A White Feather for Cowardice

[Lorien]

(I posted this in GD: Alito but I feel that I should clarify the idea with a little more information)

DUer Bob3 had a brilliant idea last week; if any of our own betray us and hand another victory to the GOP, we should send them each a white feather.

Why?

A white flag is a symbol for surrender that is used before, during, or after a battle. A white feather is a symbol for cowardice given to a soldier who refuses to go to battle at all. Most people remember the meaning of the white feather from the book "the Four Feathers"(which was later made into a film and four remakes). From IMDB:

Plot Summary for
The Four Feathers (2002)

Set in 1898 Sudan, this fifth film to be adapted from the A.E.W. Mason novel follows a British officer who resigns his post right before his regiment ships out to battle the rebels. Perceiving his resignation as cowardice, his friends and fiancee give him four white feathers, the symbol of cowardice...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0240510/plotsummary

The officer receives one from each of his three closest friends, plus one from his fiancee (who breaks off their engagement). The gesture is so damning that he is shunned by his entire regiment, and considered by some to be a traitor to his Nation.

References to the shame of being given a white feather are found outside of Britain, too. From the national Parks service:

"White feather was a Civil War slang expression for bugging out or running away."

http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/rthg/chap4.htm

And from Wikipedia, the entry for CHICKENHAWK includes this notation:
Earliest Citation:
In England during World War I, as thousands were dying pointlessly in the trenches, pretty girls went around handing white feathers — a symbol of cowardice — to men who weren't in uniform. The one group currently being handed white feathers who may deserve them are the so-called "war wimps" or "chicken hawks" — prominent Americans helping to spread war fever today who avoided service during Vietnam. —"No white feather, please," The New Republic, June 16, 1986

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Chickenhawk_(politics)

The tradition is shared in other countries as well. From Australia:

"Regardless of the reason, to be given the white feather meant you were a coward - a stigma that you bore for the rest of your life"
http://www.australiansatwar.gov.au/throughmyeyes/w1_cuf.asp

We need to let our elected representatives-the "loyal opposition"-know that we expect far more from them.

So, who can we think of who has earned a bright white feather of their very own?

[tsuki]

1. Sounds good. Nelson of Florida gets one tomorrow.

[reality based]

2. Where can I get my hands on 19 of those feathers-- mug a chicken?

[txindy]

3. A crafts store would have them

Bags of them, small or large. Imitation feathers, of course.

Mugging a chicken works, too, though. :toast:

[Lorien]

4. They sell white chicken feathers for about 0.99 a bag (5-8 feathers)

at most craft stores.Joanne fabrics and Pearl paint are also a good sources. If you only have the feathers with black tips available, you can easily trim them. Only a pure white feather works symbolically.

[brook]

5. This is an excellent idea.

It's meaning is unmistakable. It's inexpensive and simple to accomplish - and it brings with it, it's own 'branding'. I was going to write them all in any case...and will be sending a white feather.

[txindy]

6. Great suggestion

I completely forgot about fabric stores.

[The Straight Story]

7. How about send em some vaseline

since they fucked us :)

[Tigress DEM]

19. Hmm, wouldn't that be an invitation for a repeat performance?

I think the feather idea is more in line with the message I'd like to send.

;-)

[Dunvegan]

8. To make the exercise easier...

...it's usually easy enough to get a pillow or anything with down to give up a few feathers.

And send a short note explaining the meaning...otherwise, some paranoid coward will start screaming "Bird flu terra-ism!"

[Lorien]

9. It'll only take sending them a few with notes for them to catch on to

the meaning. After that, just a feather in an envelope will do (feathers from craft stores are sterilized).

[Erika]

10. Good point!

I have a good friend whose son is a postal inspector. Label the feather well.

[DemBones DemBones]

11. I think it would be better to send a photo of a white feather, to avoid

problems with postal inspectors. Or cut a white feather out of paper and send it in a letter.

I like the idea very much; I just envision lots of slightly lumpy envelopes being trashed, not delivered, as memories of the anthrax mailings are still strong.

[Lorien]

13. From what I recall of the bird flu, it can only be caught from bird

'excretions"; I don't think any kind of feather would warrant alarm (they're still sold everywhere).

but a good photo of a white feather on a black background would get the point across too.

[Tigress DEM]

20. Unfortunately most birds aren't particularly worried about...

getting their own feces on their feathers, so I wouldn't feel safe sending a feather unless I knew the bird that had it was healthy as a horse.

[Lorien]

26. Feathers sold in craft shops are sterilized. Always have been. n/t

[Tigress DEM]

17. Photo is good.

And photoshop is even better. How bout a pic of the offender with a white feather following him wherever he goes?

on edit

Or stuck to his back, right on the bright yellow stripe.

[Swamp Rat]

12. I say send all those bastards in DC lots of tea bags.

FUCK this government! It is no longer 'of the people, by the people, and for the people'.

SEND THEM ALL TEA BAGS!!! :mad:

[Lorien]

14. Though tea bags say "no taxation without representation", that

might be perceived as more of a protest against taxes, although it's true that they aren't representing us-just large corporate interests. The white feather is a personal slap in the face for desertion of duty.

[InkAddict]

15. Have you forgotton how the rest of the movie plays out ?

The recipient unconvincingly redeems himself from each charge of cowardice sent with each feather through the VERY convenient keen karma of literature and the movies. (Not, exactly the Congressional floor or the constituency back home.

