You, a lot of you, have no idea what SHIT a military Mom goes through....

[Breeze54]

Hey....I'm pretty pissd off right now...
one of my formally 'yankee' friends (her terms, not mine) and now a 'southener',
just sent me, yet, another (sappy) e-mail letter.
I was more than happy, just cruising the web; as my son just got back from Iraq.
I was 'pahrtying'...celebrating......until I checked my e-mail...:grr:

Her, my 'southern' friend's son was just deployed to Iraq.
She did write to me about it and she was devastated that he had even joined the Marine's
and she, of course, was bragging about him.
That's expected.
Then a week or so ago, she contacted me again.
This time to tell me that her son had deployed and she told me that he had broken down...
...crying at the airport, when he was leaving.
I took a deep breath that day and told her to be strong and that he would be 'OK' and I
tried my best to muster up some positive words. (Mind you, my oldest son was still in Iraq.)
I've been living in fear and hatred and anger and rage since Bush et al, decided to invade
Iraq and I was speechless, because she had been so 'matter of fact'; about her son joining up
to go there!!!
But, I was talking to another mother, who was hurting and looking for consolation and so;
I bit my tongue, and I consoled her.

Then today, I got an e-mail from her....

...It even angers me now but I want all of you to see the stupidity!!!!! :grr:
Yeah, that's right! I said STUPIDITY!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's her letter to me today:

"Pictures >From Iraq That Are Too Shocking & Graphic for The Mainstream Media.
(okay...I'll only post one or two she sent, because they are redundant...
but you'll get the point!)
(She's drinking the kool-aid, looking for 'good things' out of Iraq)
I understand that there have been some 'good' things, but in the 'big' pic,
it ain't looking so good!

HER FIRST PIC IS FROM AFGHANISTAN and three years old....(note title said 'Iraq')

Here are pictures of Lee Davis, Culvert City, KY to add to the collection below. (3 yrs. old)
Lee is in Afghanistan and we agree in that these are not the kind of pictures we normally see on T. V.


Her message is below.

Photos that will never make the news.....(her title to my e-mail)


Please pass the pictures on. (she sent more of the same...)
Sometimes in our everyday lives we tend to forget what's going on elsewhere in the world
and that the brave men and women of the service are just like you and I. They have the
family and friends back home who love them very much and are praying for their safe return.

PLEASE KEEP THIS GOING EVEN IF YOU HAVE PASSED IT ON BEFORE

When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our troops
(land, air, and sea) in Afghanistan, Kuwait, Iraq, and around the world.
There is nothing attached..... This can be very powerful....
Just send this to people in your address book.Do not stop the wheel, please...

Of all the gifts you could give the US Military, Prayer is the very best one.

:wtf:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My response to her......

Diane;
I have some pictures for people, who want to hide their heads in the sand!!
They're for people who do not want to face.........REALITY!!
YOUR SON COULD DIE.........for what? For a......'LIE'?

Ask W why???? Why did he LIE?????

THERE ARE NO GOOD PICTURES IN A WAR!!!!!

...and you of all people should know that.....

Does VIETNAM ring a bell??

There is never ANYTHING GOOD about a WAR!!!

"War is not healthy for children or other living things!"

Go ahead...try to look for "the good things";

but keep in mind...

WE, YOU AND I and the conservatives and the NEO-CON FUNDIES have killed OVER 100,000 Iraqi's!!

Most of them CHILDREN!!!!!

Are you still feeling GOOD about a war of choice??

Think again.

Then think about your son.......

Is it NOBLE to DIE at the age of 19.....

....FOR A LIE????

PEACE!

Me.....

1st on my list to send her...


2nd in my list...


3rd on my list...DEATH OF AN IRAQI CHILD...


4th on my list of pics...


5th on my list...DEATH OF AN IRAQI CHILD.....


6th on my list...


7th on my list...


8th on my list....The "WAR" is over.....for these soldiers.


9th on my list...Pictures you're NOT supposed to see--ASK RumsFailed!!


10th is last but not least....


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"JUST SAY IT WITH PICTURES!"......so I did!

:grr: :nuke: :grr:

[rman]

1. Some things are hard to capture in pictures,

such as the fact that most Iraqies still don't have electricity and drinking water most of the time, things that they used to have while evil dictator Saddam was in power.

[NativeTexan]

32. WAY TO GO BREEZE!!!!

My brother and sister-in-law went thru TWO tours of IRAQ with my nephew, who is in the Army! I have seen SECOND HAND the shit folks like you go thru. I, myself, worried everytime I heard about a IED going off in a convoy, as my nephew drove gasoline trucks, when he wasn't having to defend himself from the folks carrying all those flowers and well-wishes!

