I've had it. No more. That's it. I'm a pretty mellow chick these days but I am FUCKING DONE with ill-informed nitwits sending me their jingoistic flag-waving bullshit make-yourself-feel-better "Support Our Troops" emails!
Seriously. I can no longer sit back and just roll my eyes and delete them. This country keeps lying to itself about a war based on lies and I simply can't stand it. As disturbing as it is to hear delusion from political mouths or read about it in opinion polls, some line gets crossed when it comes into my personal inbox - it's like shitting on my porch.
Most of these doozies come from people much older than me and I have not expressed my true rage out of respect for my elders. However, about 10 minutes ago, we reached a tipping point.
Nevermore will I sit by quietly and read these exaggerated iconic bedtime stories that still cling to a WWII-era idea of war. DONE. Every single one is now going to get a personally written response and it certainly won't take long for my address to be removed from certain lists. Who knows? It might even get me on some lists. It might even spark a debate, which would be dandy.
What burns my guts about this isn't the idea that myself and the senders disagree so completely, that is to be expected. Its that assumption that I would receive these with a smile that pisses me off. Um, hi? Have we even met? Holy crap.
So, here's the email that just lit the wick of this flaming rocket rant. It alludes to the photo above (cue sweeping Americana music here):
This statue currently stands outside the Iraqi palace,now home to the 4th Infantry division. It will eventually be shipped home and put in the memorial museum in Fort Hood , TX
"The statue was created by an Iraqi artist named Kalat, who for years was forced by Saddam Hussein to make the many hundreds of bronze busts of Saddam that dotted Baghdad. Kalat was so grateful for the Americans liberation of his country;he melted 3 of the heads of the fallen Saddam and made the statue as a memorial to the American soldiers and their fallen warriors.
Kalat worked on this memorial night and day for several months. To the left of the kneeling soldier is a small Iraqi girl giving the soldier comfort as he mourns the loss of his comrade in arms. Do you know why we don't hear about this in the news? Because it is heart warming and praise worthy.The media avoids it because it does not have the shock effect. But we can do something about it. We can pass this along to as many people as we can in honor of all our brave military who are making a difference. And please pass this on!"
Oh, I'll pass it on alright.
So, I then did some digging and ended up sending this response:
"I did actually see this story, in the Dallas Morning News. The statue was not the artist's idea - Kalat was commissioned by the U.S. Army, specifically Command Sgt. Maj. Charles Fuss who came up the idea to melt down the Saddam heads for materials. As for being "grateful", Kalat's uncle was killed by an American rocket attack and he believes the war is about oil. He definitely is not a fan of the U.S.
Kalat did this for money, as he did willingly for Hussein, because he needs to take care of his family. Period."
I mean it. I've had it. Knock it off.
