Sheehan arrested
Posted on September 26th, 2005 by erik
I just read that Cindy Sheehan, the de-facto figurehead of the American anti-war movement, was arrested during a protest at the White House.
While I truly do appreciate the fervor with which she and many others have voice their opposition to the war in Iraq during the past months and years, I have to say, they (protesters in general) lose a ton of credibility in my book when they cross the line and start breaking laws. Yes - there will be the nay-sayers that will claim that she was unjustly arrested just to get rid of her for a few hours, but if you ask me, obstructing traffic along the sidewalk in front of the White House is nothing to take lightly, and if the news reports are accurate, she and the others did deserve to get arrested.
Good grief. That woman makes me sick. Most of all her complete disrespect for her son, as well as having her demonstration rally location named after him.
It’s quite obvious that Casey had opposite opinions on the war than his mother, given that he reenlisted knowing full well that he’d be deploying to Iraq, and volunteered for the QRF mission to put himself in danger. That’s not the actions of an anti-war soldier.
Huh - I didn’t know that backstory. Thanks for sharing. That brings a new perspective to the story.
Wikipedia, among others, is a decent source of information on that situation.
I don’t think that she was unjustly arrested — the police and Secret Service did exactly what they were supposed to do — and, for me, protesters don’t loose any credibility when peacefully breaking laws that don’t harm anyone or any property, such as tresspassing or gathering without a permit. Often, that is the only method available to voice an opinion when it is in the minority.
I may believe that Sheehan does certain things in bad taste (such as naming her protest locations “Camp Casey”), but I also don’t believe that she is “completely disrespecting” her son or his memory through her actions or opinions. Truly loving and respecting another person doesn’t mean that you have to believe or think in the same manner or, even, remain silent in those differences.
Interesting - I think if I was supportive of a war, and gave my life during that war, and one of my family members or friends used me post-humously as a banner to promote the opposite of my ideals and opinions (when they knew what my opinions were), I’d feel completely disrespected.
The way she’s going about it is the disturbing thing. There was something on the news that showed a picture of the Cindy weeping at the cross bearing her son’s name - this was on all the news stations. One of them then showed a zoomed out view which had about 30 newsreporters and cameras crowded around her; that’s what she’s all about. She either wants to be famous, rich, advance her political agenda, or all three. Those aren’t bad things in themselves, but to do it at the expense of your son’s reputation is embarrassing. There’s no RIP for Casey (theological implications aside).
Tim — please explain how Casey’s reputation is expended. I guess I don’t understand that point.
I also don’t agree with the assumption that one must be pro war if he chooses to stay enlisted in the armed forces. There are lots of reasons to be in the armed forces. I think it’s wrong to assume that because a person is willing to serve that means he wants to be at war — even if the war is ongoing. Maybe he wanted to see it end, so he and his friends could get out of the situation. Such a goal wouldn’t be far from what his mother is advocating.
For what it’s worth, if I die before my mother, she can speak on my behalf. Few people know me better. Perhaps not even myself.
Casey’s reputation is expended in the same way that a mother might come to the junior high of her son and act like a complete idiot, thus embarrassing him in a way he’d rather not have happen.
I agree with you that not every reenlistment is due to support for the nation’s policies. However, reenlistment into a unit that is slated to immediately deploy to Iraq and volunteer for dangerous missions is, as I said, not the actions of someone who doesn’t support the war in Iraq. The ones who get alerted and come up with some excuse to get out of deployment are the ones who don’t support the war (or are simply afraid, which is understandable, yet still dishonorable).
As far as his possible ideals not being far from what his mother is advocating.. Even if you’re right, Casey was doing something about it (working toward stabilization, which will ultimately bring our troops home); Cindy is just whining and suggesting that we yank all of the troops immediately, which is about the worst thing we could do given the lack of the Iraqi police force’s self sufficiency.
Lastly, not every mother has their child’s best interest in mind, especially after the they don’t need to remain directly accountable to the person they’re representing (in this case, their son) since they’re no longer alive. You’re fortunate (as I am) that ours do.
Well put, Tim.