Praise God your son returned home safely, and lets pray for them all to do so....unfortunately, I don't think the Bush Fascist Party listens when God tries to speak to them!!

Tex

[Breeze54]

33. He,he! lmao.....

"when he wasn't having to defend himself from the folks carrying all those flowers and well-wishes!"

THAT was the WORST PART, my son told me ALL about it!!! :rofl:
It was HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!
:rofl:

You are a trip....the kind of trip I like a lot!!!!!! :)

[ClintonTyree]

2. You did a great job reminding your "friend"...

of the REAL costs of war, Breeze54. :applause: Of course her pictures were all sweetness and light but those are the moments that are the exception, not the rule.
I hope your son does well, tell him we're all behind him and want him to COME HOME SOON!
You did the right thing with your "friend", some people just don't get it and never will. :patriot:

[Breeze54]

6. TY! He landed in Chi-town yesterday...he's ok! and he's home....n/t

[chelaque liberal]

46. I think they were taken pretty early on, also.

Things have changed a lot.

[Ganja Ninja]

3. I'd like to see what kind of pictures those kids draw once the ...

American troops leave. Probably scenes of the infidels getting their heads chopped off.

[w8liftinglady]

38. you notice they are all boys.

[mmonk]

4. I'd say you hit back hard.

[acmejack]

5. A lot of folks think it is a John Wayne movie.

Don't worry a whole lot of DO GET IT, to our ever lasting horror. You did a great job, hold on to your anger, but try to manage it and don't let it consume you lest you end up like me! I have lots of causes to keep me busy, which is a good thing because that is my life, I am obviously so political normal people prefer to avoid me.

[leftchick]

7. heh!

Excellent job! And you are a GREAT Mother! :loveya:

[Breeze54]

34. You made me cry 'happy tears'... Thank You! n/t

[riona]

8. Realists know war for what it is.

Some people use religion as a crutch and some people use "heart-warming" photo ops. We receive the type of email you discussed every day. I can't help but wonder if there is some organized effort creating these "forwards." There are too many of them to be spontaneous, personal creations.

[katinmn]

9. She is looking for meaning in her son's being there

She knows that he could be injured or killed. People have a hard time identifying "the noble cause" for which they serve, so they are grasping at straws.

Pictures (old, wrong country) of possibly half-starved, orphan kids smiling over candy and pencils is a pretty pathetic attempt at giving the war some meaning.

[blondeatlast]

30. There's a lot of truth in what you said.

The administration is both sides of this emotional issue for their gain and they don't care who they exploit for their own craven ends.

My heart absolutely goes out to all of these women.

[TAPat]

10. Good for you

way to hit hard & to end with the pic of the girls was just awesome. I tucked that photo away for a rainy day :)

[Renegade Six]

16. I'd almost prefer that

to how my mother handled my deployment. She just decided that I wasn't there. I guess it was her coping, but not really supportive. No letters, no packages, and phone calls home were surreal to say the least. She wonders why I don't go out of my way to talk to her these days.


EDIT: reply to #11 not #10

[Breeze54]

18. hey, Renegade....

For serving!! Great job and I'm proud of you and your courage!!!

I'm just curious. Did you join the military against your Mom's wishes?
Do you think she was angry or..... afraid??
Don't take it to hard. Try to understand.
She may have been so afraid, she couldn't move or 'breath'...
... it happens.

Renagade; WELCOME HOME and we are ALL proud of you!! Thank You for your service!

[Renegade Six]

28. Funny story,

I was 22 and a slacker when I gave in to the pressure from my mom and step-dad to join the army in 1998. Oh the irony. I was part of the first rotation so I was there for all the greatest hits, such as "mission accomplished" and "bring it on".

PS. based on personal experience of how the military, and my MP unit in particular, treated the civilian population during that first year, it surprises me that the anti-occupation forces in Iraq do not include every man, woman, and child by now.

[wryter2000]

25. I'm sorry that happened to you

I'm glad you're back and safe. (You are back, right, and not e-mailing from Iraq?) :hug:

[Renegade Six]

27. Yes,

I was medically discharged in Dec. To bad it was 'pre-existing' mental condition so Im kinda out of luck medically, but the on the plus side I start college in a month thanks to the GI bill and the Army college fund.

[jbnow]

44. That doesn't sound fair

If you joined in 1998 and you were medically discharged in December, they had you serve in Iraq...
Sounds like you were stable enough for them even if you had some earlier problems. Hard to believe they could take you and then release you years later and say it was all pre-existing! Then why did they take you and keep you? Seems it should be at least partial disability through them!!!

