tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post1962597184656469422..comments2023-10-22T09:18:16.885-04:00Comments on Far and Wide: Who Doesn't "Support Our Troops?"Steve Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04871113039374739208noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-23105878400575787372007-08-26T12:30:00.000-04:002007-08-26T12:30:00.000-04:00My Support is ZERO Regarding THIS WAR,,, We hav...My Support is ZERO Regarding THIS WAR,,, We have no Business to wage war in Afghanistan . I want our Boys to get Home and I want our Collective Money to spend wiser .<BR/>NO THUMBS UP Mr harper...Damehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15548065189088501935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-63687426603615321952007-08-25T18:39:00.000-04:002007-08-25T18:39:00.000-04:00scotianLook forward to some posts :)scotian<BR/><BR/>Look forward to some posts :)Steve Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04871113039374739208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-76052675934768986882007-08-25T17:44:00.000-04:002007-08-25T17:44:00.000-04:00Steve V:Thanks for the kind words. This is a real...Steve V:<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the kind words. This is a real sore spot with me as you may have gathered, and something I consider to be very dangerous to us as a nation given our traditions and history. This fetish worshipping of the military is something one sees in nations which define themselves as much by the military prowess/force they use in their foreign policies as anything else, which is *NOT* our history. Respect and admire the sacrifices made sure, but turning it into the secular version of graven idols/idolatry is quite another. The sloganeering is also particularly offensive to me, especially where support the troops is concerned since unlike those making the claims they support the troops with a ribbon or wearing a red shirt on a given day I know from both familial and research histories what real support and sacrificing for the troops has meant.<BR/><BR/>You likely have noticed I get a bit snippy with those that want to claim that I am anti-military or that anyone not supporting the CPC is somehow against the military, or that I am a typical liberal because I hate the military. I get that way because not only do I respect military service (especially voluntary) but I also understand the sacrifices those in uniform make and not simply in the physical sense either. Serving in combat is inherently soul damaging/destroying, and this is one of the main reasons those that want to glorify such make me absolutely sick, especially those that have never actually served at all let alone in combat. When they have to pull a trigger and watch their actions splattering the brains of someone all over the place and know they have ended a human life and think it is fun or glorious all they show is how little they understand warfare.<BR/><BR/>Sorry Steve V, this is a very touchy topic for me, which is one of the reasons I tend to not get too involved in such discussions outside the political aspects because if I do I start to get enraged. As you may recall I was more than a little upset with how the government played games with the detainee issue earlier this year and the dishonour they were bringing not just to those currently serving but all those that have served and especially those that died in the uniform.<BR/><BR/>Indeed, I have been taking a lower profile commenting online since then because of how angered I was then figuring I needed something of a break or at least a reduction for a time until I had a chance to recover. I suspect Saundrie will start becoming active again in the near future, as I am finally starting to feel up to doing the work it requires to pass my sense of quality writing, and I suspect this sort of issue/topic will be one of the ones I start going into again. Although I also think I am going to do at least a little on the questions surrounding the undercover cops at the protest and the way the police and politicians have reacted since, as I think that is also a major issue and demonstrates a level of threat to how our political democracy works in the country on a par with the Grewal fraud, which as you know I consider to be an extremely serious matter even to this day.<BR/><BR/><BR/>CWTF:<BR/><BR/>You are most welcome, and thanks to you as well for the kind words.Scotianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06284856315992405261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-37420481611416915982007-08-25T17:07:00.000-04:002007-08-25T17:07:00.000-04:00scotianI like the reference to jingoism, it applie...scotian<BR/><BR/>I like the reference to jingoism, it applies more and more. And, I think you are right to point to previous civilian sacrifices, to out what are really superficial and trival means of expression. Well said.Steve Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04871113039374739208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-25508243730541444262007-08-25T14:46:00.000-04:002007-08-25T14:46:00.000-04:00I think you're all anti-Canadian if you don't