First-graders get sad news about 'adopted' soldier (died last week)

[Barrett808]

First-graders get sad news about 'adopted' soldier
Franklin Elementary's 'Private Joe' died last Thursday in Iraq
By JILL CECIL WIERSMA
Staff Writer

FRANKLIN — There's no good time in the school day to give bad news about a friend's death.

So administrators at Franklin Elementary School waited until just before the school day's end yesterday to let a first-grade class know that the Fort Campbell soldier they "adopted" died after a recent mission in Iraq.

"We want to give them a little time to absorb it," Assistant Principal Marcella Crenshaw said. "It's a lot to absorb for 5- and 6-year-old children. Children are very resilient, but it depends on their personal lives and what they've dealt with like this before."

Pfc. Joseph Duenas — or "Private Joe" as the children called him — visited the school with a group from Fort Campbell at the beginning of the school year. He was adopted by Lisa Kozlik's first-grade class, which spent a day getting to know the 23-year-old soldier.

(more)

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006604060356

[Miss Chybil]

1. I hate George Bush. nt

[saigon68]

28. The Fish Cheer

Well, come on mothers throughout the land,
Pack your boys off to Iraq-Nam.
Come on fathers, don't hesitate,
Send 'em off before it's too late.
Be the first one on your block
To have your boy come home in a box.

oops forgot the </sarcasm> tag

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

48. ..And it's one, two, three, what are we fighting for?

[saigon68]

71. They didn't have Halliburton, Exxon and Carlysle in the original tune

It was all about the commies then, now its about a religious crusade against the islamic rag heads

[Swede]

2. Aww fuck,only 23.

For nothing.

[monarch]

3. Check out the top stories on the website

"Baptists may try to oust Belmont Board. http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060406/NEWS04/604060398

ON EDIT: Oh heck, it's a university! I thought that it was a town and that it was a commentary on how far the religious nuts were trying to take us. (I do have trouble switching between the internet and the message board--Is there a way to get the link without closing the comment box and having to start your comment over again?

[acmejack]

11. You must be using internet explorer?

That is what makes a tabbed browser so good. IE & will be a tabbed browser though, so you won't have to wait very much longer it is in in Beta 2 now.

[marylanddem]

4. Bush should go before that class and explain to them

why that soldier died.

[atreides1]

Why????

So he can lie to them too!!!!!!

[jobycom]

22. So the kids can star in a Bush commercial, of course.

Kind, compassionate, wise Bush consoling the shattered hearts of our nation's innocents. His eyes squinted softly as he prays over their tiny bowed heads, asking merciful God to protect these small children from the traitorous lies of the liberal media intent on corrupting the pure, patriotic sacrifice of their hero and friend, Soldier Joe. "They will want these children to believe that Joe died in vain, Dear Lord. Help them understand that he died, as you did, for others. Help them to understand that those who oppose me would use these poor innocent souls to prove their traitorous agenda. They hate America, Lord. Help these children to love America, as I, and Soldier Joe, have done." Flags wave mournfully in a nebulous overlay of the entire scene, and the faint strains of "Amazing Grace" are barely audible as the commercial fades to black.

I think the kids have suffered enough. Keep Bush's filthy presence away from them.

[Lisa]

31. alas, he would probably do more harm than good -- remember "Woodrow"?

I've started referring to this as the "Woodrow the White House Mouse" incident.

Back in the summer of 2001, during his usual August vacation, Bush went to visit some schoolkids in New Mexico.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/08/20010815-2.html
What isn't reported in the transcript is that the kids had been prepped for the big event by reading and discussing "Woodrow the White House Mouse". Of course one of the children asked him if he had ever seen Woodrow. Bush (either not knowing about the story, or not being inclined to play along) replied that his cat and dogs chased mice! I wouldn't be surprised if those kids retain the thought of Woodrow being eaten by Bush's pets, for the rest of their lives!

[Bucky]

38. "Dying for America is hard work, y'see. And some folks don't like it. Heh"

Aren't those kids confused enough already? Why give them more trauma?

[Geoff R. Casavant]

5. Just before the END of the school day?

Exactly the opposite of what I would have done.

