The downtown ‘Tea Party’

    Residents of Keene and surrounding areas descended upon Central Square in the late afternoon of Sept. 19 to rally together and voice their grievances with the United States government in what is being called a Keene Tea Party.

    To a soundtrack of Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond and Woodie Guthrie songs, self-proclaimed conservatives, liberals and anarchists gathered in circles of conversation to discuss the follies of current governmental policy, ranging from expensive medical costs to the existence of the Federal Reserve.

    The messages coming from signs, shirts and conversations said it all: they want smaller government.

    The rally downtown is just one of many. Since April, ‘tea parties’ have occurred across the country in locations such as Chicago, Dallas and, most recently, Washington D.C. where attendance soared into the thousands.

    Keene resident and former KSC student Kenneth LaCoille organized the local tea party through various online forums and submissions to The Keene Sentinel.

    LaCoille, who makes bearings at The Timkin Company and cares for homeless people in his own house, said forming the rally was simple.

    “I have a lot of administration experience,” he said. “I’m just a blue collar guy worried if I’m going to have a job next week.”

    This past Fourth of July, LaCoille said he organized a first tea party with around 300 participants. The rally on Saturday saw only a third of that number.

    Armed with a PA system that he bought that morning from Cheshire Music, LaCoille stood at the gazebo in Central Square and addressed the crowd and thanked them for their participation.

     The rally began with a recitation of the pledge of allegiance, followed by a rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner. Then, the time came to reach out.

    Many attendees carried signs with them and stood around the edges of Central Square, facing the heavy traffic around the rotary. Subject matter varied from sign to sign. One read, “My body, my choice, legalize drugs,” while another read, “Obama care makes me sick,” and yet another would read, “T.E.A. Taxed Enough Already.”

    Accompanying the hand-made signs were a fair number of Revolutionary War-era “Don’t Tread On Me” shirts and flags.

    One impassioned man dressed as a pirate and brought his three kids. He had made a flag, which spliced the Obama campaign symbol with a skull and crossbones.
At one point during his efforts to catch people’s attention, his son pointed to the Civil War soldier’s monument. The man said, “yeah, these were guys a long time ago who had to fight just like we are.”

    Joseph Metzler, a junior at Franklin Pierce University and member of the FPU Republicans, stood with two other members holding a sheet with an elephant painted on it and the words, ‘the sound of angry elephants, I strongly dislike taxes.’ He said he came to the tea party to protect his civil liberties.

    “I really think a government should be afraid of its people, not the other way around,” he said. “Every time a group of people have allowed a government to take over there will always be blood; look at Germany.”

    Richard Hall Olsen, a Jaffrey resident and co-chairman of the Citizen’s Alliance Against Creepy Politics (CAACP), tied a tea bag to his hat and carried a sign in protest of AARP. He said he opposes recent talk that New Hampshire may institute more taxation.

    “This is a new revolution like we had when our ancestors started the Constitution,” he said. “We now have King George ruling over us, which is Obama.”

    LaCollie gathered the crowd together at one point and noted excerpts from the over 1,000-page Obama health care reform bill. As he read, he said the bill would “level the playing field so everyone is equal” and called the economic crisis “the failure that was the opportunity Obama needed” to increase government control. After, LaCollie opened the mic up to anyone who wished to speak to the audience. Many listed their grievances, while others offered suggestions.

    “Do things at home that don’t use government funds that end up costing more money and more fees for you and others,” said Jesse Moloney, a Keene activist, who burned a series of three flags in Central Square before election day last year. “Grow a garden. When you’re sick or have a broken bone, try and find someone to help you get better without using the medical system.”

    LaCoille said his next step is to keep this grassroots effort going by connecting with other groups across the state. He collected e-mail addresses during the rally and plans to launch a Web site in the near future, to focus the energy of the movement.

    “We need to speak and we need to speak loudly,” he said to the group in closing. “Keep rockin’ on, don’t stop. No one is going to tell me how I should feel. I know how I feel.”

    Keene resident Nancy Wilkinson said although she hasn’t been directly affected by any of the Obama administration’s potential changes, she cares about future generations.

    “This is terrific,” she said, indicating the wide variety of attendees and political fervor. “It crosses party lines, it crosses generational lines. It shows that this is important.”

Corey Smith can be contacted at csmith@keeneequinox.com.