Assholes to the right, Assholes to the left

[AngeloMichael]

In the interest of equal opportunity and in pointing out something that makes my stomach turn just as much as the Bush administration and their policies does...

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."

The anti-war demonstrators, who obtain their protest permits from the Washington, D.C., police department, position themselves directly in front of the main entrance to the Army Medical Center, which is located in northwest D.C., about five miles from the White House.

Among the props used by the protesters are mock caskets, lined up on the sidewalk to represent the death toll in Iraq.

Code Pink Women for Peace, one of the groups backing anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan's vigil outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford Texas, organizes the protests at Walter Reed as well.

Kevin Pannell, who was recently treated at Walter Reed and had both legs amputated after an ambush grenade attack near Baghdad in 2004, considers the presence of the anti-war protesters in front of the hospital "distasteful."

When he was a patient at the hospital, Pannell said he initially tried to ignore the anti-war activists camped out in front of Walter Reed, until witnessing something that enraged him.

"We went by there one day and I drove by and [the anti-war protesters] had a bunch of flag-draped coffins laid out on the sidewalk. That, I thought, was probably the most distasteful thing I had ever seen. Ever," Pannell, a member of the Army's First Cavalry Division, told Cybercast News Service.

"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 said, adding that other veterans recovering from wounds at Walter Reed share his resentment for the anti-war protesters.

I'm all for protesting this war but to pick on wounded soldiers...these people are just attention whores and it's sick. The reason I'm for protesting this war is to get our guys out of there. They are brave men and women serving our country and it's not up to them where they are sent. They don't deserve to be shit on when they come home after leaving behind a limb or two, or even worse, a friend or two or three...

It looks like neither the military nor the anti-war protesters have learned a thing from Vietnam.

 

[silverwhisper]

it's kinda the protest version of an ad hominem attack, isn't it? protest the people in charge, not the soldiers.

i agree it's disgraceful.

ed

 

[LadyJeanne]

The anti-war protesters are trying to get attention in whatever way they can. Distasteful as mock coffins in front of Walter Reed are, what I find far more distasteful are the real coffins, with real bodies of our dead soldiers inside, the ones they don't want us to see or think about.

 

[silverwhisper]

i don't find that distasteful. i find that a damned tragedy, though.

ed

 

[BlackSnake]

I would have something very useful to say if I wasn't such a patriot.

"I have been called to duty. Do my duty I must. Should I fail, my fellow Americans to my left and to my right might suffer. On into the unknown. Steadfast to my call. I swallow my fear and my pride."

 

[rgraham666]

Sigh.

Wotta bunch of losers.

 

[AppleBiter]

Am I the only one that looked at this thread title and sang to myself, "stuck in the middle with you . . ." ? Sorry. Random outburst. *slinking off, now* [/threadjack]

 

[Guest]

Apparently from my blog reading, even Right Wing blogs do not hold CNCNews in very high regard.

Here is what "Stars and Stripes" says about the demonstrators.

WASHINGTON — Steeling against rain and cold night air, clutching candles and placards, a group of activists are standing nightly vigils at the entrance to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, protesting what they believe is the Pentagon’s attempt to hide the human toll of the war in Iraq.

With wounded troops arriving from Germany, where most receive treatment after being stabilized in the field, flights to the United States are arranged so that soldiers are admitted into Walter Reed for follow on care at night.

“When we first heard about this, we were appalled,” said vigil organizer Gael Murphy, part of nationwide grass roots women’s group dubbed Code Pink. “Why are they bringing them in only at night? Is it because they don’t want the media to cover it? Is it because they don’t want Americans to see the real cost of this war?”


Rather than demonstrating against the soldiers, it appears they are supporting the soldiers. Of course, I should drive up and look for myself before I can say for sure.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

In the interest of equal opportunity and in pointing out something that makes my stomach turn just as much as the Bush administration and their policies does...

Link








I'm all for protesting this war but to pick on wounded soldiers...these people are just attention whores and it's sick. The reason I'm for protesting this war is to get our guys out of there. They are brave men and women serving our country and it's not up to them where they are sent. They don't deserve to be shit on when they come home after leaving behind a limb or two, or even worse, a friend or two or three...

It looks like neither the military nor the anti-war protesters have learned a thing from Vietnam.

I'm not going to get into a debate on the war, but when the people who oppose it publicly are doing things of this sort, drawing this sort of attention, it makes everyone who speaks out against it look bad. Well, a good bit worse than bad, actually.

Q_C

 

[dr_mabeuse]

It's tragic if it's true, but I have doubts as to the report's veracity.

This CNS source also prints articles like, "Anti-War protesters Support Communist Dictators!" The "protesters" they talk to are only mentioned by first name, which seems kind of suspicious to me, and the whole report feels quite bogus. We all know that the right wing has taken to manufacturing "news" to bolster its views.

I'd like to see a corroborating report from a more neutral source before taking this article seriously.