Can you imagine? "Private Joe died. Now go home."

I think a lunchtime announcement, with time in the afternoon to talk and cry with teacher, would have been more compassionate and ultimately more meaningful.

[AndyA]

7. Agreed. The kids should have had some time together to talk about it

before going home.

How much more, America? How much more will we take before we say "ENOUGH!" ?????

[renate]

10. maybe a few minutes with the school counselor would have been good

(These days, not all schools have counselors, of course.) For the benefit of the kids who go to day care and don't go home right after school, a little counseling would have been nice (and I'm sure the teacher did her best), but I think kids that age would have wanted nothing more than to be in a quiet place with somebody's loving arms around them. Their little hearts must just be breaking.

[tomreedtoon]

69. Why should the teachers want to help kids?

I think they told the kids at the end of the school day BECAUSE they wouldn't have to explain or console the kids afterwards. They must have thought it was fun to send home a classroom full of traumatized kids, to parents who can't or won't deal with the problem.

Not to mention that it was a stupid thing to have first-graders involved in the specific realities of war, by having them "adopt" a soldier who was extremely likely to die or be maimed. Either it was a right-wing principal in Bush Country who thought it was good to inculate "American values" into his little charges, or he guessed this would happen and he wanted to torture the little rugrats.

Why do people labor under the continuing delusion that teachers give a damn for their students? Didn't they remember the truth from when they were kids?

[Nevernose]

74. Yeah, most teachers are in it for the money and respect

:sarcasm:

[tomreedtoon]

87. No, teachers are in it for psychological domination. Duuuh!

The majority of people teach in American schools because they couldn't qualify to be prison guards in Abu Gareb. Simple cruelty for kids like these first graders they tortured with the image of a dead soldier, more complex cruelties in the higher grades.

And before someone jumps in, there are dedicated teachers in the US that care for their charges. But only about two of those six people are on DU.

(I couldn't help but note that your sarcasm drips blood. That suggests a viciousness and soul-destroying hatred that would serve you well as the next step up from public school education; you might qualify to teach in a Catholic grade school.)

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

94. I suggest you seek counseling.

Obviously, you have a lot of issues that need to be worked out regarding your schooling.

Most of my teachers (especially in HS) were extremely dedicated individuals. They were available for extra help, whether for academic or emotional. As far as I know, none of them are on DU. A couple of them were even *gasp* conservatives. Not all teachers are like this, but they have a tough job and they're not in it for the money. I severely doubt the majority of them are in it for psychological domination. I'm still friends with some of my teachers to this day, and I owe a couple of them my life. When I was being mentally abused at home for being gay, I had teachers there to tell me that I was worthwhile and things would get better.

[bling bling]

95. My, my.

You have a rather unique point of view on teachers.

Anyway,

Regarding the "sarcasm" comment -- that's one of the choices when you write a post you can click on "Smilies lookup table" and choose a smilie or the sarcasm or a number of other things.

Just FYI.

[acmejack]

13. That really does sound counter-intuitive.

And not too smart to boot. They just didn't want to deal with 30 freaked out first graders for eight hours (or whatever). What BS, if I was a parent I would be POed-BIG!

[theobscure]

92. this is just a reflection of the fact that nearly all adults themselves...

have yet to come to terms with death in an honest way (i.e. religion). How are they supposed to know how to handle it in regard to 30 different children?

[Up2Late]

56. I agree, I don't know if I would have even told kids that young.

Might have been better to wait until one of them asked about him.

[jbnow]

68. Perhaps a letter to the parents

would have been a good move

[Viva_La_Revolution]

63. absolutely. that was the first thing I thought too

announce it at the end of the day, send them off all upset to daycare or home, no talking it out or time to adjust. Sounds like they didn't want to deal with all the upset kids, who will have issues for months because of the way they handled it. :mad:

[ripple]

86. Parents may have wanted to be involved

So they could provide support for their individual child's emotional needs. I think if that's the case, telling the little ones at the end of the day was the right thing to do.

