Spitting on Vietnam Soldiers

GATE68 - All I read is you judging others about doing the things you are not capable of doing yourself; all I read is you criticizing contributors to the common good when you yourself refuse to contribute; all I read is you reprimanding others for being willing to make the hard choices when you yourself run from taking a stand. You give yourself away when you accuse others of being pawns to those on powertrips. Powertrips?? I remember you guys from the 60s and I haven't heard that term since! No one is suppose to do anything or else they will be contributing to 'the system' or 'the Man'. God forbid!! Dead end thinking like that was pointless then and is even less relevent today. It impresses the 12 year olds, but you're exposing yourself to others who know better than that line of Bull. The only reason I'm writing this is so those 12 year olds know that there are people out here that totally don't buy into what you and Turd are selling. How do I know I'm right? Dispite being there, done that, go to the wall! Read the names! Remember that a lot of those guys and gals wore long hair, beads, smoked weed, and sang the protest songs. But when it came to doing what was right, they anted up. They were us! And I don't consider myself or any one of them a pawn to anyones powertrip. But then, you wouldn't know that. I hope you look a little closer, think a little deeper, open the eyes a little wider and look at the people you are justifying spitting on. Those 60 'peace advocates' saw ideals instead of us. Is that all you see?

 

No i also see all the dead that you and your kind are responsible for.A lot of dead Iraqi's.lots of dead Vietnamise not to mention the Japanese.And for what?Because you antied up and killed them and you talk about judging people.

 

Mmmmm, I love the smell of spit in the morning....
And a bit of spit is a small price to pay for this:

 

i wish i could fix that with just a little spit

 

Wow, I started reading this thread last night and gave up after 7 pages worth. Figured I'd see where everybody was at today... Still arguing I see.
But morals are impossible to argue over, when some folks will find any justification they need to make themselves feel ok about whatever they did or what they believe in. And some folks feel there is no justification. It's all about morals and ego. It has nothing at all to do with actual right and wrong. We all SHOULD know the difference. "Thou shalt not kill" and all that...

I certainly hope that in all those pages of name calling and bad vibes that someone figured out that spitting on the returning soldiers was:
1. Highly overplayed by the media to make the anti-war protesters look bad, and
2. Nothing personal. It was a statement. It was to say, with eloquence, "I hate war, I hate killing, I am totally frustrated with the way things are going, and I wish that all soldiers would be accountable for their actions!"

I keep wondering when the spitting is going to start in regards to the Iraq war.

 

If i could do something about Iraq by simply spitting,i'd certainly be game.With our surgical strikes and our disregard for human life,how could there not be bad vibes?

 

Hey it pisses me off too when these bozos start pumping up like peacocks about how great they are to have fought and killed people "for me". Hey, Don't do anything "for me" if it involves killing, please. If someone needs killed, I'll take on that karma for myself, thanks. That's just as insulting as listening to "our president" banter around the term "the American people" as if he were speaking for me. He absolutely does NOT speak for me.

But that's just MY morals and MY ego talkin'. My opinion. My truth. And those other guys, well, in REAL TIME I would not even be associating with people like that.

*WARNING, my opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of anyone who was ever in the military.

 

Go ahead do it.A little spit(as compared to napalm)never hurt anyone and it's good for the soul.Just tilt your head back,clear your throat and let it fly...

 

Hi all;
"Spitting on soldiers" ? Well it doesn't sound very respectfull of another's opinions-or basic humanity-to me. Maybe this is my East European ancestry talking, but how big of a step is it to go from spitting on someone in another ideolgical camp to lining them up and shooting them? Now my good friend "Shark" actually was spit on just off the plane and yeah it did him some psychological damage. The whole thing still makes no sense though-where did these people come from and how was it the airport police did not frog march them off? Was shark's case unusual or were there whole platoons of spitters working the US airports as urban myth would suggest? Then there were the departure speeches given by US Army officers warning about "Hippie snipers working the airports." The whole operation reeks of a good ole fashioned US GVT psyploy.
Tundrahopper
PS. There are people in the far right wing ideological mental and spiritual prison (as opposed to the far left ideological mental and spiritual prison) STILL pissed off about the sixties in general and the spitters most of all.

 

Spitting certainly won't work,it's just a feel good thing kinda like baby killing to some.

 

Good rhetoric, but ridiculous comment. It's a VERY big step....

