The army recruiting office on Milwaukee’s east side was vandalized again. As a result, one can find a fair amount of misplaced outrage about this photo in the Wisconsin blogosphere because apparently it 1) Represents that some people hate the troops; and 2) Represents that these same people hate America.
Both notions are fundamentally silly. While it certainly appears that a crime has taken place, and while I don’t condone doing such things, the idea that any amount of outrage should be expended on this issue is really hard to imagine.
Our country is sturdy enough to handle a little vandalism at an army recruiting office. People may find such political protests offensive, but the republic will stand. The worst thing that will happen is that the property-owner’s insurance agency will have to dig into its profits to pay a claim.
No great tragedy has occurred here.
And certainly no great tragedy occurred, as compared to this story from the Associated Press:
US Soldiers kill young girl in Iraq
BAGHDAD (AP) — U.S. soldiers fired a warning shot near a woman who "appeared to be signaling to someone" along a dangerous stretch of road north of Baghdad, but the bullet killed a young Iraqi girl, a military official said early Thursday.
The shooting took place Wednesday where several roadside bombs had recently been found in the volatile Diyala province. An exact location was not given in a military statement.
The girl appeared to be "around 10 years old," said Maj. Brad Leighton, a military spokesman.
If, after five years of this brutal and pointless war, we have any outrage left to expend, it should be on behalf of this young girl who was shot while she was hiding, trying to keep her head down in a country where so many children have died in so many similar situations in a war that has now lasted more than half of her short life.
And, if we have any more outrage left after that, we should reserve it for a president who has sent so many young people—many not much older than that little girl—off to die in a war with horrors that seem to never end, and whose justifications for fighting it have all been knocked down one by one by one.
A broken window?
Sorry, but I just don’t care.
Both notions are fundamentally silly. While it certainly appears that a crime has taken place, and while I don’t condone doing such things, the idea that any amount of outrage should be expended on this issue is really hard to imagine.
Our country is sturdy enough to handle a little vandalism at an army recruiting office. People may find such political protests offensive, but the republic will stand. The worst thing that will happen is that the property-owner’s insurance agency will have to dig into its profits to pay a claim.
No great tragedy has occurred here.
And certainly no great tragedy occurred, as compared to this story from the Associated Press:
US Soldiers kill young girl in Iraq
BAGHDAD (AP) — U.S. soldiers fired a warning shot near a woman who "appeared to be signaling to someone" along a dangerous stretch of road north of Baghdad, but the bullet killed a young Iraqi girl, a military official said early Thursday.
The shooting took place Wednesday where several roadside bombs had recently been found in the volatile Diyala province. An exact location was not given in a military statement.
The girl appeared to be "around 10 years old," said Maj. Brad Leighton, a military spokesman.
If, after five years of this brutal and pointless war, we have any outrage left to expend, it should be on behalf of this young girl who was shot while she was hiding, trying to keep her head down in a country where so many children have died in so many similar situations in a war that has now lasted more than half of her short life.
And, if we have any more outrage left after that, we should reserve it for a president who has sent so many young people—many not much older than that little girl—off to die in a war with horrors that seem to never end, and whose justifications for fighting it have all been knocked down one by one by one.
A broken window?
Sorry, but I just don’t care.
4 comments:
Owen is so mad, he's talking Mommy in the post and talking poop in the comments!
Holy shit! And Owen's called me out to condemn it.
Unlike Owen, I've been in combat, so I'm a little less gung-ho about killing, and don't think it equates with a little graffitti.
I'm also puzzled by his question:
"How could spending and killing in the name of honor and uniforms be offensive?"
Killing in the name of honor? How could that be offensive? Let me count the ways ...
Good grief!
OK, I know that wasn't really Owen's question on Boots and Kittens, but it might as well have been.
And he really did ask me to condemn those little pigfuc*ers (can you fill in the blank.)
Jeeze, Louise!
Sorry to have trapped you in my doppleganger tar pit. I should've put "Owen" in quotes.
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