Getting worried about Cindy fatigue

[dogpatch]

I think she is absolutely wonderful and amazing but I'm concerned that the intense focus on her as an individual will peak.

Is there a way to start strategically shifting the focus from her as an individual to what seem to be growing numbers of Gold Star Families against the war? I saw that putrid Anderson Cooper show last night and I was just dying to see more families whose message is the same as Cindy's. Should she start bringing more families into the press conferences and interviews?

[flamin lib]

1. I just read elsewhere in DU that there is a caravan of anti Cindy

protesters leaving CA for Crawford and the Repugs are filming a commercial to air on CNN next week.

I think the opposition will keep her protest alive for her.

[LSparkle]

2. Agreed -- just like the mowed-down crosses ...

I think the more Gold Star families that gather to support Cindy will show that this is not a singular effort on her part. She is speaking ON BEHALF OF MANY families who have lost loved ones - that needs to be our focus, even as the rightwing wackos try to paint this as one mother "throwing a temper tantrum" outside the Plastic Ponderosa.

[Cha]

3. "Plastic Ponderosa" is

tellin' it like it is!

[LSparkle]

6. Have to admit I stole that from Johnny Wendell

Local L.A. progressive talk host. It's great, though, and I plan to spread it around!

[Cha]

8. Johnny sounds like a

smart guy!

[LSparkle]

13. Oh and very witty!

He calls Our Braindead Leader "Chimperor BoneheadPart".

[Skittles]

4. they're gonna say being pro-Cindy, being anti-war, is being anti-troops

this tired, sick argument needs to be slammed HARD

[Stil]

5. I've worried about

her health. She has to be under a lot of stress. I know it had to be hard on her with the heat there. I was really worried the first week. Having other gold stars hit rounds would probably help.

[BluGrl]

7. She was doing fine until....

she got mixed in with "organized" anti-war groups. I think the American public have sympathy for a grieving mom...but I think they are skeptical of the other groups moving in on her campaign. I think a coalition of parents would be an awesome message...provided the focus was on them and not all the other issues that the other groups want to mix in with it.

[Libby2]

9. She's still doing fine n/t

[BluGrl]

11. Sure....among the anti-war crowd

But I can't say the same for the average-Joe American that is starting to lose interest in the story. Somebody with a good PR plan should have helped this woman from the beginning. Maybe plan some sort of strategy.

[FogerRox]

10. Shes a military mom-- shes ready to go to DC after Texas--

she knows its about the long haul

[clover]

12. unfortunately, tragically, her mother's stroke and cindy's absence from

crawford--briefly, we all hope as we pray for her mother's recovery, and for the support her mother might be able to provide in her time with her daughter, which could serve to recharge cindy's energy--will force others to visibility at least in the camera's eye, expanding the chorus.

[mikelewis]

14. Cindy is the story...

Of course, the Gold Star Members have an important message and people like Bill Mitchell are telling it as well. But this story needs one heroe and in that role, Cindy is unimpeachable. They can't smear her too hard or they look like the monsters they are. They can't ignore her because of what they took from her. They can't fight her because she's too weak to defend herself. What can they do against that face? If other groups step up and try to "save" her message, it would be like someone standing in for Ghandi during his hunger strike. I feel terrible that she has to resort to standing in a ditch in the middle of a truly god-forsaken land but she's one tough lady. Let her make her own decisions and follow her own instincts. How many times have we seen people self-destruct once they make it to a national stage? Just think back to the Bev meltdown at Black Box Voting. I don't think Cindy will falter and now that her message has finally gotten out, don't dilute it. She's doing this out of the memory of her son, you have to respect that and let her be the beautiful rose that shoves thorns into Bush's bloodied hands.

[clover]

16. cindy is a representative story, and since she bravely stands and

speaks for others, apparently millions of others, then her story is a trigger for many many other stories.

she can not long endure the burden that has been placed on her by others--to test the waters for antiwar activism--who can?

who would attempt to bear that responsibility? cindy sheehan did and is.

she is not an employee of the antiwar movement.

if her story is indeed the only effective agent of change, nothing will change when her humanity naturally interferes: fatigue, grief, illness, etc.

she is strong.

america is populated with millions of strong women--and men, however they hover behind strong women--

and now that cindy has shown us that nothing "bad" of any real merit happens to antiwar activists--at least for now--it is our time to take her place when she is called elsewhere, in this case to help her mother heal.

[Normani]

15. Cindy Is Not Alone, There is a Silent Majority.....

I think once a majority of Americans learn of the true costs of the war, they will start to demand the Bush Administration to come up with a timetable for full withdrawl.

The reason the American public hasn't cared is because the Bush Administration hasn't asked them to sacrifice anything (like in WWII). And for the last two years, the press have talked about how many billions of dollars the US is spending every year in Iraq, but in a passive sense. The factor that may push Americans over the edge is the price of crude oil.

Even though there are many other reasons why crude oil has hit $65 a barrel, many Americans really don't care about China or India's growing energy usage. They were told that after Saddam was overthrown, the price of oil would hit $20. It's two years later and the opposite has happened. Americans are already starting to feel the crimp in their wallets from rising oil prices. And they're going to demand the Bush Administration pull troops out of Iraq if oil prices rise too high for their liking.

http://www.newschat.org

[blondeatlast]

17. Americans seem unable (underdstandably)

to comprehend billions of dollars. What they can understand is that getting to work is costing them a barrel; and that increasingly, they will know someone touched by a life or limb lost in Iraq.

A change is gonna come.

Welcome to DU--your first post is a harbinger of good things to come!

:toast: