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Thursday, January 6, 2011

Yes, Virginia, There Is A Tea Party In Ithaca

The State of Ithaca, NY, has been the subject of multiple posts here, reflecting on what it is like living in "10 Square Miles Surrounded By Reality."

One question I frequently hear is, "Is there a Tea Party in Ithaca?"

The answer is, yes there is, and thanks to the great work of two Ithaca College students, Kellan Davidson and Samantha Schles, we have video to prove it.  (There also was a recent Ithaca Journal article about the local Tea Party groups.  The Ithaca Tea Party website is here.)

The film below was produced by these students for a journalism documentary class project.

What is remarkable about the film (other than the amazing bumper sticker shots -- how come I didn't see those first?) is that it was done in a very non-judgmental manner.  According to the students:
"We produced the video after being honestly very surprised that there was a tea party movement in Ithaca. We were curious to see how a grassroots conservative movement operated and sustained itself in a liberal hotbed like Ithaca. We also wanted to take a politically-agnostic look at the interaction between the two opposing views in the community. Our main goal was to build a coherent, objective narrative that didn't glorify the notions of either side, because in the end politics is about conversation."
The film will give you some small idea what it is like to live in Ithaca.  (Expressions of emotional support are encouraged.)


Steap: The Ithaca Tea Party from Kellan Davidson on Vimeo.

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8 comments:

  1. I want to say that as a resident of virginia... we know, okay? We know there is a santa claus, we know there is a tea party in ithica, we know all the other things you guys say "yes virginia there is a __________" to, unless it turns out it isn't true at all, but we are not idiots and don't have to constantly singled out this way...

    (yes, i am joking)

    another joke i remember is this one. it was a letter to a humor columnist.

    "Dear Sir,

    "I have told people there is a state between North Carolina and Maryland. But everyone makes fun of me and says there is no such thing. What is the truth?"

    "Signed, Santa Claus."

    The reply: "Yes, Santa Claus, there is a Virginia."

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well done video!   I see no future in the MSM for these two journalism students if they continue the balance approach we see here.   Unfortunate.
    .
      (Expressions of emotional support are encouraged.)
    .
    Professor:  Having lived in NY for over 50 years before moving West, I feel your pain.   You (and your wife) have my deepest sympathy.   Yeah, I know.   Not helpful!
    .

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wonderful movie - I hope these students received an A+ for their film (and were not judged adversely because of their topic or their effort to remain unbiased). Seeing things like this gives me hope. There are young people who still want to present things without "spin" and not push an agenda - even at Cornell U! Thank you for sharing.

    Please be encouraged - we have Speaker Boehner in the House, we have a vote on repealing the hideous ObamaCare next week, and you have students around you who created such a promising video!!! (Now the question is - are there any law students who would have such a neutral perspective?! I am sure there are......perhaps you will find some (one?!) this semester!!) And there is always redistricting of the state's precincts to look forward to!!! Be strong and of good courage. As the one man said in the video, "they won this battle, but we will win the war." Don't stop believing, or standing for what's right!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I can equate with the tea party member who said that the tactic of shutting down a discussion or debate is done through de-legitimizing, or in the words of Andrew Klavan, the shut up method.

    It was a well done piece.

    We, too, live in a highly Democrat area, and at least blue collar union workers are easier to debate with, they don't try to squelch a debate, because all their eggs aren't in their brainbaskets, unlike those who's most valuable asset are being an intellectual.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ithaca is hopeless. We ought to just give it back to Mexico. Get out of there professor! Move to California!

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's really quite sad that there are so few young people involved in the Tea Party. I don't know when the young people are going to wake up and realize they are the patsies. Probably after it's too late.

    The older generation like those in the video are the beneficiaries of the bloated welfare state. So we have the strange situation where the older generation is fighting against its individual self interest. The massive federal debt that's been incurred to give the old people a stipend and subsidized medical care simply because they avoided the grim reaper for 65 years will result in young people suffering from structurally high unemployment, slower economic growth and a reduced standard of living. And for the most part, the young generation don't seem to care.

    It's bizarro world.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey, don't get the wrong idea about Ithaca. We have lots of diversity of thought here in Ithaca, all the way from the greens on the far left to the Democrats on the far right!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Let's not act as if liberals are the only ones shutting down debate in this country. I am a current Cornell student who lived in an overwhelmingly conservative area in rural California before moving to Ithaca. The night of Obama's inauguration, some nut threw a river stone through the glass panel of my family's front door. I can only speculate about the motives of the perpetrator, though being the only Arab American family on our street, I have suspicion that it was due to anti-Muslim sentiment. Bill O'Reilly feels that I should be profiled by airport security even though I've lived in America all my life. Give me a good reason why I shouldn't feel alienated by the Republican party.

    ReplyDelete