Gathering of Eagles III

When I saw the Iraq Veterans with upside down flags marching by me, I was silenced. If I am not mistaken, that upside down thing means distress? I really was stunned and felt physically sick.. And the Gold Star mothers screamed nasty things at the Eagles. It was just poison.

Don’t misunderstand me. I do not know their grief, but was what they were doing really helping them to move forward? Not in my eyes. I wondered if they really understood the commitment that their fallen loved ones had taken on and fought for? I feel that no matter what your politics, when your kid decides on the military, he/she knows the risks associated with the job. It is like any other. You can lose your life at any job. Are the risks raised slightly in a war? Absolutely. But asking the question, “is this war unjust?” is redundant. Every war would be unjust except that there is usually a winner, and more times than not, it is the “good guys” (and if any left-minded thinker throws any Vietnam crap out, that is immaterial.) No two wars are the same and we have to start seeing that.

We have to have the balls as Americans to see this through, all the way. Forget what has gone before and focus on what is happening. Stop going backward and admit that things have changed instead of calling Gen. Patraeus a liar to suit what “anti-war” means.

People out at the march were screaming things about Che Gueverra…Bush is a terrorist, Petraeus is a liar…one gets the picture. Why would moms and dads who have lost children go against what their children sacrificed for? Do they want to emulate Cindy Sheehan?  Deborah Johns spoke of her son, who served with Casey Sheehan and he believed in what he died for.I know some of the soldiers truly don’t believe in the cause, but then, it would be my opinion that it’s either shitt or get off the pot for God’s sake. There are plenty who will take their place and understand the cost of freedom. We cannot keep it without a fight. And we are in the fight of our lives.literally.  I am willing to defend that and I have and I am. So are the rest of anyone that calls themselves Eagles.
That was another common screech. If someone engaged in dialogue on our lines,  the standard retort to any pro-person was to “Enlist”! I say to you that these people cannot possibly be the liberal left I know in America. These people are so full of hate, it’s scary. In every photo I took, they have their mouths open or a nasty look on their face. I held a sign that had three ribbons on it…blue, yellow, and red and it just said, “Duty, Honor, Country“. I was flipped the bird, told to enlist, called stupid, stared down. You name it. Three people attempted to have “dialogue.” The one looked like she should have been dressed in Fairy-do because she just wanted to talk and debate. I would love that, too. But you cannot f-ing reason with terrorists that want to destroy our lives and blow things , people up. Another person, who I will say really tried and failed was wearing an “Arrest Bush Shirt”. I asked her, “Do you believe terrorism exists?”

She said,” Yes“.

I said, “Who are the terrorists?”

She said, “ The New York Times just reviewed a book called Dead Certain and President Bush said that when he leaves the White House he is going to fill up his coffers. He has 20 Million dollars…” Needless to say, it took me a moment to get the question in again.

“Who are the terrorists?” And the reply,” Hold on, I am a complex thinker.”

To which, Coretta from Queens, Coast Guard Eagle alum shouted, “George Bush is my hero and the Republican Party is my party!” The girl then said something about the color of Coretta’s skin and then the fireworks were lit. Coretta, an immigrant from Antigua says,” Don’t you ever use the color of my skin to tell me anything. The democratic party uses the color of people’s skin to hold them down and call them poor. The Republican party has elevated more minority folk into places where they belong based on achievements, not the color of their skin. They will never be my party since they consider me to be ‘poor‘.” (GO CORETTA, is what I was thinking!!) America is my Country and I will fight for it.” She was so awesome!! I am sure my memory leaves a bit to be desired, but I am darn close.

I never got a straight answer to who she thought the terrorists were.

I tried and tried to be civil. But when somebody held up a poster with the supposed casualties of our soldiers and then the supposed Iraqi casualties, I lost it. I told her stats were bogus and that the number of combat deaths is much lower than what was on her poster, same for the Iraqi number. She proceeded to tell me I was a f-ed up veteran (she asked me if I served, like it mattered). Her numbers were 3751 for the US and 655,000 Iraqis. According to the real numbers 645 deaths so far are non-combat related of 3551 soldiers (the most recent I found.) and the number of actual deaths of civilians is 72K-79k+. (Nowhere near the Lancet report which was bogus, as we now know.) The other thing that enraged me,and I do mean enraged is that these people who are anti-war, "standing up" for what they believed in meant hding behind a bandana or kerchief. When I asked them why they hid their faces, I was told F-you. How can you stand for what you believe under a cloak?  I just reemed my kids out. They do not want to wear the T-shirts from MAF that say "We don't surrender to Terrorists!" They are afraid to fight with friends, or that the teachers will give them crap. I am not disappointed, I know it is their immaturity. But I did make it a point to tell them that sooner or later, they will have to learn to do just that.