If I recall correctly

[amykhar]

Most of the men who participated in the Boston Tea Party weren't exactly fine upstanding citizens. They were a bunch of punks and rebels who got radical. The Boston Tea Party was a destructive act of vandalism.

But, think about it. Most Americans now remember the event as a noble act of defiance. In fact, it's not until you get to college history classes do you learn that mostly punks participated in it. Elementary and High School books give it a much rosier glow.

To me, the EBD is similar. It is an act of defiance. A lot of questionable people have come out of the woodwork and have joined in. Some people have joined in with less than noble intent. Some people have joined with duplicate accounts. The reviews themselves violate everything we, as "good" epinionators have been taught.

I am sure that when the tea was dumped in Boston, a lot of noble citizens had a major cow. They probably called for rational discussion and working within the system. The thing is, does anybody remember them now?

Nirav ensures us that even if Epinions doesn't earn a single dollar, Epinions can operate as it does today for a full two years. My question to you is, next year will the EBD writers be remembered as heroes? I didn't write an EBD review. I wrote one of my typical, rational calls for sanity. I can guarantee one thing: nobody will remember that review, but the EBD writers have made their mark on the site.

Amy

[Joubert[$]]

Continuing the history lesson (and wishing Lawyer Pyle or one of the other historians were around to do so...)

The British retaliated after the Boston Tea Party by enacting the Intolerable Acts:

1) Boston Harbor was closed
2) A British military governor was installed.
3) British staff could stand trial in England rather than the colonies if arrested for a crime
4) British troops were allowed to comandeer American homes

Of course, the led to the Continental Congress and a whole lot of shakin', but them's the breaks.

I would respect the Epinions team much more if they said, "Thank you for your input. These are our rules, and we won't run our company like a democracy. The delete button is restored for T amount of time. Those of you who want to delete your reviews may do so at will. After that time, the delete function is gone and no more than X% of content's body can be changed. You've all said there are plenty of other places to go. We'll miss you. Goodbye."

I honestly would respect that and leave 90% of my reviews up. But I want the choice - it was given to me and revoked. Several legal types have claimed this is conversion, and if my pocket copyf of Black's is correct, their assessment seems accurate. What a PR black eye that could be corrected by simply rolling back the changes.

[pluckyduck]

Well, if one wanted to play with the analogy, here's a nice summary of the Tea Party.

Here's a section I liked:

After failing to turn back the three ships in the harbor, local patriots led by Samuel Adams staged a spectacular drama. On the evening of December 16, 1773, three companies of fifty men each, masquerading as Mohawk Indians, passed through a tremendous crowd of spectators, went aboard the three ships, broke open the tea chests, and heaved them into the harbor.As the electrifying news of the Boston "tea party" spread, other seaports followed the example and staged similar acts of resistance of their own.'

On the other hand, we could just be a footnote on F**kedcompany.com a week from now.

Andrea

I wonder if they actually had mohawks (shaved the sides of their heads). Geeze... (interesting picture)

Ander

[kurt_messick]

Despite my support of those who feel the need for civil disobedience (and I think I likened this action to the American Revolution somewhere in another strand when someone else was mentioning it being in the spirit of Gandhi and MLK, which I dispute) and despite the fact that I have some wonderful material for a creative EBD contribution, I've resisted temptation simply because I can't delete, and because people read my stuff (like, people at the seminary, for instance) who won't know the politics enough, but will no me enough, and then become worried for my mental stability.

Alas...

[mshawpyle]

Originally posted by amykhar

I am sure that when the tea was dumped in Boston, a lot of noble citizens had a major cow. They probably called for rational discussion and working within the system. The thing is, does anybody remember them now?

Sam Adams's cousin John was one. Remember him? He kept preaching about legal rights rather than tea-tossing, which he sympathized with but thought counter-productive. He also didn't trust mobs, per se.

No, we aren't in disagreement at all. I just cannot ever resist an historical footnote.

[jkkelley]

Originally posted by amykhar
Most of the men who participated in the Boston Tea Party weren't exactly fine upstanding citizens. They were a bunch of punks and rebels who got radical. The Boston Tea Party was a destructive act of vandalism.

Substantiation for this viewpoint lies in the fact (or what I understand to be fact based on limited reading) that the partygoers were pretty well lathered up before they boarded the vessel(s?) and dumped the tea. Generally speaking, public drunknenness would mark one as unsavoury in most places and eras.

I also recall reading that, probably as a result of inebriation and action of vessels rolling at the dock, many of them spent a certain percentage of the adventure horking their cookies up into the scuppers, or over the side, or on the deck. (They may not have much cared about puking on the deck. I wouldn't have.)

So let's hope the analogy doesn't go too far.

jk

[4-1-1]

Thank you, Amy, for the wonderful intro to this topic -- Boston Tea Party participants: "They were a bunch of punks and rebels who got radical."

I was in support of the EBD, until I started to read reviews that defamed Epinion members and officers by name, linking them to the most vile and sordid of perversions.

That was it for me. One or two punks destroyed the spirit of the movement by hijacking the forum to serve as an opportunity to hurt others. (And: some of these reviews still stand, with scores of MOST HELPFUL ratings linking other participants to material that is patently evil.)

A big stumbling block, of course, was the unfortunate title for the write-off campaign. I think the whole effort could have been done with a little more class. But, then, that wasn't my biggest complaint.
--
Tom / 4-1-1

[mtbat]

well, the British refer to The Boston Massacre as "The Boston Incident". It was all an accident that unfortunatly occured when a British Solgier slipped and fell on the ice, accidently discharging his weapon.

How a revolution is viewed has a great deal to do with what side of the fence you are sitting on.

Fridai(who never had to write a report on the Boston Tea Party, therefore never had to learn about the British view-or I've successfully blocked it out)

[amykhar]

4-1-1. That's sad to hear that some people carried it so far. I tended to only read the reviews written by people that I know, and did not run into such things.

Amy

[erik_kosberg]

Since one of my wife’s ancestors (Deacon Nathaniel Coleman) was a participant at the Boston Tea Party, I’ll have to recuse my self as biased.

[adonna]

I didn't read them all by any means. I think I stopped when I read jo.com's beautiful piece. I'd read what I thought of as perfection. Civil disobedience and art combined. Then I went off to research and draft my contribution.

Which, it turned out, was finished just as the tempest was passed and all the EBD contributions deleted. So, I will never have my place in history, but I will remember those few impassioned pieces I did read.

And luckily, I managed to bypass anything truly vitriolic.