Woman buys little green Army soilders and writes "bring me home" on them..

Just got this in my e-mail - what a great anti-war action!

I heard on NPR last night -

Short mention of a woman who buys the little green Army men toy soldiers and writes on them or puts a sticker on the bottom that says
"Bring Me Home"and then she leaves them in public places.

Danita

Here's a great idea that was passed to me. I'm all over this. Think of how many kids will pick-up one of these and then will read the sticker on the bottom. It's really quite ingenuis. Please, as many people as possible pick-up a bag and do this. It would spread the anti-war message to exponentailly a greater amount of individuals. Time to really stand strong with the left and to organize labor, ralley alongside (shore up the flanks) with the growing leftist anti-war movement. Children will show this to their parents, somehtm,eselves (older teens) will question the Gov't. This is really good stuff.
peace,
b.m.

It somehow trivializes the war.

disagree- personally, I think yellow ribbons trivializes not only the soldiers, but the notion, that by slapping a ribbon on your gas using vehicle, you've actually accomplished something-

If you are a guy using a urinal in McD's and turn to wash you hands, and see a little green army man sitting on the sink, saying "take me home"- it might catch you up short, and remind you that while your life is going on as 'normal'- many MANY others lives are NOT- and what better way than to place a small figurine, symbolizing, not a 'song'- but a life, that hangs in the balance-

They aren't 'cute'- they represent lives- of real people- and while we have taught our children war is something to 'play' at- those who have actually been there- know all too well, that there ain't no 'reset' button, and the blood, death, and emotions- aren't 'virtual reality' the are visceral reality.

Any means to wake this f****d up apathetic nation out of it's slumber is worth a try.

"Stay the course" is trivializing the lives of countless men, women and children.

ribbons. A futile attempt to make yourself feel like you're accomplishing something.

You have the right to feel differently.

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than little green army men.

nothing more, nothing less.

They paint us as 'unpatriotic' with our protests. The reality is, they have to do that to throw people off from the facts. That facts that this war was waged on lies.

Anything short of that is bullshit, and their propaganda to take the nation away from the truth.

... "war protesters" was soured by the fact that far too many of us would go days or weeks without letters from home - especially few (or none) from former classmates, coworkers, and friends. At the same time we were treated to news film (the video of the day) showing young people (our 'peers') marching and (to all appearances) having a very self-important 'social outing.' It looked like fun. I don't know of one guy who wouldn't have rather been out acting self-important and bumping butts with good looking women than sitting in some sandbag bunker with an M15, an M60, an M70, some flares and some claymore triggers. Some guys would go weeks or months between times they got a "care package" from home. Lots of guys got "Dear Johns" from (former) girlfriends who, becoming 'activists,' didn't want to continue a relationship with a "baby-killer."

Right, wrong, or indifferent ... that was the prevalent attitude. We didn't see a lot of sincerity about "our boys" when the direct contact became rare or negative. Quite frankly, it felt like we were being fucked over by the brass and exploited by our peers who didn't get drafted. (Any excuse for a march followed by a good party, huh?) Our cynicism was fed every day. There was nobody on the planet more against that war than those of us who were there.

I have no idea how much the attitudes of the grunts have changed -- but I don't think it's all that much. Email and the Internet have certainly changed their ability to keep in touch, however. It's hard for me to wrap my head around how that might have made Viet Nam different. It was rare we got a chance to call home - a Rube Goldberg experience, to say the least. We depended solely on snail mail and care packages.

Thus, I can say it's of paramount importance that anyone who even pretends to "support the troops" while calling for an end to this abomination does their utmost to keep in contact with anyone they know who's there -- before protesting and before buying any yellow ribbon and before writing any Congress-critter. If we're not directly giving moral and emotional support where we can then we're not supporting shit.

/Rant.

From one of the self-appointed, fun loving, social outing, butt- bumping protesters. You left out the trend-setting, fashionable bracelets (MIA/POW). I wish there was more I could have done. This year I decided to do just that.

(Thanks to a DU member for the link)

ANYSOLDIER.COM

http://anysoldier.com

Read some of the soldiers comments about what they need from us.

Cards and Letters just to say thank you.
Anything from home.

Magazines, mystery books, board games, writing paper, envelopes, pens, CD's, DVD,

Food
gummy bears, anything you can add water to like hot cocoa mix, cider, coffee, tea bags, sugar packets, sweetened koolaid, easy mac, breakfast on the go bars, flavored oatmeal, ramen noodles, soup mixes,
beef jerky, tootsie rolls, chewing gum, anything sweet but won't melt like chocolate.

Moisturizers- in shampoo, hand cremes, lip balms, lotions, body sprays, baby wipes, body wash

For women, feminine products, perfume (lucky is popular)

Icy hot, blister creams, toothbrushes toothpaste, razors, nail clippers, q-tips

Socks white, t-shirts

PICK SOME OF THIS UP WHEN YOU BUY YOUR GREEN SOLDIERS.

The post office has flat rate boxes that are $7 to ship as much as you can jam into them. Let them know you care with a card or letter too.