But I am glad you got home. Really sorry no contact from your mom, wish we knew then, you'd have plenty of us as moms you never met sending you notes and packages.

Good luck with school and welcome home.

[Renegade Six]

48. Well thats the rub.

Its not uncommon for the Army to classify mental disorders as 'personality disorders', which by their definition the solder was born with, thus pre-existing. The VA seems to think the Army's reasoning is b.s. so there may be hope. I'm just not holding my breath.

[jbnow]

49. No, don't hold your breath

that never works, you just pass out and start breathing gain. But they should reconsider. People are NOT born with a personality disorder. It has onset in adolescence or early adulthood but tends to remain stable over time. That is you couldn't have it before you entered and then it went into remission and then got worse and they released you. It doesn't have remissions.

On the other hand people with PTSD can show signs of or test high for personality disorders that did not exist before.

So it doesn't make sense. If you went in with a personality disorder you shouldn't have made it through boot camp.

[Renegade Six]

50. I'm not sure why its a personality disorder

my official diagnosis is bipolar. I suffered silently for a year after Iraq. When I finally had enough and sought help, I was done after 6 months. I couldn't have been too out there, I was an E-5 and a squad leader. IMHO the current attitude of disposable soldier coupled with poor retention/enlistment is a troubling sign.

[jbnow]

54. Renegade Six, you are right

it makes no sense. Bipolar is not a personality disorder. If it started while you were in the service they can't say it was pre-existing.

I hate hearing you sought help and then were out. That's what you hear about and that it's why soldiers fear seeking help. I don't know how disability pay from the service works at all but if they are saying stupid things like you were born with it or calling it things it is not I suspect they are trying to make sure they don't have to pay what they otherwise might. That is so damn wrong.

There is such overlap with PTSD with many diagnosis or they can coexist. If they are being unfair to you, you know they are being unfair to so many in the same situation.

I hope the VA does help make sure you are treated fairly. Aside from that I hope you really find something you like in school, hope things go well. You all deserve the best.

IMHO the current attitude of disposable soldier coupled with poor retention/enlistment is a troubling sign.
VERY troubling.

[ms liberty]

51. Welcome to DU, Renegade Six!

and Thank You for your service...

:hug:

[sendero]

11. I hereby officially and in perpetuity...

... give any mother or father with a son in Iraq or Afghanistan a free pass to self-delude. It is a coping mechanism. And I'm not exactly 100% positive I wouldn't be looking for the "silver lining" in a similar situation.

[Breeze54]

12. That's all well and good...in the world of 'magic'... except....

...when they send their delusions to me...

Just because you have a kid in a war zone, doesn't give you carte' blanche to ignore
the realities of that war. If anything, there is more responsibility. She was well
aware of the Iraq 'police action' BEFORE she encouraged her son to join the Marine's.

She isn't getting a pass from me.

[xchrom]

13. it's not easy being in your position.

kids in a war zone and at the same time realizing that the motives for the war are phony.

i just don't have the right words -- all i can tell you is that i support you but i can't feel your anxiety and worry and pain.

i'm sorry -- i'm so sorry that this president has put your child -- your flesh and bone -- out there for selfish and deluded reasons.

and i will continue to do my best to support efforts to bring our soldiers home.
peace.

[Breeze54]

14. ah...........

..........."i just don't have the right words..."

Now you and I are in solidarity. ;)

I haven't had 'the right words' since 12/04.

Thank you for saying that; because to steal a saying, it is so 'spot-on'.

Except, I was well aware about the total wrongness of this 'police action'...before the invasion.

My son, is the one, who didn't realize, that he would be STOP LOSSED.

That's when I morphed from an anti-war activist...to a military Mom.

And you're right.... "it's not easy being in my position."

I'm just glad that it's over...for both of us.




But we'll continue to work to end this.

[Arkansas Granny]

15. There are people who see pictures like the one sent to you by

your friend and they don't realize that the "good news" they are looking at is accomplished by individual soldiers. While this is certainly to the credit of the soldiers, it in no way reflects our government policies or actions.

They also don't seem to realize that just because they see a few smiling faces that doesn't mean that everything is going well for the people pictured or for the region or country as a whole. If there was truly any good news from Iraq, I'm sure that Bush and his minions would make sure it was seen by every person in this country even if they had to resort to their paid propaganda machine to get the message out.

[Breeze54]

17. Well said...Arkansas Granny...

I needed to hear that.
I couldn't seem to get past my rage to answer her coherently.
Thank you for sharing and lending me the words.
If and when she e-mails me again, can I borrow them?
I will anyway!! ;)

[Arkansas Granny]

23. Feel free to use what you want. I'm happy your son came home

safe. I've had three sons in the military myself. Thankfully none of them are active duty now and none of them were called to serve in Bush's wars.

