In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
Life according to the new right: Veterans Day is not about Veterans, it is about supporting war.
Anti-Iraq war veterans pulled from parade 11/12/03
TALLAHASSEE -- A group of 30 military veterans critical of the war in Iraq hoped to use Tuesday's Veterans Day parade to call attention to the increasingly deadly conflict but instead found themselves fighting for something much more fundamental.
Members of Veterans For Peace and Vietnam Veterans Against the War were yanked off a downtown Tallahassee street, directly in front of the Old Capitol, while marching in the holiday parade they had legitimately registered in.
As organizers allowed the parade to roll on -- including veterans from various wars, several high school marching bands and even a group of young women from the local Hooters restaurant -- the anti-war veterans were ordered onto sidewalks where they passed out leaflets and displayed a banner reading, "Honor the Warrior, Not the War."
"There's a war going on that's based on lies, just like Vietnam," said veteran Tom Baxter, an Army equipment maintenance officer in Vietnam for 16 months in 1967-69. "They were lying then, and they're lying now."
Parade chairman Ken Conroy, a Korean War veteran, said he ejected the anti-war veterans because they were offensive and because Tallahassee police also wanted them removed.
Oh, and no surprise, Conroy lies too:
Tallahassee police Sgt. David Folsom denied police played any role in the situation and said Tuesday was the first time he could recall anyone being excluded from the parade.
"We don't police the participants," Folsom said. "We don't have an opinion on who's in it, as long as they're not walking around naked or drinking in public. It's just not a police decision."
continued:
Parade spectators were surprised to hear the anti-war veterans were ejected.
"I don't think it's right," said LaToya Jackson, a JROTC member from Rickards High School. "They said they were supporting the troops, just not the war."
Marc and Khristina Munday of Tallahassee suggested the veterans have earned a special right to have their voices heard.
Not in Bush's America, if you don't support Bush, you don't get heard. Nothing personal.
- rob 1:35 PM - [PermaLink] -
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