San Francisco Peaceniks in a Panic Over Fleet Week

Cinnamon Stillwell's Blog ^ | 10/5/7 | Cinnamon Stillwell

[SmithL]

It's that time of year again and Fleet Week has descended upon the city of San Francisco. For those who, like myself, appreciate the unabashed demonstration of military prowess, not to mention the spectacular air shows of the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels, it is a time to relish. And, of course, an occasion for gloating about the matter at one's blog.

It helps that self-proclaimed socialist supervisor Chris Daly's third attempt to ban the Blue Angels, due, he claims, to safety concerns (never mind that there's a higher chance of being hit by a car in San Francisco than an Angels pilot crashing), was soundly defeated by his more commerce-minded colleagues on the Board of Supervisors. Ah, the smell of victory in the morning.

Getting to watch the Blue Angels practice throughout the week is another perk for patriots living in the vicinity. There's nothing quite like the beauty of jets flying silently in formation, that sonic boom as they pass overhead, or the thrill of a jet zooming past one's very window.

But for local liberals unaccustomed to such icky displays of militarism and residents annoyed that their daily lives of leisure are interrupted by those who, in reality, make those daily lives of leisure possible, Fleet Week is a time of terror.

I know of one such fellow who was in a virtual panic last weekend to, as he put it, "get out of town before the Blue Angels arrived!" Others remained in the war zone, but their grumbling can be overheard at the corner store, the gym, and anywhere else that San Franciscans choose to emote about their political inclinations.

The truth is San Francisco is a city that likes to pretend its favored existence has nothing to do with the generations of fighting forces that have shed blood, sweat, and tears on America's behalf. When Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval foolishly stated on "Hannity and Colmes" in 2006 that "the United States should not have a military," that pretty much said it all.

City officials and local activists have certainly succeeded in making San Francisco a virtual military-free zone. The board of supervisors' refusal to allow the WWII-era USS Iowa to dock at the Port of San Francisco as a floating museum was one of the more despicable examples of this ongoing campaign. So too was last year's decision by the school board to phase out the 90-year-old JROTC program from the city's public schools, over the objection of participants and their families. More recently, the U.S. Marines were denied a permit to film a commercial on California Street by Stephanie Coyote (wife of leftist actor/activist Peter Coyote) of the San Francisco Film Commission.

So forgive me if I enjoy this fleeting moment of triumph. And to all those aggrieved peaceniks leaving the city to escape the horrors of Fleet Week: don't let the door hit you on the way out.

[SmithL]

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[ladtx]

I’ve been to SF twice in my life. Spent several days there on my way to Vietnam in 1969 and then again in 1994 for our 25th wedding anniversary. I really love that city, the climate and the history. It is too bad it’s beauty and appeal is so screwed up by so many of it’s clueless inhabitants.

[pbear8]

I’ll be out there on my boat watching !!

[SmithL]

If you are in San Francisco, treat yourself to a visit to USS Pampanito at Fisherman's Wharf:

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If you have the time, cross over the bay, and visit USS Hornet on Alameda:

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There are patriots in the SF Bay area, and some are worth searching out.

[Mr. Jeeves]

I know of one such fellow who was in a virtual panic last weekend to, as he put it, "get out of town before the Blue Angels arrived!" Others remained in the war zone, but their grumbling can be overheard at the corner store, the gym, and anywhere else that San Franciscans choose to emote about their political inclinations.

But there just aren't that many of these. Because their views are so outrageous and make excellent media theater, they get attention out of all proportion to their actual numbers. Most people here are glad to see the Blue Angels, and I heard more than a few of them downtown yesterday wishing the F-18's could perform a few strafing runs on the noisy SEIU protesters (representing striking security guards), who have been beating drums and chanting stupid 60's-era "Power to the People"-type slogans all over downtown for the last couple of weeks. ;)

[SFC Chromey]

Don’t forget the Liberty Ship SS Jeremiah O’Brien !