No Yellow Ribbons Here (BARF Alert!)

Daily Collegian (UMass) ^ | 2/24/05 | Thomas Naughton

[TFFKAMM]

Guilt can only weigh on a person's mind for so long before they crave the act of purgation; to get the weighty feelings of shame and responsibility out of the mind - or at least the guilty parties attempt to find some kind of peace if they cannot rid themselves of a screaming conscience that implicates and indicts its possessor.

That said, perhaps some readers will understand why my friends and I rip yellow ribbon "support the troops" magnets off of cars or wherever people have affixed them. By ripping off these ribbons, we find a way to deal with our guilt, as though with each ribbon swiped we take back a life that was taken by this senseless war started by our senseless president and those who support him.

I will never say, "support the troops." I don't believe in the validity of that statement. People say, "I don't support the war, I support the troops" as though you can actually separate the two. You cannot; the troops are a part of the war, they have become the war and there is no valid dissection of the two. Other people shout with glaring eyes that we should give up our politics, give up our political affiliations in favor of "just supporting the troops." I wish everything were that easy.

What they really mean is that we should just give up our will, give up our identities, give up our voices to those in power. Perhaps that's just the way people aligned with the right wing choose to get rid of their guilt: blindness and ignorance.

I listen to talk radio very often. It's important to know who your enemies are. The pundits on the radio are the pinnacles of guiltless, shameless wonders, and I am jealous. It must feel good to believe without question, to benefit from the blind belief of young men and women who chose to join the armed forces, to sit in a radio studio in New York and admonish the public to give in like the troops, to just follow orders, to live as just a number that will soon be etched into a gravestone that no one will ever see.

I look into the cars of people with "support the troops" ribbons as I speed past, trying to find some trace of recognition on their face, recognition of their guilt and the fact that they have given up. I usually see nothing; just a mouth moving robotically, singing the pop hits of today or the contemporary country wine of fake cowboys who share a lot with George Bush: no shame.

We say, "support the troops" so that we won't feel guilty about saying "no" to war. We reason that if we say that we support the troops, somehow we aren't monsters for not saying a word when the death tolls of U.S. soldiers climbed above 1,000. Those ribbons are yellow for a reason, they are not the mark of armed forces support, they are the mark of cowards.

Pundits on the radio advise their cowardly listeners to approach men and women in army uniforms and say "thank you." I cannot do that. Every time I pass a person in uniform I look long and hard at them and all I can think inside to say is "I'm so sorry." I want to apologize to them, to their families and to their friends. I feel sorry that we, the people, couldn't control our own government at the outset of this conflict when most of us knew deep inside that it was a mistake.

Where are we now? Are we in a better place? Is the world safer for democracy? No, it is not safer and we are not in a better place. In this war that we are fighting to somehow avenge the deaths of the Sept. 11 tragedy, we have amassed a field of body bags, the number of which almost matches the number killed in the terrorist attacks four years ago. Now, we stare at yet another request for barrels of money for this war by President Bush, while people in our own country search fruitlessly for jobs to feed their starving families, while every public school gets left behind, while our elderly are ensured an uncertain future of unpaid medical bills.

I guess we shouldn't think about those things though, right? We should just buy a yellow magnet and slap it on the butt of our car so we can sleep at night and just let our government do whatever they want. That's supporting the troops, right?

Two years ago my friend Eric called me out of the blue after almost five years of silence between us. We were in a band together when we were teenagers and he had joined the army around the time I was graduating from high school. He had to join the army; he had a son to provide for in the grand tradition of many young members of the armed forces. He called me to tell me that he was going back to Iraq, against his will. He was so sad and angry and scared. He didn't say it, but I know he was calling to tell me that he might die. I didn't say it to him then, but I felt such overwhelming guilt that I couldn't do anything to keep him from going back.

I haven't heard from him since. I don't know if he's dead, and my guilt is alive and well. I hope that all of our family members in harm's way return alive. Until then, I can really honor their sacrifice by demanding that it finally comes to an end.

[76834]

You mess with my car, or my home and at the least you will be in for a Texas A$$ Kicking that would do Roy D. Mercer proud.

[George Smiley]

I've had 2 of them stolen from my car so far.

Maybe, maybe not.

Make sure you remove them before going through the car wash; a lot of folks forget to do so and those rubberized magnetic sheets aren't all *that* strong.

