A group of Tea Party activists in Washington D.C. recently told two Hispanic Texas border congressmen to “Go back to Mexico” as they were on their way to vote on the House floor. Apparently, even elected officials should be carrying their documents these days. Even when they’re on their way to vote in the U.S. Congress. Congressman Ruben Hinojosa talked about the incident during a recent Q&A session at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg, according to the Rio Grande Guardian: Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, said he and Congressman Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, were confronted by five Tea Party supporters. “There were five men, all white,” Hinojosa said…. “They first asked Silvestre Reyes, ‘Are you a congressman?’ ‘Yes, I’m from Texas,’ he answered. ‘Are you both congressmen?’ ‘Yes, I am a congressman too,’ Hinojosa replied. ‘Why don’t you go back to Mexico?,’” they said.
There’s an old saying about professional athletes that goes something like, “When they tell you it’s not about the money, you know that it’s ALL about the money.” Something very similar applies to the Tea Party; when they tell you that it’s not about race, you should know beyond any shadow of a doubt that it’s all about race. Yes, I realize that the Tea Party is sprinkled with token Black and Brown members, but look at pictures from virtually any Tea Party rally…and what do you see? White face after White face, ad infinitum, ad nauseum. While I don’t doubt that, in their hearts, teabaggers think they’re doing the right thing for the right reasons, their willingness to condone racism renders their credibility moot. Perhaps it’s because that save for the racists, the birthers, and the tenthers, their “populist” movement would be a skeleton that even buzzards would give a wide berth.
When a person is so rigidly devoted to their agenda that they could without reservation insult a Congressman on the basis of his race, you have to know that the Tea Party is not a mature movement worthy of being taken seriously. Angry people shouting and engaging in open and overt racism are not people worthy of being taken seriously. They have a right to their opinion, of course, but what they don’t have is the right to be taken seriously- and they shouldn’t be taken seriously, not until they can conduct themselves with dignity and respect.
“Go back to Mexico”…really? That’s the best you have to offer? Man…fat, stupid, and White is no way to go through life, son….
