Still more questions for the NY Times regarding the alleged spitting incident
As Media Matters for America noted, in a January 28 article, The New York Times' Ian Urbina reported that a protestor spit "at the ground near" Cpl. Joshua Sparling, a wounded Iraq war veteran, during the January 27 anti-Iraq war protest in Washington, D.C. But the article offered no details regarding the alleged incident, giving rise to several unanswered questions, which Media Matters laid out. Sparling appeared on the January 29 edition of Fox News' Hannity & Colmes and the January 30 edition of Fox & Friends and gave his own version of the events, contradicting some aspects of the Times' reporting.
On January 28, the Times reported that "one of the antiwar protestors spit at the ground near Mr. Sparling; he spit back," and quoted Sparling saying of the protesters: "These are not Americans as far as I'm concerned." As Media Matters noted, Urbina did not cite Sparling as his source on the incident and simply asserted that it occurred, suggesting that he had witnessed it. On Hannity & Colmes, Sparling offered details, claiming that a man wearing an 82nd Airborne badge was one of several people who spit at him, and he asserted, contrary to the Times report, that he did not spit back at the protester. Sparling also "clarif[ied]" his quote from the Times article, claiming that he was referring to just "the vulgar people."
Sparling's contrary version gives rise to still further questions about the Times' account: Will the Times stand by its reporting? Will the Times offer its own details about the alleged spitting incident? Did Urbina or any other Times staffer see the other people Sparling claimed spit at him? Will the Times further investigate the matter? These questions are important not just because this whole scenario echoes the apocryphal claims that Vietnam veterans were spit upon when they returned to the United States, but because conservative media figures and bloggers have already absorbed Sparling's accusations as fact, and are repeating and embellishing them. For example, the right-wing weblog Flopping Aces claimed that what it described as the "peace' movement" has "[a]n ideology and reality that spits on those who have sacrificed themselves for this country."
From the January 29 edition of Hannity & Colmes:
SPARLING: What we were doing, actually, was doing the anti-protest protest, and we were there with our flags, and all that happened was a fella saw me wearing my 82nd Airborne sweater, and I noticed he also had an 82nd patch on his own sleeve, and he said I was a disgrace, basically, and that I was -- that I had blood on my hands and that I had no right wearing the uniform, and he spit at me.
ALAN COLMES (co-host): And you spit back?
SPARLING: Of course I did not.
COLMES: That's what was reported. That did not happen?
SPARLING: No sir, it did not.
COLMES: But this was directed specifically at you as far as -- [Fox News Radio host] Griff [Jenkins], were you there? Did you witness this?
[...]
COLMES: Joshua, I understand that last spring you were demeaned in an airport when you were told you couldn't board a plane? You got a hate letter at Walter Reed in 2005. Why do you think this always happens to you?
SPARLING: To tell you the truth, Alan, I really couldn't know. The people that have done these things I don't even know personally, so it couldn't be of a personal nature in the first place. Maybe it's because I -- the peace rally is an obvious one. I went there, and that was the most angry peace march that I've ever witnessed, that's for sure. And he wasn't the only person to spit at me either. There was others, but this fella here was actually on the sidewalk with me, whereas all the other ones were about 10 yards away on the other side of the road, and they weren't just spitting. They were throwing cigarette butts, they were flipping us off.
[...]
COLMES: Hey, Josh, I'm glad you're getting better. I have just one question. It was said in the press you said, "These are not Americans as far as I'm concerned." Did you say that, and were you referring to the people spitting or anybody who was demonstrating against the war?
SPARLING: Oh, no, actually, that was just for the vulgar people, let me clarify something here.
On the January 30 edition of Fox & Friends, Sparling did not address the alleged spitting incident but claimed he was "not going to judge all of" the protesters, and that a "couple of folks actually were waiting for clubs to meet with me after it was over with, and the police had to stop them from bull-rushing us on the sidewalk."
From the January 30 edition of Fox & Friends:
BRIAN KILMEADE (co-host): And you lost your leg, Joshua, and still, despite your own physical travails, you wanted to go out there and get your -- you got the megaphone, we've seen some of the footage. What were the people saying to you there for the alleged peace rally as you told them, essentially, that the war was right and should be finished?
