Reply to friend's Support the Troops email - any other suggestions?

[DU9598]

LET'S WEAR RED ON FRIDAY

Subject: If the Red shirt thing is new to you, please read below...

Last week, while traveling to Chicago on business, I noticed a Marine sergeant traveling with a folded flag, but did not put two and two together. After we boarded our flight, I turned to the sergeant, who'd been invited to sit in First Class (across from me), and inquired if he was heading home.

No, he responded.

Heading out I asked?

No. I'm escorting a soldier home.

Going to pick him up?

No. He is with me right now. He was killed in Iraq , I'm taking him home to his family.

The realization of what he had been asked to do hit me like a punch to the gut. It was an honor for him. He told me that, although he didn't know the soldier, he had delivered the news of his passing to the soldier's family and felt as if he knew them after many conversations in so few days. I turned back to him, extended my hand, and said, Thank you. Thank you for doing what you do so my family and I can do what we do. Upon landing in Chicago the pilot stopped short of the gate and made the following announcement over the intercom.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to note that we have had the honor of having Sergeant Steeley of the United States Marine Corps join us on this flight. He is escorting a fallen comrade back home to his family. I ask that you please remain in your seats when we open the forward door to allow Sergeant Steeley to deplane and receive his fellow soldier. We will then turn off the seat belt sign." Without a sound, all went as requested. I noticed the sergeant saluting the casket as it was brought off the plane, and his action made me realize that I am proud to be an American.

So here's a public Thank You to our military Men and Women for what you do so we can live the way we do. Red Fridays. Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red every Friday.

The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the "silent majority." We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or overbearing. Many Americans,! like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America supports our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday -- and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that .. every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar, will wear something red. By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the United States on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers. If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, coworkers, friends, and family, it will not be long before the USA is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once "silent" majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media
lets on.

The first thing a soldier says when asked "What can we do to make things better for you?" is. "We need your support and your prayers." Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example, and wear something red every Friday.

IF YOU AGREE -- THEN SEND THIS ON.
IF YOU COULDN'T CARE LESS -- THEN HIT THE DELETE BUTTON.


MY REPLY
________________________________________________________________

I am not aware of anyone who does not support the troops – that’s like being against moms, kittens, and puppy dogs. I would suggest that instead of wearing red on Fridays we all start demanding that our “leaders” bring the troops home and end the policies that are causing the soldiers to be killed and injured with no exit strategy.

As a military family member I can tell you that the troops are without the proper equipment, proper training, and without the necessary support from those who sent them there.

No offense, gimmickry is cute but wearing a red shirt does nothing to support the men and women with their lives on the line who appear to be less important than giving the next big contract to Halliburton and KBR. I would also suggest that instead of just demanding an end to the occupation that everyone contact the White House to demand that the pay increases for the service members that Congress has asked for be funded – the White House opposes the full funding. Is that “supporting the troops?” (See here: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/05/military_payhike_whitehouse_070516/)

As Americans we have not been asked to sacrifice and pay more taxes for this war – but military and National Guard troops are losing homes and businesses and our White House refuses to fund pay increases for these men and women. Want to support the troop? Pay the troops, ensure that the Pentagon fully funds medical and mental health treatment at VA clinics, demand dragon skin body armor/fully armored Humvees, and demand an exit strategy. That is what I will be doing.

XXXXX

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. Here's a gimmick to promote:

Contact your reps and tell them to bring our troops home. NOW.

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

2. And don't forget the Snopes link

http://www.snopes.com/politics/war/johnson.asp

My reply would this:

"Notice the peculiar similarities between your story and the story at the link? Also note that the names have changed. Either someone lied to you, or you're lying to me.

But yours is much more polite. Spot on! :thumbsup:

[liberal N proud]

3. That email has to be pure fabricated fiction

I doubt the Marine would have be carrying the flag on board as it suggest. It is just too heart breaking to be true. And do they actually fly the dead on commercial planes these days? It could inhibit the Cheney order for no pictures of caskets of dead soldiers.

The right wing is notorious for this kind of BS because they know just how gullible their sheep are and that there are way too many on the left that would get this message in their in-box and forward it right on to everyone in their address book.

Another grip, why red? Why not red white and blue? DUH!

[joefree1]

4. I always check with Snopes.com

They have some good points on symbolic gestures vs. functional gestures here:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/war/redfriday.asp

A lot of freeper email is about desperate symbolic gestures that play on our sympathies for our soldiers. If they won't support the end of this stupid war at least they should spend more time support efforts to get our soldiers the equipment and information they need.

But then freepers are all about empty patriotic gestures.

[jobycom]

5. How about "Republican enlistment Fridays?'

So typically Republican. Thank a marine for doing your work for you, then go home and watch tv.

Supporting the troops starts before they get sent to war. It starts when some politician starts talking about sending them to war. You can support the troops then by researching every aspect of both sides of the debate to see if it is really worth killing our troops and hundreds of thousands on innocent people overseas over, or you can just wave a flag, wear a shirt, whine about taxes, and claim you are supporting the troops.

If Bozo in the email had truly supported the troops, maybe Sargent Steeley (or the many people he is actually a fictional metaphor for) would be holding a videogame instead of a flag in his lap, wondering if Iraq was really just a town in Texas.

Everyone thinks pretty thoughts about our troops. They are the last defense we have. They got our backs. But in return, we are supposed to have theirs. Bush and his gang of treasonous war criminals lied to send them to war, and thousands of them died, and tens of thousands are coming back injured and disfigured, and maybe hundreds of thousands have seen such Hell and have been required to commit such horrors that they may as well be injured. The people who supported the troops are those who opposed Bush and his war, and are those now who are calling for better medical care of the troops, better support of those still in Iraq, and the end to this senseless and purposeless nonsense in Iraq. The people who let the troops down are the ones that supported BushCo and this illegal invasion, occupation, and slaughter in the first place.

[unpossibles]

6. great reply.

Americans who support our troops used to be called the "silent majority."

bullshit

We are not organized, boisterous or overbearing.

bullshit

good think his name wasn't Sgt. Wimpy cause that would not have gone over as well... :eyes:

and I might puke if I see another comparison to football. If war is a game to be cheered on, then all the cheerleaders should sign up too.

[koopie57]

7. Maybe wear red on Friday

to show that we called a congressman sometime during the week to demand an end to this occupation.

[dflprincess]

8. Wear red on Friday to remind people of the blood that has been shed

and the lives wasted in Bush's war.