Mother
seeking support, cursed at for questioning
war
One
mother's war after Son
survived suicide bomb
Marsha
Walker's son survived a suicide bomb in Iraq.
Her daughter spent a year in Kuwait last year, and
her
father is a former Marine reservist. She’s part
of a military family;
she and her sister went into
criminal justice because their father
dissuaded them
from a military career. Marsha is a Blue Star mother, meaning a mother whose son is serving overseas.
So it came
as a bit of a surprise when an email exchange
with her local Blue
Star chapter concluded with an
expletive: "fuckoff."
The Ohio mom had contacted her local chapter after
coming
across their website earlier this month. It’s
a plain, bright page,
one that doesn’t stand out at
first glance.
But there was something that caught her eye: an animate montage of planes hitting the World Trade Center and
the resulting
aftermath. In one image, a man in a
bloodstained shirt teeters on the
verge of collapse,
in another, a panicked crowd looks on in horror.
None
of the photographs reference current U.S. military
operations
in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Beneath the graphic is a live clock: "War was declared
on the United States of America, 1,414
days, 15 hours,
49 minutes and 12 seconds ago," referring to the
attacks
of Sept. 11, 2001.
"They’re trying to make a connection between Iraq
and 9/11,"
she asserts. "I guess that's supposed to
make parents feel better in
some way but only the
uninformed ones–because if you're informed, it
infuriates
you."
After seeing the site, which was taken down after an inquiry by RAW STORY, she dispatched an
email.
Hello. I am a blue star mom of
two reservist
soldiers. My 20-year-old-son is "Soldier of the Month" and has been awarded the Purple Heart. He
is a reservist with
the Ohio National Guard.
"I am
not a “Spartan mother” and I feel no
need to sacrifice my children’s
lives for this war.
People willing to give their children’s lives for the war in Iraq are grossly misinformed, and I question
their love
for their children and their country...
"I do not see any reference to groups that
many
blue and gold star families may not be aware
of. I realize you are
not a political organization,
but I am not going to stand by idle,
wearing a pin,
while my son's life and other soldier’s lives continueto be misused for a cause that is not reality based.
911 had
NOTHING to do with Iraq or Saddam-your website,
much like this
President’s talking points do not
balance with the truth of this
situation. Please
give your members something besides more hand
wringing
and a pin to wear.”
"...Military personnel have sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution, not an allegiance to this
President-whose
own mother, of course, did not have
to endure being a "blue star" mom
for a similar
senseless war. This war is illegal, goes against
the
Constitution….a person of my background does
NOT make these
accusations lightly."
Marsha says she felt an obligation to correct
misinformation
on the site. Just four months before, her
son Chris
was part of a convoy outside Baghdad ambushed by a suicide bomber.
"I had just come home from protesting the war, in
March,"
she recalls. "When I heard that my son had
been injured, I called to
get the details."
An officer fielded the call.
"I said, 'It seems awfully ironic that I'm just coming
home
from a protest,'" she says. "And he said, 'Yes
ma'am.' I said, 'I
think it's pretty ironic, don't
you,' and he said, 'Yes ma'am, I'm
sorry I do.'"
"It was mostly cuts and abrasions," she adds. "The
others
were more injured than my son."
Two hours after her email came this anonymous
reply.
"Facts? Where are
yours?"
"Im sorry to hear you
dont support the career
choices your sons have made, it must make
them feel
good about themselves that momma doesnt [sic] give
a rats
ass about them ." Maybe you should go join
up Code Pinko at
Walter Reed Medical Center they
are there every Friday jeering our
wounded troops.
"Bush's Mother
did indeed have to endure being
a Blue Star Mother, or have you
forgotten all of
John Kerry's accusations of him ditching his service during Vietnam, which was proven false he did serve
his full time.
You do not have to wring your hands
and wear a pin to be recognized
as a Blue Star Mother,
we honor all members of the US
Military.
"Illegal war?
