Repubs need to get one thing perfectly clear about Cindy Sheehan....

[kentuck]

Yes, she lost her son in that war based on lies. But that is not all that she is about. Indeed, it has given her credibility to speak out on the war. The fact that she has spoken out against the war and for the peace movement is what really grabs them by the balls. They can't stand it. To think someone like Cindy Sheehan would go against George W Bush is almost unthinkable to them. So they attack her.

But Cindy Sheehan does not hide the fact where she stands. In fact, she speaks quite clearly and eloquently on the subject. She is not hiding any type of agenda. People know exactly where she stands. She is against this illegal war. She is a child of peace.

[opihimoimoi]

1. The Hunger for Peace is Insatiable, but its in the closet...until a

triggering event....Cindy is that trigger to give the Peace Movement a Super Boost....Whats wrong with Peace anyway? Its not a Bad Word...

[shaniqua6392]

2. She is a child of peace.

The opposition is like a cornered snake. One can see by their reaction that she is getting to them. They hate her for her bravery. They can not get her riled. She still speaks like an angel no matter what they throw at her. What would Jesus do?? The same thing Cindy is doing.

[Deep N RedLand]

3. To be for peace should be a source of pride.

I just can't figure out how one can call themselves "pro-war"?
Why would these people want to admit they're for death and destruction?
To me, it's a sign of a sickness and when they are the one's being given credence and our side demonized it just proves how f'ed up things have become in Bushworld.

[Totally Committed]

4. They want it to only be about he dead son, because

then, they can paint her as a grieving mother, neurotically clinging to her grief, so as to be mentally unbalanced. It's subtle, but very Rovian.

I don't know if anyone here saw "Real Time" last night, but another "meme" being floated out there (Bill Maher had her address it) was that she was a publicity addict, that this was all about her need to be noticed and in the spotlight. I think this is the new "second line" of Cindy-bashing that we will see more and more if the public does not buy the "whacked-out-on-grief" business.

The important thing to do is to keep supporting her. However one chooses to do so is personal, but just do it. Not only is she the "enemy of our enemy", but as has been said here, she is a true "child of peace", and whether you believe in an immediate pull-out, or a stabilization before a pull-out, I think you can agree with me -- Peace is the end-result we all want.

TC

[DaveJ]

5. What they don't comprehend is....

Yes she is a peace activist even before her son was killed, but the best way to support the troops is to listen what his mother has to say.

[jonnyblitz]

6. they have an extra special dose of hate for anybody who

is affiliated with the military in any way and is anti-war. As a vet, whenever i have been confronted by freepers on the street, as soon as they find out I was in the navy for 10 years (i usually bring this up after i get the traitor thing thrown at me), the volume of the shrieking increases and the spit and vulgarities start to fly. it gets ugly..

so, yeah, we mess up their black and white view of the world.

[DaveJ]

7. Are these non-veterans doing this?

They sound pretty sick. I suppose they expect soldiers to just be unthinking killing machines, not human beings, Americans who have enough intellect to comprehend whether or not the purpose of their cause is just or not.

[jonnyblitz]

8. yes, most have been early 20's so I assume so..

there was one especially virulent person that got in my face who was a student somewhere in Cambridge, MA when i was standing on a street corner in Harvard SQ with a picket sign. he got right in my face and screamed SUPPORT OUR TROOPS. I said , I WAS A TROOP. I don't even want to repeat what came out of his mouth after that..

[DaveJ]

9. You hit on an important fact

Although it's difficult for most to grasp.

The same kind of people who (supposedly) spit in soldiers faces in the 70s are the kind who are voting to send troops to Iraq today. They say support the troops, but in reality they are disrespecting the troops influencing them fight for someone with dishonorable motives. Their cruelty is now more insidious.

[jonnyblitz]

I read that the only documentation of troops being spit on

were the anti-war vets that descended on the GOP Convention in protest during the Nixon years, Ron Kovacs (sp?), of "born on the 4th of july" fame being one of them. the republican delegates spat on them. there is a book out dealing with this urban legend of spitting on the troops called "the spitting image" , another long story for another day..

many folks claim to have a friend who knows a friend who got spat on. I believe it probably could have happened here and there but it wasn't this HUGE phenomenon and there is no official documentation for solid proof.

[DaveJ]

14. There was a thread on this topic awhile back

There were some who recalled intense disrespect for soldiers and some who thought it was exagerated. The point is, I think people were able to get away with openly disrespecting the troops back then, and among some social circles it was considered 'cool'. Today the same kind of people are wolves are in sheeps clothing who place 'Support Our Troops' magnets on the back of their SUVs while doing nothing else to actually benefit them. It's actually a backhanded support. They say they support the troops but do just the opposite.

[jonnyblitz]

15. i highly recommend the book I mentioned in my other post

"the spitting image". I recommend any book dealing with anti-war activist vets, they are out there. they are eye opener books. I don't think many people are aware of the extent of the opposition to war in the Vet community.

check this out if you are so inclined from amazon. com :

The Spitting Image: Myth, Memory, and the Legacy of Vietnam

From Library Journal
Images of long-haired antiwar protesters, almost always women, spitting on returning Vietnam veterans have become a shameful part of America's collective memory. Lembcke (sociology, Holy Cross Univ.), a member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, here presents a stunning indictment of this myth?an illusion created, he maintains, by the Nixon-Agnew administration and an unwitting press to attribute America's loss in Vietnam to internal dissension. In fact, the antiwar movement and many veterans were closely aligned, and the only documented incidents show members of the VFW and American Legion spitting on their less successful Vietnam peers. But Lembcke's most controversial conclusion is that posttraumatic stress disorder was as much a political creation?a means of discrediting returning vets who protested the war as unhinged?as it was a medical condition. The image of the psycho-vet was furthered through such Hollywood productions as The Deer Hunter and Coming Home. This forceful investigation challenges the reader to reexamine assumptions about the dark side of American culture that glorifies war more than peace. Highly recommended for large public libraries and for all academic peace studies collections.

a bit more..
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0814751474/qid=1125153898/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-7317459-4

[Vickers]

10. I've had the same thing happen. It steams their ass when they find out

they are talking to somebody who ACTUALLY WAS IN THE MILITARY, and yet still says that GEORGE W. BUSH IS A DUMBASS.

You can almost see the explosions inside their heads! :rofl:

"Go grab a rifle, motherfucker." They love that.

[jonnyblitz]

11. "they are busy stateside fighting the CULTURE war"

yeah, I lost a limb supporting the defense of marriage. :eyes:

seriously my subject line was a talking point amongst young republicans when asked why aren't they supporting their president and the war by enlisting.

[DaveJ]

12. It makes me wonder.

I have a 21 year old cousin who supports the war but instead of fighting he's in college on a fast track in accounting so he can rub elbows with corporate elitist. I wonder how he would react if he had to give up everything, drop out of college, pick up a rifle, and maybe suffer a serious injury and live by himself a shabby studio apartment for the rest of his life, all to benefit to corporate elitists who he is so eager to please.

Who would he support if there were a war that was worth fighting, a war against the corporate elitists who force 99% of the planet into indentured servitude where they have no choice but to work 80+ hours a week just to keep a roof over their heads. Would he be on the side of the people or would he be slaughtering people who truly are fighting for freedom.

One of the most just wars in U.S. history was the Revolutionary Wat but now we are back on the side of the rule of England. The best way to support our troops would be to re-declare our independence from this kind of imperialism.

[jonnyblitz]

13. exactly. good post.

:thumbsup: