Occupy Wall Street Vs TEA Party

I feel I should start with two disclosures. First I have never been to one of the so called Occupy Wall Street Demonstrations so whatever comment or conclusions I make here are based upon media reports. Disclosure 1(a) is a large percentage of my media reports come from FOX News. The second disclosure is that I am an active member of a local TEA Party. Even though I am an active TEA Party member my exposure to the nationwide movement has been limited. I have not attended a large TEA Party rally either so my observations are from a distance and are presented here just for consideration and discussion.

"We the people" seems to be a common theme or slogan. However that may be where the similarities end. But, it may be a stretch to even consider that a similarity. At the occupy Wall Street rallies there are signs indicating they want people to think they are representative of the masses but even though they have sympathizers it is laughable to think they have the support of the 99% they claim they represent. The TEA Party on the other hand is representative of the people enough to have greatly influenced the the 2010 mid-term elections, several special election, local elections and even representative enough to affect Washington policy. That would indicate more of a "we the people" representation. But since there hasn't been any elections since the onslaught of the occupy Wall Street rallies this comparison/contrast is yet to be determined.

There may be a similarity in broad based mood in so far as there is a definite overtone of displeasure with the status quo in "high" places. Both movements are dissatisfied with both political parties. I think the TEA Party is articulating that dissatisfaction more clearly. It does seem that the political parties have taken sides even though the movements themselves have not. The Democratic Party seems to be move supportive of the occupy Wall Street groups and have been generally outspoken against the TEA Party. The Republicans in part have been somewhat supportive of the TEA Party and more outspoken against some of the tactics of the occupy Wall Street groups.

There seems to be little comparison between atmosphere of the rallies, except the decibel level of the vocal cries of the participants. The occupy Wall Street groups seem to be more party oriented. There are reports of the prevalence of drugs and alcohol in the groups. That has not been the case at the TEA Parties that I'm aware of. At the TEA Parties there have been no arrest to my knowledtge and there have been numerous arrests, at least, at the NY occupy Wall Street gathering. The TEA Party organizers go out of there way to stress a restrictive code of conduct. Most if not all TEA Party rallies have been single day events. As of this writing the occupy Wall Street gathering is in its third week. The occupy Wall Street gathers are becoming more burdensome with each passing day to the city governments and local economies. As evidenced by the photos above the trash is piling up and many have reported a stinch in the air. No so at the TEA Party rallies.

Both groups claim to be grass roots and there is no national, unifying organization for either, It cannot be said however that the TEA Parties are not organized. As mentioned earlier they are usually one day planned events with scheduled speakers many of whom are politicians or celebrities. That is not the case with the occupy Wall Street groups. It is reported that some of the occupy Wall Street groups are paid participants. It is also reported that free food at times is also available and that alone is attracting some rather than their enthusiasm for the "cause." That is unheard of at the TEA Party rallies.

That is my take on the similarities and differences and personally am somewhat offended that some are trying to portray them as equal.