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No, Don't Spit On Them

As SMASH says below, "Collectively, we are determined not to repeat that disturbing chapter of our history," where Vietnam veterans were spit upon, literally and figuratively. That 'collective' includes the Vietnam veterans themselves, and they intend to stand at the Vietnam Veterans Wall and protect it from those who still hold them in disdain, including an American who shamelessly served as a key defense attorney in Saddam Hussein's trial.

A 'Gathering of Eagles' will protect the Vietnam Veterans Wall.

Leftist activists who march to the Pentagon next month will discover that their path won't be as clear as it has been in the past.

The group, led by Cindy Sheehan, Jane Fonda, Ramsey Clark and their ilk, plan to gather March 17 at the Vietnam Memorial Wall to begin a march to protest America's involvement in the Iraq war. The date marks the fourth anniversary of the war's beginning.

This time, however, protestors will see objectors if they spit on Iraqi veterans again, or throw paint on a war memorial. This time, they will encounter a buzz saw of Vietnam veterans and supporters who will gather to protect the Wall, and show their support for U.S. troops. The counter-protestors are calling themselves the Gathering of Eagles.

News of Afghanistan, once again.

"I have to go in an read the News, m'kay?"

Don't Spit on Me

Despite all of the evidence to the contrary, the concept that these spitting incidents constitute an "urban legend" has become de rigeur among the radical left. I participated in a lively discussion on the topic this past summer with Code Pink founder Gael Murphy and union organizer Bruce Wolfe, both committed anti-war activists (in fact, they were protesting outside Walter Reed Army Medical Center at the time). Both insisted that it had never happened, citing sociologist (and anti-war activist) Jerry Lembcke's 1998 book The Spitting Image, in which Lembcke claims that such stories are, in his words, "bogus." When I brought up my father's experience, Bruce and Gael hemmed and hawed, but still wouldn't back down from their assertion that it had never happened (listen to the audio of our discussion). To their credit, neither Bruce nor Gael had the temerity to spit on me or any other veterans. But they didn't exactly treat us with respect, either.

And that's really what this is all about: Respect.

As a nation, we recall with shame the disrespect that many returning Vietnam veterans suffered at the hands of their countrymen. Collectively, we are determined not to repeat that disturbing chapter of our history. Those who experienced these events first-hand -- my father's generation of veterans -- are determined to protect my generation from suffering the same trauma. Those civilians who passively stood by in those days are determined to discourage (or at least loudly condemn) such behavior this time around. Many of today's younger radicals are determined (some for tactical reasons) not to repeat the public relations mistakes of their predecessors. And many of the Vietnam-era radicals are still in denial about what really happened in those dark days.

Continue reading "Don't Spit on Me"