SPARLING: Well, you know, I think I've seen more fingers that day than I've ever seen in my whole life. But, yeah, they basically told me that -- you know, at first they were all about the veterans, and then when I claimed I was a veteran they said, "Well, you should have stayed in Iraq," and, "You're just a murderer," and, "You have blood on your hands," they don't know how I sleep at night. You know, that kind of propaganda there.
KILMEADE: And you said you're kind of glad your unit is deployed so they don't have to see this. You're with the 82nd Airborne.
SPARLING: Correct.
STEVE DOOCY (co-host): Joshua, after having been to that peace rally, what's your impression of those people?
SPARLING: Well, you know, obviously I'm not going to judge all of them, because it wasn't everybody, and there was a couple of peaceful people that actually just walked by. But for the most part, there was just people lining the fence just screaming and jumping over it trying to get at us. A couple of folks actually were waiting for clubs to meet with me after it was over with, and the police had to stop them from bull-rushing us on the sidewalk.
Following Sparling's appearance on Fox & Friends, during which he proposed marriage on the air to his girlfriend, Kilmeade stated affirmatively that protesters were "spitting on" him -- even though Sparling claimed he was "spit at," not "spit on":
DOOCY: By the way, if you'd like to send an email to the happy couple, send it to friends@foxnews.com, and we will pass it along to the future Sparlings.
KILMEADE: Especially if you have a different view from those who were spitting on him and cursing at him over the weekend.
Whoa.
Looks like somebody went too far...
Or somebody just made it all up.
It depends on your definition of "spit on" vs. "spit at".
(eyes rolling)
Here is a video of Sparling at the protest. He is standing next to someone with a poster that says "If Osama was a piece of a$$, Clinton would have nailed him." Sparling has a megaphone and is clearly taunting the peace protestors. Whether he was spit at or not is up for debate, but he clearly was stirring the pot, and if he can't take it, then he should not be dishing it out. Being a veteran, even with an amputated leg, does not give you the right to be an arse without consequence. Sparling and Raoul Deming are professional instigators. Like the kid in the playground that pulls your hair when the teacher isn't looking then tattles on you when you hit back in response. Raoul, get a life. If you google "Raoul Deming" you get dozens of hits, and all of them are his antics as a counter protestor, and many of them are his claims of little old peacenik ladies (such as Codepink) beating him up with their purses. If you are not really demin, just posting using RaoulDeming as your nickname, that is just as bad because you are idolizing a professional instigator. You are lying. Sparling may or may not have been spit on (i say he wasn't), but the video above clearly shows him instigating. Something tells me Hannity won't be showing the Youtube video on his show. Idiot.
And... According to Sean Hannity, Sparling has previously been featured before on FOX by Hannity and by Oliver North. Hmmm... sounds like Joshua Sparling was already a little FOX darling before this alleged spitting incident. I'm sorry Sparling lost his leg fighting a senseless war... he's one more American soldier who got screwed by Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld. I feel badly for him in that respect. But if he chooses to interject himself into politics and to engage in a political battle on the side of darkness then he shouldn't make such a big deal about being spit at... spittle sure is easier to take than an RPG.
Must be post traumatic stress syndrome- he should get help for that. As far as Fox.. they have no excuse for taking advantage of a veteran that is clearly mentally ill.
Here is a better shot of Sparling, showing his half-amputated leg. At the 10 second mark, he speaks into his megaphone (I can't tell what he is saying.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw1MQZZTtMM&feature=RecentlyWatched&page=1&t=t&f=b
I have no problem whatsoever with the counter protest. Sparling has every right to speak his mind. But don't act like you were just walking around minding your own business when out of the blue somebody hurts your feelings for no apparent reason. You know that when you strap on a megaphone and start trying to tick off a crowd of people, you may get some kind of adverse response. Raoul, if you are out there, say so. Also, which guy are you in this video? What jacket are you wearing? I find dozens of youtube videos from the protest. Surely you are easy to spot since you were so close to Sparling. Lastly, I am pretty sure this is a video shot by Sparling himself. Note the empty wheelchair at the beginning, with his dad standing behind it. Then at the end of it, he sits down into the chair. Yes, he is being peaceful in this video, but "his tribe" as he calls it has an effigy of Jane Fonda hanging, and the signs tell the protestors to "Got to Hell', etc. The Sparling crowd was not there in a peaceful anti-protest. They are trying to stir it up, and Sparling (three supposed "incidents" now). He wants to be on Hannity every week. That's all this is about. Also, I notice in the video that he recounts the events of the day, but DOES NOT MENTION being spit on? He says at the beginning that he is about to head out. In the interview on Hannity he says that it happened during the protest...NOT walking back to the car. HE IS LYING!!!!!