[d_b]

6. That's SO sad!

[The_Casual_Observer]

8. They won't forget that for the rest of their lives.

[400Years]

9. and now they learn what war is really about

[Pithy Cherub]

12. May "Private Joe" live in their hearts forever

as the little ones count the cost of war. What a great wonderful school community gesture to adopt and then a life lesson that will hauntingly last always. My heart breaks for the kids, their parents, the teacher, Private Joe's family and friends and all those who have lost their lives for Bush's lies.

[coalition_unwilling]

14. But the "good news" is that there are 130,000 other

soldiers they can adopt now :sarcasm:

[okieinpain]

33. hmmmm, give some of that two.

[zbdent]

15. These kids will remember this for the rest of their lives

and probably will find out later who was President when their friend was sent off to die . . . you just might have a bunch of anti-Repubs coming up there . . . unless he really made a speech pointing out how proud he was serving this president (don't know if the soldier got that involved other than being a life-size GIJoe) . . .

[northofdenali]

16. George W. Bush is a murderer.

Those poor kids.

[matcom]

17. what a STUPID FUCKING THING for that school to do!

:grr:

probably seemed like a good idea at the time. now you have fucked up 5 and 6 year olds. :eyes:

some are simply TOO young to have to worry about things like war. oh wait. guess the 5 and 6 year old Iraqis CAN'T be shielded from this can they?

i think i have changed my own mind while writing this thread

[Pacifist Patriot]

19. I had the same gut reaction.

But then I thought perhaps it might help create a few more peace activists.

[Bucky]

34. You're right...the second time. We should support our troops. They're OURS

The men and women who put on the uniform honor us all. Yes, it's traumatic for the children (of both nations as you point out). Let their families learn early about the consequences of war, so that a bigger mistake won't be made next time. And don't think they Republicans can't make bigger mistakes than the colossal clusterfubar in Iraq right now. Hell, they're already got one planned for Iran. I doubt they'll let the lack of available troops stop them--no respect for facts, these people.

[Swamp Rat]

41. Yep

This was totally inappropriate for 5-6 yr olds from the get-go.

[Zodiak]

98. I agree

Seems to me that the school thought it was a no-risk undertaking because, after all, Iraq was supposed to be a cakewalk. I lay this one on the feet of the media as well as the monkey in the White House.

[arcane1]

46. too bad they couldn't have adopted some Iraqi children instead

:(

[stepnw1f]

54. matcom, you are too funny

also like your posts.

[bleedingheart]

59. every time I try to shield my children from the facts I realize that

children their own age are having their friends blown up in front of them in Iraq....and I realized that overprotection can lead to giving my children a "rosy" image of the world that doesn't exist.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

61. Good point...

As harsh as it seems to break news like this to 6 year olds; maybe it's best for them to learn NOW that war sucks.

[Tight_rope]

81. Exactly....And we see the product of that is George W. Bush...

Who has lived in a fantasy land all his life. But maybe just maybe now that he is in hot oil on the frying pan will bring him into reality.

[young_at_heart]

18. Did the teacher use good judgment when she did this?

Some six-year-olds might be traumatized by this situation and emotionally unable to understand or handle such a horrific event.

[matcom]

21. see #17

i have had an epiphany

[young_at_heart]

26. Do people here give a whole lot of thought about Iraqi kids?

Not many of them, I'll bet.

[Bucky]

35. NYTimes counts the dead troops. Iraqbodycount.net counts the Iraqi dead.

As long as these are considered separate tallies instead of subsets of the same tally, we are missing the point.

[WePurrsevere]

50. Some of us do... and our hearts break. No child should live in fear, no

child should be injured or die from adults trying to kill each other over religion, money, power, etc.

ALL children should find joy in life. They should be able to laugh, sing, play and just be "kids". The children are our best hope for the future and I pray that they will ALL live in a world full of peace and caring someday soon.

[manic expression]

51. You're unfortunately right

A LOT of people here really just don't care about Iraqis, be they men, women or children. The most disgusting part is that our little invasion was the exact reason they are dying and without proper nutrition and raped and more, and Americans just don't give a crap.

The people who die because of our actions do not matter to many here. Words cannot adequately express the utter insanity of it.

