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....

[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.

[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.

[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."

[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.

[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.)

[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?

[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