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All opinions posted. None too pathetic or contrived. Everyone gets their say.
"...even the wicked get worse than they deserve." - Willa Cather, One of Ours
Monday, July 12, 2004
Veteran gets rude welcome
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (daily newspaper)
Shame. Shame. Shame.
Someone said this election will be like 1968.
The Chicago convention broke the Democratic Party. Over the next 30 years the Democratic Party got consistantly weaker and the Republican Party got consistantly stronger.
I hope to god that 1968 has not come again.
Think about the Seattle area -- Bainbridge Island to be exact -- and you think scenic views and liberal-minded tolerance.What makes it even worse is that these people are not even ashamed of what they have done. I am certain that they went home with a self-satisfied feeling after having successfully confronted the Bush war machine and its advocates. Yeah! They really stuck it to Bush.
At least the killer views are still there.
The bucolic island's deep reputation for civility got a gut check this week during the annual Grand Old Fourth of July celebration.
That's when Jason Gilson, a 23-year-old military veteran who served in Iraq, marched in the local event. He wore his medals with pride and carried a sign that said "Veterans for Bush."
Walking the parade route with his mom, younger siblings and politically conservative friends, Jason heard words from the crowd that felt like a thousand daggers to the heart.
"Baby killer!"
"Murderer!"
"Boooo!"
To understand why the reaction of strangers hurt so much, you must read what the young man had written in a letter from Iraq before he was disabled in an ambush:
"I really miss being in the states. Some of the American public have no idea how much freedom costs and who the people are that pay that awful price. I think sometimes people just see us as nameless and faceless and not really as humans. ... A good portion of us are actually scared that when we come home, for those of us who make it back, that there will be protesters waiting for us and that is scary."
On the Fourth, Jason faced his worst fear.
It was such a public humiliation -- home front insult after battlefield injury...
...Have we so quickly forgotten the painful lessons of Vietnam?
...a female parade announcer locked eyes on [Jason] who was walking behind a pro-Republican group called Women in Red, White and Blue. The group supports President Bush and the troops in the fight against terrorism...the female announcer sarcastically asked Jason: "And what exactly are you a veteran of?"
The perceived mocking...set off some people in the crowd, loosing a flood of negative comments, "like a wave... a mob-style degrading."...
Shame. Shame. Shame.
Someone said this election will be like 1968.
The Chicago convention broke the Democratic Party. Over the next 30 years the Democratic Party got consistantly weaker and the Republican Party got consistantly stronger.
I hope to god that 1968 has not come again.