Remember that one vividly; it was my favorite. I wrote the artist and thanked him, and he responded.
Posted on 05/03/2011 4:46:53 AM PDT by Huck
Yesterday should have been a glorious day around here. There should have been fireworks and celebration. There should have been somber remembrances. There should have been patriotic tributes. There should have been shared joy at the news that our guys had finally gotten Bin Laden.
Instead, when I visited the site, what I found was a lot of carping. I found people focused more on the political spin than on the great news. I found people transferring their birther mentality onto this event, talking about Obama faking this news, photoshopping information, etc. It wasn't everybody, but it was a LOT of people. It made me sick.
Yesterday Free Republic seemed like DU. It makes me wonder what the hell is going on. Are Freepers getting younger? I always assume that DU is so pathetically immature because they must be younger. Free Republic has always been a place dominated by great class, and wit, and decency. Not this time. What I saw yesterday was a pathetic embarrassment and totally unworthy of this great forum.
As some of you may know, I was in lower Manhattan on 9-11. I was just across the street from the WTC when the first plane hit. I still remember the beautiful clear blue sky that day. I remember walking in between the towers just a minute or so before 8:46am, on my normal route to work. I remember my co-workers screaming in panic when they watched from an office window as the second plane hit the south tower. I remember women crying and screaming hysterically. I remember not being able to contact my wife to tell her I was OK. I remember people jumping to their deaths. I remember seeing the north tower go down with my own eyes, hearing it with my own ears. I remember fleeing Manhattan. I remember it was a Tuesday.
I remember returning to work the following Monday, riding the ferry passed the site, noxious smoke still billowing from the wreckage. I remember armed troops on the sidewalks. I remember wearing a breathing mask inside my building because the foul odor was seeping in through the ventilation system. I remember thinking we'd really gotten kicked in the teeth. They had killed innocent people, they had traumatized our women and children, and I really wanted revenge. I hung a picture on my wall of the American eagle sharpening his talons.
It has been a long time since that day. It's hard to believe how fast time flies. Then again, if you lost your loved one, I imagine time hasn't gone so fast. I love my wife so much, I can empathize with anyone who has lost the one they love. I can't imagine how that would be, and don't want to know, but I can cry for those people because I know what it is like to find your one true love.
I'm not an Obama fan. I hate socialism. But I am so happy that Bin Laden is killed, and that we have exacted some real revenge. It's about time. The politics don't even play into it for me. I still have the little flag, now tattered, that I flew on my car antenna after 9-11. I want to take it out of storage and put it on my car. I want to see American flags on cars like we saw back then. But it's not going to happen, and partially because the normally patriotic conservatives such as the ones here on Free Republic are instead focused on the politics and the fact that a socialist Democrat was president and will get some of the credit.
I guess you all would have been pissed on D-Day too. FDR was as big a socialist as anyone. I guess VE day and VJ day would have chapped your hides, since Truman was a DEM. I don't mean to paint with a broad brush. I know it wasn't every Freeper acting this way. But when I went on the board, that was the general impression, and it was really disappointing. It should have been a great day here. Instead, I saw a lack of patriotism and a lack of class. Free Republic should be better than this. If conservatives lose their patriotism and class, then what will happen to those virtues? I hope we can get them back soon. In the meantime, thanks for reading.
Respectfully,
Huck
See ya.
If this ends up being an opus I’m fine with that. I took time to think about it. I think what I said is true.
I agree.
Hope you have your fireproof suit on! By the way, I agree with you. The discourse on FR has deteriorated from the early days.
“But I am so happy that Bin Laden is killed”
As am I but a little skepticism is healthy. When Clinton said the infamous words “I did not have sex with that woman”, did you say “Well, that settles it then. He is innocent.”? When the President says “I killed Bin Laden and threw his body where no one can verify that it happened”, it makes people a little suspicious especially when he did it to cater to the butchers cult beliefs.
I have friends on both sides of the political spectrum that are suspicious.
Different world now. I pay attention to the man behind the curtain, even though I am no longer young.
Too negative, I didn't see it that way.
I'll admit that since I played golf yesterday {had a good day, 78}, I didn't scour FR all day and may have missed some negative stuff, but what I read, seemed OK.
Of course, anytime I shoot in the 70s I'm happy so maybe that obscured my view.
The fact of his death is good. The circumstances surrounding his death, such as Obama knowing four months ago exactly where he was but doing nothing, were bad.
I tell my four children: choose to be optimistic. I have noticed many of the same things on this forum, and not just yesterday. I have also written advocating more charitable and more hopeful and optimistic positions on many issues. This does not require ceding any ground. It simply means showing class and staying resolute around the principles that this site embodies.
There is a frustration among many of those who post here that is legitimate and well-founded. But we live in great times in the world’s greatest republic. We must remain ever mindful of these blessings.
Yup. It was pretty bad. I passed by the threads that looked like they’d be overtaken by the fringe elements. (which has certainly grown due to this president)
I’m sick of birther and conspiracy threads too, but not enough to post a vanity complaint. I just skip those threads.
I knew no one affected personally by 9-11. And I admit that I am not energized very much by the death of bin Laden. I am skeptical because of the quick burial at sea and the lack of definitive evidence. I don’t trust zer0 as far as I can throw the Trump towers.
I treasure and applaud the military and for their sake I trust in their mission but want to verify it. I want bin Laden to be dead and I want to celebrate the victory which is theirs and NOT 0bama’s.
I want what you want. I want to rejoice.
But I can’t. The timing and the politics of the day seems to be too overwhelming.
I don’t know why.
Remember that one vividly; it was my favorite. I wrote the artist and thanked him, and he responded.
I have to agree with you. I wound up just staying off of the site most of the day.
As a “younger” member (24) I thought the behavior around here was strange as well. I don’t care if the Easter Bunny administration killed Osama I’m glad he’s dead and proud of our soldiers. The son of a bitch will never hurt another American and thats what counts.
Frankly I was shocked at the attiude around here. There must have been miles of tin foil used and enough conspiracy theories to choke abovetopsecret. If you don’t support the administration thats fine I don’t either. But support the soldiers who risked their lives shooting the bastard. We can save the garbage for later.
Your thoughts and observations are easy.
Having Obama as president (along with all the minions and handlers) is difficult.
Let’s not be gullible. The opposition knows our weaknesses.
I saw a lot of praising, our brave troops.
There will not be a lot of credit to Obama since all he did was whine about everything Bush did but then wants the credit for doing what Bush's policy led to.
Do you recall the one of Uncle Sam sitting, looking over the destroyed WTC with the caption, “Give me a day to mourn my dead, then get my gun?”
I can’t find it...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.