Media mischaracterizes vets at rally
This is the headline of Salon’s article about the rally yesterday;
Of course, it says “protesters”, but what they mean to say is that TWO protesters engaged in waving Confederate flags and shouting that Obama is a Muslim. But they make it sound as if the entire protest contingent was a bunch of right wing nuts. It was Larry Klayman who made the statement, according to CNN, and as near as I can tell, Larry Klayman isn’t even a veteran according to the biographies that are on the internet;
“I call upon all of you to wage a second American nonviolent revolution, to use civil disobedience, and to demand that this president leave town, to get up, to put the Quran down, to get up off his knees, and to figuratively come out with his hands up,” said Larry Klayman of Freedom Watch, a conservative political advocacy group.
Here’s the URL to the CNN article and it’s original title;
Of course, what the media is trying to do is paint veterans as right wing crackpots instead of people who are trying to win back our dignity and our political voice. Of course, we must be partisan. Because we don’t like balancing the budget on our backs and because we don’t like our memorials shut down in our faces, we must be racist, too, especially if some dude off the street showed up with a confederate flag;
I guess none of the reporters could ask the dude with the flag which side he represented, or if he was a veteran or not before they splashed their broad brush on the entire crowd.
Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Veterans Issues
49 is @ 43. 😉
@46. Your doing great! Of course, I didn’t take that course so my response is not nearly as kind and understanding as yours. Give up law. You were meant to be an M.D.
Your vs. You’re–and you can see which one lost.
Okay here’s an issue that was raised above, the Tea Party–and here’s my take:
What is it about the Tea Party that liberals so despise? It is inclusive and welcomes Americans of all religions, races, ethnicities, regardless of national origin. It wants fiscally responsible government. What’s wrong with that? It wants to reduce the national debt with the ultimate goal of eliminating it and it wants to stop deficit spending. Yeah, I can see why libs would oppose those things. It also wants to government to adhere to the Constitution, its prescriptions and proscriptions. Yeah, I guess that would be problematic for libs, as would downsizing the Federal government and making no apologies for capitalism. Overall, it appears that the Tea Party and the Founders of our nation had similar views regarding many things, but certainly not all. So, how is it that the Tea Party conjures negative images for so many people? It couldn’t possibly be that non-existent media bias again, could it? Nah.
@AI:
The msm is outrageously biased to the hard left. That you choose not to see it says much about your own internal bias.
Well, to be perfectly honest, the media tends to do the same thing with the idiots for peace et al: they find the one or two folks in the crowd who look sorta normal and do all their interviews with them – portraying them as representing all the fools dressed as clowns, hyper lefty filth, etc. So that is fair, right?
(Only if you think that publicizing the left as “normal” and the rest of us as “extreme.”)
Unf–ing believable!
They put the barrycades back up today.
Klayman is the honcho at JUDICIAL Watch.
I agree with #56.
Ignoring that there is a well known and documented left leaning bent to most media (even going so deep as to show the media contributing 88 cents out of every donated dollar for political funds to left-wing sources and candidates), they consistently do their best to find, at any right wing rally, the nuttiest person (sometimes even interviewing people who are absolutely, clearly liberals pretending otherwise), while at protests like occupy they play down the insanity of the average occupier and find the one or two who look like they wouldn’t be laughed out of a job interview.
Well at least the far left is finally letting their real feelings of hatred be known, when it comes to the military. If anyone had any doubts before they shouldn’t now. Another reason is all of this being directed at the military was a diversion of other more important left driven agenda items. The left isn’t stupid, just more dedicated to their cause than conservatives are. The GOP finally showing their true feelings, with a few exceptions like Cruz, Paul and a couple of others. We basically have one party with two wings.
AI? Were you there? (I refuse to wade through all your lunacy to see if you said so somewhere. Please just save me the pain.)
What in the sweet Hell are you talking about, and why?? A bunch of veterans of the US military (all branches) showed up for a mission of liberating the Memorials to our War Heroes. The missions was accomplished. Permanently? Not yet, but some folks got the idea.