The truly fearful weak officer saved from certain death in battle, the newly bankrupt officer saved from public humiliation, the non-judgmental friend gigged because he couldn't/wouldn't make the decision to personally take a stand, sending a feather just because the others said to do so, and the unfaithful woman visited in her happy domestic misery so it's very obvious to all the price of her faithlessness!

But, good flick w/popcorn -

:popcorn:

[Tigress DEM]

18. Hey, but wasn't it also an unjust war that he refused to sign onto?

If our DEMS are true heros underneath and they take themselves to task and earn their way out from under it, that's the best result that could happen isn't it?

I'd really rather only throw the rethugs out and keep any one interested in actually rebuilding this country in office. They were part of this mess and they should clean it up.

[Lorien]

22. The symbol was never limited to the film (see the other examples)

the 2002 version still left one feeling that the man was a first class wimp at his core, oddly enough. :shrug:

[slaveplanet]

16. Hmm- that Feather in your pic

appears to be an Egret feather

a long plume (especially one of egret feathers) worn on a hat or a piece of jewelry in the shape of a plume




a rather prized feather, Native americans wore them.
They were so sought after for hats and the like throughout the years, that an Egret feather became the symbol for bird preservation as the egret populations declined.


I believe the white feather your story is talking about is ... a common "Chicken" or "Gamecock" feather.

There is also an alternate meaning...

Pacifism


In contrast, the white feather has been partially embraced by pacifist organisations as a sign of harmlessness. During the First World War the pacifist Fenner Brockway received so many white feathers he was known to comment that he now had enough feathers to make a fan.

Some time after the war, pacifists found an alternative interpretation of the white feather as a symbol of peace. The story being that in 1775 Quakers in a Friends meeting house in Easton, New York were faced by a tribe of Indians on the war path. Rather than flee, the Quakers fell silent and waited. The Indian chief came into the meeting house and finding no weapons he declared the Quakers as friends. On leaving he took a white feather from his quiver and attached it to the door as a sign to leave the building unharmed.

The story may not be true, but in 1937 the Peace Pledge Union sold 500 white feather badges as symbols of peace.

In 1985, progressive rock band Marillion released a concept album entitled Misplaced Childhood, whose final track, White Feather, was an explicit reference to pacifist idealism.

When I hit the streets back in '81
Found a heart in the gutter and a poet's crown
I felt barbed wire kisses and icicle tears
Where have I been for all these years?
I saw political intrigue, political lies
Gonna wipe those smiles of self-satisfaction from their eyes

I will wear your white feather
I will carry your white flag
I will swear I have no nation
But I'm proud to own my heart
I will wear your white feather
I will carry your white flag
I will swear I have no nation
But I'm proud to own my heart
My heart, this is my heart

We don't need no uniforms, we have no disguise
Divided we stand, together we'll rise

We will wear your white feather
We will carry your white flag
We will swear we have no nations
But we're proud to own our hearts
We will wear your white feather
We will carry your white flag
We will swear we have no nations
But we're proud to own our hearts
These are our hearts
These are our hearts
You can't take away our hearts
You can't steal our hearts away
I can't walk away
No more

Surprisingly the white feather doesn't appear to be associated with the dove of peace.

[Lorien]

24. It looks like a primary chicken feather to me

I live in Florida, and egrets, for the most part, are quite a bit showier in their plumage.



But nitpicking is the very reason most activism for our party falls flat-we get caught up in obscure details and lose sight of our goal. I know about the adopted notion of the white feather as a symbol of Peace; it's still a "spin off" symbol, though-and there's nothing wrong with sending duel messages to the exceptionally knowledgeable: "we think you're a coward for not fighting those who want war and our destruction".

[slaveplanet]

28. That's a Snowy Egret

The feather in the OP appears to be a great white Egret feather but its hard to tell from scale.
From what I can remember from my old yard, 40 of them would gather nightly in the giant pine and they left quite a mess that looks very close to that pic.

Otherwise I agree with the balance of your post

[slaveplanet]

27. on edit

missed the edit period-


Undoubtly one of Marillion's best albums, in my opinion Misplaced Childhood is about Fish's coming of age and seeing globalism and one world government for what it is.

Enslavement is coming but you can't take our hearts.

Strangely Mr. Mike Malloy or rather his producer Kathy plays part E of Blind Curve as part of his bumper music. On the album This track leads into Childhood's End then White Feather. The irony is not lost on I n I.
She is always so astute with her choice in Bumper music.

[Crunchy Frog]

21. Better yet, we should send them a primary challenger.

This is how the Repubs got rid of members of their party who were not advancing their cause. I'm beginning to think that it may be the most effective strategy.

[Lorien]

25. One is a message, the other is a follow up action

Challengers would be ideal, of course-but there is time between now and when a challenger, if elected, would take office. We MUST send a message, a clear, unified, simple message, that let's them know that we expect some courage from them. That what they've been doing is shameful.That we won't forget another betrayal (for the Senate isn't finished for the year). We won't win any elections if the base is hopelessly demoralized; they MUST show strength and courage before the election to mobilize the Democratic party and those who crave change into taking the time to vote at all.

[AtomicKitten]

23. I like this idea.

A gesture. A token of our esteem.

I'm sending them out this week.

[reality based]

29. I can envision a Lieberman appearance where the crowd waves white

feathers squawking and clucking in derision

[Lorien]

30. Liberman's at the point on some issues where he not only deserves feathers

but a bucket of tar as well.