The bottom line is there are nuts on both sides of this issue. Rabid fanatics who call anyone opposed to this war un-American, and lunatic wackos who would spit on anything military.
Highlighting one or the other, or the fringes from either side, does not reflect the vast majority of those that support the war sincerely and those that oppose the war sincerely.
I agree Tommy. You are 100% correct.
The issue here is also that Sparling is L Y I N G.
Here is Sparling on his megaphone chanting "Swim To Cuba."
All I know is that anybody trotted out by Sean Hannity has their credibility in question, in my book.
THe bottom line is the truth needs to come out. If this guy was spit on, the right will trumpet this out like a battle cry and apply this all liberals. If he's lying it needs to come because he is going on air telling straight up lies.
Monk,
If he was spit on, then the only one to blame is the one who hurled his or her own bodily fluid at Sparling. Nobody else. If Sparling is lying, then it's on his conscience and his responsibility. Nobody else.
Rabid fanatics who call anyone opposed to this war un-American, and lunatic wackos who would spit on anything military.
Far more of the former than the latter, I'd wager.
I have been to a number of anti-war and anti-nuclear protests going back to the Freeze days. I have never seen any aggressive behaviour except on the part of counter-demonstrators, who always act in a way that makes me think their goal is to provoke a violent or offensive reaction. I have never seen them succeed.
We have absolutely no idea what happened here. Certainly, Sparling's history as a professional victim and the introduction of the "spitting" meme (the anti-anti-war bloody shirt) makes one suspicious. But we just don't know. And neither side of the debate should fairly be saying or hinting otherwise.
I'm not suggesting that this post shouldn't be here or that it's not a worthwhile subject for debate... but at the end of the day, how important is it if there was one guy/gal who got pi$$ed off and spit at/on Sparling, or if Sparling is making it up.
Put another way, who benefits from making a big deal out of this?
Valentinian -- The right wing chicken hawks benefit by pushing this story. They will hold Sparling up as the metynomic wounded soldier who is scorned and spit upon by the unamerican left wing commie pinko terrorists. Sparling benefits because he gets more face time on Fox News. Eventually, he will probably get a book deal and some made for TV movie.
"These are not Americans as far as I'm concerned."
First they lie, then they take away your citizenship (for the entire continent, great geography skills, but that is a different issue).
Next they will be shipping you off to the concentration camps in Guantanamo.
VALENTINIAN said "...who benefits from making a big deal out of this?"
The rightwing benefits from a soldier lying about war protestors "spitting" on him. It raises him up and puts protestors down. Hannity benefits from having him on his show and propagating a lie as if it is a fact. If Sparling had been spit on, he would have mentioned it in the video I just posted.
This guy is an opportunist and will somehow get a book deal out of his lies. He made headlines for supposedly getting dissed on an airplane. He got 8,000 Christmas letters because he said he got one piece of mean mail (another questionable incident). Michele Malkin treated him like he saved Baghdad. That 15 minutes has worn off, so now he is looking for more publicity.
Has anyone watched the videos I linked? No comments about them? If you watch them, this is an open and shut case. I linked them in the previous posts.
Thanks for posting them. I obviously shows that there is more to the story than what is being given.
I'm at work, but I'll watch them later.
A guess a caveat to "who benefits" is... they benefit pretty much either way. If you respond then the controversy goes on and on, if you don't respond then they control the narrative.
Pfeh.
Sparling was yelling into a megaphone for gosh sakes. You don't take a megaphone into a counter protest unless you want to get a visceral reaction. And if you are yelling "swim to cuba" to the protestors, you don't then have the right to go on national tv and say that the protestors hurt your feelings!!!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL0_-FVvSRg&mode=related&search=
Can anybody hear me? Is this thing on?
