While it hadn't occurred to me that the Tea Parties were racist, the fact that Keith Olbermann brought it up made me think back to the local Tea Party I attended in Northville, Michigan. At the time, I didn't pay any attention to the race of the protesters, because, well, taxation is not about race. Unless you're one of those people who sees everything as a race issue, the tax laws are color-blind, and mandatory government health insurance would be mandatory for everyone.

But Olbermann claims that the Tea Parties are racist because (so he asks) "Where are the people of color"?

What's Olbermann's evidence that Tea Parties are overwhelmingly racist? Apparently, that there are no "people of color" at these rallies. That is so blatantly false as to induce uncontrollable laughter. There are people of all backgrounds at the Tea Parties. But even if an event is dominated by a certain race group, what does that prove? Similar to what Glenn Reynolds said earlier this month, if you look at a group of white folks and the first thought that pops into your head is "racists!" then you have some serious issues.

Olbermann said that the Tea Parties constitute a "white people's party" -- "they're almost all white people, and this is, in essence, a white people's party" -- and then he demanded to know,

"Where are the people of color at the Tea parties?"

Not once, but four times!

While I don't take marching orders from Der Olbermannsturmbannfuhrer (or anyone else, for that matter -- and sorry for the dig at his proud national ancestry, but being part German I'm just as entitled to be self-hating, right?) it did occur to me to go back and take a look at the pictures in my post. Sure enough, one of them shows a man there who, now that I think about it, doesn't look especially white.

I have no idea who the guy is, but he seemed to be having a good time.

Of course, the way MSNBC reports things, they'd have probably just said he was white. (Which to their way of thinking he might as well have been.)

In any case, pictures like the above mean nothing to people who demand answers to argumentative questions like "Where are the people of color at the Tea parties?" Because, if you do show them examples, you're playing right into their game, and they'd only turn right around and claim that any black people who show up at Tea Parties are not "true" representatives of whatever race they might appear to be because, you know, like Clarence Thomas and Condoleezza Rice they are not not really black. In the same way that Sarah Palin is not really a woman.

Sheesh.

If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that what Olbermann and those white guys at NBC really want to say is that black people who go to Tea Parties in defiance of the condescending liberal narrative are not "a credit to their race." Or even "uppity." And Sarah Palin is of course being an uppity woman.

Such progress.

MORE Commenter "liamascorcaigh" does not approve of my characterization of Olbermann as "Der Olbermannsturmbannfuhrer."

He thinks it's Olbermannsturmbanngruppenfuhrer!

Did I demote him?

Mein Gott!

AND MORE: While I did not know it at the time, M. Simon's post made me realize that I was actually the leader of the Northville, Michigan Tea Party.

And so was the guy who doesn't look white!