|
Veteran gets rude welcome on Bainbridge (via Drudge)
Think about the Seattle area -- Bainbridge Island to be exact -- and you think scenic views and liberal-minded tolerance. 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!" | I'd say they're back, but the bastards never left. |
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."
| The morally superior, like the poor, will always be with us. In fact, when there is no more poverty, there will still be the morally superior... |
On the Fourth, Jason faced his worst fear. It was such a public humiliation â home front insult after battlefield injury.
Posted by: war46 2004-07-09 |
