The “Real” Americans: Identity and Threat in the Tea Party

• In Event: 277 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 06. Individual and Collective Identities

Abstract

In its short lifetime, the Tea Party has exerted an enormous influence on local, state, and national politics in the United States. But Tea Party protesters do not fit the traditional mold of protesters, in that they appear to be comprised of populations that have relatively greater access to benefits and privileges than many Americans. Polls of Tea Party supporters show them to be overwhelmingly white, Christian, and possessing higher average incomes and higher levels of education that most Americans. If these conservative protesters do not appear to be oppressed, then why are they protesting? I argue it is the relatively privileged status of these individuals that is driving their protest. That is, these individuals perceive their privileges to be under threat from various sources, and are fighting to protect their existing access to privileges or to reclaim privileges that have been lost. In this paper, I ask two questions: First, what privileges do Tea Party members perceive as being under threat? And second, what identities do Tea Party members assert to justify their claims of privilege? Through an ethnographic content analysis of Tea Party web site, semi-structured interviews, and direct observation of protests and rallies, I demonstrate that Tea Party groups define a “true” American identity, one based upon the values of the Tea Party, that justifies a sense of ownership or exclusivity with regard to particular resources or advantages in American society and consequently excludes those “other,” undeserving, Americans.

Author

• David R. Dietrich, Texas State University