Will TEA parties be 'flash in pan?'

In December 1773, a group of Boston residents, some dressed in American Indian costumes, boarded three ships in their harbor, busted open crates of tea and tossed them overboard. It was in protest of a tax the English Parliament placed on tea. Recent protests that have used an acronym TEA  — Taxed Enough Already — party have been criticized for the lack of connection because the Boston Tea Party was about being taxed without having representatives in government.

Whether the label comes from a cutesy American marketing idea or a more deep philosophical one, people with similar ideals and ideas staged protests April 15 centered around one idea: Government is too big.

And they are planning another protest Saturday.

The result of big government is an insatiable desire for money to increase spending, thus broadening its power.

One can point out the differences in the Boston Tea Party of more than 235 years ago and the use of TEA party in modern times. Unlike our ancestors, we have representation in Congress and allow ourselves to be taxed. But there is little difference in the reaction of people, then and now, who feel oppressed by an overreaching government. At least the modern group is not destroying property.

Most of the people who participated in the April 15 protests in New Iberia took time off work for the whole day, protested here then headed to Lafayette for another protest with a larger crowd from all over Acadiana. Most have their sights on a government problem that spans many congresses and presidents, although a few directed their frustrations at the current administration.

Criticism of these types of demonstrations is fine. It is allowed by freedom of speech, just as the protesters have the right to peacefully assemble.

Other criticisms state this is a Republican movement, but many of the folks at the TEA party are critical of people in office no matter party affiliation. It has been the growing of the government that is to their distaste.

Some media reports were ready to discount the TEA parties. CNBC, according to a report on National Public Radio, made it its business to mock the TEA parties of April 15, not report on them.

In that NPR report, Howard Kurtz, media columnist for The Washington Post, questioned whether the protest was “a flash in the pan.” Saturday’s planned protests should offer a better idea of how sustainable a movement this will be.

JEFF ZERINGUE

MANAGING EDITOR