Because I get the same kind of crap in lower doses than Kovic and Max Cleland did and still do. When you become disabled at work you’re supposed to be grateful for any crust of bread thrown your way, and condemned as a whiner if you point out the guilt of the parties who brought you to that state. With war veterans it’s worse.
Ron Kovic and Max Cleland were “just fine” in the eyes of the Pentagon, until they started opposing the war, then they were and still are demonized. The Pentagoons, while Cleland was fighting to survive, leaving 3 of his limbs on the cutting room floor, (mixed metaphor there, cutting room is about films) his commanders were filling out paperwork exonerating themselves from any blame for what they had done to him. Like Kovic, and Private Nation, and John Kerry, and Flight Lt Joseph “Country” MacDonald, he was treated with the military equivalent of Honor as long as he consented to be the Token. The Warrior returning and still supporting a lost war. Touching, Heartwarming, (heartburn) but once they chose to speak out, save for Private Nation, they were the darlings of every parade, supporting sending even MORE young people off to kill other people in other lands, other mother’s sons… except for Private Nation. Who was Private Nation, you ask?
He was one of my ancestors. He, too, fought for the losing side, a hundred years earlier. Late in the war, the Civil one… hence, he wasn’t fighting to kill and die in Foreign Lands… he took a Minie ball upside his temple, tore off a chunk of his skull. Surgeon told him, “Private, that’s going to kill you eventually” and sure enough, 80 years later, it did. But he was a Confederate. He was fighting for the “states’ rights” cause. You know the one, the States’ Right to deny Liberty or even the definition of Humanity to HUMAN BEINGS based solely on the shade of their skins, and to deny them that Liberty before they were even born. And to use State Funds and State Police Powers to ensure that they remained in Slavery. In short, he was fighting not for States’ Rights, but for States’ WRONGS.
In VietNam, and now Iraq and Afghanistan, the Slave Owners live off premises, but it’s still the same concept. Still sending in the Private Nation and the Ron Kovic of the modern age. And if you get pieces of you blown off, you’re supposed to accept it, be rolled around in the parades like a Good Little Cripple, patted on the head and sternly warned not to say anything at all against the regime.
If Gunnery Sgt Nick Popavitch, proudly supporting the military that cost his eye and, really, their honor and his… If he ever stands up and says it’s wrong he won’t be their Tame Token Cripple anymore, and can expect His Comrades will turn on him like a pack of starving wolves on a pork chop. That’s the “freedom” they’re fighting. For. Against.
Private Nation never repented of his service to the cause of Slavery. Many people in the South feel that his “sacrifice” should be honored, but, you’ll notice, only those American Southerners whose ancestors were the Slave Owners, not those who have the slaves for ancestors.
Does the magnitude of the loss of limb or capacity or eye make the Cause of Slavery RIGHT? Turn it around and look at it from the perspective of the arbitrarily chosen “enemy”.
Does a Taliban soldier with pieces blown off of him, make the cause of the Taliban right, or wrong? What about an Afghan or Iraqi Civilian with pieces blown off him/her?
Is the measure of the human suffering of the human being, from whichever side, the True Measure of righteousness? For the ones who exploit the Token Cripple mystique, even using the wounds and disabilities of the wounded as Recruitment.. (that’s the nature of Military Parades, by the way, not to honor the dead and wounded, but to get more kids sucked into “serving”) According to the assmunches with that philosophy, yeah.
But, gentle reader, you decide. Private Nation was paraded every Confederate Memorial Day. Yeah, they actually did that. There wasn’t an Official Confederate Army into which they were trying to recruit the younguns. But there was always the Klan.
I can’t be ashamed of that heritage. Because I didn’t do the crimes nor do I support them. God-Damn if I’ll be proud of it either.
One final thought. Hopefully to tie it together. You know how some Veterans who are still in Denial (Pvt Nation until he died) say that only those who went to the wars can criticize? Kind of like “Only Mafia Hitmen can sit on a jury in a murder trial” but… what of those who DID go to the wars and criticize? Why the sudden dumping of them into the trash bin of history? Especially when their former Masters told them and still tell us that they fought for “freedom” especially of speech. “Them Soldiers fought for YOUR freedom of speech, how DARE you use that freedom?”
What about George Bush, no, the OLDER one, GHW… who was simultaneously tearing down the names and reputations of Ellsberg, Kovic, Cleland, Kerry, Country Joe (and the Fish) MacDonald, every man-jack of the VVAW, while using his influence to keep his own Junior out of the war from which both were profiteering?
What of Junior, and the Other ChickenHawks? If we call the ChickenHawks by their proper title of ChickenHawk, highly paid Billionaire Professional Liars like Rush Limbaugh accuse us of Hate Speech. Just applying the same logic but with a better twist is all.
If only those who fought can criticize, then only those who fought can START wars, or support them for that matter.
Better yet, none of them should start or support the wars either.
Sherman said “War is Hell” but he was wrong. War is Murder. Pure and simple, and making war is a crime against everybody.
Protesting against it isn’t even Officially a crime, but they sure as Hell punish people for it. Even if the people they’re punishing actually fought in those wars. “Double Standard” doesn’t even begin to describe it.