Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Day 3 of the Peace Occupation of Crawford

Think what you will about Cindy Sheehan and/or her motives, as those on the right try to discredit her, but she has a good point:

Why do the right wing media so assiduously scrutinize the words of a grief filled mother and ignore the words of a lying president?

Yeah, why is that? Especially since it is so much easier to catch an inconsistency coming out of the White House, even if you're not scrutinizing every word and trying to read in alternate meanings.

Anyway, the bottom line for me is that whether or not I disagreed with her (and I certainly don't), I certainly wouldn't trash her the way people on the right are doing. Because I don't know the grief that she feels, my son is alive and well and I see him everyday. I'm sure there are other grieving families who have lost loved ones in this war and who would not approve of her actions, and I wouldn't say anything bad about them, either. As a matter of fact, I think they're the only ones who can have any legitimate criticism of Sheehan, because they know how she feels. It doesn't surprise me that Bush won't talk to this woman, or that people on the right think that that is ok. It does surprise me that anyone would attack her the way they have (I don't know how many times I've seen her called a bitch, or read that she is dishonoring her son's memory), especially from the crowd that is so proud of their support of the troops that they stick magnets on their cars to make sure everyone knows. I guess they need to get some new magnets that say "Support the Troops, Fuck the Grieving Mothers." Assholes.

UPDATE: It looks like I've been linked to some conservative blog, where I've apparently been branded a sheep for thinking that it's up to Cindy Sheehan alone to decide what is the right way to honor her son's memory. I've seen a lot of visitors from that site, but none have left any comments. So I'm asking any conservative readers why you think it's ok to call a woman who has lost her son a bitch for simply disagreeing with you, or why you think you know better what her son would have wanted than she would? Or if you don't think that, let me know that as well, because the only conservative voices I'm hearing from this story are the ones saying those things.

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8 comments:

Scott G said...

What purpose does it serve to trash someone who actually lost her son in the war when most of those attacking her don't even know someone in the war. It is like that Georgia guy saying Cleland didn't believe in defending America and that Bush was a patriot but Kerry was a traitor

Melissa McEwan said...

she is dishonoring her son's memory

When I hear someone say that, all I can think is, "Who the fuck do you think you are, telling a mother how best to honor her son's memory?" Unbelievable. That reminds me of the kid who went on O'Reilly whose dad was killed in 9/11, and O'Reilly told him he was dishonoring his father's memory. You know, why don't we let people honor their dead family members however they feel is most appropriate and keep our noses out of it? Honestly!

John Howard said...

Yeah, exactly. Who the fuck are they to tell anyone what to do in that situation? As much as I hate the war, if I ran across a mother who had lost her son in Iraq, and was using that story to show her support for the war and Bush, I would never once think to tell her she was doing something wrong. I wonder why these idiots think it's ok. This flip flopper label is getting old too. Can't they come up with something new?

sumo said...

That's why we have a constitutional amendment that honors our rights as American citizens to speak our minds and feelings the way we choose. Of course we now have an administration that is desperately trying to change that little notion. If we are not collectively careful... Bob Dylan's song "The Times They Are a Changin'" will take on a new meaning for us all. Ironic that a 60's song could be an anthem for going forward...yet perhaps age into something that it wasn't intended to portend. I think we are all taken aback by the possible coming attractions...wink!...wink!

STP said...

Can I pretend to be a conservative? I am really, really tired so that should substitute for being stupid.

Sheehan is wrong for grieving over the loss of her child in the manner she has chosen because we must support Herr President and the war no matter what. Blind loyalty is necessary because Herr President has spoken to God and God told him what to do. It is obvious that Sheehan has been brainwashed by the liberal, communists in our country who are secretly attempting to turn her into a lesbian.

We now return to our regular programming.

The Disgruntled Chemist said...

none have left any comments

Why am I not surprised? It's a lot easier to call someone a sheep than it is to come to their blog and actually engage them in thoughtful discussions.

Or maybe they're just used to the conservative blogs not allowing comments, and they get confused when there's that extra link near the timestamp.

John Howard said...

Yeah, conservative blogs seem to be much less likely to accept comments, and when they do, they seem awfully quick to ban people.

John Howard said...

Maybe if you didn't call them assholes.

Seriously though, if you try to go there as the Chemist, that probably gets you banned right away, those weirdos are afraid of science.