What if the Tea Party was black?

Polls like Rasmussen and others have shown that 6 to 10% of Tea Party supporters are black.

if the tea party was black the Goverment would shut them down.

Good hypothetical. It really makes you realise just how extraordinarily tolerant people have been of the extremist views of the Tea Party activists.
You're right- if it was any other group they'd be viewed as an immediate and dangerous threat to national security, but because these people are right-wing, mostly white, and middle-class, they can get away with things no one else can.

"Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition."

So wait a second, protesters who are white are descending upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia armed with AK047's, assorted handguns, and ammunition?

Also, to put a stopper in that "What If?" mentality that should only be approached by Marvel comics, I pose a question to your question. If these white protestors have such a legitimate cause, why are there so few United States citizens of ethnically different backgrounds joining them?

I can only speak for myself - black or white or red or purple - my reaction is the same. I wish to hear your views and give them reasonable consideration but I will not be bullied or allow others to be bullied into giving you what you want. You win the day through fact and good reason - or you go home.

A man carrying a gun isn't a criminal. A man threatening revolution and possible armed conflict isn't a criminal. A man threatening war isn't a criminal. Threats are only threats. True, one can terrorize others without actually lifting a finger - traditional religions have made good use of that fact, but even terrorizing talk is still within the lines of civility.

A man who crosses the line of mere threat to genuinely impose his views through physical violence and coercion is a criminal - whether that man is a private citizen or a government thug.

In any genuine civilization, individuals refuse to allow violence of any kind in their relationships with one another. An angry armed man has not yet abandoned reason but, of course, he is very close to it.

He ought not be treated as a criminal until he, in fact, has committed an act of barbarism. To treat threats as equal to actual savagery is to become a savage oneself.