[antimedia] antimedia: More bad news....
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Wed Feb 6 23:31:54 EST 2008
Posted by antimedia:
More bad news....
http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1202358710.shtml
....for Bezerkely.
Dear Mayor Bates,
I have read with disbelief the news that the Berkeley City Council
has passed resolutions in which the city is apparently condemning
our Marines. To say that our Marines are "uninvited and unwelcome
intruders in the city" is, in my opinion, nothing short of
shameful.
As the proud mother of a currently serving U.S. Army soldier (who
has served in Iraq and is scheduled to return for a second tour) I
find this type of treatment of our military despicable. I have read
your bio and I see that you yourself were a Captain in the U.S.
Army Reserves. How can you let this happen having been a part of
our great military?
Without our armed forces, who do you think will protect Berkeley's
long standing history of free speech and radical behavior towards
our country/government? Does anyone there truly believe that they
could do/say any of the things that have traditionally come from
Berkeley in any other country in the world? Wake-up!! Disagree with
what our military is doing if you must, but to shame, ridicule,
condemn, and ostracize our soldiers is not the way to show your
disagreement. However, based on Berkeley's history, I can hardly
expect better.
I am proud to be an American. I am proud that my son is defending
this nation, even for the likes of the people of the Berkeley City
Council, but I am ashamed and appalled that this action is taking
place in my county. It is your freedom to do this, but just
remember, it is the very people you are forcing out who have died
for and continue to stand, and die, for that freedom! Sounds as if
your community is a bit ungrateful, or totally uneducated on how
their freedoms came to be, as well as apparently blissfully unaware
that those freedoms would come to an end should our country be
overtaken by any other nation. The only thing standing between who
we are now and our country being taken over by another nation is
our armed forces.
I am sure that this letter, if even read by you, will probably not
make one bit difference to you or your City Council. But being that
this is America, and that I do have the freedom of expression, I
felt compelled to voice my displeasure and disgust at the actions
taking place in Berkeley. You can be sure if I lived anywhere in
the vicinity, I would be a part of the counter-protest groups
supporting our Marines, in specific, and our troops in general.
You can also be sure that I will exercise my freedom by choosing to
NEVER spend one dime of my money within the limits of Berkeley.
And, yes, I do get to California and the area around Berkeley from
time to time so this is not a hollow comment. I know that my
"drop-in-the-bucket" lack of spending will not be noticed by you or
the Council, however I am sure I am not the only one who will
exercise this freedom to emphasize their opposition to the stand
Berkeley is taking.
If you read this, thank you for your attention.
Mrs. ******
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and hizhonor's response was....
Dear ******,
Thank you for your e-mail. I understand that the action taken by
the Berkeley City Council regarding the Marines recruiting center
has drawn significant national attention.
Let me be absolutely clear that this is not about the men and women
who are serving our country in our armed forces. I am a retired
U.S. Army Captain and I respect the choice of those who are serving
our country.
However, this community strongly opposes the war in Iraq and the
foreign policy of the current administration. I believed from the
beginning that this was an unjust, illegal, and immoral war of
choice.
A year ago, the U.S. Marines established a recruiting office within
a few blocks of our local high school, community college and
university. Since then, community members who oppose the war in
Iraq have been exercising their free speech in protesting the
presence of the Marine recruiters. Pro-war protestors have also
attended to exercise their free speech rights.
On January 28th, the Berkeley City Council took action to waive the
permit fee for anti-war protestors one afternoon a week. Any group,
whether pro- or anti- war, can obtain such a permit. In addition,
the City Council indicated its desire for the Marine recruiting
station, as a visible symbol of the war, to be relocated.
I understand that there are people across the country that may not
agree with this action but it is the Berkeley City Council's
responsibility to represent the will of the people of Berkeley.
I also understand that the language proposed to the Council did not
adequately differentiate our respect and support for those serving
in the armed forced and our opposition to the Iraq war policy. I
will be working with the Council to clarify that language at our
next meeting.
I hope that our country will end the war in Iraq soon and bring our
troops home safely. We are truly fortunate to live in a country
that can tolerate and accept a range of views and opinions and I
respect your feelings on this issue.
Mayor Tom Bates
Yes, Mayor, we fully understand what you "meant" to say and how you
"support" the troops. And you are now beginning to understand how we
support the troops -- by refusing forevermore to spend one damn dime
in your fine city.
We wish you the best of luck with the rewording of your resolution.
Rest assured it won't change our position one iota, because we're
quite certain we understood you the first time. (Hat tip, again, to my
friend Del.)
Tags: [1]Berkeley [2]Marines [3]Council [4]resolution
References
1. http://technorati.com/tag/Berkeley
2. http://technorati.com/tag/Marines
3. http://technorati.com/tag/Council
4. http://technorati.com/tag/resolution
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