Say Anything Blog

[...] CNSNews claims to have video evidence of protesters somehow taunting wounded soldiers, and if that’s true - it would be quite horrible. But you would think something like that would have made the real news and not just Brent Bozell’s news propaganda organization, right? These are the guys who promised us those documents proving Iraq had WMDs that seemed to never have materialized, and the story is being pimped by Matt Drudge whose trutfulness is about on par with Rush Limbaugh’s. [...]

Vietnam vets gettin spat on is a completely untrue urban legend, just like this bullshit.

Vietnam vets gettin spat on is a completely untrue urban legend, just like this bullshit.

So you say. You’re full of shit though so it is hard to believe anything that comes out of your mouth.

Were the protesters targeting the soldiers or other military personnel at the hospital and the soldiers got caught in the crossfire?  Was it the whole group or just one jackass in the crowd taunting the soldiers? 

It is too early to tell if this is just a ‘loose nut’ or a ‘protest gone bad’ or ‘by design’.  Hope it is not true, but there are jackasses everywhere so I would not be surprised to learn that just one or two losers went WAY too far.  Have to wait and see though.

No offense LTM, but people who spit on our Servicemen, well, I’d like to see them injured.

Why would that offend him? He probably agrees with you.

So I finally got to the original article, and the protest was not aimed at the vets, but was supposed to draw attention to the casualty toll of the war (which, according to the article, it was not successful in doing).  The article does not state that there were any kind of exchanges between protestors and vets, much less any “taunts.”

There were two good points in the article:

The anti-war protesters claim their presence at the hospital is necessary to publicize the arrivals of newly wounded soldiers from Iraq, who the protesters allege are being smuggled in at night by the Pentagon to avoid media scrutiny. The protesters also argue that the military hospital is the most appropriate place for the demonstrations and that the vigils are designed to ultimately help the wounded veterans.

And, in reference to the flag-draped coffins:

“You know that 95 percent of the guys in the hospital bed lost guys whenever they got hurt and survivors’ guilt is the worst thing you can deal with,” Pannell [former Reed patient] said.

These are both good points.  Survivor guilt is very real and very difficult.  I know a guy who happened to be running late for his job on the 93rd floor of the WTC on 9/11, when a hundred of his coworkers died, and it took him months just to get back to work.

Ahhhh… My mistake… I can’t read legal documents either.

I’d like to add that my father (Sgt. in charge of a LRRP platoon attached to the 11th Armored Cav.) was also spit upon after his return to the states.

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

-- Thomas Jefferson

Rob’s recently listened-to songs:

Seth, LTM was saying that he was a “spitee.” Meaning one of the people spit upon, not one of the “spitters.”

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

-- Thomas Jefferson

Rob’s recently listened-to songs:

No offense LTM, but people who spit on our Servicemen, well, I’d like to see them injured.

Robert R Dobbs,

You are wrong, my friend.  I was there (at the University of Illinois, for example) and was one of the spitees.  Your claim that it’s an urban myth is, itself, bullshit.

Regards…

Indeed he did, likwidshoe.  I’ve always assumed Kubrick ‘stole’ the line from us vets.  That paticular little ditty was pretty prevalent in the early 70s.

Regards…

So, MI, you think its acceptable for these people to be at Walter Reid Hospital guilting soldiers who are trying to recover from the war?

Again, the soldiers are not the target.  They’re trying to bring attention to the casualty impact (which, according to the article, they have been unsuccessful in doing).  Do they have a right to protest there?  Yes, they even went and got a permit.  Do I think it’s wise or sensitive?  No.  But is it not their intention to inflict any pain on the soldiers.  There’s definitely a lot of gray area here, that’s why I quoted the two sections I did.

Seth,

I certainly understand your anger and, honestly, I felt the same way at the time.  In fact I did bitch slap a couple of the l’il fuckers.  The anti-war sentiment was widespread on the UofI campus and we vets took shit not only from fellow students, but also several of the professors.  On the other hand, there were others (including professors) who were supportive.  It was a very contentious time.

I never bitched about those who protested the war, nor those who dodged the draft and/or went to Canada.  I did draw the line at being physically touched and spit on.  Robert R. Dobbs says it’s an urban myth.  I assure you it’s not.

As an aside, I’ll admit now to my own youthful indescretions that served to exaccerbate the situation.  I used to walk around campus wearing one of two tee-shirts.  The first said, “Nuke ‘em til they glow, then use their heads for runway lights.” The second said, “Join the U.S. military.  Visit strange, exotic lands.  Meet exciting, unusual people.  And kill them.”

Regards…

Again, the soldiers are not the target.

And yet, the soldiers are the ones who see them the most.

Do I think it’s wise or sensitive? No. But is it not their intention to inflict any pain on the soldiers.

And yet it does.

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

-- Thomas Jefferson

Rob’s recently listened-to songs:

Modern instances wrote:
...the protest was not aimed at the vets, but was supposed to draw attention to the casualty toll of the war...

So the ends do justify the means:  As long as your making a political statement, the fact that it hurts and degrades the vets is just a side effect.  What the protesters feel about the war is far more important than the feelings of the soldiers. 