Now, if Madonna had showed up and taken a swim in the Reflecting Pool, I expect that the media would have taken notice and reported same. So, fugging what? That would have had no more to do with accomplishing the mission than did a fool with a Confederate flag.
Your failure to see the obvious is laughable. We vets showed up to accomplish something and we did – defending OUR honor and that of all who served before us, and with us. Silly people reporting stupid stuff did not even slow down mission accomplishment.
Honor. Defending it is what we do. It is how we live. Calling what we did yesterday something other than a veterans issue is beyond insulting to all of us. Take it elsewhere. I will not attempt to educate you further since you have demonstrated no willingness to learn from us, but have repeatedly told us how we should think, behave, and instructed us on who we are and where our priorities should be.
Get over yourself, AI. You apparently don’t want to get along with us well enough to even select a screen name.
Whatever.
I’m assuming the guy with the Confederate flag was a plant, but somebody should have pulled him aside and — at the very least — verified whether or not he was for real. I’m disappointed that didn’t happen. Some of the vets should have known this was trouble. With luck, somebody will find him eventually.
One more thing……..the media is not left biased….they are the full blowm propaganda wing of party in power! Ouch that must hurt!
And while I am on a roll, to all those who show up at rallies such as this one with personal agendas: PLEASE STAY HOME! I don’t care if you sleep with a Confederate flag wrapped around your head, but bringing it or anything else which does not contribute to mission accomplishment is counterproductive.
If you want a rally about whether TP should be plain or have flowers, that is AOK with me, It just needs to be at another time and place, not in the middle of liberating the Memorials as a way to restore the HONOR of the veterans who can not speak for themselves today.
@ #62: Several people did exactly that.
@66: Sorry, I missed it. I expected as much, which is why I felt disappointed when I didn’t see it.
One difference between left and right is that when an extremist appears to be supporting a conservative demonstration it’s an oddball, and probably a plant.
When an extremist appears supporting a left-wing demonstration, he’s among the invited guests, and probably a speaker, if not an organizer.
You are so correct, RandyB! I did not see the “counseling” either (and evidently did not even see him – I would have probably remembered that!), but heard reports from several people about things they had personally said to him, including asking him quite politely to leave. OK, maybe not so politely.
I hear that a goodly number of Americans–many more than appeared at the Memorial yesterday, distinguished themselves in a rally of sorts. Did you hear about it? Is it the lead story on tonight’s news? The rallies happened all over the country when a glitch occurred in the welfare debit card system. It seems that word spread like wildfire and hordes showed up at Wal Marts and elsewhere to fill their carts on LIMITLESS EBT cards! Rioting occurred, at least one store was shut down and shelves were stripped of whatever an EBT card can buy! Later, while the masses of these fine citizens–NONE OF WHOM CARRIED A CONFERERATE FLAG, I understand-were waiting in line at the registers, the system came back properly and voila! carts full of perishables were abandoned. Ah, America, land of the obamaphone.
@ OWB (#61): I was not there, no, and in so far as the mission was to liberate the monuments – well done. That’s a cause I firmly stand behind.
Now, I don’t think I’ve told anyone how to think – merely presented my own perspective. And my point was simply that sometimes crazier elements co-opt rallies like these in a way that confuses the mission and alienates others.
But wait, don’t take my word for it since clearly that will be treated as hostile – instead, take the word of the very organizers themselves:
http://1mvetmarch.wordpress.com/
Or, to quote from their Facebook page: “The political agenda put forth by a local organizer in Washington DC yesterday was not in alignment with our message. We feel disheartened that some would seek to hijack the narrative for political gain. The core principle was and remains about all Americans honoring Veterans in a peaceful and apolitical manner. Our love for and our dedication to remains with Veterans, regardless of party affiliation or political leanings.”
