Ted Rall Gets Some CompanySheesh, this is a
dumb editorial from one Joel Stein:
I DON'T SUPPORT our troops. This is a particularly difficult opinion to have, especially if you are the kind of person who likes to put bumper stickers on his car. Supporting the troops is a position that even Calvin is unwilling to urinate on.(snip)
But I'm not for the war. And being against the war and saying you support the troops is one of the wussiest positions the pacifists have ever taken — and they're wussy by definition. It's as if the one lesson they took away from Vietnam wasn't to avoid foreign conflicts with no pressing national interest but to remember to throw a parade afterward.He betrays some appalling ignorance with this bit:
But blaming the president is a little too easy. The truth is that people who pull triggers are ultimately responsible, whether they're following orders or not. An army of people making individual moral choices may be inefficient, but an army of people ignoring their morality is horrifying.Here's an easy prediction: That this part of the column gets the most anger and denial on the liberal blogs:
I'm not advocating that we spit on returning veterans like they did after the Vietnam War, but we shouldn't be celebrating people for doing something we don't think was a good idea. All I'm asking is that we give our returning soldiers what they need: hospitals, pensions, mental health and a safe, immediate return. But, please, no parades.Of course, the liberal bloggers will all be reciting the mantra that nobody spat on returning veterans; that's just an urban myth.
Stein's bio (linked on that page) may give us some idea as to why he's writing this:
Joel Stein is desperate for attention.Michelle Malkin
nominates Stein for one of the most loathsome people in America. I certainly agree with that assessment.
See also California Mafia for a
full-on fisking of the column.
After giving it some thought, I've come to the conclusion that this was intended as a humor column. It's poorly executed, to be sure, and I suspect that it's not far from the writer's true feelings.
Here's a right-winger
who disagrees with the column but enjoyed it and found it funny.
