut to Boston, arriving just in time to hear Sarah Palin denounce government-run health care at the tea party movement rally on Boston Common.

They thought it would be a learning opportunity for their children, who range in age from 9 months to 15 years old and who held up signs criticizing the government for defying the “will of the people.’’

“The problem in this country is that too many people are looking for handouts,’’ said Valerie Shirk, 43, of Prospect, Conn. “I agree with the signs that say, ‘Share my father’s work ethic — not his paycheck.’ We have to do something about the whole welfare mentality in this country’’…

The couple, who rely on Medicaid for their health care, were also upset about the nation’s new health reforms.

When asked why her family used state-subsidized health care when she criticized people who take handouts, Valerie Shirk said she did not want to stop having children, and that her husband’s income was not enough to cover the family with private insurance.

“I know there’s a dichotomy because of what we get from the state,’’ she said. “But I just look at each of my children as a blessing.’’

How can you read something like that and not get distracted from the big picture? Right now, all I can feel is anger. I want drive to Connecticut and tell this family what I, an American tax payer, think of them and their ten “blessings.” And, while we’re on the subject, I wonder if “blessing” is the word the Shirk family would use if they saw a black woman with ten children who depended on Medicaid?

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8 Comments

  1. TeacherPatti
    Posted April 17, 2010 at 10:45 pm | Permalink

    One day, Mark, I’ll have to tell you the horror stories of the formerly homeschooled children that have ended up in my class. Oy.

  2. dragon
    Posted April 17, 2010 at 11:44 pm | Permalink

    The problem isn’t that they’re not getting any. It’s that they can’t stand the thought of anybody else getting any. Sex is the same as money to them. They’d be happy locked in chastity belts if the brown-skinned people have been castrated.

  3. Posted April 18, 2010 at 8:50 am | Permalink

    I agree completely, Dragon, up until the point where you say that they’d be happy to be locked in chastity belts. I think they feel as though God has given them the wisdom to run their own lives. It’s just everyone else that needs castration and/or a chastity belt.

    And, Patti, after the last time we spoke about what the kids in your class have had to deal with, I don’t know that I can take it again.

  4. Posted April 18, 2010 at 1:05 pm | Permalink

    I accidentally just erased a comment left by Erica offering to go to Connecticut with me… Sorry. I have fat fingers.

  5. Taco Tom
    Posted April 18, 2010 at 6:06 pm | Permalink

    As much as we would like to think that humans are rational, they are not. I continually notice how people can hold contradictory ideas in their heads.

  6. Edward
    Posted April 19, 2010 at 8:14 am | Permalink

    I’m generally against child labor, but I’d like to see all ten of these little “blessings” in a coal mine.

  7. Kim
    Posted April 19, 2010 at 2:03 pm | Permalink

    If you want to see some crazy teabagging, check this guy out in Florida.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bIEisv9XW8

  8. Posted April 19, 2010 at 5:56 pm | Permalink

    This story blew my mind. The bubble some people live in is… impressive.

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