Friday, December 4, 2009

A History of Teabagging

One of the most storied magazines in the conservative movement, the National Review has finally weighed in on the crazies within their own party. No they haven't run away from them screaming like most sane people, they've engaged in a much more important debate: The origins of the movement being crudely described as "teabaggers", and what should be done to stop this. Not only is this not parody, but the article actually starts like this:
To “teabag” or not to “teabag”: That is not the most pressing question of these times, but it is a question to consider.
THE GREAT DILLEMA:
Routinely, conservative protesters in the “tea party” movement are called “teabaggers,” and those calling them that do not mean it in a nice way. Many conservatives are mulling what to do about this term: fight it, embrace it, what?
Maybe just sit back and accept it... CRAP! Another teabagging joke! It's a vicious cycle!
First, a little history. After Barack Obama was sworn in as president, with his big majorities in Congress, the Democrats launched quite a bit of federal spending: particularly with the “stimulus” package. Some Americans were determined to counter this. And, before you knew it, we had the “tea party” movement. What protesters were doing, of course, was invoking the spirit of the American Revolutionaries, and their Boston Tea Party. According to the website of the Tea Party Patriots, the movement is committed to three “core values”: fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government, and free markets.
And Racism. They seem to have forgotten that one. Having been to a teabagging event myself, I can pretty firmly say that anger at black people and muslims was somewhere in that founding charter. Oh yeah, and the fact that it's a "movement" funded and propped up entirely by corporate lobbyists and Fox News. That should also probably be in there somewhere.
The first big day for this movement was Tax Day, April 15. And organizers had a gimmick. They asked people to send a tea bag to the Oval Office. One of the exhortations was “Tea Bag the Fools in D.C.” A protester was spotted with a sign saying, “Tea Bag the Liberal Dems Before They Tea Bag You.” So, conservatives started it: started with this terminology. But others ran with it and ran with it.
Yeah, and with signs like that I can't imagine why you were universally mocked. No clue whatsoever.
I have no doubt you are sexually hip, but just in case you’re not, please know that “teabag” has a particular meaning in certain circles. In order to have a discussion of our general topic, we must be aware of that meaning, and I call on the Source of All Knowledge, Wikipedia: “‘Teabagging’ is a slang term for the act of a man placing his scrotum in the mouth or on or around the face (including the top of the head) of another person, often in a repeated in-and-out motion as in irrumatio. The practice resembles dipping a tea bag into a cup of tea.” I could quote you more, but you have had enough.
I'm really glad he used the "The practice resembles dipping a tea bag into a cup of tea" quote before he thought the readers had had enough.
The liberal media, to use a convenient tag, went after the protesters with glee. Take Anderson Cooper, the acclaimed anchorman for CNN. He was interviewing David Gergen, the political pundit. And Gergen was saying that, after two very bad elections, conservatives and Republicans were “searching for their voice.” Cooper responded, “It’s hard to talk when you’re teabagging.” He said this with a smirk.

MSNBC had an outright field day. Rachel Maddow and a guest of hers, Ana Marie Cox, made teabag jokes to each other for minutes on end: having great, chortling fun at the conservatives’ expense. And here is the performance of another host, David Shuster:

“For most Americans, Wednesday, April 15, will be Tax Day, but . . . it’s going to be Teabagging Day for the right wing, and they’re going nuts for it. Thousands of them whipped out the festivities early this past weekend, and while the parties are officially toothless, the teabaggers are full-throated about their goals. They want to give President Obama a strong tongue-lashing and lick government spending.”

Shuster went on to say that Fox News personalities were “looking forward to an up-close-and-personal taste of teabagging.” Etc., etc., etc. All the while, MSNBC was picturing Republican figures, and the following words were on the screen: “TEABAG MOUTHPIECES.”
This just in... David Shuster is awesome.
Some on the right are using “teabagger,” but mainly the word is a putdown from the left. Conservatives realize that nothing friendly is meant by it. You can tell by tone and context, for one thing. (Or is that two things?) Of course, some people use “teabagger” in innocence — unaware of any vulgar connotation.
Let's see, are you talking about putting your balls in someone's mouth, or are you angry that we elected a black president? The tone and context of the response is always a dead giveaway when you discuss these things.
Now to the question of what to do. How should conservatives handle this matter? Should we challenge the language, let it slide, adopt it? Many conservatives — most, I would say — are of a mind to fight. According to this point of view, people who use “teabagger” and such should be called on it, especially if they smirk. “What do you mean by that?” one might ask. “What do you mean by ‘teabagger,’ and why do you smirk?” In other words, conservatives want to introduce a little shame. And the responses of liberals could be kind of interesting.

