I made it to the Tampa Tea Party yesterday, and it was a nice event. By the time I got there at 4:40, the place was already packed (and it didn't officially start until 5). The crowd was upbeat and intense, but in a good way. I started snapping pictures as fast as I could. I personally would estimate the crowd at anywhere between 600 and 800. Without a birds' eye view, though it is just a guess.
The first thing you noticed of course were the signs. Most of them hand written or printed out and taped to a stick.
Some signs were very creative.
Another interesting thing was the aroma. Generally around large crowds you expect to catch a whiff of a certain type of leaf being smoked. Here, you caught a sniff of two distinct smells - Cigars and tea. I wonder why?
Patriotism was abound. The best part about this protest was that while each and every person there was ticked off, they were proud to be Americans and weren't apologizing for it.
Of course, with every protest, you're bound to bring out those who are a little more... shall we say extreme in their views? Nothing wrong with it, mind you. Some people are just passionate about what they stand for!
Gadsen flags were everywhere, and I wholeheartedly support more of 'em
Now, something I'm lukewarm on are kids at protests. Often, they're only there because their parents make them, not because they actually believe in the cause that's taped to their chest. They're still cute, however..
There weren't many counter protesters, however there were a few Obama supporters, I watched them for a while and while many people engaged them, they were never shouted at, threatened, or prevented from expressing their point of view.
AR15.Com was represented as well as Simon-Jester and Ayn Rand
Finally, there was the street. People lined up and down the sides of Kennedy holding signs and encouraging people on. The honking was constant.
There were a few speakers who I barely could make out who they were due to the distance from them and the crowd. I know there was a local radio personality ( Ted Webb), a lawyer, a business owner, and former military. One thing I was very glad for was the constant reminder that this was most emphatically NOT a Democrat issue and that the GOP was JUST as guilty (got that, Uncle? ;)
While many people were very angry at Obama and his clan, it was evident that a lot of people understood the problem to be a government out of control, not just a particular party. There were many calls to vote them ALL out.
I had a good time. It was nice to be around people who felt the same way I did. I met up with the Simon-Jester crew and their kids for a while and eventually had to leave early because I was hungry (pathetic I know).
I just hope these people don't consider the Tea Party the end of the work that's needed to be done to reel back in our wayward government. If this sentiment carries over to the next elections, things might turn around a bit. Only time will tell.