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Home Front: WoT
Veteran gets rude welcome on Bainbridge (via Drudge)
2004-07-09
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 — home front insult after battlefield injury.
More at the link...
Posted by:war46

#8  Natural selection is not working fast enough in the Island of Bainbridge. Somebody should help mother nature speed up the process.
Posted by: Anonymous4724   2004-07-10 3:25:22 AM  

#7  Thank you for the heads up, Ricky. You bet I'm going to send a scathing letter to the editor about this shameful incident. My heart goes out to the soldier.
Posted by: rex   2004-07-10 2:05:09 AM  

#6  http://www.bainbridgereview.com

Here's the link to the local paper. Also has a link to the Chamber of Commerce.
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo)   2004-07-10 1:52:30 AM  

#5  Jamieson's a LLL columnist for Puget Pravda the Seattle P-I. I'm surprised to the point of shock that the bastard crawled out from under Baghdad Jim McDermott's desk long enough to write even this limp criticism of his fellow moonbats.

I have the misfortune of living on Bainbridge Island, amongst all these fashionably-leftist assholes. Most of the population consists of ex-hippies and radicals who went to law school, joined blue-chip firms in Seattle and got rich, but never gave up the LLL politics. It's like Marin County with a heavier cloud cover.

The local media NEEDS to get lots of letters on this issue - the name of the Bainbridge 2x/week paper is the "Bainbridge Review", and they have a website. The executive director of the Bainbridge Chamber of Commerce also gave a half-assed "explanation" of the incident which was more of a justification, saying that this poor disabled vet was a representative of President Bush (and essentially DESERVED the abuse he got). Give the CoC a little blast as well - I sure as hell intend to.
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo)   2004-07-10 1:45:14 AM  

#4  Liberal-minded tolerance - what an oxymoron. Emphasis on the moron.

I never met any of these losers either. In fact, when travelling between duty stations I don't recall ever having to pay for a bite to eat at the airports. Often an old-timer or a family with a child in boot camp would intervene, and I'd get some good conversation as well. People in Chicago, Detroit, and Minneapolis were especially nice.
Posted by: BH   2004-07-09 11:11:24 PM  

#3  I salute military personnel, especially active-duty/reserve ones who've/are serving, when I see them ... noted "Semper Fi" to a Marine I met at my school ...
Posted by: Edward Yee   2004-07-09 9:38:04 PM  

#2  I've never been confronted w/derision while wearing my uniform at home or in the airport by any LLL morons. Of course most of my travel is from the Carolinas to Detroit and back. There is always a few folks who will shake my hand - usually other vets and old ladies. I also tend to travel w/my wife and son in tow - so I'd be highly surprised if someone would be that stupid to try to confront a Marine in front of his wife & kid. It figures that this guy would get taunted by a bunch of pussies in a crowd where they think they're safe. Typical pussy tactics by pussies.
Posted by: Jarhead   2004-07-09 8:59:00 PM  

#1  Oh yes...those militant republican women in their red, white and blue. I'm sure the folks in Bainbridge would've felt right at home with a parade of brownshirts.
Posted by: Rex Mundi   2004-07-09 8:07:25 PM  

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