[Sunkiss BlueStar]

20. Dear God

Do not have mercy on *
:mad:

[AnneD]

23. Toward the end of the day...

can still give them time togather, but they will want to be with their partents. They will have many questions. I hope they do something constructive, like plant a tree and maybe have a bench nearby,maybe a plaque and dedicate it, perhaps even inviting his parents or family. We have done similar things at out schools. It is a sad lesson of life but one that needs to be discussed. What a wonderful man Joseph Duenas was, to visit with these children. Truly sad:grouphug:

[superconnected]

24. Why was a first grader writing to someone out shooting people

Gee. This is exactly what would happen.

What was the most-likey-a-freeper teacher thinking?

My niece and her 6yo son, live with me. The kid is too young for pen pals. Let alone bushbot pen pals.

[darkism]

60. I was 7 during the Gulf War and we had soldier pen pals in school.

In fact, hasn't it always been common for grade school classes to write to soldiers off at war?

Also, it's atrocious to assume that "Private Joe" was a fan of **. Nowhere in the article does it say anything of the sort. Remember, too, that the majority of Iraq veterans who are running or have run for Congress are running as anti-war Dems.

The majority of these young men and women were caught up in the patriotic fervor after 9/11 and truly believed that they could make a difference and defend their country by joining up and fighting the actual enemy that attacked us i.e. Al-Qaeda (no, I'm not a MIHOPer). How were they supposed to know that ** would get them killed in an illegal and unjust war with the wrong people? It's not Joe's fault that he died - especially since he fell out of a helicopter and was not "shooting people" when it happened.

[superconnected]

84. We didn't have pen pals until the third grade.

I haven't worked at an elementary schoot since the late 80's though, perhaps the 90's saw them in first grade like yourself. Far too young in my opnion. The 6 yo at my house is a pretty sharp kid but he can't do a letter on his own yet. Not something beyond very basic.

[AnneD]

91. One of the things kinders learn is..

people in our community (Dr's Nurses, Policemen, soldiers, etc). The school is near a fort. Many in the school see soldiers around or even having parent in the military. So it is perfectly normal for them to write in war or not.

When I worked in a small school district, we had a number of our graduates enlist. The kids would write letters and send packages to them. When they came home on leave, they would visit us and tell us how much it meant to them.

Having been in the military, I know I would love to have recieved letters from kids. Remember, our soldiers have families too and a letter can be bit of humanizing sunshine in a bleak day.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

93. They're not all Bush bots

My friend, Ben, is over there serving in Iraq right now. He's a socialist democrat that voted for Nader (the first time). He's as liberal as they come, he doesn't support this war. He joined the army due to family pressure and the money they offered him and now he's over there in a pointless war. He believes we're just fucking things up more.

Calling soliders "Bushbots" does nothing to help liberals be viewed as anything more than "America-haters." They deserve our support. It's a sad story, but I don't see anything wrong with it.

[Virginia Dare]

25. Absolutely heartbreaking...

What a horrible lesson those children must learn at such a tender age.

:cry:

[Ilsa]

27. Damn George F'g. Bush.

Those poor kids, having to deal with death at their age. Fuck you George Bush.

We just had another local kid die:

DoD Identifies Marine Casualties
Lance Cpl. Patrick J. Gallagher, of Jacksonville, Fla., Cpl. Andres Aguilar Jr., of Victoria, Texas, and Cpl. David A. Bass, of Nashville, Tenn. died April 2, when the seven-ton truck rolled over in a flash flood near Al Asad.

[Bush_MUST_Go]

29. Pvt. Joe died over there instead of over here. Isn't that nice, kids?

[Ilsa]

30. Yeah, he got to die far away from the people he loved and who loved him.

I wonder if he was thinking about his poor mother and father as he was being swept away, or if he was even conscious after the vehicle turnover.
I hate Bush*.

[alcibiades_mystery]

32. Precisely why its an asinine idea for 1st graders to "adopt a soldier"

Just sayin'...

[Barrett808]

37. Certainly an introduction to the "real world"

Maybe this can substitute for Grimm's Fairy Tales.

