... the woman who's been leading the anti-war demo in Crawford, Texas. Makes for a sobering read...




Monday, May 28th, 2007
"Good Riddance, Attention Whore" ...by Cindy Sheehan

I have endured a lot of smear and hatred since Casey was killed and especially since I became the so-called "Face" of the American anti-war movement. Especially since I renounced any tie I have remaining with the Democratic Party, I have been further trashed on such "liberal blogs" as the Democratic Underground. Being called an "attention whore" and being told "good riddance" are some of the more milder rebukes.

I have come to some heartbreaking conclusions this Memorial Day Morning. These are not spur of the moment reflections, but things I have been meditating on for about a year now. The conclusions that I have slowly and very reluctantly come to are very heartbreaking to me.

The first conclusion is that I was the darling of the so-called left as long as I limited my protests to George Bush and the Republican Party. Of course, I was slandered and libeled by the right as a "tool" of the Democratic Party. This label was to marginalize me and my message. How could a woman have an original thought, or be working outside of our "two-party" system?

However, when I started to hold the Democratic Party to the same standards that I held the Republican Party, support for my cause started to erode and the "left" started labeling me with the same slurs that the right used. I guess no one paid attention to me when I said that the issue of peace and people dying for no reason is not a matter of "right or left", but "right and wrong."

I am deemed a radical because I believe that partisan politics should be left to the wayside when hundreds of thousands of people are dying for a war based on lies that is supported by Democrats and Republican alike. It amazes me that people who are sharp on the issues and can zero in like a laser beam on lies, misrepresentations, and political expediency when it comes to one party refuse to recognize it in their own party. Blind party loyalty is dangerous whatever side it occurs on. People of the world look on us Americans as jokes because we allow our political leaders so much murderous latitude and if we don't find alternatives to this corrupt "two" party system our Representative Republic will die and be replaced with what we are rapidly descending into with nary a check or balance: a fascist corporate wasteland. I am demonized because I don't see party affiliation or nationality when I look at a person, I see that person's heart. If someone looks, dresses, acts, talks and votes like a Republican, then why do they deserve support just because he/she calls him/herself a Democrat?

I have also reached the conclusion that if I am doing what I am doing because I am an "attention whore" then I really need to be committed. I have invested everything I have into trying to bring peace with justice to a country that wants neither. If an individual wants both, then normally he/she is not willing to do more than walk in a protest march or sit behind his/her computer criticizing others. I have spent every available cent I got from the money a "grateful" country gave me when they killed my son and every penny that I have received in speaking or book fees since then. I have sacrificed a 29 year marriage and have traveled for extended periods of time away from Casey's brother and sisters and my health has suffered and my hospital bills from last summer (when I almost died) are in collection because I have used all my energy trying to stop this country from slaughtering innocent human beings. I have been called every despicable name that small minds can think of and have had my life threatened many times.

The most devastating conclusion that I reached this morning, however, was that Casey did indeed die for nothing. His precious lifeblood drained out in a country far away from his family who loves him, killed by his own country which is beholden to and run by a war machine that even controls what we think. I have tried ever since he died to make his sacrifice meaningful. Casey died for a country which cares more about who will be the next American Idol than how many people will be killed in the next few months while Democrats and Republicans play politics with human lives. It is so painful to me to know that I bought into this system for so many years and Casey paid the price for that allegiance. I failed my boy and that hurts the most.

I have also tried to work within a peace movement that often puts personal egos above peace and human life. This group won't work with that group; he won't attend an event if she is going to be there; and why does Cindy Sheehan get all the attention anyway? It is hard to work for peace when the very movement that is named after it has so many divisions.

Our brave young men and women in Iraq have been abandoned there indefinitely by their cowardly leaders who move them around like pawns on a chessboard of destruction and the people of Iraq have been doomed to death and fates worse than death by people worried more about elections than people. However, in five, ten, or fifteen years, our troops will come limping home in another abject defeat and ten or twenty years from then, our children's children will be seeing their loved ones die for no reason, because their grandparents also bought into this corrupt system. George Bush will never be impeached because if the Democrats dig too deeply, they may unearth a few skeletons in their own graves and the system will perpetuate itself in perpetuity.

I am going to take whatever I have left and go home. I am going to go home and be a mother to my surviving children and try to regain some of what I have lost. I will try to maintain and nurture some very positive relationships that I have found in the journey that I was forced into when Casey died and try to repair some of the ones that have fallen apart since I began this single-minded crusade to try and change a paradigm that is now, I am afraid, carved in immovable, unbendable and rigidly mendacious marble.

Camp Casey has served its purpose. It's for sale. Anyone want to buy five beautiful acres in Crawford, Texas? I will consider any reasonable offer. I hear George Bush will be moving out soon, too…which makes the property even more valuable.