Great Vids...
Really wiish someone would have made a bigger deal out of the frequency with which said soldier claims he's been attacked by unhinged Lefties...what's that about crying Wolf?
Pretty sure he does get some angry reaction being as he's screaminig into a damn megaphone holding an anti-protest at a protest. Kinda doubt his claims and the headline from the MSM really puts the lie to the liberal media schtick...makes it sound like some poor crip on his way to get milk got stomped by a wild mob of aesthetics professors and beatniks.
Yes, Eden. That is what I am trying to say too. MMers...Watch the videos and you will see the attitude this guy has. I demand that someone in the MSM ask him about these videos. He was yelling into a MEGAPHONE taunting the protestors, and he and his "tribe" (his word) were egging the protestors on by hanging Jane Fonda in effigy, Chanting "Jihad Jane", Sparling himself was chanting "Swim To Cuba", he was next to someone holding a sign saying that "If Bin Laden was a piece of As$, Clinton would have nailed him", he made a youtube video of himself that he entitled "Code Pinko Rally" in which at the beginning he states that they are about to "head home" and he recounts what had happened that day but fails to mention the spitting incident... the NYT story said that a protestor spit at him and he spit back but on Hannity he said he did NOT spit back. Watch these four videos and you get a better picture of what was actually going on here. I did not make any of them. they are all on youtube. Sparling's dad in these vids is the large man in gray wearing a big hat. They are all short vids:
1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL0_-FVvSRg&mode=related&search=
2) He talks into the megaphone at the 10 second mark http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw1MQZZTtMM&mode=related&search=
3) A man on a megaphone (I say it is him but could be wrong I suppose) chants "Swim To Cuba" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGoalLZ_PA8&mode=related&search=
4) A very good shot of Sparling with megaphone at the 1:03 mark. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ24o0W1U_g&mode=related&search=
5) Here they are yelling "Jihad Jane" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTm39i6p45I&mode=related&search=
6) And the most important one, from Sparling himself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhm4gtI4QJQ&NR
Thanks for the links. The most revealing aspect of those videos is that the two sets of protesters are kept apart by fences with a 30 foot barrier in between. If somebody did spit on him, then they should be on the Olympic spitting team.
Clams Casino said "If somebody did spit on him, then they should be on the Olympic spitting team."
That's right, Clams. And that is the case in every video. Protestors 30 feet away. Anti protestors next to him. If anyone spit on him DURING the protest (which is when he told Colmes it happened...not before it and not when he was walking to his car), then it had to be a counter protester. David Brock, please hear my plea: Get these videos uploaded to a MSM reporter who can ask him about them. Dude needs to go down. Hard.
Actually, that's not true of quite every video.
The Freepers have posted a video they took of their event, at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9iodh1HNIQ
Notice that at the beginning, there appear to be anti-war protesters walking immediately in front of them, on the sidewalk. This is around 1 minute in. At that point, potential spitters could be in range.
However, there isn't really even any confrontation going on at that point, and certainly not anything that appears to be spitting or a reaction to it. The one "death threat" occurs when Sparling(?) starts in about how without the soldiers, the anti-war protesters wouldn't be able to do what they do, and an older guy argues with that, and it ends up sounding to me as if the older guy is saying, no, we would protect ourselves. I don't see the explicit death threat claimed.
The rest of the footage shows, just as in all the other videos, the Freeper event and the anti-war event separated by a wide area, fences, and police.
The guy in the "Iraq Veteran" jacket then proceeds to taunt the other side over a bullhorn, clearly trying to provoke a reaction, and some people do take the bait, unfortunately, but they are just yelling.
I don't see any spitting or cigarette butt throwing, nor did I hear anyone taunting the guy over his injuries, as claimed.
It reads to me like some people went to stir up some trouble and provoke a reaction, and they got one. It'd be nice if no one responded, but people are human.
Somehow I doubt this video (or the others posted here) will be shown on TV.
Great video, Itaz. A 9 minute view of Sparling yelling into a bullhorn, telling people to get haircuts, insulting their character, etc. That IS Sparling on the megaphone. I am 99% sure of it.
