To the Editor:

In the Nov. 23-29 issue of The Smoky Mountain News, Carole Larivee wrote a letter comparing the TEA Party to the Occupiers. As I read her letter at first I thought it was a joke. However, I realized quickly that the letter actually was written seriously but that the ridiculous, grossly mistaken comparisons are so far out of the realm of reality that they actually are comical.

I cite the following responses to several of Larivee’s untruths and misconceptions: Quote from Larivee: “Every Tea Party event was covered by the media ….” It is well known that the media gave the Tea Party rallies very little coverage and rarely acknowledged the hundreds of thousands attending; Larivee states that “At Tea Party events people showed up with assault rifles, shouted and spit at members of Congress.”. I attended all of the local Tea Party events and the September 2009 and 2010 events  in Washington, D.C.  I never, ever saw a gun, rifle or assault weapon at any of these events nor was any congressman ever present in the crowd to be spit upon at these high-profile rallies or marches. In fact, most members of Congress do not support the spending cuts and smaller government on the Tea Party agenda. Therefore they have been and continue to be either in Tea Party denial or in no way interested in aligning themselves with the group let alone be seen in the presence of Tea Partiers!  

Larivee continues “At Occupy events, people show up unarmed, are committed to non-violence and are maced and beaten by police.” The facts are that there have been rapes, rampant drug use, nudity, vulgar behavior and at least one killing at Occupy sites. The Occupiers break multiple laws ... set up tent camps for weeks in public parks or on public property, possess and use illegal drugs, commit violent crimes and they expect no police action? Police have been wounded, urinated on, punched and hit by this “non-violent” crowd. Law-abiding citizens are denied access to public streets and sidewalks surrounding Occupy sites and shop owners have lost business because customers are not able to get to their stores. The reality is you will never find a record of that kind of behavior at any Tea Party event.  

Larivee’s  statements that  “Tea Party participants mock the sick and the poor” and “Tea Party participants are anti-union, anti-poor, racist, bigoted and xenophobic” are the most ridiculous and preposterous. It is an amazing stretch of reality to take the Tea Party principles to cut spending, reduce the size of government, encourage free enterprise and protect private property and individual rights and twist them into the accusations made by Larivee.  

In the end Larivee claims: “Occupy is standing up for the rest of us, the 99 percent.” The truth is the Occupiers are the 1 percent on the bottom line of the nation’s spectrum ... they are the nation’s lawbreaking, offensive behaving, non-producers who love creating this Occupy happening for something to do rather than actually finding a real job. How many of our nation’s citizens, the real 99 percent, who are hard-working earners nurturing their families and obeying laws could spend weeks and even months hanging out in tents on city streets 24 hours a day?

Larivee’s idea that Occupiers “avoid leaders” is a myth. Their real leaders are faceless, keeping themselves anonymous. However, if you read Occupy signage and listen to their rhetoric, you will see that communism, Marxism and socialism is the Occupy theme. The actual Occupy leaders who promote that theme don’t show themselves in public but they are behind the scenes for sure.

Carol C. Adams

Glenville