Again, THEY are stating that a political agenda was put forth by a local organizer that wasn’t in line with the intent behind the march. In other words, a mission with a core principle everyone could get behind was co-opted by politics. My point as well, and it’s a damn shame, which is probably why they released that statement.
As for how ‘Anonymous Independent’ is less of a screen-name than ‘That Guy’, ‘OWB’ or ‘Jacobite’, well, I have no idea. I fully support the march, in its apolitical context like the organizers intended, and fully support our veterans too. Not sure what the problem is here.
Veteran doing police call after the March yesterday: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151944451023606&set=a.391474713605.169598.242181938605&type=1&relevant_count=1
AI–for someone who claims to be independent, you sure do spend a lot of time defending the administration.
Telling, indeed. Perhaps you could enlighten us and tell us who you’ve voted for in each Presidential election since you were of legal voting age?
To Anon Independent:
Since you want to drag this off topic, I’m not a “vehemently anti-Obama Tea Partier”. I’m against the destruction of our country by out-of-control deficit spending. I’m glad someone is standing up to Reid, Pelosi, and your fellow liberal veteran John Kerry, not just Obama.
The Commander in Chief decided to show how much he holds “veterans in high regard” by closing the WWII Memorial; while allowing illegal aliens to have the run of the mall for their rally.
@71: Where have I defended this administration? And I’ve voted for both Republicans and Democrats in my lifetime.
“And my screen name is chosen not because I’m ‘above the fray’, but because I identify with parts of both parties…” Well, then, Elephonkey, Left/Right, Dem/Rep, or Ouch! This Fence Hurts would seem more appropriate.
This was where I stopped caring about your opinion, AI:
“And it’s likely the event wasn’t portrayed as a ‘veterans’ rally because there wasn’t a million vets, and nor was it focused on veteran issues. The most notable people attending were simply conservative firebrands, not veterans. It was high on rhetoric and low on issues and ideas.”
That is where you schooled us on what happened at an event you did not attend. So, do tell us, how many veterans WERE there? (More than attended any other rally ever held in DC advertised as a million-this-or-that.) Were any of us “notable?” Just because YOU do not want to see the issue of our Monuments being open as a veterans issue does not make it any less an issue for us. And just because you apparently do not think of us as notable does not change reality.
I am going to jump to the conclusion based upon as much of your writing as I can stomach that you only consider veterans issues to be those which involve receiving money or other benefits from the government? In other words, you see us as just another group receiving entitlements perhaps? We seem to have no other value, by your terms.
@72: And, once again, I disagree completely with the shuttering of these memorials. Not sure how you all get that someone is a ‘fellow liberal’ of mine simply because I’m not foaming at the mouth and demanding we impeach the sitting President and run him out of town.
Can I also claim the President ‘hates children’ because some kids who need experimental cancer treatments at the CDC aren’t getting them? The government is a big, ugly behemoth -and in that regard, I agree with the Tea Party that much needs cutting!- but because of its size and our lazy politicians, people didn’t anticipate the full scope of a closure and some of the legal hurdles therein. Or, again, you can assume he hates troops and young kids with cancer.
I’m firmly on the side of wanting the memorials opened and find this idiocy on behalf of our politicians shameful.
@OWB: Wow, you really like to nitpick – the use of the word ‘notable’ wasn’t intended to imply that veterans are unworthy scum beneath my lofty notice. It was simply pointing out that SFC Smith doesn’t quite have the saw draw as, say, Sarah Palin when it comes to the media.
Again, when even the organizers feel their event was partly co-opted for political reasons, I think … maybe.. it was partly co-opted for political reasons.
Feel free to jump to as many conclusions as you like. You’re pretty far off the mark so far, though.
So where were these peeps yesterday, another rally tomorrow?
http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/metro-news/2013/oct/14/another-veteran-protest-coming-washington-dc-week/
Tough to find protest times on the weekends with the Army Ten Miler this Sunday and the Marine Corp Marathon shutting down streets the next weekend. 🙂
AI,
KMRIA!