The same logic is used by fanatical extremists.  “I’m blowing up the buildings to protest American involvement in the Middle East.  The fact that people died is just a side effect of that political statement” They terrorize others to make a point.

The same extremists who protest the war in this fashion, also make excuses for terrorists like bin Laden.  Making excuses for the “protesters” behavior is morally repugnant.

Brings back memories of an ugly little incident with ROTC fools at U of Ill at Champaign Urbana, questioning my patriotism and sexual preferences( I had long hair).
I was not demonstrating, just walking.

They had a markedly different attitude standing in line with me when mustering out at Oakland Military Terminal.
The big signs said “CO-OPERATE..SEPARATE”
By then they had enough of co-operation
with the military and had a whole new view of wartime adventure.

So, MI, you think its acceptable for these people to be at Walter Reid Hospital guilting soldiers who are trying to recover from the war?

I certainly don’t.  But hey, anything to further the political agenda, right?

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

-- Thomas Jefferson

Rob’s recently listened-to songs:

[...] Yesterday I posted a Drudge story about soldiers being taunted by protesters at the Walter Reed Memorial Hospital. Today CNS News has a story about the situation and a video report (at the same link). Washington (CNSNews.com) - The Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the current home of hundreds of wounded veterans from the war in Iraq, has been the target of weekly anti-war demonstrations since March. The protesters hold signs that read “Maimed for Lies” and “Enlist here and die for Halliburton.” [...]

Join the U.S. military. Visit strange, exotic lands. Meet exciting, unusual people. And kill them.”

Didn’t Joker say something along those lines in Full Metal Jacket?

Brings back memories of an ugly little incident with ROTC fools at U of Ill at Champaign Urbana, questioning my patriotism and sexual preferences( I had long hair).
I was not demonstrating, just walking.

Oh, poor Woofie.  Of course that comment is relevant.  Because you got teased a bit we should forget all about the thousands of soldiers who were insulted (and in some instances betrayed, see: Hanoi Jane) by anti-war protesters for doing their duty to their country.

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

-- Thomas Jefferson

Rob’s recently listened-to songs:

WOOF,

When did this l’il incident take place at the UofI?  You may be one of the protesters I bitch slapped for spitting at me.  Wow, it is a small world afterall, ain’t it?

Regards…

So the ends do justify the means: As long as your making a political statement, the fact that it hurts and degrades the vets is just a side effect. What the protesters feel about the war is far more important than the feelings of the soldiers.

If you read the rest of what I’ve written, you’ll see that I acknowledge that it’s not a black and white issue, and that the protestors rights do not necessarily supersede their wisdom.

I’d take the CNS story with a giant grain of salt. Especially when this Stars and Stripes article gives a much different picture of the protest’s aim and tone:

“The guys in here are the real cost of the war,” says George Taylor, a former Navy officer and veteran of the 1962 Cuban Blockade, shrugging off the night cold among about two dozen activists outside the Walter Reed gates Tuesday night.

“It’s just shameful that the military would try and sneak them in like this and hope no one notices their wounds,” he adds, as a red minivan sporting a “Support our troops” yellow ribbon passes by. The driver honks the horn, yelling “We support you!” to the activists.

Kevin McCarron, a former Marine intelligence specialist and a veteran of the 1991 Gulf War, said he thinks the late-night admittances are a dishonor to the troops.

“They should be feted as they arrive, honored as heroes, not slipped through the back door like this,” he said.

I was pointing out the rationale of the protesters, and the fact that they really do not care about the soldiers.  They only care about furthering their political agenda.  These fanatics should be ridiculed, derided, and prosecuted for harassment.

I personally would try them for treason, as they are waging psy-ops on our troops and citizens.  They want to lower the nation’s morale to further their radical agenda.  They do not have the nation’s best interest in mind, but instead seek its destruction as a capitalist democracy.

Marc said, I’d take the CNS story with a giant grain of salt. Especially when this Stars and Stripes article gives a much different picture of the protest’s aim and tone:

Yes...I’m sure groups like Code Pink only have the soldiers’ best interests in mind. Right?

But hey,..believe what you want and take those grains of salt.

Awww this is a beauty, huh? You getting the picture yet Marc? Still think that they care about the troops? Do you have any doubts as to the real “aim and tone”?

Vietnam vets gettin spat on is a completely untrue urban legend, just like this bullshit.

You are full of shit you slime ass mother fucker

Vietnam vets gettin spat on is a completely untrue urban legend, just like this bullshit.

How do you know this Tommy?

Tommy McCarthy spit out, Vietnam vets gettin spat on is a completely untrue urban legend, just like this bullshit.

So everybody who has had it happen is lying I guess. Because you say so.

You are full of shit you slime ass mother fucker

Oh Tommy,..you’re such a poor angry sod.

Why is it bullshit Tommy?  Outside of the fact that you want it to be…

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

-- Thomas Jefferson

Rob’s recently listened-to songs:

Tommy McCarthy was commenting on the quote that Vietnam Vets being spit on was bullshit, he did not say it was bullshit.

Perhaps if you worthless, faggot, cheese-ass GENERATION-X
piece of shit excuses for humans could actually read these postings and process them through the one Ritalin addled brain cell you possess, you would see that.