EDITED BY PEACE VET
A lot of the counter-demonstrators are veterans -- of Vietnam and other
wars. They're always ready to have this fight again, anytime. But then, a
lot of the peace marchers are veterans, too, filling the front rank of the
protest column from the Lincoln Memorial to the Pentagon. "Boo! Boo!" shriek
the sideline veterans at the marching veterans. "Traitors!"
Bands of brothers in Baghdad, broken apart at home. The veterans for peace,
including active-duty men and women, and guys fresh from Iraq in desert camo,
one of whom is sobbing, don't seem prepared for veteran-on-veteran trash talk.The marching vets look so much younger and more vulnerable than the ones on the
side waving flags. They still have the thousand-yard stare, and a
battlefield hauntedness. "Bring our brothers home," is what they say.
I can't help but shake my head in wonder when I read or hear of fellow nam vets booing and calling vets and active duty from this war/occupation traitors because they want to bring their brothers and sisters home.
I wonder how history will show who treated the Iraqi vets like shyt when the rewritting of the history starts this time.
There have been 3 days of protest in this country and around the world. Most in the US have been led by vets/active duty and their families.
To my fellow Nam vets who would condemn those vets, their families, and tear up the signs and banners of those marching with them I say:
You were used as tools in "our" war and you're being played even worse today. The corporate war pigs will never allow you into the fold. They used us as pawns then, they're using you as pawns now, and they'll try to use those brothers and sisters you condemn today in the future.
If you insist on being welcomed home every Memorial and Veterans Day for 20 years you'll never get there.
A lot of these guys are the ones who claim they were spit on when they returned home. Who was doing the "spitting" Saturday if not these brave men in there medal bestooned "cut aways"? It seems they want the men and women they were jeering to sacrifice more in a senseless war so they themselfs can rewrite history and put their seal of approval on "their" war that slaughtered 2 1/2 million SE Asians and put 68,000 names on the Wall. They claim to speak for every one of those names. Well they don't.
Most of them are bullies who relive the false glory of Nam every day. They show up at the Wall every Vets Day demanding to be welcomed home for the 5th, 7th, or 10th time. They refuse to listen to any vet Iraq, Nam, Korea, etc. who dares to call BS.
The reports I've heard about some of the things these "brave men" did on Saturday discust me. They claimed to have been protecting the Wall. In reality they were there to pose and intimidate people. The Park Rangers used them to cut off routes to the rally site. I could go on but I'm sure I don't have to.
They may want us to send our families and friends to this fooking war, they may want to send their own sons and daughters. Fook em.
SUPPORT PEACE
BRING EM HOME
7 comments:
Thanks for the post, PV....you know I agree with you 100%.
While I hate the division between the vets, at least I can understand both sides of that argument. I despise even more the people who throw around words like "aiding and abetting" and "traitor," yet who still haven't signed up to go fight this absolutely unnecessary war. I'm betting they're also the ones who, though they display their ribbons on their SUVs, have not spent even $10 of their own money to do something really valuable -- even sending a few toothbrushes or boxes of babywipes.
I know that wasn't the intent of your post, but it seems as though I go there automatically.
People including vets are taking sides MM. I find the hypocrisy of the "Dim Son Bobbleheads" amusing. Anyone with knowledge can expose them for the blithering idiots they are.
The division between vets is there for a reason brother. "Those" vets use intimidation to force their oppinions down the throats of others. Rather than hold a "counter" demonsration they push, shove, curse, and rip up signs and banners anytime they get a chance. They do these things with Park Rangers and Police looking on and the first time anyone looks like they're going to fight back the Rangers and Cops rush in to put a stop to it. If anyone gets arrested 9 out of 10 times it's a anti war peep.
How many times have you heard of peace vets doing this kind of shit? Hell most of the time anti war vets aren't even mentioned wich is why I linked the article that does.
These guys got the green light this weekend my friend. I hope folks are prepared for it. Fighting them is pointless as they have the cops on their side. And most of us are tired of the fighting and killing anyway which is why we march. Whats needed is more peace vets at the demos to show the people there is another side.
I'm puzzled here, how in the hell can you have a war in this country without some kind of protest? I returned home after a 20 month combat tour of Vietnam. I took an active position against the war in '68'. I got pails of water dumped on my head from roof tops, attacked by WWII veterans,everything but spit upon. It did not bother me in the least because I thought it was important enough to risk the attack.
To hell with the GOE or the counter demonstrators if you can't take the heat don't light the fire. Now you seem to accuse Veterans of spitting on Veterans during the march. Please give me your source because I tried to google it and found nothing. It seems to me that this would be front page stuff.
I really think your comment about the Wall and Veterans day was way out of line. I prefer Memorial Day because it's so beautiful and it ain't about me. But that's my preference.
In short you complain about disrespect, but you show disrespect by implying that Veterans that attend Wall on Veterans Day do so for selfish reasons, that's just BS.
Nuff Said,
UH1Charlie
uh1
I prefer Memorial day also.
I've been to the Wall 3 times. I'm one of the people who considers it a shrine. The vets I'm talking about are the ones who turn it into a circus on vets day. The ones I've seen time after time ride up reving their "Hogs" and disrupting a solemn time every time the Traveling Wall comes thru town. The Wall isn't about posing it's about remembering.
When I heard the peace folks were planning a rally at the Wall I dissagreed. The Wall itself is a statement. It needs no help from any politico.
I have no problem with counter demos. In fact I welcome them as expose the other side better than anything IMHO.
It's just that I visted their site and they claim they were polite. Booing the mother of a fallen GI is out of line no matter what you think of her political stand. They claim Cindy is using her sons death to push her political views. Aren't they using the Wall?
As for trhe spitting. I think 99.9% of the stories are bullshit. I think we were all figuratively spit on by the bastids who sent us to war and I used the word spit figuratively in my post.
Peace Vet,
I agree most of those idiots are not Combat Veterans. If they were, they would not be acting like A-Holes.
Loud pipes save nothing...UH1Charlie
UH1
I don't know bro, a lot of them wear CIB's. Thats part of what drives me so fookin crazy. They humped the same bush as I did. They wear POW/MIA patches but don't think anything wrong with throwing people into solitary for years with no contact with the outside world.
If folks think its ok then tell me why with more than a bumper sticker slogan. And don't scream backstabber and traitor in my face because I was there and know what we did.
Hell a lot of those guys probably marched with us. LOL
Why do they fight so hard for history to be repeated UH1? Do they need another Wall to "protect"?
I guess "it don't mean nothin".
Peace Vet,
'Walls' are first erected in the minds of men. A man that hates is a man with 'Walls'. Men with 'Walls' for minds are a clear and present danger to our liberties, our freedoms, and most important our humanity.
'It do mean something'
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