Carry on!
Hey Anonymous Independent. Why do you pull out the hyperbole so quickly? You did it to me and now you have done it to OWB? Or is it that you would like us to thank you heartily for coming by, enlightening us with your views, and assuring us that you are standing firmly behind the cause to liberate the monuments, whatever the heck that means. You clearly feel that you are being misunderstood and are surprised that the applause is one handed. Yeah, well, maybe it’s time you just thought more and wrote less. And you should have learned in Soc 101 that the impression we have of ourselves is markedly different than the one others have of us. Now, if you are, say, in your early 20s or so, that would explain a great deal. But if you are in a later decade in life–well, best of luck.
I guess I have become jaded as I deal with the all the time up here in the Great NW.
I just tune it out.
Nitpicking may not be the most pleasant form of entertainment, but is a highly effective way to limit the reproduction of lice.
@76
Can I also claim the President ‘hates children’ because some kids who need experimental cancer treatments at the CDC aren’t getting them?
Actually, I think it was Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) who doesn’t want to help kids with cancer.
Oh, dear. Is this nonsensical attention whore stuff still going on?
A small, but timely lesson from my history class in Junior High School, and that was a VERY long time ago: someone who speaks on behalf of BOTH political sides of the coin was, in the 19th century, titled a ‘Mugwump’, because he had his ‘mug’ on one side of the fence and his ‘wump’ on the other.
Continuing to string out some sort of debate on nonissues is nothing more than attention-seeking behavior. Doing it in a semi-superior, somewhat smug manner only makes you another obnoxious, self-serving dolt pointing at yourself and smirking ‘Hey, look, I’m only–‘ Oh, horse apples. You just want attention. Well, you got it so get over it.
Oh, yeah – those attempts at deflection and misdirection: amateurish, indeed. Geezo pete, it’s almost like seeing Sippy all over again, without the gloating and references to working at a phone sex company.
Green, I definitely know what you mean… I live in the “bedroom county” of Portland… Not to mention, my NG Battalion HQ was located in the middle of Eugene, hippy capital of Oregon.
As for AnoInd, I would say that you should just ignore him, but it might be more effective to just treat him like he seems to want to be treated… like a Barracks Lawyer in Boot.
All the media was trying to do was explain to their veiwers that the ignorant southern white trash who were carring confederate flags were to stupid to realize that the civil war was over and they LOST! They should never forget that they LOST! By the way I didn’t see a million veterans did you? How about the stolen truth here! Huh?
@ 86- the numbers were still better than the “million” muslim march, but I don’t seem to recall seeing you making comments like that about it
Hey v-boy, I see you ran out of glue to sniff, so here you are again, ranting from your Mommy’s computer!!
Well, hell now I wish I would found a way to be there. They never operate as alone, three to four others are present with camcorder trying to blend in with the crowd and ACLU/National Lawyers Guild handler fairly easy to find.
I am very surprised the police let him walk around with 2×2 wood poles in his hands because the what, three-four events I worked in DC, number one rule handed down by NPS & DC Metro, was nothing but plastic poles to carry flags and signs.
I may still have my copies of the permits and rules somewhere. And before somebody starts crying “You would violate his right to free speech” I will point out DC Metro & NPS have long felt wood poles can be classified as a weapon…and there is more than one way to remove those kinds of people too. Heh.
At Proud: That waste of strokes and pokes v-boy isn’t worth responding to. Just saying.
86, you’re too stupid to differentiate between to and too, run along now.
Hey VN War Doorstopper,
Most regular contributers here are well known by face, resume, DD-214 and other verifiable credentials. You however, stop it and sucker punch from behind.
Why don’t you show your face and credentials. Becuase, without those two things (at a minimumn), your words are NOT CREDIBLE!
Your sheepish attitude speaks volumes for your empty thoughts and less than impactful words!
KMRIA!