This is my resignation letter as the "face" of the American anti-war movement. This is not my "Checkers" moment, because I will never give up trying to help people in the world who are harmed by the empire of the good old US of A, but I am finished working in, or outside of this system. This system forcefully resists being helped and eats up the people who try to help it. I am getting out before it totally consumes me or anymore people that I love and the rest of my resources.

Good-bye America…you are not the country that I love and I finally realized no matter how much I sacrifice, I can't make you be that country unless you want it.

It's up to you now.

___________________

quote:

Originally posted by DJ Mikey Mike Social outcasts are often of the opinion that they must have a drink before being able to loosen up with their inhibitions, thus being able to have a good time. There's a word that sums up this sort of behaviour, and that word is 'reject.'

Thanks for sharing... sad that it is how it is, and people can't just be given understanding without first having the desire for it.

As unfortunate as it is, welcome to politics.

Bill O'Reilly will have a field day today.

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Download and review ! Omega_M - In the Mix (Beta Version)

Originally posted by twilightki : It feels like something you'd listen to at 4 in the morning, or listen to in your car while you're going in a tunnel.

What I find most concerning and appaling is that our generation (or generation of people born in the last say..... 30 or so years) has been bred to lack any moral fiber, backbone, or even a hint of activism. For the most part, it seems like activitism movement is not only a nearly-extinct phenomenon but it is as if the ENTIRE NATION has become complacent.

I'm not going to limit this observation only to US, as there are other countries where opposition is also becoming fast extinct. Needless to say that we're not likely to see too many revolutions - it appears that the only radicals left in the world are muslims extremists. Or trully poor people who have nothing else left but protest, even if it means murder. Or those that have really nothing else to lose. Leaving a rather small minority of people, which have not yet been corrupted by corporations, who haven't been purchased and sedated in their relative comfort of their isolated little holes.

The 60's are sooooooooooooo over, man.

Welcome to Fascist States of America.

"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."

-- Martin Luther King Jr.

___________________

quote:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

--Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011)

quote:

Originally posted by emc^2 What I find most concerning and appaling is that our generation (or generation of people born in the last say..... 30 or so years) has been bred to lack any moral fiber, backbone, or even a hint of activism. For the most part, it seems like activitism movement is not only a nearly-extinct phenomenon but it is as if the ENTIRE NATION has become complacent. I'm not going to limit this observation only to US, as there are other countries where opposition is also becoming fast extinct.

What you are seeing is American culture. I've said it before and i'll say it again... most Americans tend to be calm, polite, soft-spoken individuals who value public order and a way of life shielded from any disturbances.

Remember how surprised Bush was to find that a journalist from Ireland was actually asking him *real* questions about Iraq? Remember how squeamish Americans get when they encounter any hint of obscenity or something that goes against the established rules.

Remember the World Cup? Most Americans who caught snippets of it on TV were bewildered to see how animated and passionate Europeans were. As somebody commented, "Americans don't get as passionate about anything, really." That's part of the culture.

___________________
"The favorite American pastime is not baseball, it's moral crusades."

I don't see what the concern is. Sheenan made her point with plenty of national spotlight. It was up to the people to decide whether her cause was worthy. Her apparent about-face on the issue (in regards to her stance on the war prior to her son's death) as well as the sometimes childish ways in which she decided to display her message, turned most of America off to her. There's a reason why Martin Luther King Jr.'s protests and words still are held with reverence and why Cindy Sheenan's are not; his concerned a just cause and were conveyed in an adult, meaningful manner. Cindy turned herself into a joke, and I don't fault the American people for not getting "passionate" due to the words of someone they didn't take seriously, but saw as an attention seeker.

I believe Americans are passionate about things, however there are many "niche passions" that Americans devote themselves to which makes them seemingly non-passionate as a whole. We have many sports, not just soccer (football) and being semi-isolated geography wise and having the hubris of being the only super power culturally, politically and economically, we are much less interested in international affairs and tend to turn our political attention to national, state and local matters. Americans will and do become passionate about central issues (WWII, 9/11, even these damn gas prices), but it takes quite a bit to shift attention from whatever we are currently concerning ourselves with.

quote:

Originally posted by HardTranceProd What you are seeing is American culture. I've said it before and i'll say it again... most Americans tend to be calm, polite, soft-spoken individuals who value public order and a way of life shielded from any disturbances. Remember how surprised Bush was to find that a journalist from Ireland was actually asking him *real* questions about Iraq? Remember how squeamish Americans get when they encounter any hint of obscenity or something that goes against the established rules. Remember the World Cup? Most Americans who caught snippets of it on TV were bewildered to see how animated and passionate Europeans were. As somebody commented, "Americans don't get as passionate about anything, really." That's part of the culture.

