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The protesters in the original Boston Tea Party were angry that their lives were being affected and they had no say in those actions. Their demonstration dumped tea, a prized beverage at the time, into Boston Harbor.

The Tea Parties held nationwide on April 15 echoed that same feeling of frustration and anger. In the less than 100 days since the new administration was sworn in, it has behaved as if it were the only political party. Spending and debt have been increased beyond any done under any other administration. The process was manipulated so that lawmakers had no time to read the bills and the public had no time to exercise its right to talk with lawmakers about them. The people organizing the Tea Parties feel powerless in an America where they had always believed that minorities are listened to.

These Tea Parties were organized by a motley group of individuals. Most had little or no experience with protests or rallies. Indeed, the organizers went out of their way to discourage politicians and political lobbiests from being involved. This was a grassroots movement made possible by Twitter, Facebook and Ning.

It seems clear from four separate sources that the overall attendance at the 750 plus Tea Parties held yesterday was amazing. Folks that have about one third of the sites reported are showing over 300,000 attending. It is possible that the real number is a half million and more.

Media reports on the Tea Parties suggest that they have scared some folks. They should have. The people at the Tea Party in Rochester, NY were angry. While individual issues varied, everyone marching and rallying was very sure that government at all levels was no longer treating individuals, taxpayers and voters, the way that governments ought to.

In Rochester, highly taxed NY, it was also clear that those attending were just as angry at state and local government officials as they were those at the national level. The average New Yorker pays 28% of their income in taxes one way or another.

As they marched by the radio studios of 1180 WHAM, Bob Lonsberry was on the air and in the ground floor window, watching. Soon he was calling marchers in off the street and his radio show, 50,000 watts worth, became about Rochester's Tea Party. As he reminded his listeners, just down the street is where Fredrick Douglass published his paper. Close by was where the Marquis de Lafayette spoke to a cheering throng. Troops going to and coming from the Civil War marched that same street, as did troops home from both World Wars. These marchers, closing Main Street for nearly 20 minutes, from a park to the county building and then to City Hall, walked in some historic footsteps.

Over 1,000 people marched on April 15 in Rochester. There were Ron Paul supporters, folks from the Libertarian Party, the Geneseo State Republican Club, fathers and mothers with children, grandmothers, veterans and more. There were people of all colors, creeds and political beliefs. They marched in historic footsteps.

Learn more about this author, Charles Simmins.
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