Monday, December 20, 2010

What to say to Iraq and Afghan War Veterans

Please excuse my repeated use of the word FUCK in various forms throughout this post.

On my trip through Jacksonville Airport this weekend I witnessed some of the most heart wrenching reunions between soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and their families. I've thought about little else all weekend.

While I was waiting for Jodie to arrive it seemed like hundreds of soldiers dressed in their BDU's were coming through the airport. It was both heartbreaking and heart warming to see the wives/husbands coming back and their spouses and children waiting anxiously with signs to welcome them home. There were many tears and much joy. I cried every time a dad or mom walked by me in a uniform and their small children ran to them with open arms screaming DADDY or MOMMY and were picked up and swung around and smothered with kisses and love. How can any human with a heart not cry at such a thing?

What really got to me though were the soldiers coming back without their fucking arms, legs, half their heads etc...You'd have to be a real cold hearted mother fucker, regardless of how you feel about the war, to not be affected by seeing what, in reality, are nothing more than kids coming back from that HELL missing their limbs. If you are from the South and, Alabama in particular, then you know that Alabama sacrifices more sons and daughters to war than any other state. That is directly related to the poverty and lack of good educational opportunities that define this godforsaken hell hole. The majority of them join the military for college funds.

After I picked up Jodie she told me about something that happened on her plane ride from Chicago to Jacksonville. And it has prompted this post more so than anything else.

She said that in Chicago there was a woman with a couple of young kids, one a little boy about 5 or 6. In front of her was a soldier with his goddamn legs blown off. The little boy started talking to his mom about the soldier and pointing at him etc. His mom told him, "That man is a hero who has been fighting for our freedoms." The little kid asked if he could say hello and the mom gave him permission. Jodie said the little kid went up and started talking to the soldier with no legs, NO GODDAMN LEGS, telling him how he liked his uniform and all sorts of things of that nature. She said the soldier was quiet and just looked at the kid for a minute....that it was very hard to read the soldiers eyes and gauge what he might be thinking. Finally the soldier with NO GODDAMN LEGS asked the kid his name. The kid told him and the soldier said, "Nice to meet you." And that was all he said.

Shit like that makes me so fucking mad my head could literally explode. I am against the war....obviously. But I support the kids sucked into the fucking meat grinder with all my heart. How dare some faux patriot just ASSUME that the soldier feels like a hero. How dare they ASSUME that any soldier called to duty approves of and supports what they had to fucking do in war. How dare that ignorant bitch claim this war, this endless fucking war, has anything to do with American freedom. It has NOTHING to do with protecting American freedoms and everything to do with nation building and major oil pipelines. If it were truly being fought to protect American freedoms (which are disappearing rapidly) I would be completely behind it.

Today, when I went through security at Jacksonville airport I saw those TSA bastards molest an old crippled man who was unable to stand in their fucking porno machine. His wife protested loudly, bless her heart, to no avail. They practically held him up so that could grab his goddamn testicles...all because he couldn't stand on his own or raise his arms above his head. Then as we were going through the gate to get on the plane an 80 year old granny set off the alarm, that no one was even aware was there, with her pace maker and her steel rods in her back and she was sexually assaulted and her her belongings rummaged through in front of everyone. I was glad to see the people around me pissed off about that. Granny spoke her peace to those filthy government bastards who get off on sexually assaulting disabled and old defenseless people and asked them just what about her at her advanced age would cause that after she had already cleared TSA. I spoke up and said, "You know the terrorists (which is really the American government IMHO) have won when we allow them to treat us that way in our own country. I bet they are sitting over there saying, "and then they grab their balls and vagina's.....like this...hehehe". Then I asked those in immediate hearing range if they reckoned that all of the soldiers around the airport had fought for THIS! There was a loud murmur of agreement with my sentiments.

See, there are no freedoms in the US any longer....not when shit like this happens. And I bet you that very few if any soldiers risked life and limb in Iraq and Afghanistan so that MeMaw and PePaw could be sexually molested trying to fly home for fucking Christmas.

So, here is my advice...for whatever it is worth. The next time you see a veteran returning home from or the other of the unnecessary meat grinder wars America is perpetuating across the globe...and just feel you just absolutely MUST MUST MUST say something to them then say ONLY the following.

"I'm glad you make it back alive." That's all you need to say.

Don't you dare fucking assume that just because they are in uniform that they agree with what they had to do or that they in any way feel like heroes or heroines or feel like you do. And, while you are at it, reexamine your support for these wars and your faux fucking patriotism and Nazi-ish nationalism that you have been taught since your first day in kindergarten when you were forced to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

That's where all this bullshit starts when you really think about it. What does any tiny child know about politics, government and war? They barely know how to NOT shit or wee wee in their pants. And what does any adult know about the horrors of war if they themselves have not experienced it firsthand? How dare they claim to know what someone who has experienced it thinks or feels?