:hug:

[Pacifist Patriot]

19. She needs to see Ava's "WWJD" animation.

I realize this is her way of coping with her son being deployed, I can't even imagine the anguish of having one of my sons over there (way too young--for now). But sugar-coating the situation is only going to make matters worse in the long run.

[noamnety]

20. my response would have been

to send out pictures of happy American school children dated from 9/11, with the explanation that people always talk about the bad stuff that happened that day, never the good that was going on in the rest of the country. Then ask her why she thinks that is.

[mnhtnbb]

42. That's a good one. Bet it shuts people up every time.

[IndyOp]

21. Breeze - I'd like to hear from you - if my question does not offend...

How can you thank people 'for their service' after posting the pictures you have posted? :shrug:

In my opinion, all military action since WWII has been wrong, purposively harmful to the populations that it has been directed against.

Anyone who serves - no matter how pure their motive - has been used to serve the people in power (govt; military high brass; defense industry) and in serving such powers they have done harm no matter what role they played.

General Smedley Butler, "War is a racket, always has been and always will be."

I am contributing, too the harm - I pay taxes and I participate as a consumer in this economy. I contribute to the harm, too.

I cannot thank anyone for their service. I understand that many have sacrificed for ideals that I agree with, but in reality their 'service' is harm.

[Breeze54]

26. I'm not offended...

"How can you thank people 'for their service' after posting the pictures you have posted?"

Because they have volunteered to protect our country and it's a brave thing to do!

Why? Do you think we don't need soldiers anymore?
Do you think we have no need to protect our families?
That's naive' and unrealistic.
I don't hate soldiers. I hate war! THIS war...In Iraq.
Soldiers aren't the one's to target; it's the politician's et al that lie!

Soldiers deserve our thanks. It takes a lot of bravery to even sign up to serve.
And for the most part, they follow orders, they don't give them.

[IndyOp]

29. We don't need soldiers anymore. Right. Not naive, not unrealistic.

War does not solve problems, it only continues/causes problems. World War II is still alive and killing in Israel/Palestine. The Holocaust would not have happened if Hitler had been destroyed by stopping his sources of funding rather than going to war with Germany -- so say Jewish historians, so say German historians. The Nazis had tried to begin 'the final solution' before the war, but the German people stopped them until, under cloak of war, they became so frightened that they allowed their government to do 'whatever was necessary' to keep them safe. Nazi leaders said the Jews were on the side of the Bolsheviks and would eventually betray and kill Germans - so killing the Jews was justified pre-emptive action.

My family is not now, nor has it ever been in need of military protection - though my lovely cousin Mac served in Vietnam after completing his MD and residency in surgery. Mac saved many, many lives to return to the states to commit suicide. My father, and 3 uncles, served in WWII; my cousin Gene served in Korea. They all believed what you believe - I do not. The Gulf of Tonkin was staged. 9/11 could have been prevented by keeping the US soldiers on US soil from WWII to the present.

Soldiers do not keep us safe - they put us all in danger. The missions that US soldiers have been sent on (the 250 military and CIA intervetions since WWII especially) are war crimes. They have made us hated throughout the world, for good reason. These missions make us the target for terrorism.

Consider watching Why We Fight - Eugene Jarecki. Here is an article about it: Eugene Jarecki's Why We Fight Released to International Acclaim

Keep an eye out for "Sir! No, Sir!". I do believe that our hope for a decent future lies in the hands of our troops -- it lies in their putting down their arms and refusing to serve ever, ever again. War does not protect us, it puts us in danger.

I honor the ideal of 'protecting people' and I honor 'bravery' -- I want to protect people with national health care & international diplomacy & permanently disassembling the standing military. I honor people who served in the past as concientious objectors.

Peace.

On edit: This is a painful, painful issue. I appreciate your reply to my first post.

[Breeze54]

31. You're so full of shit...

your eyes are turning brown!

"My family is not now, nor has it ever been in need of military protection...
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

My family SIGNED The Declaration of Independence and fought and DIED for it!!!!

Where the fuck do you live, in la-la land??

You're blaming soldiers for POLITICAL DECISIONS???

You, my friend, need to extract your head out of your ass!!

[IndyOp]

35. I was not thinking back as far as Declaration

of Independence. I was thinking more in terms of my generation, my parents, and grandparents (which takes us back to 1898).

My head is not up my ass. My eys are not colored brown (incidentally).

The grunts and corporals and majors do not make political decisions but they carry them out. We are all responsible for our own actions and their long-term effects.