The Freeper comments are also idiotic. They condemn the actions and words of the anti war protestors, but the fact that megaphone man is instigating ALL of it is irrelevant to them.
Anti war protestors are not wusses. They have a backbone, just like everyone else. If you tell them they are stupid over and over, they will get mad and react. That is how humanity works. In one of the earlier vids the narrator says "These are peace protestors. I should be able to slap them in the face and they should not hit back because they don't believe in violence." Idiot.
Those are illuminating vids, Chris. It's ironic that they were taken by their own "tribe."
Is the last one filmed by Sparling? Man, if he handles a gun anything like he does a camera, he's lucky he only lost a leg.
I always wonder what the freeper crowd looks like, I just get to read posts and hear them calling righty radio. It's 2007, and they haven't managed to rustle up anything better than "commie", "pinko", "public school", "Jane Fonda". Whatta brain trust.
Again, to clarify my stance for all trolls out there: I DO NOT HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE COUNTER DEMONSTRATION. But don't play a victim in the media when you were clearly asking for a visceral response. Man, I am fired up.
I think you should have a problem with the "counter protest" that is BS. If you want to protest for a cause then schedule your own day., it is not legitimate to taunt, insult and shout over people who are doing their protest. If you feel strongly, schedule your own day and march down the street with the 20 other people that agree with you. Showing up at someone else's protest is just looking for trouble. But I would like to say, great job finding those videos. I think the guy is lying. Jerry Lembcke, a Vietnam vet himself, exposed the "Vietnam vets were spit on" claim as a myth in his 1998 book The Spitting Image: Myth, Memory, and the Legacy of Vietnam.
Wait, how can anyone definitively say that there were no cases of veterans being spat at/on?
Does anyone personally know every Viet Nam veteran and his post-war experience?
I highly doubt that there is some sort of vast, Viet Nam veteran conspiracy to trick the American people into thinking that they were abused, considering all of the personal accounts from otherwise quiet, non-politically active veterans.
Danian, as you know, it is impossible to prove a negative.
However, if you bothered to click on the link, you would see that "[Lembcke] investigated hundreds of claims about antiwar activists spitting on vets and found none of them credible."
The urban legend that Vietnam Veterans were spat upon when they returned by anti-war demonstrators has been thoughouly debunked.
While there is a possibility that it happened, there hasn't been any evidence. If it was as common as those on the right would have us beleive there would be more evidence.
I know of no one who has experienced this. I know of no one who knew anyone who experienced this.
Where is all of this compassion for Vietnam Vets coming from anyway? When we returned we were ignored by our government. We were denied needed benfits by our government. How many of us and our familiy members have died because of the dioxin in our systems that caused genetic damage that we passed down to our children?
How many of our Vietnam Vets are still living on our streets? Whereis the concern for them?
These people who are still beating this spitting thing in the media are the same people who questioned the patriotism of Max Cleland in his senate re-election campaign. None of them had the balls to go but they all have the balls to blame those that did go.
Joshua Sparling... Calling Joshua Sparling...
Just wanted to let you know, Josh, that you have about 30 seconds left of your fifteen minutes of fame. Make the best of it, dude...
Jerry Lembcke has written, "It appears, in fact, that around 1980 stories of spat-upon veterans begin to percolate more or less spontaneously" "During the 1980s these stories began to proliferate, which prompted Chicago Tribune columnist Bob Greene to ask Vietnam veterans to send him their stories of being spat on."Here is one of those submitted that Greene published: "My flight came in at San Francisco airport and I was spat upon three times: by hippies, by a man in a leisure suit, and by a sweet little old lady who informed me I was an 'Army Asshole.'"Lembcke observes, "Besides the fact that no returning soldiers landed at San Francisco Airport, I find it hard to believe that the same veteran was spat on three times in one pass through the airport." Lembcke points out, "I cannot, of course, prove to anyone's satisfaction that spitting incidents like these did not happen. Indeed, it seems likely to me that it probably did happen to some veteran, some time, some place. But while I cannot prove the negative, I can prove the positive: I can show what did happen during those years and that that historical record makes it highly unlikely that the alleged acts of spitting occurred in the number and manner that is now widely believed."
