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"The Stand"
by MSgt Dial B. F.
Saturday, Mar. 29, 2003 at 10:41 AM
A poem written by a marine to the anti-war protesters.
"THE STAND"
I read in the news, how you made a stand,
you marched in the streets of our country's land,
trying to say who is wrong or right,
telling our country they should not fight;
Marching against Marines, like me, here,
defending the rights you hold so dear,
assuming I love to kill and maim,
acting like this is some sort of game;
You call yourselves experts on what we should do,
on September eleventh, where were you,
while thousands of Americans suffered and died,
are you trying to say this is something you can abide?
Were you at the funerals as they lowered the caskets,
maybe you should remove your rose colored glasses?
I so, want to feel the comforts of my home,
where recently I left my family alone,
yet I'll do my duty in this far off land,
so you can march on Washington and make your stand;
Do not despise me for what I do,
because truth be known, I do it for you,
to hopefully free you from terror's arm,
so you can have your freedoms, free from harm;
What is the price, for the life you live?
What is the payment you have to give?
Is it starring in a movie, or singing a good song,
that has kept you free for all this long?
It is men like me, and others too,
doing what our country calls us to do,
sailing the seas to this far off land,
while you stay at home and make your stand;
I am not bitter, this is the life I choose,
So the rights you express so freely, you will not lose,
You may not support me for what I do,
But you need to know, I do it for you;
When this is over, when we are through,
I would rather you just say, thank you,
for giving you, the time you had,
to march in our streets and make your stand.
MSgt Dial B. F.
TAVB MAINT CHIEF
EXT: 111
More information:
by Andy Horbal
Saturday, Mar. 29, 2003 at 11:38 AM
arh6@pitt.edu Oakland
I would like very much to respond to this Marine in a more personal way, via e-mail. Does anyone know an e-mail address to which I can respond? Mine is: arh6@pitt.edu.
okay...
by Nick
Saturday, Mar. 29, 2003 at 3:48 PM
pnk6@pitt.edu
"yet I'll do my duty in this far off land/so you can march on Washington and make your stand..."
Then why are y'all so goddamn pissed off when we do?
Response
by D
Saturday, Mar. 29, 2003 at 10:11 PM
I think most protestors would agree that we appreciate that you are willing to fight for our freedom, but we believe that the government has sent you off on an unjust path. We believe that Iraq does not constitute an imminent threat, and have not been given compelling evidence from the government to prove otherwise. It is our belief that the human casualties that result from the war (iraqi,british and american) should not be lost on a hunch or for unjust imperialist policies. We demand that the U.S government not risk your life unless absolutely neccessary.
So please don't take our opposition to the administration as opposition to you, it isn't.
sign the pledge
by Jan
Sunday, Mar. 30, 2003 at 12:34 AM
Dear Friends,
Please consider joining me in adding your name to the following statement. Thousands of people have already done so, including Ezequiel Adamovsky, Vittorio Agnoletto, Michael Albert, Tariq Ali, Patrick Bond, Leslie Cagan, Noam Chomsky, Bill Fletcher, Eduardo Galeano, Susan George, Marta Harnecker, Boris Kagarlitsky, George Monbiot, Suren Moodlar, Hector Mondragon, Tanya Reinhart, Carola Reintjes, Arundhati Roy, Lydia Sargent and Howard Zinn.
If, after reading it, you like what it has to say, take a few seconds to visit http://www.zmag.org/wspj and add your name to the list of endorsers.
The statement was released on March 27, 2003, and already more than 20994 people have signed on! Here it is...
"I stand for peace and justice.
I stand for democracy and autonomy. I don?t think the U.S. or any other country should ignore the popular will and violate and weaken international law, seeking to bully and bribe votes in the Security Council.
I stand for internationalism. I oppose any nation spreading an ever expanding network of military bases around the world and producing an arsenal unparalleled in the world.
I stand for equity. I don?t think the U.S. or any other country should seek empire. I don?t think the U.S. ought to control Middle Eastern oil on behalf of U.S. corporations and as a wedge to gain political control over other countries.
I stand for freedom. I oppose brutal regimes in Iraq and elsewhere but I also oppose the new doctrine of "preventive war," which guarantees permanent and very dangerous conflict, and is the reason why the U.S. is now regarded as the major threat to peace in much of the world. I stand for a democratic foreign policy that supports popular opposition to imperialism, dictatorship, and political fundamentalism in all its forms.
I stand for solidarity. I stand for and with all the poor and the excluded. Despite massive disinformation millions oppose unjust, illegal, immoral war, and I want to add my voice to theirs. I stand with moral leaders all over the world, with world labor, and with the huge majority of the populations of countries throughout the world.
I stand for diversity. I stand for an end to racism directed against immigrants and people of color. I stand for an end to repression at home and abroad.
I stand for peace. I stand against this war and against the conditions, mentalities, and institutions that breed and nurture war and injustice.
I stand for sustainability. I stand against the destruction of forests, soil, water, environmental resources, and biodiversity on which all life depends.
I stand for justice. I stand against economic, political, and cultural institutions that promote a rat race mentality, huge economic and power inequalities, corporate domination even unto sweatshop and slave labor, racism, and gender and sexual hierarchies.
I stand for a policy that redirects the money used for war and military spending to provide healthcare, education, housing, and jobs.
I stand for a world whose political, economic, and social institutions foster solidarity, promote equity, maximize participation, celebrate diversity, and encourage full democracy.
I stand for peace and justice and, more, I pledge to work for peace and justice."
http://www.zmag.org/wspj
sign a pledge by Znet
by Jan
Sunday, Mar. 30, 2003 at 12:37 AM
Dear Friends,
Please consider joining me in adding your name to the following statement. Thousands of people have already done so.
If, after reading it, you like what it has to say, take a few seconds to visit http://www.zmag.org/wspj and add your name to the list of endorsers.
The statement was released on March 27, 2003, and already more than 20994 people have signed on!
Fighting for ?
by Mike
Monday, Mar. 31, 2003 at 11:20 AM
The last time soliders fought to defend American free-speech was 1812.
hahaha
by Nick
Monday, Mar. 31, 2003 at 1:29 PM
pnk6@pitt.edu
Damn good point
your lucky
by An american
Thursday, Apr. 03, 2003 at 2:24 PM
if we didnt defend our rights in 1812 you would of got shot by someone like Saddam
No shit
by Mike
Thursday, Apr. 03, 2003 at 3:14 PM
Unlike Bush's current war, the rights of Americans were at stake in 1812.
American
by Phoenix
Thursday, Apr. 03, 2003 at 4:08 PM
Mr.American,
If you were to read the posts of others and then think about them you would realize that no one has in any way denounced the war of 1812. So I fail to see the point of your comment that we would be under opressive rule without it, and by the way your commit furthers the reasoning that war does not protect our freedoms: you could apparently not think of war after the war of 1812 that supported and protected our freedoms.
I would also like to ask a question to everyone pro-war: I have heard that we are fighting for our freedoms several times now, could anyone please tell me what freedoms we are defending, and how? I would also like to know how Saddam jeoprodized these freedoms, and if he did then why you were not advocating for war a long time ago? On a final note if you chose to answer please do not even bring up 9/11, because I remind you that was done by terrorists from various parts of the world, not Iraq, and could just have easily been commited by angry Americans.
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