[alcibiades_mystery]

39. Maybe we should just put them to work in a coal mine

That would be real world, too. And lord knows they'd learn all about those Indian kids who have to weave those soccerballs. What a great way to install notions of social justice: reduce everybody to the level of the oppressed! :shrug:

[Barrett808]

43. There's that group that sponsors "wealth distribution" dinners

Most guests get to eat rice and sit on the floor, but a few get a black-tie gourmet meal. Might be a nice way to introduce kids to the inequities of the world.

[alcibiades_mystery]

44. At five years old?

I prefer to let my child get a little kid time before she's exposed to the evils of capitalist exploitation. Is kid time a construction of capitalist exploitation? Is kid time itself unevenly distributed, such that certain kids within certain social strata in certain countries get kid time, while others do not? Yes and Yes. Nevertheless...

[Barrett808]

45. Gotta get 'em while they're young! n/t

[tatertop]

47. Do they hate Iraqis (Emmanuel Goldstein) now?

[hollowdweller]

58. If the GOP wins in 08 that will be next

[CoffeeCat]

36. They should have adopted a group of soldiers, not just one...

I applaud the philosophy behind adopting a soldier. It is good to support the troops
and to help children understand what is going on in the world.

However, to pick just one soldier is very risky--and a really poor decision--especially with
six- and seven-year old first graders!

I'm sorry this soldier was killed. It's just heartbreaking. I'm sure it's very upsetting to these
children.

Someone did not think this through at all.

[alcibiades_mystery]

40. That's interesting

Because I think it is a bone-stupid idea for five-year olds to "adopt a soldier." I don't think it teaches them a damn thing about the so-called real world, except how to perform as imperial subjects in this Republic, and probably not even that much. There is only downside. These aren't puppies, after all.

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

42. they should have adopted ALL the soldiers-they'd'a got bad news every day!

just like the rest of us "older" kids!

Maybe the first graders can help tell their parents understand some basics.

Troops home now--every single individual one of them!

[Danmel]

49. I'd be pissed if my kid was in that class

How can you tell expose such young children to that? Do the teachers think "their" soldier is somehow magic and won't die or be maimed? Do kids that young really need to be exposed to that? I can understand it when they are older- 4th, 5th grade. But little ones?

The whole thing is just so unspeakably sad- all these young men and women dying for nothing. I hate this war so much and the war mongers who started it too.

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

55. you damn right!--agree 100% ------it's unfair to those kids

Those kids are going to grow up and themselves go to an "Iraq" if these
crimals currently in power are not stopped.
It's up to the people to stop them.

...and we all know they have no intention of ever relinquishing their power willingly.

[lostnfound]

67. They won't teach 'support the troops but not the war'. So by default,

the kids would be learning simply to support the troops, which is surely morphed into supporting the grand mission of bringing 'democracy' to the Iraqis. If the kids ask 'why are they over there?' what do you think the chances are that they would be told anything truthful?

I have sent care packages myself, so I don't have a problem with the nuance of 'supporting the troops but not the war'. But this is a value-laden issue, risky territory; and I don't think the school system should be forcing 6 year olds to grow up so quickly anyway.

They will be taught "what's going on in the world" through a very polarized lens.

[stepnw1f]

52. A Huge Lesson for the Kids

We can only hope....

[madmark]

53. 5 year olds dont need this shit; i am sure the teacher never considered

the possibility.

[Vidar]

57. Reminds me of when Reagan, through negligence, blew up Krista McCauliffe.

[Lifelong Protester]

62. Just remember this...

all of you who are calling the teacher 'dumb'. One of my staff had her little brother go off to war in Iraq, and of course her third graders were very interested in all of this, sending him cards, collecting items for him and his unit buddies for holidays, etc. As the principal, I approved this, as I agree with those of you who wrote that this is an introduction to real life. And real life stinks sometimes. Kids die ( we lost five kids in our school of 350 K-12 students, in about five years to suicide, a train crash, a murder, a brain aneurism, a drowning), adults close to them die, soldiers who go to war die. We have a few deployed (interesting enough, only Moms of my students) so we are constantly on stand by for needed counseling, etc, if something horrible happens to one of those soldiers.

