The thing I don't get.

[leahbobet]

Okay, this will show something pointed about my priorities, but here is the thing I just cannot wrap my head around about the whole American "teabagging" thing--

(Pause while I snerk, die, and gasp, "Words mean things!" while giggling like I'm 12.)

--yeah. Okay. Serious. The thing.

How the hell can people countenance wasting all that food?

Not just "in these tough economic times" (drink). In general. How do you waste that much food without batting an eye?

Comments

[gailmom.livejournal.com]

that was *sooo* not what I thought it would be about....

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

Words! They mean things!

*runs off to gasp with laughter a bit more*

[gailmom.livejournal.com]

I love that the anchor could barely report it without losing it...


"we aren't allowed to talk about fiscal tea bagging"


bwahahahahaha

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

It baffles me, too.

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

(leaving aside the part wherein we are all twelve)

Because they are over-privileged Americans who have never once in their lives had to think about whether they could afford that T-bone steak, much less worry about actually going hungry. The thought that this is wasteful, I feel fairly sure in predicting, HAS NOT EVEN CROSSED THEIR MINDS. Also, what, are you kidding? Tea isn't food. [/sarcasm]

To me, it's typical of Republicans, but my attitude is colored by my hatred of Presidents Reagan, Bush (1), and Bush (2) and their respective administrations, policies, and long-term effects upon my country, and thus is probably not fair.

[coffeeem.livejournal.com]

If Rachel Maddow can't entirely forget that she's twelve, I don't have to, either!!!! (I was afraid she'd lose it and snort her nasal passages completely inside out. Ana Marie, on the other hand, has the most murderous deadpan on the planet. *g*)

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

(Dude? Thank you for just the self-awareness. Srsly.)

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

Which part? The over-privileged American, or the part wherein my hatred of Republicans is not entirely rational? *g*

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

The grokking that political sentiments are not an objective reflection of the absolutely true reality but in fact, have elements of subjectivity.

(It is one of the things that drives me up the wall about political talk. Moreso since I became officially non-partisan and decided I actually kind of like it. There is no objective bad guy.)

P.S.: O hai Benton.

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

Pretty Mountie is pretty.

I mostly try not to talk about politics, because I know perfectly well that the way my blood pressure climbs is an indication that I am neither objective nor rational on the subject. Also filled with festering hate.

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

*looks at the pretty Mountie*

My tolerances for it have done peculiar things since I started living, breathing, and eating it for 40 hours a week and sometimes in my off-hours. I find the actual processes fascinating now, the balancing-act of writing good legislation and trying to not let down whole groups of people? But I no longer have any patience whatsoever for unquestioning partisanship of any stripe. I think watching the government of the day use the same procedural tactics as the (different party) government of 25 years ago really burns it out of you.

[txanne.livejournal.com]

Oh, it's entirely fair. Only poor people need to worry about not wasting food.

[obake.livejournal.com]

Because they're rich, old Republicans for whom the concept of "saving money" and "hard times" means downgrading their daily grande latte down to a tall or having to sell one of their beach houses or luxury cars. These are people for whom "going hungry" means missing ONE meal. Because of the "tough economic times" they might just have to forgo their annual trip to the Mediterranean this year. Poor babies. (ahem, not that I have anything to say about their whole misguided entitlement attitude or anything...)

They also obviously don't know what "teabagging" means in the, uh, colloquial sense, nor do they have the ability to pick up on it from the other half of the media who has been rolling on the floor with laughter since their self-righteous plan was first hatched and publicized.

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

Thing is, that's not a large fraction of society, and it sort of verges on stereotype. I'm wondering about all the people who aren't rich or old. According to the video footage, they seem to be out there.

[coffeeem.livejournal.com]

Well, according to the video footage. That may be the answer right there.

'Cause I was out and about running errands all over town on tax day. And lo, there were no howling mobs. With or without tea bags.

The "liberal media" is bending over (*cough*) backwards (okay, that's better) to cover the far-right end of the spectrum. Which makes it look as if there are more people standing over there than there really are.

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

The "liberal media" is bending over (*cough*) backwards (okay, that's better) to cover the far-right end of the spectrum. Which makes it look as if there are more people standing over there than there really are.

...I admit, the allure of reporting on teabagging would break me down, "liberal" or liberal... :D

[obake.livejournal.com]

There are several parts to this faction. One is the vocal rich, who are a minority, but are pretty and charismatic. With no need to work to put food on the table, they have all the time to protest and to write/spread things on the internet. Another part are the people who are Republican because their family has always been Republican, even though these modern Republicans have little to do with what Republicans were four generations ago. Another part, the really sad part, are the people who don't want to think for themselves and who simply follow the vocal minority.

At least, that's my hippie liberal point of view.

ETA: I <3 loose leaf tea. I make my own chai, which turns out way better than the bagged stuff.

[stevenagy.livejournal.com]

It's horrible.

"I can't pay more taxes. I'm rich, so I shouldn't pay any at all. Waste? What's that? My maid takes care of the used tea bags."

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

Thing is, as above, I don't think all of those people were rich. You couldn't have had the election numbers you did if everyone who was sympathetic to these kinds of politics were rich.