Congress voted overwhelming to
go to war in
Iraq. "We are not obligated to
link to any other
website other than those we feel fit to link to, don't like it start your own website...
“The Democrats in Congress speak out of both
sides
of there [sic] mouths Bush lied about WMD
yet when their man was in
charge these were there
responses."
The email listed roughly a dozen quotes from leading progressive politicians who believed Iraq had or was
pursuing weapons
of mass destruction. They indicate
Democrats believed Iraq’s weapons
program posed a
grave threat and were serious about eliminating it, but the context suggested Democrats had sought to
start a war with
equal fervor as President Bush.
Marsha
was outraged. She didn’t take lightly to being told
she didn’t give a “rat’s ass” about her son.Nor was
she amused by the falsehood that Bush had “served
his full time.” So she fired off another letter.
Dear Nameless Bush worshipper, (idolatry, according
to the bible)
I got my “facts” from places like the CIA,
allies’ newspapers, ect. [sic] You see, I will not
set my kids out like lambs to slaughter –I am far
better informed than your “talking points.” I have
no time to start my own website and little to educate
you. But I am here to tell you-“Commie Pinko”- I
am the daughter of a Marine officer and have a background
in law enforcement so for you to imply I’m even
a Democrat is a joke. I am an informed person who
knows the Constitution, Bill of Rights and the Geneva
protections...
Our troops recently trained on what to
do if
their camps are overran. Do you understand the implications of that? Our soldiers are greatly outnumbered, their
equipment is
getting broken, and replacements are
behind. Do you
understand? If you continue to support
this war, you will eventually
be standing alone.
Educate yourself-do not take my word for it.
Funny you would think my SONS
were involved.
My daughter just returned from a year in Kuwait.
My
children and other soldiers are proud of the
military but not proud
of politicians who have sent
them unprepared into a war of choice.
That is unacceptable.
My own family has spent thousands of dollars
for
equipment for my son-some of it needed JUST SO HE
COULD DO HIS
JOB IN THE WAR. I guess this is acceptable
to you. It is not to
me...
So no, I am not willing
to shove my kids out
the door and say die for this war, because I
know
what this war is really about. Did you notice there
aren’t any
WMD in Iraq? Mr. Bush takes advantage
of people’s faith and
ignorance-they, like you,
will heatedly stand up for him-right or
wrong without
examining facts or solid intelligence. He counts
on
the fact that you will take him at his word,
as obviously you have.
That is too bad; I find it
easier to live with the truth than to
attempt to
justify this war.
She included a quote from the twenty-sixth president
of the
United States, Theodore Roosevelt.
“That we are to stand by the president, right or
wrong is not
only unpatriotic and servile, but is
morally treasonable to the
American public.”
It was this missive that earned the reply"fuckoff."
Marsha's frustration is palpable. She's against the
war and is not shy about it, and it's not simply about
the effort to tie Iraq to Sept. 11. It's about Chris.
Marsha tells how her father, a former Marine, supported
the war and maintained that the troops would have
everything they needed.
"My dad said, I know they're getting everything they
need," she recounts. "I thought, okay, what can you
say? He's your father."
"Six months later, he was having to send things to
his grandson to help assist in the war effort, that
he did not have."
Marsha says her father helped pay for body armor.
Her son, Chris, is a communications specialist.
"We've sent him extra armor," she says. "He did have
new armor when he left, it was military issued, it
was not the best – there are police officers on the
street who have better armor, and I know that because
I have a degree on criminal justice. We've had to
send him tools so he can literally do his job of repairing
radios."
Beyond armor, she says she's also sent basic tools
like sockets and wrenches. She laughs as she says
it, but she's obviously pained by how little support
she's seen from those who would send her son to fight,
and perhaps to die.
"I did send him a whole ratchet set," she recalls.
"It's outrageous. We have to pay to send him things,
and of course we have to send him things all the time,
hair gel even, for instance. It costs a lot of money
to send those packages. I took three small boxes to
the post office last week and spent $40."