Am I pro Iraq war? Hell no, but kids do need to have, at their level, the real world revealed to them.

If my staff member's brother had died in Iraq, do you think her students would not have known about it, whether they had been involved in writing him letters or not? Of course they would.
We don't have to tell the students all the details, but we also have to treat them with the tender guidance and knowledge they will need for this world we are passing to them.

I hope this exeperience makes a few more future peace activists.

Peace to you all.

[NorthernSun]

64. Getting them ready or brainwashing?

As a sub at my school I saw the brainwashing going on in 2003 for Bush. Brainwashing kids to support an illegal war is disgusting!

[ShortnFiery]

73. IMO depending on how much they got to know him ...

it could easily be another "insult" toward helping to fuck them up emotionally. Not this one experience and as MATCOM elucidated, the Iraqi first graders are fully read-on traumatized by the violence of war.

Granted that it depends on how the situation was handled, since they MET him and some of those kids might have really enjoyed the correspondence.

IMO and with respect, such tragic lessons are best taught a little later in life. This could have been forseen but everyone who doesn't know about how natives react to invasions, were still hoping for the best, i.e., very few U.S. casualties.

[NI4NI]

75. When I was in first grade

the real world was revealed to me at my level by first learning the alphabet, 2x2=4, playing baseball, flying kites, squirt guns, climbing trees, and tearing holes in the knees of my dungarees, not by trying to understand why American soldiers at that time were getting killed in North Korea. And even without any Korean War revelations, later at the age of 14 my friends and I were then still equipped to deal with the current events in South Viet Nam within few short years before it would personally become the real world reality for some of us. IMHO my point is...let little kids be little kids....they are growing up too quickly nowadays as it is already and I see no benefit or wisdom by speeding it up any faster; Only utter confusion, remorse, and fear at trying to understand the indefensible senselessness of someone like George W=War Bush.

[Throckmorton]

82. Well, I had a brother and three uncles in Vietnam in the first grade

It wasn't all that abstract for me. They were gone, they might be killed, and that was that.

My brother was grievously wounded in 1969, he suffers to this day with a missing eye, a dead arm and one kidney.

Life is sad, short, and brutal.

[Lithos]

65. Sigh

This just sucks in so many ways.

L-

[RoyGBiv]

66. FUCK!!!!!!!

DAMNIT that pisses me off, for more reasons than I really want to admit.

I weep for every one of the soldiers and civilians who have died in this godawful mess, but lately they are latent tears. One gets cold and hard. It's survival in this insane world today. But this is just horrid, just absolutely horrid. Private Joe is gone for those tiny people with enormous hearts. George Bush just killed a young man and struck at the souls of numerous children, all in one shot.

I remember vividly being the first grade. We had a pet turtle named Gertrude, Gerty for short. I can close my eyes and still see Gerty moving around in her bowl, climbing over the rocks, sticking her neck out when we brought food near. Gerty barely had a personality, but the day Gerty died, I cried and cried for hours, as did most of my classmates. We spent the rest of the year talking about Gerty, and on the day I graduated from high school, a classmate who had been in 1st grade with me and I made a toast to Gerty, our turtle.

That was just a turtle. Those kids, most of them, will never get over this completely.

I hate that squatter bastard with a white hot burning rage.

[truthisfreedom]

70. #1... bad idea. #2... focus on life for the kids.

not war.

[ShortnFiery]

72. Their young minds and emotional development are not ready to process

such tragedy. It should have given the School Administrators a clue not to get that "personal." It's hard enough for humanitarian adults to "move on" after the loss of a friend, now these little children will know such sorrow.

I lost a fellow first grade friend (he lived in the next compound to us overseas in Malaysia) to suicide. It was the early sixties and the older children AT SCHOOL would cruelly tease him about his heritage (his mom was Japanese and his dad was a British Contractor). Remember, memories and racial prejudices post WWII were alive and well with some. One day while out with his family, he threw himself in front of a bus. Despite his parents' love, the cruelty of HATE of "the other" overcame him with grief and he acted accordingly. I was only six, and in first grade, but I remember him fondly being my only young playmate for close to 10 months, i.e., families of contractors were confined to our compounds the vast majority of the time.