It's not just American Culture. IT'S A CULTURE OF COMPLACENCY! This country was started by rebellion! This country used to have a meaning and purpose. It wasn't "just a country full of fat wankers" all along. This country used to be respected and admired and even LOVED by it's OWN citizens. I am sure you know at least one of your fellow compatriates who is now ASHAMED to be American. I'm one of them. And I came here FROM USSR!!!! How bad does this country need to be to make a former "prisoner" of the Soviet Sh!thole feel ashamed to be a citizen of this great nation?

And it's not just America. It's Russia too - a country that only recently was showing some possible signs of moving towards "democracy". No more. And no signs of activism is too visible over there. Two countries, where people fought historical battles for independence, for freedom, heck - even for ideology are led by bunch of zealous politicians into a head-on collision. People are just idle passengers, looking off to the sides, enjoying the scenery and oblivious to the fact that trains are on a head-on collision course, fully staffed by politicians who have their own agenda and welfare before those of the people.

AND NO ONE DOES ANYTHING.

We have become a consumerist WORLD. The corporations WILL OWN YOU. If they don't already own you already. Let's hope our corporate masters will be lenient.

I'm terrifed of what the future will bring. There's no part of the world that's "safe" from this cancer or even "sane" enough to do something about it. It's terrifying. And sad.

___________________

quote:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

--Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011)

quote:

Originally posted by NeoPhono Americans will and do become passionate about central issues (WWII, 9/11, even these damn gas prices), but it takes quite a bit to shift attention from whatever we are currently concerning ourselves with.

Which is watching American Idol / Flava Flav / Jackass / Survivor / or whatever other retarded tv programming that's shoved down your throat along with that Domino's / Papa John's / Pizza Hut / or other lard dispenser that delivers.

Adam Freeland had it right:

Your cell phone, your wallet, your time, your ideas
No barcode, no party, no ID, no beers
Your bankcard, your license, your thoughts, your fears
No simcard, no disco, no photo, not here
Your blood, your sweat, your passions, your regrets
Your office, your time off, your passions, your sex
Your pills, your past, your tits, your asses.
Your laugh, your bones.
We want control of your soul (said behind the chant)

We want your Soul
(in background...Your Cash, Your House, Your Phone, Your Life)

Tell us your habits, your facts, your fears
Give us your address, your shoe size, your ears
Your digits, your plans, your number, your eyes
Your schedule, your desktop, your details, your lies.
Show us your children, your photos, your home.
Here, take credit, take insurance, take a loan.
Get a job, get a pension, get a haircut, get a suit.
Play the lottery, play football, play the field, score some toot

We’ll show you females, show you sex.
We'll buy you drinks, we'll be your shrink,
We’ll sell you crack, We'll charge you max.
All to gain control of your soul

We want your Soul
(in background...Your Cash, Your House, Your Phone, Your Life)

Your feelings, your emotions, your love, your dreams
Your cheque book, your essence, your sweat, your screams
Your security, your sobriety, your innocence, your society
Your self, your place, your distance, your space

Go back to bed America, your government is in control again

Here, watch this, shut up
You are free to do as we tell you
You are free to do as we tell you

We want your soul

Here's programs, here's matters, here's Britney, here's Cola
Here's pizza, here's TV, here's some rock and some Rolla
Watch commercials, more commercials, watch Jerry, not Oprah
Buy a better life from the comfort of your sofa
Here's popcorn, here's magazines, here's milkshake, here's blue jeans
here's padded bras, here's long cars, here's football shirts, here's baseball caps
here's live talk shows, here's video games, here's cola lite, here's ten more lanes
here's fingertips, here's collagen, here's all night bars, here's plastic
For control of your soul

We want your soul

Go back to bed America, your government is in control again
Here, here’s American Gladiators
Watch this, shut up

Go back to bed America,
Here’s American Gladiators, here’s 56 channels of it
Watch these pictuary retards bang their fucking skulls together
And congratulate you on living in the land of freedom
Here you are America
You are free to do as we tell you
You are free to do as we tell you

We want your soul

___________________

quote:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

--Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011)

What exactly is she resigning from? Speaking engagements? Did she actually have a real job other than being Michael Moore's milk maid?

quote:

Originally posted by Shakka What exactly is she resigning from? Speaking engagements? Did she actually have a real job other than being Michael Moore's milk maid?

just wondering what have YOU done for whatever cause you believe in. Please be sure to list all your PERSONAL sacrifices as well. I'm sure the public at large would LOVE to hear about your accomplishments.

...and GO!

___________________

quote:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

--Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011)

I made it to 30 in one piece. It sure was tough though. I believe in me. I am my cause. Your turn.

I see, so when a European country gets excited about its World Cup team that is somehow breathtakingly awesome, but an American getting into a TV show or a non-football (soccer) sport is relegated to just a bunch of fat, lazy Americans doing their thing. How exactly is World Cup enthusiasm changing the world any more than someone liking a TV show? What would make you happy? An entire country of 300 million constantly up in arms over every political/economic/cultural issue?