Not an April Fool's joke: who's available on April 14th?

[xiphias]

On April 14th, the "Tea Party" right-wing movement is going to be holding a rally on Boston Common, and Sarah Palin is rumored to be planning to attend.

kpht has suggested the perfect response.

Hold a tea party.

Let's make this happen. On April 14th, when the Tea Party Bus arrives at Boston Common, let's greet them with people having tea and cookies and little finger sandwiches, beautiful china, and frilly hats. Can we get hundreds of people on the common to drink tea in a deeply civilized and refined manner?

I want this to happen.

Who's with me? Who can take some time on April 14th? Who has access to nice china, good tea, and beautiful clothing and is willing to wear it in a good cause?

The suggestion has been made that we're going to need battery-powered boom boxes playing classical music, but I'd rather have real string quartets there.

Let's make this happen.

Comments

satirists cannot work under these conditions

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

They're going to be on the Common, rather than by the Harbor? Don't they have any sense of propriety? (Well, obviously not.) I like the idea of joining you for tea, but need to avoid any gatherings where there is likely to be heavy police presence. So, probably not. Can you bring low-tech but civilized-looking apparatus for boiling water? Or would it be better to make tea at home and bring it in a thermos?

I would like to warn you of a potential problem. I'm not at all confident there won't be actual tea-partiers wearing frilly hats and drinking tea on the Common. It's HARD to make fun of a group as far off the deep end as the tea partiers. It may not be possible to exaggerate their silliness to show disapproval or disagreement, when their silliness is so all-encompassing.

Re: satirists cannot work under these conditions

[gingicat]

It may not be possible to exaggerate their silliness to show disapproval or disagreement, when their silliness is so all-encompassing.

There is that.

Re: satirists cannot work under these conditions

[vvalkyri.livejournal.com]

Or a thermos of hot water with which to make tea.

I'm having some wonderful memories of the Gatsby Tea that was part of the Napier Art Deco Festival: http://pics.livejournal.com/vvalkyri/gallery/0000kxd2

Xiphias: A couple other worries, one of which is whether you might run into Issues with Police, given that the teabaggers likely have a permit and the drinkers mightn't. (I don't know the laws there. ) How safe do you feel with good china interacting with crazies?

I love the idea of the common being filled with card tables and tea drinkers such that the baggers don't have a very good place to gather. But I guess the common /is/ bigger than that...

Re: satirists cannot work under these conditions

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

No permit is needed to have a picnic, of course.

A thermos of hot water is not at all an acceptable solution. This concept requires GOOD tea, and that requires enough hot water at a high enough temperature. For the teas that I tend to like, that means boiling water.

Still, I am convinced that this is a problem that can be solved.

Re: satirists cannot work under these conditions

[vvalkyri.livejournal.com]

:continues her devil's advocate work, in wondering whether someone might call boiling water a weapon:

I don't know of many battery operated teakettles, but I used to have a battery thing that could jump the car and also had a plug for short term otherstuff use. (I still have it but have somehow lost the charging cord.) Anyway, a bunch of those might let folk plug in electric kettles. The solar things that can charge a laptop -- are they strong enough to power a kettle? I'm sorta figuring not...

Re: satirists cannot work under these conditions

[rosefox]

I think a Thermos of tea is a perfectly acceptable thing under the circumstances. This is theater.

Re: satirists cannot work under these conditions

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

For some, it may be theater.

For me, it's a chance to drink tea and wear nice clothes and eat sandwiches. Honestly, for me, the more I think about this, the more it's about having a tea party, and less about protesting The Tea Party Movement. Look at this! People I like, from my LJ and from b0st0n, are all talking about showing up to the Boston Common, dressed nicely, drinking tea, eating sandwiches.

At this point, the presence or absence of Sarah Palin is totally secondary to how much I'd enjoy myself there.

Re: satirists cannot work under these conditions

[kiya]

Do you have one of those teapots that maintains heat with a tea candle? I don't think they go for brewing tea, but might do for a dignified way to restore it to decent temperature?

Re: satirists cannot work under these conditions

[redbird]

Good tea can be brewed at home and put into a thermos, then poured and served on the Common.

Re: satirists cannot work under these conditions

[rebmommy.livejournal.com]

The Gatsby Tea looks like it was lots of fun!

Re: satirists cannot work under these conditions

[vvalkyri.livejournal.com]

It was. And the black and white picture is a lindy hop club. Had fun doing Lindy on the grass with them.

Re: satirists cannot work under these conditions

[shes-unreal.livejournal.com]

They both look awesome. Where did you find such fabulous people?

Re: satirists cannot work under these conditions

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

I don't have a problem with that. If people don't get that this is a counterprotest, well, it's STILL a picnic on the common drinking tea, and is worthwhile on its own merits.