I wonder how these young first graders will assimilate the thought of losing "an adopted friend" soldier?

The vast majority of troops who die violently in battle - will not be sponsored by kids. Upon return to "civilization" they too are at risk ... some will be tempted to, like my beautiful 6 year old friend, will choose to take a short cut to the afterlife.

Tragic for all when a Soldier dies, whether it be during a firefight or later through various forms of self destructive behaviors, i.e., suicide on the installment plan.

IMO, such IN-Humanity at it's worst and "in it's various forms" should be shielded from such young minds if at all possible ... perhaps introduced during late Junior High years. Yes, Junior High students may have been taught a valuable lesson regarding the dark side of the human species.

I wish these kids the best, but losing a friend in first grade to violence has not had any true lasting positive impact on me. May they adjust the best that one could hope for.

-----------------------------

two suns in the sunset
in my rear view mirror the sun is going down
sinking behind bridges in the road
and i think of all the good things
that we have left undone
and i suffer premonitions

confirm suspicions
of the holocaust to come

the wire that holds the cork
that keeps the anger in
gives way
and suddenly it's day again
the sun is in the east
even though the day is done

hmmmmmmmmm
could be the human race is run

like the moment when your brakes lock
and you slide toward the big truck
and stretch the frozen moments with your fear
and you'll never hear their voices
and you'll never see their faces
you have no recourse to the law anymore

and as the windshield melts
my tears evaporate
leaving only charcoal to defend
finally i understand
the feelings of the few
ashes and diamonds
foe and friend
we were all equal in the end

Pink Floyd - Two Suns in the Sunset

[pfitz59]

76. "My Pet Soldier"

I had a pet soldier.
I wrote him everey day.
Sometimes he wrote back.
I loved my pet soldier....
Then he died.
-The End-

[bitchkitty]

77. Oh, Lord, this is wrong!

I feel horrible for the soldier, but this never should have been allowed - this "adoption". Why, why, WHY are they involving little children in warrior worship? I have a loved one in the military, and I'll always love him, but I don't support the illegal war and even if it was legal, I don't support involving BABIES in that kind of shit!

[Crayson]

78. Why does a soldier "visit" a school in the first place

This was a "G.I. Joe" commercial.
And it went terribly wrong.

Actually I'm astonished that they told the children.
Usually the little goldfishes get flushed down the toilet as quietly as possible in order not to unsettle the fragile little minds.
Here they get told "sorry, little friend's dead"...

I prefer they'd tell my 6 year old about the goldfish instead of about G.I. Joe.

[ShortnFiery]

79. Well, I don't condemn most G.I. Joes ...

All I know for sure is that I didn't know much about the world at the age of 18 y.o.

Many of these kids (yes kids) believe the stories of "Glory of Battle."

They love the training but don't have the parental nor moral guidance of those of us who know different about the horrors of war.

I can't (usually - recruiters are fair game!) fault the particular soldiers who are adopted. They don't have the blessing of being brought up with our similar backgrounds.

[Tight_rope]

80. This is just so hard for me to bare, much more a 5-6 year old.

And to think many want to let "THE LEAKER IN CHIEF" get away with send this young man to Iraq because of lies. No way. I will not rest from speaking out until that SOB is in jail.

[Javaman]

83. And 20 some odd pacifists are created.

colossal fucking worthless failiure*.

[tomreedtoon]

88. More likely, twenty some odd Republican operatives.

They have learned how cruel and cold the world is, and how people can be employed as shields. They've got the essential lesson that people like Tom DeLay and Ralph Reed employ every day. In fact, if the school is one of those right-wing schools, the teacher might have deliberately told the kids the soldier was dead, true or not, to toughen them up into teeth-clenched Christian soldiers. In case you haven't figured it out yet, nearly all teachers ARE that cruel.

[Princess Buttercup]

85. My daughter was in first grade on 9/11

They didn't tell the kids anything. She was in a school that was only K-2 at the time, so they were all pretty young. They didn't close the school or anything. I got there at the regular pickup time and asked the principal what they'd told the kids and she said nothing--they wanted the parents to choose how they wanted to talk to the kids about it.

