More Sheehan

Another response to Cindy Sheehan, this one from another bereaved parent:

Mrs. Sheehan has become the poster child for all the negativity surrounding the war in Iraq. In a way it heartens me to have all this attention paid to her, because that means others in her position now have the chance to be heard. Give equal time to other loved ones of fallen heroes. Feel the intensity of their love, their pride and the sorrow.

And this one:

here are over 1800 families that know the pain that my wife and I and our two remaining kids know. The horror of seeing the service at your door, with a message that is not one you want to hear. It changes you for ever. Amongst all this you have a suffering mother that has chosen to use her son’s suffering and sacrifice and commitment to his cause and Country as a soap box, a chance at 15 minutes of fame!

(Yes, he's a freeper. So what? According to the Sheehanites, as the parent of a dead soldier he speaks with "absolute moral authority". If that applies to loony anti-semites like Sheehan, why shouldn't it apply to freepers?)

Indeed, it appears that it's very difficult to find any other parents of soldiers who died in the war who support Sheehan. Pro-Sheehan demonstrators hold up pictures of young men and women, and wear stickers saying "mom", "uncle", etc, but don't be fooled into thinking that those are their children, who are serving in the armed forces. They're not. This reminds me of all John Kerry's "Vietnam Veterans Against the War" who turned out never to have been anywhere near Vietnam, or not even to have served at all. It also reminds me of the abusive mail Michael Fumento gets from people claiming to be Vietnam veterans who were damaged by Agent Orange, or to be Gulf War veterans suffering from "Gulf War Syndrome", but when Fumento challenges them for details of when and where they served, it becomes clear that they're just making it all up.

(Hat tip: Daffydd, Sachi, and Tim Blair)