If the military continues as it is now, maybe that will be best -- the USA will collapse as a result, just as the USSR collapsed from funding its military. Gorbachev recently gave a talk in which he admitted that the USSR had indeed lost the Cold War, but the winner (the US) might be damaged more in the long run from having 'won' it.

The US war crimes continue. The number of innocents killed by the military/government policies increases - 1,000,00 Iraqis in the past 15 years.

The US addiction is militarism and the country will be destroyed by it. Soldiers do not protect us, they put us in danger.

On edit: "Incidentally" not "Coincidentally".

[Breeze54]

36. ummmm....ok......

'whatever'........ is my reply to you....

You're looking for a soapbox; but it 'ain't' here babe!

POLITICIANS MAKE THE POLICIES!!!!!

NOT THE SOLDIERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DO YOU GET THAT???????????

OR is your head still 'stuck' on stupidity?????

Take it down the road, bro.....your soapbox is calling you!!!!!

Start your own thread on this topic.....I DARE YOU!!!!

But I doubt you have the balls!!!!!!

;)

[The Backlash Cometh]

22. God, I wish you were my neighbor.

I could really, really use a neighbor like you.

[Breeze54]

24. Where do you live? ...

I may be moving soon...;)

I am your neighbor!

[Karenina]

45. Girlfriend, I've made note

to NEVER, EVER piss you off!!! ;-) :hug:

[w8liftinglady]

37. I wanted so badly to find hope after my son's first deployment..

after he came back fucked up after the second,then they sent him again,and he was injured,I lost all hope.My ltte,if anyone cares
http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/dn/opinion/letters/stories/DN-3piraq_0326edi.ART.State.Edition1.3e50ba1.html
and my reply to "Constipated Bastard" who says the solldiers volunteered for this bullshit
http://thedailylight.com/articles/2006/04/20/dailylight/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/03%20letters.txt

[orleans]

39. breeze--wonderful post. gotta ask: the last picture--the two little

girls--is it you? where did you get this picture? (what was the year taken?--can you fill me in about it? it looks circa '60's....?)

[alfredo]

40. This Photo says it all

Her parents were killed at a US roadblock.

I wish I could comfort her. I wish I could make it all better. I wish I can bring her family back.

[madinmaryland]

41. I've seen a variation of that email floating around.

Looks like you had the perfect response.

[Sammy Pepys]

43. My guess is you probably just lost a friend...

Let us know if it was worth it.

Geez, she's probably just happy to see her son isn't knee-deep in the kind of hell war can be and is relatively safe (at least for the moment). Would you prefer he not be communication at all, or just send her pictures of his dead/injured buddies?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

57. I've seen that RW spam before. Same pictures.

It is idiotic.

[roguevalley]

47. when my boy was in Bosnia, I thought my head would explode. I

don't undertand people like her. Hugs to you and yours.

By the way, I would vote for that blonde for President. She summed it all up for me. :)

[Qanisqineq]

52. yeah, it's not easy being a military wife either

I get this shit all the time. I block the people that send it and nothing else of importance to me. Disgusting crap. In my experience, military wives are the worst (in my experience and I am one, just not one of the insane ones). The husbands can be pissed off at this war and anti-Bush but so many wives that I've met have this idea that if you say anything against the war it means you hate the troops. The wives fall for all the RW propaganda. They also plaster their cars with multiple yellow ribbons and stickers ('The other half of my heart is in Iraq'; 'Freedom isn't Free'; blah, blah blah).

:puke:

[NMMNG]

53. You totally rock!

:yourock:

[BlueGirlRedState]

55. I have two dear friends that I can't talk to about Iraq

One lost her husband on Flight 11 and she waves the flag at every chance, and thinks we're going after the terrrorists because Bush says so. The other friend has a son who signed up and is now in Kuwait, leaving his 19 year old pregnant wife to give birth prematurely. Both of these friends, whom I have deep ties with, think Cindy Sheehan and other peace activists are "naive and stupid". I wrote back that I must be naive and stupid, too, then. So, now, it's just a subject we don't discuss because none of us are going to change our minds. But I think there will come a day when my friend who's son is in Kuwait will tell me, "you were right after all." I just hope it doesn't come at the ultimate price, like the mom in Farenheit 911.

[Evergreen Emerald]

56. As a mother, I can tell you

that my heart goes out to you. I do not know how you do it day-to-day with both childern in the military. My child is 16 yo and I fear for the future becauase, they will have to institute a draft if things keep happening the PNAC way. And what once was noble (joining the service for your country) has now become folly under Bush and Co.

Peace
Emmy