supp...I think you're all anti-Canadian if you don't support having the <I>Support Our Troops</I> ribbon stickers on city emergency vehicles. And if you didn't wear red, you are also against the troops and an enemy of Canada. If you didn't support the Charlottetown Accord, you're an enemy of Canada. Where's you red AIDS ribbon? You're pink breast cancer ribbon? Your white men against violence against women ribbon? You're red-white-and-blue 9-11 ribbon? Don't forget all those rubber braclets supporting every cause under the moon. Get that poppy for Remembrance Day. Don't insist on being a Kramer byrunning in an AIDS marathon without a ribbon! You must wear the ribbon! I'm going to wear my rainbow ribbon in the classroom to show my solidarity with gays and lesbians. I'll wear a green-white-red-and-black ribbon as a teacher at school to show my solidarity with the Palestinians. If the police can have ribbons on their vehicles, I should be able to wear a ribbon of my choice in the classroom.Skinny Dipperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12818163310102120130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-59660736725566350322007-08-25T14:15:00.000-04:002007-08-25T14:15:00.000-04:00We all support our troops whether we want to or no...We all support our troops whether we want to or not. We have no choice. At least not if we pay our taxes we don't. We pay their salaries and we pay for their weaponry. As far as I'm concerned, as long as they're spending my money, I don't owe them anything else.Bill Longstaffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15883751372039947365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-74863623804056321332007-08-25T13:40:00.000-04:002007-08-25T13:40:00.000-04:00Scotian, well said. ThanksCWTFScotian, well said. <BR/><BR/>Thanks<BR/>CWTFAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-16888920502704518952007-08-25T12:29:00.000-04:002007-08-25T12:29:00.000-04:00me neither, no support from me, to me its them sid...me neither, no support from me, to me its them sidding with the americans, they have bombed to many civilians, women and children to be exact, and if canadian troops still side with evil and war crimes, it makes them as guilty as the americans.... nuremberg trials. I was just following orders is not a defense.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-67311739403288020362007-08-25T11:27:00.000-04:002007-08-25T11:27:00.000-04:00It is jingoism pure and simple, something Canadian...It is jingoism pure and simple, something Canadians used to pride themselves about not being subject to. Jingoism has always evoked a very strong negative response in me and always will. I show my support for the troops in a combat environment by simply wearing a poppy year round, as the poppy is our traditional symbol for those that fall while in our uniform and unlike the yellow ribbons and red shirts is not part of a political campaign. Like the highway of heroes this idiocy is turning one of the most serious issues any nation and its citizenry can face, war, and turns it into a matter of sloganeering. If that isn't dehumanizing the troops and disrespecting them I do not know what does.<BR/><BR/>I come from a family that has served in uniform, I was a cadet throughout my teens and only blowing apart the ligaments in my knee when I turned 19 kept me out of uniform so I tend to get more than a little annoyed when I am told I hate the military, against the troops etc because I have problems with the jingoism and the way certain political types within a certain party try to equate support for the troops with support for their mission and idea of what our military should be used for. I am also a born and bred Haligonian, a military city with a long and very rich history where both world wars are concerned as well as the ongoing naval presence since before it was incorporated as a city over a quarter millennium now.<BR/><BR/>This is sickening for me to be watching, and I worry that this jingoism may become a new norm for us, and if that happens I think it actually pisses on our military history and honour and those that fell in our uniforms in the prior conflicts. We were able to fight in the past without glorifying war and making a fetish out of "supporting the troops" in the abstract political manner we see today. Back then supporting the troops meant not eating meat on certain days, sacrificing fuel for the war effort and so on, we see none of that sacrifice for the troops in this conflict and to claim that this sort of support of today is anything like the support of the past dishonours the sacrifices and support of the past IMHO.Scotianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06284856315992405261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-15964779273678463052007-08-25T10:59:00.000-04:002007-08-25T10:59:00.000-04:00Sorry, I don't support our troops.The wing nuts on...Sorry, I don't support our troops.<BR/>The wing nuts on the right do not distinguish between support for the war and support for the troops - so I just don't support the troops - maybe they will get the message.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com