 

Gate and Peace;
It wasn't a long step at all from spitting to shooting in the Russias after 1917. Sohlzhenitsyn estimates 66 million perished in the wars, famines, purges and plagues there between the October Revolution and the death of Stalin. This is NOT including those perished in the Second World War. The power of hate.
I gave up hating anybody from any groupling you could probably name (the exception being "assholes" who occur in every population) back during the summer of '69. It seemed every time I started bad mouthing a certain group of people-"Pigs, baby killers, capitolists," and etc-within a week I would meet someone of that description and find them pretty worthwhile. So I have lived in a state of suspended judgement ever since, and it makes for a pretty wild range of people I call "friend." I am looking forward to seeing Shark in a couple of weeks (and I hope he makes it that long what with the precarious state of his health!). And I do believe I will question him further on the "airport spitting after Vietnam" thing. That the spitters weren't promptly clubbed and maced makes absolutely no sense to me knowing what I do about the state of America during the sixties. I'll also have to pick of that article they wrote up about him a while back and I guess it is true that this guy spent some times on the hairy edge and is worth a Hollywood Movie. The unit favorite was "Sky Pilot" by Eric Burdon played full blast in the rear.
What a long strange trip it's been,
Tundrahopper

 

Tundra - When we get together it's "We've Gotta Get Outta This Place". Strange they're both with Eric. And you are 100% correct about the small step. And you will never convince anyone who hasn't experienced it or are close to someone who did. My friend was shot against a wall for his ideals that I didn't share, but the state in some countries practice true zero tolerance. People like Turd, GATE and EARTH speak only from the safety of non-involvement, non-commitalists who contribute nothing because they have experienced nothing, but will certainly speak on those who have. It's all uninspired talk. I applaud your attitude to try and learn and remain open for other views. Others should learn. Some things require more than a mouth to be able to talk about them. I read the comments like in this tread and I read..nothing. Nobody backs up anything with facts or personal experiences, just opinions. And they're usually inaccurate, broadly based statements, nothing that I would claim as a declaration of my beliefs. Tell Shark 'Welcome Home, Brother' and be careful what you ask him. I know you mean well, but it's not only you that is affected by your questions. Just keep that in mind. I'm not surprised that you got the image of the 60s in America being a place where protesters should have been attacked at the airport for spitting on soldiers. Why weren't they? The aswer is pretty basic, really. From the point of view of Shark and from the cops standing over by the side. Can you imagine what it was?

 

Time;
I was there in the sixties and remember people giving me homicidal looks because my hair was on my ears. Then I remember the talk about how great it was that they had finally gotten sense and were mowing down those smartass college punks after Kent State. NO I cannot imagine someone hocking on a returning Vet back then without triggering an explosion of violence! It makes no sense whatsoever to this day.
Shark-good father, pillar of the community, great neighbor who I could trust with my life, decent guy from decent family... and a guy who got some snide comments because he had been to the edge and come back changed. Yeah I don't think I'll go prying into those years with him-like he has volunteered some stuff here and there over the years but I guess I know better than to play reporter. Sure looking forward to seeing that clan though-it's been a neighborhood poorer for the fact that they have left.
Tundrahopper

 

I guess people had their reasons for going but if it was me personally I would probably high tail it to Canada…

 

They had it coming.

 

Applauding someone because of their keeping an open mind? But yet yours is not open?
I don't think pacifists can be considered non committalists. Many of us are actually very committed to peace. Many of us are activists. Many veterans are peace activists for that matter. In truth, just the act of living, of getting up every day and facing whatever the day has to offer, is a war. And then there are wars like the drug war, the terror war, the war against the people, perpetrated by the legal establishment. The war against the people perpetrated by the IRS. The war against the earth, perpetrated by anyone who pollutes. It's a fight just to make ends meet, and get your needs met. Yea, we are all at war. But killing each other to get what we want? No.
I understand that many veterans have to create this certain headspace for themselves. After all, we need to view what we do in such a way that we can live with the consequences. Or we will be at war with ourselves.

 

Why do we have to spit at all??? WTF?? Why should we be so pissed off about it now?? 40 some years later? I think there are other issues to discuss. The soldiers did what they had to do and if it wasn't for them we would be killed like all the victims of Sadam. FUCK IT I say THANK YOU. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do, even if it does mean killing. Iam happy that I get to walk aroung in this world without having to wear a towel on my head, or have 29 different husbands. My best friend just got back from Iraq 4 days ago, and Iam just happy he made it home. But I have all RESPECT for him. Don't you think that it hurts most of our soldiers having to kill casulties? I just don't understand why you would want to put our FREEDOM down.

 

Hi guys;
We start packing today and travelling is getting to be a major effort. Katie's critters-several cats and a parrot-have to be farmed out, and we have the dog to bring along. Katie is going shopping today to find Shark's grandson a suitable gift (GREAT kid!), and we have to set up Katie's Dad so he can get along well enough for the 4 whole days we are gone. We used to go for months on end, then it became weeks, and now we dare not leave but for 4 days to 7 at the top end. Shark's wife and Katie have some plans to hit the casino nearby, and last we were there Katie won five hundred and "Jane" played a dollar machine and walked out with $10,000 (Yeah-I was standing there and watched her do it, and it is a fact that Katie and Jane can generally beat the house).
Then I have some business to take care of out on the Great Plains.
But the subject was about pacifism? I generally distrust all "isms" since the day, but this one is not a bad idea. Consider that countries spend huge amounts of their national budgets on defense; and that these monies would be better spent on things like health, education and infrastructure.
Tundrahopper

 

Let's get this straight i never spit on anybody.This is an urban myth used to put down non violent people and to promote animosity.It's the war class trying to excuse themselves for their sins.Trying to justify their paranoia and their lack of the honor and courage that it takes not to strike out at the unknown