7 comments:

-Sepp said...

I almost went on a rant that went about 10 different directions...I agree with a lot of your post and disagree with some of it too.

As a soldier myself who handed over 12 years for the cause, I take issue with the "faux patriotism" and "nazi-ish" adjectives you put forth.
I love this country and, can appreciate what it's SUPPOSED to be because I've lived in formerly communist countries and have seen firsthand what life IS like WITHOUT a bill of rights that favor the citizen as opposed to the government!
Lorretta, if you think we're NOT free now...the shit I've seen elsewhere IS well on it's way here already and, being blindly accepted by the populace under the guise of "safety" and "national security" and, the old "for the children" type bullshit.

It bothers me to no end seeing my bretheren comming home from war damaged mentally and physically. It also bothers me that while they're off fighting to free others from tyrany, terror or, whatever the excuse of the week is...they're comming home to a country that ISN'T everything the constitution they swore an oath to defend is supposed to be!
The very government that is shipping them off to be maimed in the name of "FREEDOM" keeps ceding it's freedoms to an ever increasingly powerfull (and unquestionable) government!

Sorry if my spelling is jacked up...I'm a soldier and not a scholar!

Anonymous said...

This is an issue i have always wondered about since i was just a young man watching the kids come home from Nam. of course then the country had a very differant opinion about our vets. now a days i try to just nod and say welcome home or offer to buy them a cold one [ if of age] its a fucking disgrace we cant buy a 19 or 20 yr old vetern who lost a limb after being suckered into joining becuase the state feels some one under 21 who fought for our rights has less freedom than those who did not. My oldest son had a strong desire to join the marines while in his last couple yrs of high school. We where lucky enough that he woke up and got involved in other things and is now a sophmore in college and has begun getting involved in drug law reform to the point where he wants to go to law school. being that his mom and myself are retired dead heads we dont really approve of the lawyer thing but are grateful every time we walk through an airport seeing these kids or whats left of them coming home from these useless wars. Thanx for the rant it is deff something this country has been ignoring for a while now. BTW nat geo has a pretty good docu. about afgan called Restrepo iof any one has a chance to dig it up its deff worth a veiw to see what these kids are going through over there ..

Don said...

Every one of those soldiers and every member of Congress took the following oath:


“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."



Someone (any member of Congress will do) will have to explain to me, a military retiree, how getting killed or mamed in uncontutional undeclared wars has anything to do with supporting and defending the US Constitution, and why they aren't upholding the oath they took by allowing the president to unconstitutionally send our military into harms way in far off places.

sixstring said...

Yes, the terrorist have won when we allow ourselves to be treated this way when simply traveling from place to place in the U.S.
And these measures don't insure our safety!
Some say,"If you don't like it, you don't have to fly." BULLSHIT! I say if you're so scared of a terrorist taking over the plane that you are willing to submit to genital groping, maybe YOU should not fly. The terrorists are no doubt laughing at us.
Only now do the sheep begin to grumble when the measures become even more outrageous.
Yes, it begins with the kids. We teach them now to forget freedom. They must go through metal detectors at schools with armed guards and drug dogs and submit to searches and drug tests without cause. This is good trainging for sheep who may one day need a job or have to travel any distance.
I have one nephew who served in Iraq and one who served in Afghanistan and I KNOW for a fact this is not what they fought for.

-Sepp said...

Sixstring, you're right on the money.
When I was a kid, we used to wonder why in the hell Russian citizens would tolerate their government's bullshit.
Here we are 30 years later and now WE have government agencies who's sole purpose is to spy on US in the same ways the KGB did in the soviet union.
Our children are being taught to accept the unconstitutional shit as "normal" because it's becomming normal for them to see it.

Don said...

I submitted this on Tuesday but it didn’t get posted for some reason.

Every one of those soldiers and every member of Congress took the following oath:

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."

Someone (any member of Congress will do) will have to explain to me, a military retiree, how getting killed or mamed in uncontutional undeclared wars has anything to do with supporting and defending the US Constitution, and why they aren't upholding the oath they took by allowing the president to unconstitutionally send our military into harms way in far off places.

-Sepp said...

Don, our Congress doesent live up to it's oath because WE, you, me and everyone else have been letting them slide on it for so long, they no longer feel they have to uphold their duty to our country and constitution.

It was announced today that beginning in January, congress will be required to cite what part of the constitution authorizes ANYTHING they do.

For some reason the left leaning democrats seem pissed about the idea.
We should be active in making them stick to that principle or, else stfu when the next war, law or, special spending package is passed or, allowed thats clearly illegal.