I myself have enjoyed “calling out” opponents in debate — not on “teabagger” (no opportunity yet), but on other words. “Neocon,” for example. “What do you mean by ‘neocon’?” I’ll say. “What’s a ‘neocon’?” Also “Zionist”: “What do you mean by ‘Zionist’? What’s a Zionist, in your mind?” These words have real meanings, but often people don’t know them. They just mean them as putdowns.
Somehow I just don't think the shame angle will work when he "calls someone out" for using the term teabaggers.

Jay Nordlinger: "What do you mean by calling me a teabagger?" (Assumes self satisfied smirk)

Guy Mocking him: "I mean you like to put your balls in the mouth of another man." (Scuffle Ensues)
Some conservatives are happy to embrace “teabagger,” or are at least willing to do so. They are “owning the insult,” which is to say, taking what is intended as a slur and wearing it proudly.
Oh no, I hope this isn't going where I think it's going...
There are many words and names in our vocabulary that started out as slurs and became something else. Several of these words and names are found in religion — “Christian,” for example. According to a Bible dictionary, this was “the name given by the Greeks or Romans, probably in reproach, to the followers of Jesus.” Soon enough, it “was universally accepted.” “Jesuit” had a defamatory beginning. Same with “Methodist,” “Unitarian,” “Quaker,” and “Shaker.” (You can sort of tell with those last two, can’t you?)
Just stop now, National Review, you know your history with race...
What about a special case — the worst word in American English, as some of us see it, namely the N-word? When I was growing up, in Ann Arbor, Mich., there was a little debate: Should school officials try to prevent black students from using the N-word? I don’t believe the issue was ever settled. And this brings up the question of whether “teabagger” could be kind of a conservative N-word: to be used in the family, but radioactive outside the family.
Well it was only a matter of time. With three paragraphs left, the article reaches peak stupidity.

With that said, it wouldn't be right if I didn't end with the National Review's plea for a more family friendly discourse:
It could well be that liberals at large are recognizing this too. In a discussion at Slate, the online magazine, Sam Tanenhaus wrote, “Even today the right insists it is driven by ideas, even if the leading thinkers are now Limbaugh and Beck, and the shock troops are tea-baggers and anti-tax demonstrators.” As he told me, he subsequently learned that “teabagger” had this vulgar meaning, and was used as a pejorative. So he changed his text to “tea-partiers”: “tea-partiers and anti-tax demonstrators.” Much better, don’t you think?
No, not really. Now it sounds like people reenacting a protest against taxation without representation, rather than a group of people putting their balls in each others mouths. Sometimes the context just isn't enough.

Only the National Review would discuss why "teabaggers" is an offensive way to describe a movement driven by racism and bigotry. Then again, they've never cared about racism in the conservative movement before, so why start worrying now?

2 comments:

  1. “For most Americans, Wednesday, April 15, will be Tax Day, but . . . it’s going to be Teabagging Day for the right wing, and they’re going nuts for it. Thousands of them whipped out the festivities early this past weekend, and while the parties are officially toothless, the teabaggers are full-throated about their goals. They want to give President Obama a strong tongue-lashing and lick government spending.”

    alright that's incredible.

    i also like another showing by the conservative persecution complex, which likens the repeated mocking use of a label they themselves came up with (teabaggers) with a word derived from two hundred years of slavery and racism (the n-bomb). poor conservatives :(

    ReplyDelete
  2. I suppose the next logical step is to compare the left-wing media's treatment of the tea-party (oh, that IS a lot better) as a people to the Jews during the holocaust?

    ReplyDelete