Chris will be deployed until October–or at least
that's how long he's supposed to serve in Iraq. I
ask her when she thinks he'll be back.
"I don't know," she says wearily. "I told him, that
I have his orders here, and he better not volunteer
to go back there."
"He needs to get home, go to classes, and stop worrying
his mother," she continues. "I can hope."
"My son is someone who is going to contribute to
this world," she adds. "He was raised with public
service in mind. This is a gross misuse of his patriotism."
Scores of naked or scantily clad people wandered the museum, lured
by an offer of free entry to "The Naked Truth," a new exhibition of
early 1900s erotic art, if they showed up wearing just a swimsuit -- or
nothing at all.
With a midsummer heat wave sweeping much of
Europe, pushing temperatures into the mid-90s Fahrenheit (mid-30s
Celsius) in Vienna, the normally staid museum decided that making the
most of its cool, climate-controlled space would be just the ticket to
spur interest in the show.
Peter Weinhaeupl, the Leopold's
commercial director, said the goal was twofold -- help people beat the
heat while creating a mini-scandal reminiscent of the way the artworks
by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Oskar Kokoschka and others shocked the
public when they first were unveiled a century ago.
"We wanted to
give people a chance to cool off, and bring nakedness into the open,"
he said. "It's a bit of an experiment. Egon Schiele was a young and
wild person in his day. He'd want to be here."
Most of those who
showed up in little or no attire Friday opted for swimsuits, but a few
hardy souls dared to bare more. Among them was Bettina Huth of
Stuttgart, Germany, who roamed the exhibition wearing only sandals and
a black bikini bottom.
Although she used a program at one point
to shield herself from a phalanx of TV cameras, Huth, 52, said she
didn't understand what all the fuss was about.
"I go into the
steam bath every week, so I'm used to being naked," she said. "I think
there's a double morality, especially in America. We lived in
California for two years, and I found it strange that my children had
to cover themselves up at the beach when they were only 3 or 4 years
old. That's ridiculous."
For years, the Austrian capital has been
known for a small but lively nudist colony on the Donauinsel, an island
in the middle of the Danube River where people disrobe, often startling
the unsuspecting joggers, cyclists and rollerbladers who happen upon
them.
Overwhelmingly Roman Catholic Austria has always been
somewhat more conservative than many other European countries. The
Viennese were scandalized when native art nouveau masters like Klimt --
best known for his sensuous "The Kiss" and the subject of an upcoming
film starring John Malkovich -- began producing works that some critics
panned as "indecency," "artistic self-pollution" and borderline
pornography.
The 180 works on display at the Leopold through Aug.
22 include Klimt's "Nude Veritas," an 1899 painting of a naked young
woman with wildflowers in her hair, and Schiele's "Two Female Friends,"
a 1915 rendition of two nude women entangled in each other's arms.
Max
Hollein, director of Frankfurt's Schirn Kunsthalle art museum, likened
the public uproar at the time to "the visible outcry at the live
transmission from last year's Super Bowl when, for a few seconds, CBS
broadcast shots of the singer Janet Jackson's exposed nipple."
Mario
Vorhemes, a 20-year-old Vienna resident who strode into the Leopold on
Friday wearing nothing but a green and black Speedo, was nonchalant.
"What's
the big deal?" he asked. "We're born naked into this world. Why can't
we walk around in it without clothes from time to time?"
Elina Ranta, a fully clothed tourist from Finland who checked out the art -- and the audience -- left amused.
"I
thought, 'This is strange. How is this possible in a museum?"' Ranta
said. "We've been in many galleries and I've never seen people walking
around like this."
"In English, my name means 'beach,"' she added. "That's pretty funny under these circumstances, isn't it?"
Marsha
Walker's son survived a suicide bomb in Iraq.
Scores of naked or scantily clad people wandered the museum, lured
by an offer of free entry to "The Naked Truth," a new exhibition of
early 1900s erotic art, if they showed up wearing just a swimsuit -- or
nothing at all.