I have a firearms-related vanity tag and a sticker on the back of my car.

Nobody messes with it, and I even leave stuff on the seat sometimes.

[Junior]

So, I guess this guy has admitted to commiting multiple thefts. Methinks he should be brought up on charges.

[ariamne]

My car has a yellow ribbon, a Protest Warrior bumper sticker and a "United States Armed Forces: The TRUE Freedom Fighters" sticker on it and it has been scratched, kicked and keyed. I just wish I could catch the cowards in the act, but being cowards, they make sure no one is around.

[joedelta]

...we find a way to deal with our guilt...

That's it in a nutshell (no pun intended). This punk, like all dims, feels guilt for living in America and having the freedoms that people the world over don't have.

Their solution? Bring freedom to others? No. It is to make the US as miserable as those in bondage.

[pawdoggie]

People say, "I don't support the war, I support the troops" as though you can actually separate the two. You cannot; the troops are a part of the war, they have become the war and there is no valid dissection of the two.

"Barf Alert" aside, this joker has acknowledged something that conservative pundits (e.g. Limbaugh) have been saying for a long time. His fellow lefties want to have it both ways, when it is perfectly clear that they support neither our Iraq policies/WOT nor our troops. This guy's a jerk, but he's not an hypocritical jerk.

[Fintan]

This cretin must be able to outrun lead traveling at the speed of sound.

[digger48]

It's simple: if you don't support going to war, you still may hope for the success of the war once it's been decided upon. Even if you don't even support the mission to that extent, you can still hope for it to conclude with a minimum of bloodshed, especially on the part of our soldiers.

Is that what Teddy the "swimmer" means when he says he supports the troops in the same breath he calls them "occupiers" and torturers?

[rdwtic]

Dear Freepers,
Here's our buddy Thomas Naughton's webpage. Perhaps you'd like to share your love with this freak. Guess what? He's an "artist", and somewhat in love with himself


http://thomasnaughton.tripod.com/id5.html

[brewcrew]

Politics aside, buttholes like this have no concept of PRIVATE PROPERTY (from their socialist leanings), and thus can't believe it when they're cold-cocked for "doing something they believe in." It's always and forever all about them.

[JohnnyZ]

Is that what Teddy the "swimmer" means when he says he supports the troops in the same breath he calls them "occupiers" and torturers?

Obviously just because a Kennedy says something ("I support the troops") doesn't mean he means it.

But there are a lot of good people who do mean it.

[freedomson]

Every time I pass a person in uniform I look long and hard at them and all I can think inside to say is "I'm so sorry."

WELL YOU GOT THAT PART RIGHT!!!!

[Sender]

Maybe Thomas would prefer these? Support our Fruits! And yes, you are the only one who sees this.

[yankhater]

You represent the real people of Massachusetts, that terd who wrote in the UMASS paper does not.

I have met many wonderful people from Massachusetts that represent the true spirit of the province of Paul Revere, John Adams and the brave Minutemen.

To me people who have such leftist anarchist beliefs as that student lose all claims to state and American citizenship, at least spiritually. If you hate America you aren't an American no matter where you're born.

These left wing goons can not be debated with, they need shouted down. I'd prefer smacking them but unlike the leftist vandalizer in question I respect the law.

I feel sorry for people who live in very lib areas. I have yet to hear of someone pulling off a yellow ribbon in Virginia. Chances are 1 in 4 that the person behind you is in the military over here. Good way to get beat down.

The YH

[ariamne]

I wonder about this--I think the "long hard look" might be more about his hostility towards the troops than his "sorrow".

If he really does it at all, the punk.

[ariamne]

I wonder about this--I think the "long hard look" might be more about his hostility towards the troops than his "sorrow".

If he really does it at all, the punk.

[popdonnelly]

What an idiot! I hope this little smart-ass never gets a job anywhere. He and his friends should take their little behinds out of the country. And if his parents support him in this, I don't like his parents, either.

[cyclotic]

I agree!

I don't like yellow ribbons either. To me they are a symbol of weakness and tears.

I prefer the strength embodied by the colors red, white and blue.

To remove someone else's property is unforgivable. Hopefully, he'll pull the ribbon off some 6'5"patriot bodybuilder type who will give him a lesson in hand to hand diplomacy.

[Sender]

Even Hell doesn't want people like that.

[cyclotic]

Old Marine

You have my gratitude and admiration.