Yesterday was a sad day for Free Republic

May 3, 2011 | Huck

[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

[ctdonath2]

Agreed. I considered giving up on FR. Less than 24 hours after the event, the site was swamped with idiots carping that perfect proof and understanding of the incident was lacking.

The Obama may be bad, but he’s not Satan incarnate. Something good happened on his watch, information is still forthcoming, not all information will be released, not everyone will receive nor understand everything, and - the big problem with most *ers of whatever ilk - just because you don’t understand some minor detail does not mean it’s proof of a major conspiracy.

OBL is dead.
Celebrate already.

[shoff]

I too got worn out with Freeping yesterday and the celebrating. Although I am satisfied that Bin Laden paid the ultimate price I don’t think it is cause for celebration. The taking of any life, even a pig like bin Laden is to be taken seriously. When I heard about the crowds at the White House and Times Square I had flashbacks to the Muslims in NJ and the Middle East celebrating 9-11.

I dislike Obama as much as anyone for the damage he has done to the country of my birth but taking out Bin Laden shows the damage has not reached the core. We are still a better country than the one envisioned by the “progressives”. We have no need to apologize for that.
So let us thank God and our military for this teachable moment to the crazies of the world that America is not a country to be trifled with. We can hope that this lesson helps to prevent further bloodshed.

Freerepublic is still my number one site for the real news. Yes there are some junk stories and sometimes it gets out of hand but it is still by far the best.

[Daisyjane69]

Hard to imagine anything scarier than an “unhinged” Obama, for four years. As far as I’m concerned, anyway.

[ilovesarah2012]

There are pictures - they just haven’t been released yet. And what would you have done with the body? Buried it where? And DNA - all you need is a sample to compare - cheek swab, hair, blood. You don’t need the whole body. You think our Navy SEALS would be in on a conspiracy? If Bin Laden were still alive, you don’t think he would have already put out a video or audio tape saying so? Or do you think our government just bought him off and he is enjoying life on a tropical island now? Come on - think!

[Alberta's Child]

I think he was upset with those who took the strong position that this was faked by the administration and isn't true.

That might be the case, but it's hard to blame people for taking a position like that.

Let's go back to Sunday evening before the official announcement was even made. The initial media reports were that Osama bin Laden had been killed in a Predator strike a week earlier -- and that the White House had waited until DNA tests confirmed his identity before making an official statement on the matter.

Then Obama gets up there and goes to great lengths to say he authorized the mission "today" (i.e., last Sunday) -- which led some of us (me included) to wonder if Obama's "live" appearance on Sunday night was actually taped the previous week and some incompetent fool didn't get all of the facts in order before presenting this "live" address. The fact that Obama gave his address on Sunday night nearly an hour after it was originally reported to be taking place fed the skepticism even further.

[central_va]

I felt the same way.

That flash mob in front of the White House looked, suspicious to me. Am I the only one who got that vibe?

[palmer]

we must be doing something right.

Yep. I look at posters like you and can't imagine getting the time and energy to counter all the irrationality here. It's quite alright that FR has diverse views, but not alright to dump reason and rationality 24x7 (e.g. salivating over conspiracies or slobbering over marginal politicians).

[Third Person]

It is hard to stomach and hard to celebrate when two-faced Obama poisons everything he touches.

[Lando Lincoln]

I agree completely Huck. I was once very active here. Not now. The discourse has eroded and become too strident and combative. And there is always a posse patrolling for the strays.

[Swede Girl]

Agree. Obama’s central focus is Obama. In his mind, this victory represents a victory for his cause as it serves to help him appear more presidential. He never once cared for the troops or the war on terror, as witnessed by his votes and words prior to his election. He was against everything that President Bush tried to do to combat terrorism. But, now he chooses to take the credit for the end result of the hard work of our military and so many others who came before him.

Obama has one goal...his new world order.....and everything he does and says is a means to that end.

[onyx]

Question: When you visited Free Republic yesterday, *why* didn't *you* write a patriotic tribute, chronicling your remembrances, instead writing this whining and carping little essay this morning berating everything you've determined is wrong with other FReepers?

Lead by example, not from behind like the Won, who's also blameless.

[andy58-in-nh]

As a dedicated member of the Anti-Tin-Foil Brigade, I thank you for your post. I don't trust much of anything that comes out of Obama's mouth, but I most certainly do trust our military, and the people who took down Public Enemy #1 are the best in the business, and may God bless them all.

Like many others, I had believed that Bin Laden must have been dead for a long time, assuming that he was forced to dwell in extreme conditions. It was actually a pleasant surprise to discover that he was alive, just so that we could enjoy killing him. And it does not matter how much credit our current President tries to take for getting Osama, we all know the truth: our special forces succeeded only because Obama decided not to abandon George Bush's terrorism policy, after all.

[joe fonebone]

I’m not gonna go there...let’s just say you will know them when you engage them...

[mad_as_he$$]

Most of those people were in kindegarden when 9/11 happened.

[momtothree]

“But it doesn’t excuse the conduct at Fort Hood etc..”

Well said. Personally, I think the vast majority of FReepers were glad that justice was served; however, this is one feather. One feather doesn’t excuse all of the wrongs done to our economy, our rights, our Nation as a whole. We are not naive. In fact, I personally believe most FReepers are anything but naive. We don’t see one event in singular terms. How can we? The media was giving credit NOT to the military but Obama. Obama was taking full credit as well. Does he ever use the word “we” or does he only use the word “I”? This morning, what do we face? Well, rising gas prices, an illegal immigration issue, high unemployment rates, rising food prices, foreclosures, etc... I will salute our Military like I always do and pray for their safety. However, I will not applaud/salute/praise Obama for one second.

[Pan_Yan]

Some events are bigger than current political discourse. I think as time goes by the magnitude of Sunday will no longer be clouded by the posturing and partisanship of petty men. This will become another "Where were you when" event in our lives. It's a great achievement by America, especially our military and will be remembered as such.

I'm usually the first one at work and here's what everyone saw when they walked in the office yesterday morning:

[xsmommy]

Your post captures what i felt too. knowing that he will use this to bolster his reelection bid is nauseating. seeing the GW university students in front of the WH, when i sincerely doubt they would have been there had this happened on W’s watch, only made me think that they had been summoned as a flashmob by Obama’s twitter account. i felt sick for having those feelings instead of patriotic ones but was powerless to overcome them.

[paulycy]

i wanted to feel patriotic and jubilant. but i just didn’t have it in me.

I know exactly what you mean. Even having this discussion this morning I almost feel guilty not feeling more joyous but I just don't. I feel very doubtful, like I'm being scammed somehow.

I also want to say that I was on FR yesterday morning, early, but not the rest of the day. I don't know how conspiratorial it got as the day progressed but the posts I saw didn't reflect poorly on FR given the utter lack of information we had available to judge the situation.

[ohioman]

I have been here since 1999 and I totally disagree with you. All in all the fine folks on FR are proud of our military and are happy to see Osama meet his maker. The fact that many do not trust the government is a good thing.

[central_va]

DNA testing takes days, if not weeks. Somebody was killed in Abbotasbad for sure. But can you tell me why the secrecy? They are control freaks, and we HAVE NO MEDIA calling them on it.