Childlike Vs. Childish
Welcome Michelle Malkin readers!
We attended the Christian Peacemakers rally tonight in Chicago.
In many ways it was the usual collection of fact resistant lefties gathered together remind us of how terrible America is. Not that they'd admit to that, but you gotta call'em like you see'em.
The crowd was patchy, I'd estimate it at 50ish. Several small groups were spread along the street holding anti-war signs and anti-Bush signs. I'm sorry to report that there was an enormous amount of honking but, it is deep blue Chicago after all, there's a reason people here are willing to give up their second amendment rights, and it's not a deluxe Mensa membership.
MJ noted that not one flag was displayed the entire time we were there and she was absolutely right. And of course they said repeatedly that they supported the troops until you got to any specifics then it became the usual litany about how our troops were abusing and torturing Iraqi's and in general making things worse.
As we got started we approached seveal of the small groups strung out along the street holding up signs and chanting. While I took photos MJ interviewed several people. When I finished taking pictures I just stood near MJ and took in the moonbattery. When I said these folks were fact resistant I wasn't kidding, it turns out "BUSH LIED!" not to mention that "the war is based on lies" and of course the argument to which there is no rebuttal "this war is illegal."
I would like to say I learned a lot, but, um, no. It really was astonishing to hear memes that I thought had been laid pretty firmly to rest trotted out as if they were fresh and sassy. It was kind of sad really, to be so dead set against something that you'd buy into anything, no matter how ridiculous, strikes me as sad.
I had one question as we went tonight: Were they not wild ingrates for not thanking the troops for the rescue of their people?
The semi-official person we spoke to was a young lady named Sara. Sara wore a red knit CPT cap and spoke with us for about fifteen minutes. As is often the case let me start by saying Sara was a very nice person and we enjoyed chatting with her.
I asked Sara my question. Her first comment was to tell us that the phone at CPT had been ringing off the hook all day. To the point where they couldn't keep up with the volume of calls coming in, and let me thank every patriotic American that took the time to call!
She went on to say that they as a group had determined that the wording of the press release from earlier today may have been a mistake, I have to add as an aside that often people say what they really mean the first time out, when corrections are released don't we tend to assume it's spin?
She then went on to mention that she was a pacifist and considered herself a soldier for peace, and as such respected soldiers immensely for what they did. I won't presume to speak for Sara, but in that crowd I have a feeling she was very nearly the only person there that felt that way. As a Christian I find the whole notion of pacifism slightly ludicrous. I can't improve on neo-neocons piece so I'll just link that.
I guess at the end I'd have to say no one was willing to actually answer the question. I heard a lot of tap dancing and "ummms," but no one flat out said it was wrong or right, just hemmed and hawed and seemed to wish I'd go away.
In that vein, a couple of people suggested that the whole point of the pacifism deal was to be willing to lay down your life. This was in context of the whole pacifism thing, so my suggestion is if a pacifist is going into a volatile situation like Iraq I think they should have to sign a release saying they shouldn't be rescued in case of kidnapping or hostage taking. Especially if they're going to bitch at the troops after being rescued by them.
Several speakers addressed the crowd at that point and MJ and I wandered over to listen. One thing I noted is that every speaker continued to use the word "released" and the best they could bring themselves to say about the troops who saved their people's lives was "thank god it happened non-violently." So said a nun who then disclaimed that they would support the troops by bringing them home. Uh-huh, that didn't work for Kerry so why do they think it's going to work now?
Another gentleman pursued the "it was better when Saddam was in charge" meme and I would have sworn he made a statement comparing the Islamofascists holding the CPT folks with the troops, though he denied it hotly when I confronted him about it. Unfortunately the PA system was a bit small and it was hard to hear. I still think he said it, he denies, there you have it.
Overall I would say that in many ways this was your typical lefty anti-war rally overlaid with a thin patina of Christian dogma. To my eye it was an awkward fit. How do we fight a war with Islamofacists? No one there had a good answer, merely relying on comforting slogans such as "bring the troops home now" or "killing isn't the answer." It was a typically lefty scenario, all negative options with no positive suggestions.
And it leaves the nagging question: what then should we do?
Technorati Tags: Chicago, Christian Peacemakers, Leftists, Tom Fox,
We attended the Christian Peacemakers rally tonight in Chicago.