Cpl Starling,
Thank you for your service. And thank you for your sacrifice.
I do not condone anyone spitting on you, at you or "at the ground near" you. But the only person(s) that should be condemned for that is the person(s) who are proven to have done that. Neither you, nor the New York Times, have named that person(s). So, unfortunately, since the whole event is based on hearsay and you clearly have a political axe to grind against anti-war protestors, I am under no obligation to believe a word of it. And I certainly do not lump the hundreds of thousands of peaceful protestors with one alleged bad egg.
But I do not begrudge you from allowing Fox News to parade you around as their poster boy for allegedly abused veterans. It must be tempting to warrant such attention from an entire network with an obvious ideological bias consistent with your own. But how weak you must be to allow yourself to be exploited for cheap political points in such an obvious fashion.
Being spit on would have been less demeaning than what you are allowing Fox News to do to you. You come across in these interviews as a little coward. You're whining about being spit on? For god's sake, you are a soldier!
Frigging act like it.
Imagine FNC’s misfortune when their film crew only captured footage of both of the peaceful protestors as they walked by the counter protest. If only they had taken any more footage, they would have surely captured the vile violent protestors in action.
Something needs to be done to reign in the out of control, spineless media. Yesterday was the final straw. For thesecond day in a row, Chris Matthews went after Hillary Clinton for her bad and evil men joke. He wanted anyone and everyone within earshot to validatehis belief that she was comparing Bill Clinton to Osama Bin Laden. Not even Pat Buchanan bit, which seemed to anger Matthews. On a day when Bush was attempting to usurp the powers of the people and congress by signing into law stting up political appointees as Agency gatekeeprs, Matthews, Carlson, et al seem to trivialize the news with their sad and patheitic withch hunts.
I find it interesting ... there's videoof the veteran ... and I'm sure that all the Bush supporters had some video recording capabilities available ...
So, if this happened, if the "protester" spit on him, where's the video evidence? Surely, there would be 15 different videos of the "spitting" incident. Any clips of the spitting on youtube? Murdoch's Myspace? Nope. But you have vids of the "veteran" making the claim.
Just like the "Cynthia McKinney Gone Wild" incident. You have all kinds of video security everywhere ... but an actual video of the damning incident is nowhere to be found ...
Exactly, thats why this whole story stinks. They seem to have tape everything including them shout at the other protesters. How could they not have the incident or any video of anyone even talking about it.
i knew this lie would make a comeback.
Maybe Sparling should check to see if the "lefty" who spit on him was Fred Phelps, carrying a "God hates f**s" sign ...
Cpl. Sparling lost a leg in Iraq and he is out to make money from his injury. Every American soldier, wounded or not, should form their own protest group against this coward who is using our soldiers as his potential road to fame and riches. Shame on you Corporal. You have a right to protest but do not be part of a group that confronts an opposing view. As mentioned above form your own march and do it.
For those of you that think that coward isn't appropriate, too bad. This guy enlisted, was sent to war, fought for his country, lost a leg for the freedoms we have and now wants to capitalize on it. Be like the thousands and thousands who have been there before you and who will continue to go to war after you. Be a soldier.
The Prince. '70-'71
First of all, I was there and the crowd was hardly an aggressive one. The theme was peace and non-violence. Most of us just walked past these guys without engaging them at all.
Secondly, it appaears that the barrier would have made it a world record spitter to get anywhere near these guys. But with 500,000 people walking by, someone probably spat somewhere near him, and me also.
Third he's clearly trying to provoke the peaceful marchers in these videos.
Fourth, the constant claims and aggressive actions he takes reminds me of an insurance scammer constantly suing for slip-and-falls. I believe he's a bald-faced LIAR.
I have my doubts about his airport incident as well going back in time. In my travels (I travel a lot for work), I have seen tons of people go way out of their way when they see a serviceman or woman walking through an airport in uniform, go up to them, shake their hands, thank them, and then walk away. I seriously have my doubts about Sparling getting spat upon, and demeaned in an airport.
"I seriously have my doubts about Sparling getting spat upon, and demeaned in an airport."
