Why I am SICK of Cindy Sheehan
What makes me so sick is that in every photo I see of her being arrested in front of the White House, she is smiling. Sometimes almost laughing. I can almost read her mind…“Wheee! This protesting thing is FUN!” This “planned protest” fiasco that she and her nutjob allies cooked up is nothing short of laughable. Apparently her arrest was planned and plenty of media was on hand to capture it like some sort of twisted paparazzi red-carpet event, with photographers jockeying for a position to take a photo of this clown being hauled away by the police, who may I note were not smiling at all.
The photos make it look like protesting can be fun. It’s disturbing that this is the case. A fundemental right of Americans is to protest. It’s a national treasure. But, what pollutes it is when folks like this gain the media’s attention and begin to popularize the whole thing SIMPLY for the sake of the action. In other words, the easily impressionable might see this and think “oh yeah, she’s aweshome for standing up and protesting at the White House and making a stand!” where the truth is, she’s just another anti-war protestor. Many, many people have lost loved ones in this war, it’s a terrible thing. I think exploiting that is perhaps the greatest travesty of this woman’s life.
“If you haven’t had it with this horrible woman and her anti-American antics; her sick and disgusting exploitation of the heroic death of her patriot son, then I have…” Mark Noonan, BlogsForBush.com
Freedom isn’t free.
September 29th, 2005 at 3:55 pm
I’ve read a few things about her – that she’s divorced from the father of her son, that she wasn’t active in his life at all until he was killed in Iraq. That her son was proud to serve, and his father is proud of his service for his country. She’s worked for the Democratic party and is using her son’s death to catapult her into the media limelight because it gives her legitimacy.
September 29th, 2005 at 4:16 pm
Very interesting. I’m not sure what is going through her mind. She’s obviously still in some sort of grieving process for the loss of her son in Iraq. She was in the midst of throngs of supporters and she was probably feeling the energy of the crowd as well as validation that what she is doing is much greater than her son’s death — a result of her son’s death. She feels she will be preventing other soldier deaths. I understand what she is smiling about. I feel bad for her.
Now, let’s talk for a second about the war in Iraq — especially since I’m still trying to collect my thoughts on the subject. I have an MBA with a focus in marketing strategy. A company can have a successful strategy, but if the strategy’s not effectively communicated to customers, the strategy may as well not exist. Pres. Bush is doing a horrible job of communicating his strategy on the war in Iraq. There is no endpoint in sight. No clear objectives for how the war in Iraq will make the US or the world a better place.
That said, I can see the positives and negatives of what we are doing there. We’re building an ally in the middle east, which we will presumably use for: a stable oil supply, a base for the war on terror, a statement against hostile nations, and an example of US military strength. But none of this has been communicated with any consistency. The US is losing lives and spending large amounts of money. So, the payoff needs to seem real and quantifiable. I also think that at home, peaceful protest is a valid response — it demonstrates Americans have a real need. I suppose the next move is Bush’s.
Sluggy — very interesting post that got my brain moving. Bottom line, I love our nation and I am proud to be an American.
September 29th, 2005 at 4:27 pm
I see this as a sad way to grieve. (no pun intended)
The objectives are there, if you look for them; muddled and mucked-up by the media and pop culture. I agree – poor communication on the Administration. In this day in age that is both very easy and incredibly difficult to do well. It’s hip to be counter culture these days. Ridiculous.
Bush has dug himself a nice deep hole in the last year or so, the whole Katrina debacle being the deepest point. At least he owned up to the mess for once. If only he’d take responsibility more often people would think better of him. If only he could have a Monica Lewinksky type affair he’d be all set.
– Ben