In many ways it was the usual collection of fact resistant lefties gathered together remind us of how terrible America is. Not that they'd admit to that, but you gotta call'em like you see'em.
The crowd was patchy, I'd estimate it at 50ish. Several small groups were spread along the street holding anti-war signs and anti-Bush signs. I'm sorry to report that there was an enormous amount of honking but, it is deep blue Chicago after all, there's a reason people here are willing to give up their second amendment rights, and it's not a deluxe Mensa membership.
MJ noted that not one flag was displayed the entire time we were there and she was absolutely right. And of course they said repeatedly that they supported the troops until you got to any specifics then it became the usual litany about how our troops were abusing and torturing Iraqi's and in general making things worse.
As we got started we approached seveal of the small groups strung out along the street holding up signs and chanting. While I took photos MJ interviewed several people. When I finished taking pictures I just stood near MJ and took in the moonbattery. When I said these folks were fact resistant I wasn't kidding, it turns out "BUSH LIED!" not to mention that "the war is based on lies" and of course the argument to which there is no rebuttal "this war is illegal."
I would like to say I learned a lot, but, um, no. It really was astonishing to hear memes that I thought had been laid pretty firmly to rest trotted out as if they were fresh and sassy. It was kind of sad really, to be so dead set against something that you'd buy into anything, no matter how ridiculous, strikes me as sad.
I had one question as we went tonight: Were they not wild ingrates for not thanking the troops for the rescue of their people?
The semi-official person we spoke to was a young lady named Sara. Sara wore a red knit CPT cap and spoke with us for about fifteen minutes. As is often the case let me start by saying Sara was a very nice person and we enjoyed chatting with her.
I asked Sara my question. Her first comment was to tell us that the phone at CPT had been ringing off the hook all day. To the point where they couldn't keep up with the volume of calls coming in, and let me thank every patriotic American that took the time to call!
She went on to say that they as a group had determined that the wording of the press release from earlier today may have been a mistake, I have to add as an aside that often people say what they really mean the first time out, when corrections are released don't we tend to assume it's spin?
She then went on to mention that she was a pacifist and considered herself a soldier for peace, and as such respected soldiers immensely for what they did. I won't presume to speak for Sara, but in that crowd I have a feeling she was very nearly the only person there that felt that way. As a Christian I find the whole notion of pacifism slightly ludicrous. I can't improve on neo-neocons piece so I'll just link that.
I guess at the end I'd have to say no one was willing to actually answer the question. I heard a lot of tap dancing and "ummms," but no one flat out said it was wrong or right, just hemmed and hawed and seemed to wish I'd go away.
In that vein, a couple of people suggested that the whole point of the pacifism deal was to be willing to lay down your life. This was in context of the whole pacifism thing, so my suggestion is if a pacifist is going into a volatile situation like Iraq I think they should have to sign a release saying they shouldn't be rescued in case of kidnapping or hostage taking. Especially if they're going to bitch at the troops after being rescued by them.
Several speakers addressed the crowd at that point and MJ and I wandered over to listen. One thing I noted is that every speaker continued to use the word "released" and the best they could bring themselves to say about the troops who saved their people's lives was "thank god it happened non-violently." So said a nun who then disclaimed that they would support the troops by bringing them home. Uh-huh, that didn't work for Kerry so why do they think it's going to work now?
Another gentleman pursued the "it was better when Saddam was in charge" meme and I would have sworn he made a statement comparing the Islamofascists holding the CPT folks with the troops, though he denied it hotly when I confronted him about it. Unfortunately the PA system was a bit small and it was hard to hear. I still think he said it, he denies, there you have it.
Overall I would say that in many ways this was your typical lefty anti-war rally overlaid with a thin patina of Christian dogma. To my eye it was an awkward fit. How do we fight a war with Islamofacists? No one there had a good answer, merely relying on comforting slogans such as "bring the troops home now" or "killing isn't the answer." It was a typically lefty scenario, all negative options with no positive suggestions.
And it leaves the nagging question: what then should we do?
Technorati Tags: Chicago, Christian Peacemakers, Leftists, Tom Fox,
posted by jakejacobsen @ 8:23 PM
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