spreading the rage

[ironymaiden]

sinthrex linked to these; he's enraged, i'm feeling ill. and inarticulate. and sad. folks in the US need to see it. soldiers against the war in Iraq are "phony soldiers".

the transcript.

Comments

[markbourne.livejournal.com]

Some good HuffPo responses here (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-soltz/so-im-a-phony-soldier_b_66175.html) and here (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-patrick-murphy/honoring-all-those-who-se_b_66225.html).

[ivy]

Because Rush, with his long and decorated military career (oh wait), is *totally* the subject matter expert on what makes a soldier. Argh. If only people didn't listen to him and believe. How disgusting.

[gaelfarce.livejournal.com]

Put him in my old squad bay. See what happens to his polinoidal cyst.

[steve98052.livejournal.com]

This would piss me off more if it actually surprised me. But I'm so used to Rush Limbaugh being an ass that there's no surprise when he does it, and I just can't work up much outrage. It's worse when government or military officials say something horrible than when it's said by someone whose job description is, more or less, "be an ass on the radio every day".

[craftyasparagus.livejournal.com]

Many people are paid to be assholes on the radio...so why does one asshole get fired for tarnishing black people (saying "nappy-headed hos") and another doesn't when he tarnishes democrats, the military, etc. - calling these people liars and "not real" soldiers?

This country is so fucked.

[ironymaiden]

it struck a nerve with me because it was timed so closely to the Moveon "General Betray Us" ad and censure. also, that show plays on Armed Forces Radio. nice taste of home, eh?

[steve98052.livejournal.com]

I think the thing that got Imus in trouble was that he was attacking specific individuals who weren't public personalities at the time, turning them into public figures – and once people saw the attacked individuals they felt sympathy, across political lines.

Those points don't apply in this case. Limbaugh isn't attacking eight specific, sympathetic individual soldiers, he's attacking a substantial class of them. Stalin said (approximately) one murder is a tragedy, but a million is statistics. By analogy, eight insulted people is offensive, but insulting a third or more of the military is just politics.

[steve98052.livejournal.com]

You have a point there. Once Petraeus announced that he planned to run for President after he retired, he was fair game for political insults. That's not true of soldiers who are sworn to defend the Constitution; they should retain their right to protection of their own constitutional rights to freedom of political opinion and speech. Dissent is not treason, and all that.

[craftyasparagus.livejournal.com]

That is a very good point.

:)

[sinthrex.livejournal.com]

I don't disagree that Petraeus crossed the line, but disagree with where.

Flag/General officers have always been politicians to some degree, but they typically do not make political policy. IMAO, Petraeus has long since stepped over the line that got McArthur, McClelland and a bunch of other generals historically sacked. The fact that he was led there by the nose by Bush & Co., doesn't excuse it. Resigning probably was the only way out, but he failed to execute that option.

[sinthrex.livejournal.com]

I think steve98052 is right on the money as far as why it happened the way it did. However, I stand by your assessment of the degree to which that is fucked up.

[steve98052.livejournal.com]

That's a good point. When he generals like Wesley Clark, Eric Shinseki, and so forth were pressured to be Bush administration advocates, rather than generals, they did the honorable thing and resigned. Petraeus can't make the same claim – and probably won't anyway, since he seems to be seeking approval from the same people who still support Bush.