So…this happened:
My first reaction upon viewing the above last week was abject horror at the sight of United States Marines urinating on dead bodies. And then as I am wont to do, I shuddered and went back to what I had been doing like perusing Etsy stores and yelling at the television.
Hours later I returned to a Twitter stream filled with conservative blogger/former Tea Party activist/CNN contributor Dana Loesch batting down the progressives for their reaction or as she saw it overreaction to the behavior of these Marines. The following day Dana – and full disclosure here that I have always been friendly with her – mentioned the incident on her popular radio show where she stated that she was fine with the actions of the Marines. She also said that she would “drop trou and do it too”. You can listen to the full statement here:
After my initial reaction of “OH MY GOD THEY ARE PEEING ON PEOPLE” I left ‘gut-reaction’ mode and tried to think outside of myself as to why Marines would defile corpses. Thinking before reacting is something I have been working hard at over the years which is to take my gut as a first stop and explore why I might feel this way and other factors surrounding a particular incident. I don’t want to turn into a person who blindly goes along with what everyone else is saying for the express purpose of being able to say “Well because they said”. I strive to be more of an independent thinker because it’s important when arguing politically to have a grasp of both sides of the equation.
“Well…it is the Taliban”, I thought. Which might sound horrible to say that one should pee on on dead bodies because it’s someone who has assisted in inflicting terror not only upon their own citizens but on other Americans. The same Taliban that has repressed women, starved their own citizens and has had allegiance with Al Qaeda. That said these are dead bodies and the people urinating on the bodies are Marines: A group currently surrounded by war. I cannot fathom what happens on the front lines and what each of our service members bear witness to each day we are embroiled in combat on the other side of the world. I think I would be far more horrified to learn of what happens during each day of war than I would be to see Marines peeing. And that is the honest truth. So while I in no way condone what the Marines did – nor does the US Marine Corps which immediately responded that they would be subject to disciplinary action – I cannot imagine what they have seen and what they have been through to get to that point.
As you can see I have been thinking – possibly over thinking, but that is what I do – this entire event while most of you have gone about our lives. It’s jus that I can’t imagine ever being in their position; the Marines that is and that is what keeps me from being angry towards the entirety of the US Marine Corps and spewing vitriol towards our men and women in combat. I see this as more of a loss of control by these four Marines. They have captured the enemy, killed him no less and in the end urinating on their dead bodies in order to show just who is boss. And so, while I am not angry and getting pitchforks ready as I have seen so many do I am disappointed. That’s what. Marines are held to a a far higher standard than the American civilian and what has occurred is something outside of the realm of what they are supposed to personify therefore they should be punished and just how we will soon see.
In sum: I take the Bill Maher reaction. You?
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U.S. Marines Soul Searching After ‘Urinating’ Video
Correcting the Progressive Spin on My Defense of the Marines
Goldie Taylor Calls Out CNN’s Dana Loesch on CNN over Urine-gate
SOPA, PIPA, Reading and Thinking
I recalled this experience during yesterday’s mass protest and inevitable hysteria over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). I say ‘mass hysteria’ not because I agree with either bill in their entirety or because I think that people should not be honestly it isn’t the bill language (and yes, I have read both bills) it is about the process leading up to their introductions and the after. My twitter stream was full of folks blacking out their sites and putting giant black ‘CENSORED’ bars over their avatars to protest. But the more retweets and bandwagon hopping I saw the more I thought to myself: Do you know what you’re protesting? Or are you doing it because you heard about something that someone else heard about via Wikipedia and because your friend’s friend is against SOPA, you are too? I’m not trying to be an asshole (famous last words) but it’s a question that needs to be asked before being all “RAWR! STOP SOPA!” then calling your congressperson about an issue that you know little to nothing about.
Of those up in arms how many actually know the name of their member of congress? And of those members of the House and Senate who signed on to SOPA and PIPA as cosponsors really knew the intricacies of piracy and copyrighted content and whether the bill they were attaching their names to could present unintended consequences. Has anyone noticed that the head of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) one of the key backers of SOPA is currently being headed by former Senator and Presidential candidate, Chris Dodd? Oh and the other chief backer was none other than Rupert ‘I don’t know nothing ’bout no phone hacking’ Murdoch. The former who could easily get former Senate friends to jump on board onto what they thought was a harmless piece of legislation and the latter is a gagillionaire.
But more importantly: Did anyone actually read either bill? The cosponsors? The bandwagon jumpers? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
I didn’t say any of these things to be an asshole but to point out that sometimes congress doesn’t make the best decisions ever. This could be because it’s a topic that is so new that they know very little about it (SOPA and PIPA fall into that category as intellectual property when it comes to online content is still so new) or it could be because someone with the right ties and deep pockets wanted a law written and found a sponsor who said ‘Sure! Why not?’ again without really going into the repercussions of such. This is all just speculation of course as I have no clue who or what got the ball rolling but I do know and geared witness to people who aren’t knowledgeable on a subject area playing expert. And that is bad.
I’ll leave you with this thought and a bit of a personal note: It has taken me years – my entire adult life – to learn to be an independent thinker and to not have a ‘bridge jumping’ mentality (If everyone jumped off a bridge would you do it). I mentioned this in my previous post but I want to know every side of the story so that I’m not only well-versed in the facts for my own arguments but so I can also play ‘Devil’s advocate’. I started this site not just because I like to talk about electoral politics and current events but because I noticed that more often than not people were quick to be opponents or proponents without knowing the background. I wanted to be able to start a discussion and to not play a political pundit but to say here is the issue and here are some great resources. Go forth and get schooled. In a time of turmoil and where everyone can play an expert in any field, I hope to foster critical thinking. Reading a bill before denouncing it is the best place to start. And with this entire SOPA/PIPA/I don’t really know but I heard situation I am realizing that there is a need for sites like mine to get people talking and hopefully know what they’re talking about.
As an aside: For all those up in arms yesterday I hope that just because the day of action is over and the topic has been tabled in the House and will be filibustered in the Senate that doesn’t mean that you won’t continue to learn, explore and engage. The work of congress doesn’t end just because no one is paying attention. It is made more effective when people do pay attention. I wish that those who got SOPA excited will get just as excited about education, the state of the economy, jobs, Social Security and this election.
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Stop Online Piracy Act
Protect IP Act
How SOPA would affect you: FAQ
Ten Things You Need to Know About SOPA and PIPA
What is SOPA? Anti-piracy bill explained
Congress, SOPA and a fight over the web