I keep telling you guys, VNWprotestor wasn’t even an egg in his mother’s ovaries when the Vietnam war was officiall in full swing, or even when it ended.
He’s too illiterate for that era.
Even the flower children from my generation were more coherent when they were tripping out. Better education curriculum. Better schools. More required learning for students.
I do find it more than a bit sad (disgusting really), that so many good folk are knee jerking defensively over a particular flag just because the rabid, irrational, intellectually inbred, thumb sucking, mouth breeding, snot gobbling degenerates of the left have decided it’s a baddie.
**** them. **** their horse and double **** their idiot dog whistles.
As to that guy being a plant… probably. Getting our panties in a twist over it? Win for the ‘tards.
@95 I understand the reaction to the confederate flag, it’s a symbol of evil to some along the same lines as the rising sun and the swastika. It represents the systemic oppression of an entire race of people to some, as it was flown by the side that was committing the atrocity of slavery on a specific race of people. That’s a pretty good reason to find the flag distasteful at best and downright offensive at worst.
What I find interesting is the apologists for that symbol who claim it’s only a symbol of independent spirit of freedom from Federal government oppression. That would be like suggesting that the swastika is a symbol of a national desire to be free from the shackles imposed by the victors at Versailles on a sovereign state and as such should not be offensive to anyone as if the other actions of that government never took place and should be disregarded.
I don’t consider myself intellectually inbred, or a thumb sucker or a snot gobbling degenerate. But I certainly understand how someone could be disgusted by the display of the flag used by those who enslaved others….perhaps that is because I am not as intellectually enlightened as I thought I was.
In the end however, I agree that it should not take away from the actions of the large group making a statement about the treatment of veterans, but unfortunately sh1theads can hijack any protest and the media will quickly get the whole situation wrong in its’ reporting.
I’m guessing VWP took too many donkey punches from his fuck buddy in the flophouse. Would tend to explain a lot.
@96 vwp is just another idiot trying to play at a level far over his or her abilities…it’s sad to see how out of sync some poor fools have fallen these days.
Doesn’t look like he was a plant:
https://www.facebook.com/michael.ashmore.31
Also looks like they had a rally today and no one showed up, except for the media. http://instagram.com/p/ffVzMrkJHD/
“I dream of a day when men will be judged by the content of their heart.” While I will say that this is not the time or place for the symbolism of the Battle Flag of the Confederacy, the subject has been broached. First off: That was not the time or the place for that flag. On the tangent discussion raised here: Clearly, that flag does mean different things to different people and groups of people, with a certain degree of good logic, based on what they have learned. For a Southerner, it is indeed a symbol of Independence, of Southern Heritage & History (and not of the racist type), and yes, of rebellion of authority. For a Yankee, it is indeed the symbol of a rebellion suppressed, and most often a symbol of racism. This is not in small part as a result of racist organizations, such as the KKK, co-opting a symbol that was not theirs. Aside from those very basic differences, how could the logic of both be sound? In schools, it is taught that the Civil War was fought over slavery. (Which lends to the logic of the Confederacy being based on racism.) In the chronological events of History, the Northern States had slaves after the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation occurred years after the start of the Civil War, and the Civil War began prior to the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln. It is true that the election had already been held and Lincoln had won before the war began, but it is also true that Lincoln had previously stated that he would not end slavery, without a Constitutional Amendment, which would not have been possible without Southern support. Feel free to look up the dates of the first battles of the war, the election, the inauguration, and the Proclamation, as well as the dates of when slavery was ended in the North. Feel free to look at how Union Troops were welcomed in Baltimore, or how black Troops were treated by the Union Army, even by “abolitionists.” Prior to the Civil War, the Southern States… Read more »
Boy, I sure wish I had the ability to post a pic here. Had I the ability, the pic would be of the old Ranger flash. I guess VOV would have to conclude it was the same as a swastika worn by the SS and TN would have to conclude that it, if worn on a black beret by the man to whom it was issued, would have no place at a Veterans rally.