Not a much fun as a protest, but it will get you into the Christmas spirit, as I found out tonight. Just think of how happy you could make a soldier away from home.

instead of buying cheap trinkets that i cannot afford for relatives, or tossing out all the extra books, toys, etc. that accrued from just living, i think i'll try to make someone's holiday a bit happier with this. i have no real money to spend, so maybe a note and a few old books. maybe i can make it a family and friends thing, we all have a lot of books, magazines, and stuff we're half tempted to just light aflame on a bonfire, but there's people who'd appreciate any small thing that brings back memories from home.

That our government is so f***ed up our men and women in uniform have to rely on the kindness of private citizens to get by in minimal comfort.

I'm more than willing to pitch in, but how sad that something like this needs to be created at all.

Consistent moral and emotional support from family, friends, classmates, and coworkers is the best. From politicians? Not so good.

I think sending cards, gifts, etc. to show we care and lend moral and emotional support is absolutely crucial. The thought of pick-me-up cards coming from politicians gives me the heebies.

It's having to supply them with things like deoderant, tampons, and edible food I find tragic. If our government deploys them they should only do so when they can provide for basic needs. And from my perspective, supplying female service personnel with feminine hygiene products is basic!

I am more than happy to send care packages, have been doing so and will continue to do so. I just think it's sad such sites have to list basic necessities as well as requests for human relations.

Maybe I'm strange but I'd rather see requests for special little items that mean something to the individual rather than shampoo and soap. I'd like to think I could send a specific CD or brand of perfume instead of worrying about feeding the soldier edible food first. Of course I can do both...oh hell, I don't think I'm expressing myself very well. I better give up while I'm behind.

... has resulted in such appalling deprivations. Let's make absolutely no mistake about it - no flag officer does without such essentials. Not one. It's entirely a result of the 'privatization' of the military, where the 'business mind' (an oxymoron) would rather spend 20% of the cost to get 80% of the result rather than 100% to get a 100% result - the profits are more than five times as high!

mail room and the board room. Shameful!

I am sure the loved ones of the youngsters who died at the hands of the National guard at Kent State would take your feelings to heart, not to mention those who loved and knew well enough to follow John, Martin, and Bobby.

We were here for you every step of the way. I hope someday you understand that, and come to terms with your generalized resentment of those of us who did not serve, or even know what the hell was going on, for that matter, for whatever reason. I was 14 years old when I went to my first ant-war demonstration and I weep when I imagine touching Tommy's name on the Wall.

Two of my brothers fled to Canada, and I really agonized over whether it was the right thing to do... daily, I counseled my mother, trying to dampen her fears and help her make sense of it all. Week after week, we could see, feel, and smell the mayhem, view the burning cities on T.V., turn away from the image of brain-disgorged skulls in the streets of Saigon on the cover of the "Berkeley Barb".

It is a true thing to note, that the fertile fields of Southeast Asia were not then the center of the world, no matter who died.

The only moral support I can offer a volunteer soldier is, "Good Luck"! If he were to ask me for advice I would suggest that he quit, and become a private contractor. Then, perhaps, he could sleep at night.

Either I should learn to write better or you should learn to read better. (I won't go into the other possibility.) I'll just cover a couple of points ...


You say "I am sure the loved ones of the youngsters who died at the hands of the National guard at Kent State would take your feelings to heart, not to mention those who loved and knew well enough to follow John, Martin, and Bobby."

That was apparently a feeble and mean-spirited attempt at sarcasm - and a smarmy way of hiding behind and exploiting the memory of three people I've loved and admired enormously since I can remember. (Some folks wrap themselves in the flag; some wrap themselves in the tragedies suffered by others. Political necrophilia isn't exclusively right-wing, it seems.)

I'll merely point out that the "National Guard at Kent State" in 1970 was largely populated with guys that sought an alternative (other than Canada or college, which was probably out of their reach) to being drafted and sent to Viet Nam. How's that for a tragic kind of irony, huh?

One way of looking at the horrible tragedy of Kent State is, in some part, as a confrontation between people who were avoiding the draft by being in college and people who couldn't get into college so they joined the Guard. The internecine resentments between factions of guys trying to escape the draft were legion - second only to the resentments shown to those of us who surrendered to the draft, in lieu of letting the next guy do it, and placed our lives in the hands of the People. But, in a paroxysm of revisionist remembrances, those animosities are handily forgotten.

The "anti-war movement," particularly in 1970 and afterward, was hugely motivated by myopic self-interest and fashion - and altruism only secondarily for many, if at all. (It's easy to "do the right thing" if it's convenient and serves one's self-interest.) It's been observed repeatedly that we probably wouldn't be in Iraq right now if there were a draft. (D'oh!) Those of us who were drafted, served and then came back and opposed the war in Viet Nam, whether by protesting with Ron Kovacs and John Kerry or merely by lobbying and petitioning politicians showed far more altruism and principle, imho.

