If we've got this right then that means that the signs were lettered incorrectly, and thus they must've been protesting something else. So what exactly were they protesting? We don't know, but CA Senior Writer Chris Sims has a few ideas...
Could it be that they're picking sides on an extremely divisive issue?
Or maybe embracing one of the issues that comics readers really care about?
Maybe they're trying to influence the new Avengers lineup?
Or voicing their opinion on one of our favorites:
Some people are really passionate about typeface design:
If you read carefully, it looks like this issue takes place during New York's Fashion Week:
Or maybe it's not meant to be a protest at all. But where else would you see people carrying that many signs?
We hope that clears things up.
Comments:
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Thursday 11 February
By calum
in canada, tea bagging is a rude thing guys will do to other guys. I thought the protest sign was referring to getting hit in the nutsack, so they should hit the libs first.
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Thursday 11 February
By philip
It's meaning down here is far more ... uh ... lewd, but nobody bothered to check that before they created this particular "movement."
Also, I'm totally down with the Comic Sans ban.
Thursday 11 February
By ECB23
Oh, it's a rude thing here in the States, too. It just so happens that the "Teabaggers" made their association more directly with the patriotic spirit of the Boston Tea Party, and were blithely unaware of the pejorative implications closely entwined with their name.
Keeping that in mind, are they REALLY qualified to lecture Joe Q. and Marvel on the merits of stringent editorialization? :)
Friday 12 February
By Sarge
It should be pointed out that the Tea Party movement did not refer to themselves as "teabaggers". That would be the term used by people like Keith Olbermann.
Anyway, whoever put that in did so in poor taste. Everyone is missing the fact that good political commentary in comics needs to have an element of truth to it. If it does, it's insightful. In this case, it's slander, and does nothing for the debate as a whole.
Friday 12 February
By Laura Hudson
It's worth mentioning that the sign in "Captain America" that sparked all this -- "Tea Bag the Liberals Before They Tea Bag You" -- was actually taken from a real Tea Party protest sign, and that the use of the term has not been reserved exclusively for Tea Party opponents.
Also, how is it slander, Sarge? Particularly when it was taken from the words of the Tea Party members themselves? Even if it hadn't been, the comic speaks to some of the more troubling elements of the movement, and while this may not represent everyone who attends the rallies, the racially charged rhetoric used by party leaders -- and individual attendees who have occasionally expressed overt racism -- are troubling and worthy of criticism and discussion.
Friday 12 February
By Sarge
I know I've seen nothing of the sort at the Tea Parties I've attended.
The sign DID come from a Tea Party. That's the point. In real life, it came from the Tea Party movement, and in the comic is used in relation to a racist, radical fringe group. The implications are obvious, in that the Tea Party movement is being portrayed as a racist, radical fringe group.
That being said, if they want to put it in there, that's their right. Doesn't mean I have to like it.
Friday 12 February
By Kevin Church
You're right, there's nothing racist at all about the Tea Party.
Friday 12 February
By Kevin Church
That's why their founder held this sign. Because he's such a non-racist: http://www.relentlesslyoptimistic.com/2010/01/teabagger-founder-had-n-word-sign---teabaggers---gawker.html
Thursday 11 February
By Phil Looney
High five for the Sentry one
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Thursday 11 February
By Bill Z
I believe they named themselves the "Tea Party" and the media childishly dubbed them "teabaggers" cuz we are all adults here, obviously.
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