I have heard about this multiple times, including Radiohumper’s site. I have finally gone there and started reading some of the listings for units and what they need. Reading them is compelling–I had not realized before I did so that I’d heard so few stories directly from soldiers, of what it’s like over there.
And the soldiers’ needs are so sobering: they don’t have the basics of food, hygiene, clothing, let alone safety. Bring the Beef is doing a collection for kevlar blankets, which will save lives, by protecting the bottom of a Humvee from explosives and landmines. If you’re broke, write some letters, like Radiohumper is.
Yes, I am a pacifist. (For the confused, yes, that started about eight years after the time I shaved GI Joe in the bathroom.) What does a Quaker say to a soldier serving in Iraq or elsewhere? Well, for starters, I’m sorry you’re there, and I hope you all come home real safe and real soon. Here’s some Ramen, t-shirts, and tampons, which I hope help just a little, ’cause I heard you ladies were roughing it real bad.
And here’s what I probably won’t say: I believe we should not have gone to Iraq. I believe we should not be there now. But supporting the people my government has wrongly sent over, and giving them the most basic necessities for health, sanity, and safety? What kind of pacifist doesn’t believe in that?
10 comments ↓
Thanks for the link, and good luck with the new comments. : )
I’m so happy to hear you say you will write.
What to write isn’t that big a problem- they usually list their interests.
Like my activist-pacifist mother says, if you want peace, live it.
hey pax,
automated comments, woohoo!
i miss sending you comments, but now i get why you’re doing it…
vc
I have many reasons to support those kids stuck downrange… (and none of them have anything to do with support for Bush policies) I actually know a few troops (and a DoD Civilian) in the theater of operations here and there, besides being a US Army (Combat Medic – 101st Airborne Division) retiree myself (’87-Disabled). I was lucky, I was a peacetime soldier, I didn’t serve under fire, but I’ve known too many that have… (from Vietnam, onwards) The thought of being deployed to a combat zone without everything neccessary to sustain yourself and your buddies is incomprehensible to this old troop! (And that’s just ONE of the nightmares they still face daily…) I haven’t done a “war post” in entirely too damn long… I’d say that it’s about time!
Thanks, (I think…
)
TLG
Hey look.. its my new friend Todd up there! Cool. Im glad my mates can come check out VC in the 21st.
But I gotta say… I have trouble with the BOTB campaign… I think its noble what they are doing, and I admire them for taking action. But as a pacifist.. or basically, as myself…. I find it odd that private citizens are doing this. First, because the government should provide these things, and if they don’t they should be voted out or put on trial, because it is a crime, isn’t it?
So by going around them, and doing in ourselves, I feel like Im saying its OK for the government to be total deadbeats. And from all this, my person thing thus far is not to get involved in this movement. Cause I feel like its ceding defeat against the government.. this so-called war.. etc.
You read me? i know… I suck.
Hey Todd, I am right there with your reasons. And welcome!
Bicyclemark–it is a conundrum. It reminds me of the Tsunami disaster–when the US government gave a pittance, then tried to claim the “US” gave X amount, when really, it was the people of the US, as private citizens.
And if I think the gov’t should have given more to Tsunami aid, well that’s nothing on how the US should support its soldiers. You’re right, it is a crime–the gov’t is shirking its duties big time. Regarding food alone–isn’t Halliburton contracted to make sure these soldiers are fed well? On the other hand, I can’t bear to think of the situation these soldiers are in. It’s the human face–I can’t ignore them.
But if you have to take a stand against donating, what about writing a letter?
Well said, VC. I hate this war more than I hated “Full House” when it was on. But I never wished Bob Saget ill will. I saved that for his horrible jokes on the video show where babies got kicked in the groin by that jackalope thing.
Okay, that was a bit bizarre. I like the idea of basic citizens helping each other out when their government fails them, no matter what the situation. People will figure out that the gov’t and Halliburton don’t care about the average man, and their day of reckoning will come soon.
Brian–Bob Saget, that was funny. There is a limit with that man…
I have been thinking about Mark’s reservations all day. I think it is important that when the public makes up for government’s shortcomings, that we keep an account of it–and we don’t let people forget about it. I gave Tsunami aid as a similar but obviously quite different scenario.
With the US military-lacking-supplies issue, man, I wish we could have some kind of tally–so when the next election comes up, we can say, look–Bush and Co. did not take care of their soldiers (just like the Republicans don’t take care of soldiers when they come home… isn’t there a ridiculously low income limit for vets to be covered for medical care?) Sometimes, the “liberals” or “democrats” or “left” (Whichever camp you fall into) aren’t as unified about our attacks on the Republicans’ shortcomings as they are of ours. (Yes, the Dems don’t really represent me, but for now, they’re in the playoffs.) Maybe this is an area where we can remind the public of how the war president treats his soldiers.
Charitable giving is a very personal thing. I would never judge anyone for supporting, or not, any particular effort.
It sounds like some of you are new to Bring the Beef. When it was new, its goal was to ‘Skullfuck Bush’ with a gigantic
counter-RNC party that just didn’t come off. I was one of the poor slobs who tried to keep the interest and momentum going at
at the site up until the election and beyond. We were looking for something positive we could do, as citizens, to effect positive change over there.
This is way too much commenting. ; ) Long story short, my angle was Post Traumatic Stress prevention, for personal reaso
and it is a proven medical fact that performing altruistic acts gives a sense of justice being done in the face of chaos
or apathy.
Pax, that makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the background–I think I did find BtB after 11/2.
This is some mad commenting, but I am totally digging it. Thanks guys,
vc
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