Joyce Meadows (left) of Canyon Country hoists her “Don’t Tread on Me” flag as Tea Party participants begin to gather at Glendale City Hall just before noon today.
One of many such Tax Day protests held across the nation, the Tea Party was organized by Debi Devens, a self-described “average American housewife” from Glendale’s La Crescenta neighborhood. Devens pulled the event together after deciding just three weeks ago that she’d “had enough” of massive government bailouts and spending.
“The only reason I did is because no one in Glendale or this surrounding area had organized one,” she explains. “I’m really good at complaining about situations but I’ve never really pitched in to do anything. I was so fed up — it was time to stand up and do something.”
Held from noon to 2 p.m., Glendale’s Tea Party was modest in comparison to more sizable events in other cities (some of which at the time of this post were said to be drawing numbers in the low thousands). Still, the crowd was enough to fill the City Hall steps and front lawn, attracting several local news crews, a handful of photographers and bloggers, and a gaggle of curious onlookers from the courthouse across the street.
Beware the Angry Mob?
A couple dozen motorists also honked in support as they drove past along Broadway, eliciting smiles and waves from the protesters, many of whom admitted to being as new to this sort of thing as Devens.
In fact, however “fired up” participants may have said they were, the political gathering showed none of the hallmarks of your typical angry mob ready to “take to the streets.” Rather, assembly on the sidewalk, lawn and steps was orderly to a fault, with protesters gently reminding each other to show good manners and refrain from stepping into traffic or hindering pedestrians.
And while they did muster numerous boos in response to a list of Sacramento and Obama Administration spending initiatives ticked off by speakers, their overall demeanor remained festive and almost too good-natured.
A chant of “We’re Tea’d Off!” was about as frenzied as they got.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Great profile of our little Glendale Tax Day TEA Party. Yes we were a nice group of people with the exception of a couple of outsiders who tried to disrupt the gathering. Nothing wrong with being polite, right? I think that when certain news channels tried to portray our movement in negative ways, your article showed more of the truth. We are just nice Americans who are fed up and are standing up for what is right and just. We don’t have to be mean about it. Thanks again. Be sure to come to our next Glendale Area Indpendence TEA Party on July 3 at the Jeffers Estate, 1823 Foothill Blvd., La Canada, 3:00pm -7:00pm.
Debi: Glad you felt my post was fair-minded. I figured plenty of journalists and bloggers were already highlighting the “negative” angles of the tea party phenomenon. My goal was to simply let your group tell its side of the story and honestly report what I observed at the protest. I may just join you at the Jeffers Estate. –MI