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August 28, 2005

Fortunate Sons Don’t Like Grieving Mothers

Shakes here...

Amanda Marcotte, commenting on the coincidence of listening to Sleater Kinney’s cover of “Fortunate Son” as she read Atrios’ post about Gov. Mitt Romney’s agitated discomfort with being asked if his sons were planning to enlist, notes that:

Cindy Sheehan standing in the Texas heat outside of Bush's gorgeous, expensive and oh-so-comfortable ranch is a perfect symbol of [the class issues that allow war to happen]. War is not possible unless you have internal class warfare. War is not possible unless the rich and powerful feel free to demand the lives of the common people be sacrificed with the same ease you lose a pawn in a game of chess…

I think that the reason that Bush won't come out of hiding and tell Cindy Sheehan the truth about why her son died in Iraq is because the honest answer is so fucking evil. Casey Sheehan died because he's not a fortunate son…

[B]ut for a simple random accident of fate, he is the man cowering inside the mansion instead of the bereaved parent standing outside it demanding justice.

Of course, it’s even more complex than that for the former flyboy, isn’t it? The simple random accident of fate that guaranteed Bush would never find himself a bereaved parent is the same little ray of providence that ensured he was never going to be the soldier being grieved, either. And if I had to guess what bothers Bush most about Cindy Sheehan’s vigil, it’s not that he could have been her had things been different—it’s that he never, ever could have been her son with things as they are.

Though his handlers have done their best to conceal the truth about whether Bush fulfilled his commitment to the Texas Air National Guard, for which he applied during the height of the Vietnam War, twelve days away from losing his student deferment, there’s no doubt that his family’s position and connections secured him his spot, safely away from the horrors of the war raging half a world away. There was no waiting list for this Fortunate Son, and no dependence on the military as a means to a better life. He was, after all, losing his student deferment because he had just graduated from Yale. The Texas Air National Guard was not going to help pay for his education, or provide him with marketable skills that might be turned into a good career, or be the answer to a lack of health insurance, or any of the reasons that the military is appealing for many Unfortunate Sons. It wasn’t even about a chance to serve his country honorably; it was about the chance to serve without risking his life.

Bush has been lying about, explaining, defending, and justifying his service record ever since. It’s a thorn in his side that refuses to yield no matter how he tugs on it, which is, in the end, a small price to pay compared to his cohorts who returned from the war he avoided with devastating injuries, of both the physical and psychological sorts, or never returned at all. And having launched a war that with each day draws more comparisons to the war from which he hid, the specter of his cowardly, privileged history haunts him, drawing ever nearer. And now a mother of one of the sons who died in his war darkens his very doorstep. As his limo passes by protesters holding pictures of Casey Sheehan, is he really thinking about how fortunate he is not to be Cindy, or instead about the bitter irony of escaping a fate like Casey’s only to condemn another generation? Or does he just see the trickles of sweat running down their brows from standing in the hot Texas sun, and ask his driver to turn up the air conditioning, as he turns away and closes his eyes?

(The Heretik has more, too.)

(Crossposted at Shakespeare's Sister.)

August 28, 2005 | Permalink

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» FORTUNATE SON from The Heretik
GEORGE BUSH HAS CERTAINLY BEEN WORKED on his vacation. In the hundred degree heat of Crawford Texas, his image succumbed to the heat stroke of genius. Cindy Sheehan need ask not question of the President of the United States. [Read More]

Tracked on Aug 28, 2005 9:21:54 PM

Comments

Bush sees nothing other than a political nuisance to be dealt with ruthlessly, because he is manifestly a sociopath, without conscience, without empathy. He doesn't give a shit about anything, except to the extent that it may affect his power and position. He is beyond embarrassment or guilt.

Posted by: Donna Dallas | Aug 28, 2005 9:04:23 PM

"Casey Sheehan died because he's not a fortunate son…"

If I am not mistaken, Casey Sheehan re-enlisted while we were at war.

Posted by: Captain Toke | Aug 28, 2005 9:13:34 PM

Welcome back, Captain.
As you can see, the shit has been flying. Casey did, indeed reenlist knowing that he would be in Iraq. However, facts are played fast and loose with those who hate Bush.

The simple random accident of fate that guaranteed Bush would never find himself a bereaved parent...

Random act?? I thought we had an all volunteer army? This is almost as bad as Mandy-Pandy's "the class issues that allow war to happen". I used to think that she was just a mean bitch, but now she has shown herself to be just an ignorant one. How did class issues "allow" WW II to happen? What kind of sense of history (or lack thereof) does this poster have? Take a history class. There's one just around the corner from you.

Posted by: Fred Jones | Aug 29, 2005 7:34:48 AM

Triumph of the Wimp

Oh my bad. It is not until you get to he second half of the Flash that you get the portion set to "Fortunate Son".

Fred you misogynistic dick, the fact that Casey may have believed a lie doesn't excuse it. Bush lied, GIs died and what exactly is keeping you from the recruiter station? A pilodinal cyst? When you start posting this shit from Ramadi maybe we will take you seriously.

Posted by: Bruce Webb | Aug 29, 2005 8:45:50 AM

Yeah, that's it. Casey was some dumbass. Is that about it? How 'bout Hillary,Kerry and all of the other Democrat? The British? French? All 15 members of the UN Security council? They all lied as well?

That's all bullshit. The mainstream Democrats do not say "Bush lied" because they know it's just not true. That is the telltale sign of the wild-eyed radical extremist left.

By the way, I did my tour in the military knowing that serving in the military meant going to war if voted upon by congress. How 'bout you pussy-boy?

Posted by: Fred Jones | Aug 29, 2005 10:36:27 AM

When you start posting this shit from Ramadi maybe we will take you seriously.

It wouldn't matter. Casey Sheehan was there TWICE, and you still don't take him seriously.

Posted by: Fred Jones | Aug 29, 2005 10:46:03 AM

I guess you slammed that door in Bruce's face. Well put.

It is funny to watch libs try to defend the idiotic statements of one of their own. Especially when the statement is written by a retard.

If she(Amanda Marcotte) is what the left considers a political thinker, they are in big trouble.

Posted by: Captain Toke | Aug 29, 2005 11:18:50 AM

While it's true that I personally don't *like* Mandy-Pandy, I try not to let that color my judgement (it aint's easy).

Objectively, she's still an idiot.

Posted by: Fred Jones | Aug 29, 2005 11:39:48 AM

I try not to let that color my judgement (it aint's easy).

Yes, like the judgement that led you to post after she did at World O'C*** less than two hours after she did.

Anyone ask for an e-mail with your 'insider info' about Amanda, Freddy boy(You S-F-M)?

Posted by: The Dark Avenger | Aug 29, 2005 6:45:58 PM

Yes...thank you for asking. Are you now Amanda's bitch?

Posted by: Fred Jones | Aug 29, 2005 8:35:38 PM

Are you now Amanda's bitch?

You'd be soooooo jealous if someone else besides you filled that spot, Freddy boy. We all know that fact. You're turning green with envy that it might be me, and not you, and it's not a pretty sight.

Oh, and thanks for showing us what civil discourse is all about.

Posted by: The Dark Avenger | Aug 30, 2005 2:44:21 PM

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