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What Does “Support the Troops” Really Mean?
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Chante Wolf, Veterans for Peace and W A M M
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I still see the “Liberate Iraq: Support Our Troops” signs here and there these days, but I also see more “No War With Iraq” signs, which is good. At the Wednesday afternoon vigils on the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue bridge, the “Liberate Iraq” signs held by counterprotesters have been changed to something like, “Job Well Done.”
The counterprotesters cling tightly to “Support the Troops,” but as a Gulf War veteran, I wonder about what those words mean to them. When they say “Support the Troops,” does it mean that they wish no ill harm come to those sent away from home to do battle? Yes, I do think they mean well. But why is it second to the mission? Why isn’t “Support Our Troops” in the large type and our government’s naked aggression towards an unarmed country listed second? Do they really support the president first, troops second? That’s my take, since the sign designer is a retired army lieutenant colonel and Gulf War veteran. Mission first, troops second.
I wonder if any of the folks who display these signs will be there for the returning veterans with anything other than lip service. Will they welcome them home with flags, yellow ribbons, and a beer bash, then turn their backs when the stories are not all glory and honor? Will they spit on the returning veterans who take to the streets in protest?
Will these war-supporting people who hold signs condemning socialism care that the Veterans Administration (VA) hospitals are being closed and medical money siphoned off for the corporate goons raking in the dough over Iraq? I doubt they have even walked into a VA hospital. What a shame, it is a powerful sight. The first thing you see is row after row after row of wheel chairs. I don’t recall seeing that in a civilian hospital.
I went to a hospital to see a friend after brain surgery last year and the lobby was open and airy with a high ceiling, waterfalls, plants, and easy-listening music. The VA hospital is quiet, with an armed guard at the desk. After all, those amputees must be a rowdy bunch—or disgruntled, perhaps, because they had to pay for their meals or because they lost their legs and balls over the lies of a rich white man who went AWOL from the Texas Air National Guard during wartime.
Will those people who fly the flag on their cars or pickup trucks alongside stickers claiming to support the troops go sit next to the beds and hold the hands of the young men and women who are dying of war-related wounds, illnesses, and cancers? Will they go deep into the bowels of the hospital, enter the psychiatric wards, and offer comfort to those veterans who lost their minds to the horrors of what they did or witnessed in war? Will they then write letters to the editor, lobby the senate offices, or write to the president to have the benefits returned for those soldiers too sick to write for themselves? I doubt it.
I think it boils down to the psychological comfort zone of those who think they support the troops by flying a flag and yelling at protestors. Oh, I am certain it is much more complicated than that, and I have to keep this short, but my point is, you have to do more than just say you support the troops. You have to think about what that means and what actions can you take to walk your talk. From my observations, most of those flag wavers never served one day in the military, will never enlist, and have never been to war.
For those of you in the peace community who bravely marched, spoke out, wrote letters to the editors and senators, sat in the offices of government officials, held teach-ins and workshops to educate people about the costs of war, and read about the different perspectives on the issues of war and peace, I thank you! That is how you supported the troops. By refusing to see them become subjected to the misuse and abuse of their service for lies and profit. And for those returning in whatever condition, I encourage you to shake their hands or give a hug if you think it appropriate. Welcome them home. Listen to their stories, no matter how hard it is for you. Just listen, cry with them, and don’t judge what they did. Condemn the men who have misused their positions and power to create a lie for profit. Impeach the Bush Administration! |
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Word Up!
“What message does it send to our veterans when the administration says American taxpayers can afford to build new hospitals in Iraq, but we cannot afford to keep open veterans’ hospitals here at home?”
— Rep. Chet Edwards (Dem., TX) to CNN
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© 2003 Women Against Military Madness. All rights reserved.
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Complete December 2003 - January 2004 Index - click here
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