[stevenagy.livejournal.com]

I don't believe the GOP is an exclusive realm only populated by the rich. There's a mix of rich and the deluded, at least as far as the party exists in its current state. Where "deluded" applies to people who don't care about politics, want someone to tell them what to do and what's right and what's wrong (because that's easier than thinking for themselves), and those who are genuinely afraid of the rest of the world. The GOP is a politics of comfort.

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

Okay -- thanks for taking the time.

[stevenagy.livejournal.com]

no problem ... I've actually enjoyed the time I can spend not thinking about politics. One of the reasons I voted the way I did in the election, trying to put a president into power who could do the right thing(s).

But obviously I've still got something running through my thoughts. At least I lean toward Keith Olbermann and Rachel Madow and Jon Stewart end of the spectrum, where I can use laughter.

I hear stories about the Republicans tea bagging people and I've got to just laugh. Otherwise I would cry. :-)

[susansugarspun.livejournal.com]

Are we counting tea as food these days?

I mean, I don't disagree with the broader point about wastefulness. There's just an added significance to "wasting food" that I don't think applies here.

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

I count it, yeah, on the same grounds as...well, pop at least. Maybe not juice. Juice is a little more nutritious.

(I am also not too far out of the years where I would buy tea over all other beverages because it goes so far -- a whole pot of tea out of two teabags. And because the caffeine was useful for keeping going on less meals than recommended per day, at least before my body started to freak out about caffeine. So it is possible the symbolism is very badly placed for me. It's a bit like dumping emergency ration bars.)

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

Difference in perception, I guess. To me, dumping flour or rice or bread would have much more visceral impact.

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

*nodnod* I can totally see that.

[kmkibble75.livejournal.com]

I agree with the people who comment on the fact that the people doing the teabagging are too well off to care. And also, a good portion of the teabags were provided by conservative organizations who were behind the 'movement.' You know, the sort of brainiac, higher-up, well-to-dos who would wonder why everyone was giggling when they said they were going to teabag Congress.

(You'll note that an anti-gay marriage group has started a "Two Million for Marriage" movement, which they abbreviate to... wait for it... 2M4M.)

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

If the ammo was provided by organizations, that would explain a lot, thank you. (Yes, for some reason I find it easier to believe that organizations would have less moral compunction about food-wasting than individuals. It's that whole diffusion of responsibility in groups thing.)

(You'll note that an anti-gay marriage group has started a "Two Million for Marriage" movement, which they abbreviate to... wait for it... 2M4M.)

...

I am now trying to think up a right-wing organization which would abbreviate to 2 Girls, 1 Cup.

[wirewalking.livejournal.com]

I am now trying to think up a right-wing organization which would abbreviate to 2 Girls, 1 Cup.

Augh. It's official. I'm twelve.

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

*high-five* :D

[kriz1818.livejournal.com]

Actually, I think the right-wing activists are calling them "tea parties." I kind of suspect it's the people mocking them who keep using "teabagging" (which I had to look up, by the way). Neutral-ish sources refer to the events as "tea parties" also.

But I'm not sure. I thought I might look up some right-wing web sites to see, but then I realized I don't have any bookmarked and can't remember what any of them are called.

[coffeeem.livejournal.com]

I think it's time we asked the really important question here:

Tea bags? Are Americans really so fixated on convenience, so limited in their tastes, that they no longer consume loose tea?

Or are they afraid the very concept of "looseness" will be too much for impressionable, weak-minded citizens to resist?

[coffeeem.livejournal.com]

(And kriz1818's comment hadn't posted when I selected my icon. Mind control!)

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

I now want a Loose Tea for Loose Women icon.

Full of sexy, sexy darjeeling.

(If they were mailing Upton, nonpartisan or not, I would have to go down there and cut them.)

[coffeeem.livejournal.com]

Damn straight!

(And ogawd, Loose Tea for Loose Women. That's divine.)

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

I have to put a bounty out on that one. I am a deprived child with no Photoshop. :(

[barbarienne.livejournal.com]

What do you mean "no longer"? For decades Americans didn't consume loose tea. I never even knew it was possible to brew tea that wasn't in little bags until I was thirty years old.

Loose tea has been making a comeback in recent years. Starbucks brought better-quality-than-Lipton tea to the mainstream, and in the past decade it's been a developing thing.

I love loose tea, but I only discovered it about five years ago. And while I love it, it does mean washing (well, rinsing) the teapot, which is an awkward shape. Some days I don't want the drama, just a single cuppa.

My compromise is the tea ball. Loose leaves, easy-to-clean object, single-serving convenience.

[sarcasm-hime.livejournal.com]

Based on my attempts to drink tea in Ye Olde U S of A, many Americans hardly think of tea at all, due to the inability to get anything other than godawful stale Red Rose. :P

[magpie49.livejournal.com]

When I travel with my husband, I often carry a packet of tea bags because he finds himself faced with a selection of so called tea bags that have chamomile, or mint, or lemongrass and hibiscus petals, but no tea, at a restaurant. He quite likes China Black, and Prince of Wales.

I have a friend who likes to tell about the time she ordered a tea gadget from a local department store. A clerk called to say, "Your TNT fuser has come in."

Really, how hard is it to say 'tea infuser'?

[leahbobet.livejournal.com]

I tend to carry teabags too (in a tin) or a little packet of loose tea when I'm travelling. Everything in hotels tends to be, yes, either mint or chamomile.

Apparently you can make great drip tea in hotel coffee makers.