I'm seeing a lot of changed minds about Iraq and Chimpy McCokespoon.

Bouncy Ball

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Fri Jun-24-05 02:28 PM
Original message

I'm seeing a lot of changed minds about Iraq and Chimpy McCokespoon.

Edited on Fri Jun-24-05 02:40 PM by Bouncy Ball

Last week, a woman in my class, mid-20s, very sweet, said her husband was seriously considering joining the Army so he could go to Iraq and "serve his country and protect us." She said she didn't want him to.

I found out he's 25, a police officer. I told her he's doing far more to serve and protect America right here, being a police officer, than he would in that FUBAR mess in Iraq.

Then I asked her "what would he be protecting us from if he went to fight in Iraq?" She shrugged and said "I don't know....terrorists?" I said "What terrorists?" She said "I don't know, I thought we were fighting terrorists there?" (She spoke it as a question.)

I asked her what Iraq did to us to deserve being attacked and invaded. She said "Well I know they didn't have anything to do with 9/11" (thank God she knew that).

That's when the lady to my left, in her 50s and a bush voter, said "They DIDN'T?" We both turned to her and explained no, most of the hijackers were Saudi. NONE were Iraqi, and even bush has said SH wasn't behind 9/11.

She looked confused and I'm just sitting there thinking "DAMN, people STILL think that???" Finally she said "I didn't know that." I encouraged her to tell other people, so they'd know the truth, too. She said she was going to tell her husband, another bush voter. Then mentioned "he's not too happy with bush anymore anyway and I'm tired of ALL of them."

(Yes, I know. GRRRRRRRRRRR. But at least I'm seeing evidence of the low approval ratings right in front of my eyes.)

So I turn back to sweet 25 year old woman and ask her if her husband is prepared to kill Iraqis. "Well, I mean, if they're terrorists," she said. I asked her how he would know. She suggested the Army would train him on how to know. I asked her what the difference was between defending your home and acting as a terrorist. She said she understood my point. Emphasized she doesn't want him to go. I told her I'd never let anyone I love go to that FUBAR mess. I said the troops already there, they're just doing their job, just doing what they are told, but if I had any choice about it, I'd try to stop anyone I loved from going.

Lady in her 50s then asked something a bit startling: "Do you think any Iraqi children have been killed?" I told her I know they have, I've seen the pictures, I've read the stories. "Where?" she wanted to know. I wrote down some sites for her. She looked thoughtful then said, "This is like Vietnam."

I agreed with her. That's when 25 Year old Woman pulled me off to the side to ask me more. I gave her a whole list of websites, including DU, to check out. She said they didn't vote in the last election, but they "tend to lean towards Democrats." I told her "let the bush voters who approved this man's war go fight it....they're not signing up, you'll notice. That should tell people something."

So today she comes in and tells me she and her husband have spent the last week looking at all the sites I gave her and they are both convinced that Iraq is a mess, and a war we should have never started. In fact, her husband convinced his BROTHER not to enlist and forwarded the list of sites to him.

One person at a time, I guess. Start a chain reaction.