Watch it, Magnolia... Sean Hannity might ask: Why do you hate our troops so much? Of course, Hannity loves our troops so much that he is not beneath using some of them to dishonestly advance a right wing agenda and further attempt to demonize any dissent over this senseless war.
I've been asked that many times before, not by Mr. Insanity Hannity, but by others that I have debated and argued with about the Iraq war, and its justness back when it started. I still find it odd, and interesting, that I'm pegged as "anti military" when all I want is for the men and women over there to come home, or to actually engage in the so-called "war on terrorism" (like maybe finding Bin Laden). It's funny, in a funny strange kind of way, that one would be looked upon these days as anti military, and anti US because I don't want to put our fine soldiers in harm's way.
Another funny quote that I heard this morning was Senator Levin talking about how if Feingold's bill passes and it pulls funding from the war in Iraq, it would deteriorate troop morale. Huh? What? I'd think they will be jumping for joy, as in, they get to come home, and stop being shot at, and bombed on a daily basis. Lower morale? Pass that bill, and I bet our soldiers will be partying in the streets (more or less).
Someone commented on the You Tube video linked here that the trope of veterans being spit on goes back to the Nazi era (and is part of the "stabbed in the back" complex of urban legends scenario. See the excellent and definitive recent article in Harpers about this ).
"The story of veteran being spat upon was first invented by the Nazis. Hermann Goering wrote:'very young boys, degenerate deserters, and prostitutes tore the insignia off our best front line soldiers and spat on their field grey uniforms'
[SOBs] like Sparling should at least come up with some original b.s. instead of recycling Nazi agitprop." [End slightly edited for strong language quotation from You Tube comments]
Very interesting, if true. Interesting coincidence, too, that Urbina, the NYT columnist who reported this (and who graduated from Georgetown and U of Chicago) should have written a feature article for the Village Voice some time ago about Pentagon Psy-Ops.
Wasn't "black propaganda" -- planting false information in the media -- also a Nazi invention? Just asking.
Curiouser and curiouser.
Seriously, I wonder how people like Urbina and Judy Miller can live with themselves. Not to mention the Times editorial staff. Do they, like Sparling, regard their readership as "not real Americans."? What's next, "not real human beings"?
Sparling attended the recent State of the Union address. He sat next to Lynne Cheney. He is not just some ordinary vet; he's another Bush operative, willing to play games with truth and accountability in order to manipulate the American people's emotions, to deflect blame for the Bush admin's mistakes by playing the wounded victim of the villainous Left.
As the wife of a Gulf War vet, I find Sparling's political exploitation of his military service indefensible. I believe all veterans are owed a debt of gratitude by the rest of us...for their service and sacrifice. That in no way immunizes them from criticism, or even retaliation, for any and all bad behavior on their part for the rest of their lives.
The YouTube videos make it abundantly clear that if Sparling was in fact attacked at the demonstration, it was not for his service, but for being a vicious, vulgar provocateur. No amount of heroism in battle or missing limbs gives anyone the unfettered right to taunt and smear people and not expect a response in kind. In fact, not only did he expect retaliation, his entire purpose was to agitate until he got it, so he could cry victim.
Sparling claims on FOX that he was not calling ALL war protesters un-American, just the "vulgar" ones. So, we are led to believe he is fine with people who disagree with him about the war, but if they use VULGARITY, they are NOT Americans.
Yet on the YouTube videos, taken by Sparling's gang themselves, we see their signs with VULGAR phrases like "piece of a$$" and "go to hell," and, as if hanging Jane Fonda in effigy isn't vulgar enough, you hear Sparling using vulgar language in the narration, calling her a traitorous, or treasonous, "bitch."
He proudly films one sign that says "Code Pink Kills" -- in other words, Code Pink has blood on their hands for not supporting the war, so he is justified to make this accusation. Yet he whines on Hannity that some protesters accused him of having blood on his hands for supporting the war...but that, for some reason, is not only unjustified, it's VULGAR?
One other thing military service does NOT earn you: the right to use double standards to excuse the very behavior in yourself that you are condemning someone else for.
Ivy Shoots...And Scores!
Beautiful post, Ivy. I missed it until just now. Thank you for the post and thank you and your family for your sacrifices.