While so many self-righteously sneer at "volunteers" in this war, or that one, they should probably recall that Max Cleland, Bob Kerrey, Wes Clark, Al Gore, Ron Kovacs, and John Kerry were all volunteers in the Viet Nam War!! So, fuck the condescending attitudes toward volunteers! (That's a learning road I had to travel myself - as a draftee who sneered at "regular Army assholes.")


You say "We were here for you every step of the way. I hope someday you understand that, and come to terms with your generalized resentment of those of us who did not serve, or even know what the hell was going on, for that matter, for whatever reason."

This comment is seemingly redolent of narcissism, pretension, condescension, and portrays an almost total absence of comprehension of my post. The fact of the matter is that nobody "here" could have possibly been with us "every step of the way." Further, it totally ignores the fact that most of us were 'here' both before we served and after we returned. If there's an abject ignorance, it's sure less likely to be on the part of those who saw both "worlds"!! Even further, the whole point of my post was that unless folks first and foremost offer their direct moral and emotional support to anyone they know who's serving, they're deluding themselves if they claim to "support the troops" while not supporting the war. As for those "too pure" to support the troops, making lepers of those who serve this nation by surrendering their will and placing their civil liberties in trust with the People does neither serve a democratic form of government nor vest itself with moral legitimacy.

You speciously refer to my (fictional) "resentment of those of us who did not serve". That's utter and appalling bullshit! You obviously have no fucking notion whatsoever of how I regard anyone who didn't serve - and anyone with half a brain should be able to ascertain that my attitudes aren't based primarily on someone's service ... unlike yours seem to be. I've met altogether too many arrogant "liberals" who bear blanket and permanent animosities toward guys who served in Viet Nam. I regard it as a kind of personality disorder akin to narcissism. Seemingly incurable and unassailable with any kind of reason or discourse. I memorialize them in my sig.

Personally, I think we should all send one little green Army man with the message to the White House and one to our senators. How great would it be if senator's offices are flooded with little green Army men?

:rofl:

:blush: I really can't take credit for the fantastic idea--you're the one that posted it-So Bravo to you!

I figure why waste such a great message by leaving them around at random? Let's do a widescale protest, to get the message across to the people that are SUPPOSED to be working for us, to bring our young women and men home.

If you guys are all serious about this, let me know. I'll be happy to create a thread to expound on this one, collecting names of those that would like to participate. I'm going now to check on ebay for little, green army men. We should buy up as many as we can--in case members that want to participate can't find them in their area...

We could all coordinate a day when we send all the little, green army men to our senators offices and the White House... If we all send them out at the same time, it sends a bigger message of protest! Let's flood those offices with them...

:hi:

We just need a day/date to send them out...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5488085

Thanks!!

:hi:

:dem:

Kick--ASS idea there, bliss!! Sign me up!! Make sure you link to the thread in case I miss it.......

Might as well make them more realistic.

http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13
Buttons for brainy people - educate your local freepers today!

that hits me in the gut and its just a plastic soldier

or is it

to our nearest dollar store and it was sold out!-
Finally found some and my son thought they were for him - I said, no, we're going to leave them in places where people don't expect to see them, like on the sink in public bathrooms, on the counters at coffee shops, on top of GAS PUMPS- with little orange stickers saying- "Bring me HOME- PLEASE" and on the bottom, "not in a body bag- whole, asap."

He's tickeled to participate, and is thinking of GREAT places to put them- It's a wonderful idea- bringing the WAR home, to those who go on about life without thinking about anything but christmas/THINGS/etc.-

Glad you posted this- I had wanted to- nominating and kicking!!

Thanks!!

Thanks for the K&R!

last week. About the lady doing it. What a great idea. Everyone start doing it.

Will buy enough to leave around and some extras to send to the ugliest congressmen/women.

... I had not heard this and think it is a wonderful idea.

Thanks for sharing.

It will be the first little Army guys I've ever purchased.

There was a lady at the last peace vigil I went to who has all different saying on hers:

"Hostage of Halliburton"

"I miss my mom"

and indeed

"Bring me home"

on little cartoon type word balloons, plus a yellow ribbon.

This is not a good a idea.

It's a GREAT idea!

:hi:

Shame on you...

:spank:

:rofl: :hi: ;)

:D

:spank:

Naughty, naughty...:P

For several reasons...But kids are very inquisitive & PERSISTENT!
I can see it now ...Gee dad, what does "Body bag" mean?
:evilgrin:

Even if it doesn't do any good, it'll make me feel better, so I'm giving myself a Christmas present EARLY tomorrow!

Do you think that'd be too confusing?

No More Gettysburgs!!!!

Hi,
I am a Soldier in the US Army for over sixteen years. I have been deployed to Iraq two times. I would like everybody to know that the American Soldiers does not need ANYBODY speaking for them. We want to be Soldiers; we want to serve our Country, even if that means the final sacrifice. If you are against the Government, it's OK with me. But do not speak up for me. If I die, it will me mine death, not yours. I defend your freedom, but do not use that freedom to transform the Military in "Army green toy soldiers."
Thank you,
A US Soldier