Ethiopian, Eritrean or Somalian? Don’t guess… A Tea Party’s guide

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safedangerteapartyguide — According to a guide from the Tea Party, the sections in red are dangerous, and the areas in blue are safe.

This Saturday, 47 years to the day Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the “I Have A Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Tea Party activists will converge on the Nation’s Capital Mall for the ‘Restoring Honor’ rally.

The event will feature Right-Wing Radio Host and Fox News TV Personality Glen Beck along with former VP candidate Sarah Palin and is expected to draw thousands of activists from across the country.

For those attending the rally who are unfamiliar with the D.C. area Andrew Ian Doge, the Maine coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots, has come up with a guide. In addition to pointing out areas the writer deems to be safe in D.C., he also points out places to avoid. One section of the guide advices protesters not to guess if the Africans they come in contact with are African American, Ethiopian, Eritrean and or Somali.

Here’s an excerpt from the guide:

D.C.’s population includes refugees from every country, as the families of embassy staffs of third world countries tend to stay in D.C. whenever a revolution in their homeland means that anyone in their family would be in danger if they went back. Most taxi drivers and many waiters/waitresses (especially in local coffee shops like the Bread and Chocolate chain) are immigrants, frequently from East Africa or Arab countries. As a rule, African immigrants do not like for you to assume they are African-Americans and especially do not like for you to guess they are from a neighboring country (e.g. Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia) with whom they may have political or military tensions. It’s rare to meet anyone who gets really offended, but you can still be aware of the issue.

Many parts of D.C. are safe beyond the areas I will list here, but why chance it if you don’t know where you are?

If you are on the subway, stay on the Red Line between Union Station and Shady Grove, Md. If you are on the Blue or Orange Line, do not go past Eastern Market (Capitol Hill) toward the Potomac Avenue stop and beyond; stay in NW D.C. and points in Virginia. Do not use the Green Line or the Yellow Line. These rules are even more important at night. There is of course nothing wrong with many other areas, but you don’t know where you are, so you should not explore them.