Posted on 06/20/2007 4:00:46 AM PDT by exg
It's about our troops
National Post
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
We have a message for Canada's "antiwar" movement : Your mask is slipping. We know you like to pretend that you hate war and love soldiers -- occasionally you even claim that you hate war because you love soldiers -- but the push to have "Support Our Troops" stickers removed from Toronto fire trucks and ambulances shows a discouraging lack of mental clarity on the issue.
The Mayor of Toronto, David Miller, claims to see your point when he defends this act of vandalism. "To many of us," he explained yesterday, "[the ribbon] means support for our troops. To some people it's a symbol of support for the war in Afghanistan, and [EMS] Chief [Bruce] Farr and others in the city have received a number of calls from people who are concerned about the city expressing an opinion on the war."
On this score, His Worship must be judged either very ignorant or very cowardly. In cities like Halifax and Edmonton, where the Canadian military is strongly integrated into the life of the community and one might conceivably have neighbours serving in the Armed Forces, there is no quarrel or ambiguity about the meaning of the ribbon. It's a symbol of awareness, grief and gratitude. It expresses the simple hope that our fighting men and women will come home safe from combat.
It can be found in many homes whose residents may not necessarily agree with the objectives of the war in Afghanistan or the general direction of Canadian foreign policy. In fact -- and this may come as a complete shock -- there are surely some Canadian soldiers who are doing their duty in Afghanistan despite their own doubts about the military campaign or political disagreement with the government. The ribbons are worn in their name too, and in the name of many non-combat personnel who are risking their lives in Afghanistan without ever firing a shot.
In other words, there can be no reasonable argument that the Support Our Troops decal means anything but support for our troops. If Mayor Miller keeps playing dumb about this, voters might just conclude it's no act. And we don't really think that the first responders who pilot and ride Toronto's EMS and fire vehicles need to have this explained to them, but supporting our troops doesn't mean being in favour of war -- any more than supporting our firefighters means being in favour of arson.
© National Post 2007
Canada ping
Canada ping.
Please send me a FReepmail to get on or off this Canada ping list.
Thank you so much for this link—currently “yes”-92 percent.
This gives me hope.
Here is a copy of a letter I sent to a local paper, and am attempting to send to Mayor Miller:
Hello,
My husband and his friends are currently serving in Afghanistan. I thought I would share my perspective on this issue.
The “support our troops” magnet/stickers, etc., are symbolic of yellow ribbons. They simply mean that we are thinking of our loved ones overseas and hoping for their safe return. The yellow ribbons are displayed/worn by military families regardless of where our loved ones are deployed—Bosnia, Afghanistan, Cyrpus, Golan Heights, Kosovo, Cambodia, Haiti, etc.
When military families see others with yellow ribbons, it reminds us that we are not the only ones thinking of our family members when they are far from home, and it provides us some measure of comfort.
I currently have a yellow ribbon at the front of my house (it would be there regardless of where my husband was deployed). To suggest that this means that I support war is ludicrous. It simply means, we are thinking of you, we love you, we miss you, and return safely to us.
Wife of a Canadian soldier.
You can listen to CFRA live at the link.
All kinds of people are calling in to say they are canceling their Toronto vacations, and writing the Mayor to tell him why.
FREEP THIS POLL ***PING!*** FRmail me if you want to be added or removed from the Fearless Poll-Freeping Freepers Ping list. And be sure to ping me to any polls that need Freepin', if I miss them. (looks like a medium volume list) (gordongekko909, founder of the pinglist, stays on the list until his ghost signs up for the list)
Correction.....you can e mail the Mayor of Toronto.
Go ahead, you know you want to. :-)
“mayor of Ottawa”
Obviously, I need more coffee!
Take the “support the troops” ribbons down and put up the “we’re as gay as you can get” ones. Toronto is pandering to the gay leftist vote.
lol, vote then email was an option on the poll and a few ppl actually clicked it. 91.8% is heartening though.
I know there is a group- an activist group, who have been very dormant for a couple of years. Teens who dress garishly. They are being quite smart, I think. Nobody expects them to conform.
One can sense the survival of traditional views with regard to our armed forces. They have a job to do, they do not pick and choose. More power to them.
BTTT
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