My son is in second grade now, 7 years old. You have to remember that this war has been going on for almost half his life. Our friend's son spent over a year in Iraq. My son thinks he hung the moon. Yet every time he saw something on the news about the war he'd ask me if his friend was going to die.

My daughter's Girl Scout troop "adopted" my friend's son. They sent him letters, cards, and Girl Scout cookies, not just for him but plenty to share with the others in his unit. Thankfully they all made it back safely, but they were in the third grade, worrying about whether or not he was going to come home. But honestly, since they were in first grade, this group of kids has known that bad things happen in the world. I was at their Brownie meeting on Sept. 13, 2001, when they made cards that they sent to the rescue workers in NYC.

Younger kids, the ones in first and second grade now, know about bad things. Most likely the first memory of world events these first graders have is watching reports on TV about the WTC. And this hasn't ruined their childhood any more than it did to kids growing up in the "duck and cover" days of the Cold War. They have Charlotte the pet tarantula in the classroom. They have recess and gym and normal school-type things. They also have lockdown drills, and know that the reason they have them is "in case anyone comes to school with a gun or if someone tries to blow something up."

Personally, I'd rather the schools and kids were prepared. There was a bomb threat at the middle school next to the elementary school where my kids go. They saw the police and SWAT team and news cameras. The middle school went into lockdown mode, which was less traumatic for the kids there because they had practiced it. This is the reality we live in, and it is not helping our kids to pretend that bad things don't happen. Soldiers die. And the kids who adopted that soldier, even if they were only 6, knew that. As far as they know this war has gone on forever. If the teacher or their parents told them nothing would happen to their soldier they were lying to them and should not have. But overall I don't think it is going to traumatize the kids any more than any of the rest of the horror that is this war. If anything, it will make them question why we are sending soldiers off to die, which is a conversation I had with my son when he was 5 and asked me "does George W. Bush want the army men to get dead?" and I told him (my husband was impressed with my restraint) that he doesn't want anyone to die.

One of the worst days I have ever had was Sept. 12, 2001 (my birthday, incidentally) when I walked my daughter to school while she kept saying "you and daddy will be ok because you work in low buildings that planes won't hit." I had never expected to have to explain terrorism to a 6-year-old. I talked to my sister-in-law that evening--my niece was 3 months old at the time--and my sister-in-law said she'd been crying that day while watching the news about what kind of world her daughter is going to grow up in. I told her at least her daughter was too young to have to have explained anything to her. But my niece is almost 5 now. All she knows is a post-9/11 world. I hate it when Freepers and Repugs throw out the "9/11 changed everything" line but it did change a lot of things. Because I remember when I was about to have daughter in 1995, crying as I watched TV thinking that one day I was going to have to explain the Oklahoma City bombing to her and wondering what kind of world she was going to live in. She still doesn't know about that bombing, nor does my son, but they know about the WTC. They know about the war. Oh, they're out there doing normal kid things, Girl Scouts, Little League, fishing in the creek, riding bikes, etc. But the world I thought they were going to grow up in has changed. And I would be doing them a disservice if I did not talk to them about it and answer their questions.

[bobbieinok]

89. thank you for this post....it does give an extra level of insight to those

of us who do not have young children and thus do not face daily trying to help them deal with stuff we find very hard to deal with ourselves

[DaDeacon]

90. That't just sad !

No really just a really sad story! Damn.

[Bush_MUST_Go]

96. Remember bush's brilliant idea while he was bombing Afghanistan?

He asked every child in America to earn or give a dollar that will be used to provide food and medical help for the children of Afghanistan.



How did parents explain to their kids that while they were sending a dollar to feed the kids, the president was unleashing bombs that might kill them or leave them orphans?

And if bush was SO concerned about the poor children in Afghanistan, why was he so anxious to abandon them so he could kill innocent children in Iraq?

[Walt Disney]

97. Sad news--no doubt;

but, a valuable was lesson for sure.

[judaspriestess]

99. I'm sure Republicans are very gleeful of this

they get to polarize kids in the first grade.