By Bob Parks ——Bio and Archives--January 10, 2010
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For nearly two months, the animated political cartoon sat on npr.org virtually unnoticed. And then someone discovered it, was disgusted and launched it into the blogosphere — making it a raucous rallying point for conservatives.So according to Alicia Shepard, NPR Ombudsman, it was our fault for noticing.
When the "Learn to Speak Tea Bag" cartoon making fun of "Tea Party" activists was published on Nov.12, there were 5 comments. By 6 p.m. this past Monday, there were 258. By Wednesday night, over 1,100 people had commented and it was still the most-recommended link on NPR's web site. On Monday and Tuesday, calls came in every 10 minutes. Over 300 wrote to me — most of them angry.We all know how the left views dissent when they're not the dissenters.
Interestingly, while the cartoon discusses how to "speak tea bag," it never uses the term "tea bagger."Ah, the semantics game. Shepard obviously believes conservatives are knuckle-draggers she can play like a drum.
Sexual reference? Apparently, there is one and I invite you to read Jay Nordlinger's excellent essay for National Review explaining a not-so-obvious meaning behind the term "tea bagger." Interestingly, while the cartoon discusses how to "speak tea bag," it never uses the term "tea bagger." There was no sexual insult intended, said both Fiore and Ellen Silva, NPR's opinion editor who signed off on the cartoon after fact-checking it.If no insult is intended, why do people like Keith Olbermann, David Shuster, Janeane Garofalo take every opportunity to refer to protesters with that word? Surely they wouldn't be if it was so meaningless.
"I take full responsibility for putting it up on the site," said Silva. "I confess to thinking the term ‘tea bagger' was just a slang term for Tea Party supporters and had even heard conservatives referring to themselves that way. Any other connotation didn't occur to me until after the recent ruckus erupted."Bull....
According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, a "tea bagger" is: "a person, who protests President Obama's tax policies and stimulus package, often through local demonstrations known as "Tea Party" protests (in allusion to the Boston Tea Party of 1773)." "Tea Bagger" was a finalist for the dictionary's "Word of the Year."Obviously the New Oxford American Dictionary was used to give off the impressional of innocence. What Ms. Shepard should be really sweating is the distinct possibility that a Republican revolution this fall could result in very real discussions of future funding for National Public Radio and its liberal use of the word "teabagger" will be front and center. But please don't insult our intelligence with an apology only offered just to shut up up. Ask the Democrats on The Hill how that's working…?
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Bob Parks is a is a member/writer of the National Advisory Council of Project 21. Bob’s websites are Black & Right and youtube.com/BlackAndRight