– Never mind; I found it.

http://www.williambowles.info/gispecial/2005/gi_3C36A.pdf

Maha, I think I’ve mentioned this here before….There are two recorded (on film) instances of civilians spitting on Vietnam Vets…

One happened during the VVAW’s “March to Valley Forge” when a group of local VFW members tried to disrupt the march by shouting curses and throwing objects at the passing Vets…Those VFW members had been organised and financed by none other than Charles “Chuck” Colson of Nixon’s White House staff…

The other was done by Republican delegates to the Republican National Convention in Miami in ‘72…The delegates (including several matronly women) reviled and spat at Ron Kovic and two other wheelchair-bound Vets who had been invited by California Congressman (and Korean War Marine Vet) Pete McCloskey to attend the convention…McCloskey’s invitation came after he had quelled a near riot outside the convention hall…The scene was described by Hunter Thompson in his epic
i Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail – ‘72…

When the Republicans wish to lie about someone they usually accuse their targets of having done something of which they themselves are guilty…

Which is another reason why you’ll never find a real Patriot in the Republican party any more…

If that’s what he said, then of course he’s wrong.

I understand your anger; I’ve had clinical depression just about my whole life, and many people still refuse to acknowledge it’s a real disease.

Understood – they slang their bullshit as always – but none of that means PTSD isn’t a real thing with real victims nor does it mean that PTSD was “invented” by the right as Lembcke CLEARLY implies/asserts. In THAT, he goes too far and loses a lot of credibility or any pretense of scholastic objectivity.

In fact, as I said, for decades the “right” denied PTSD was anything other than cover for cowardice and a way of avoiding service.

Lembcke is in a position to know this, and I think its incredibly socially irresponsible to sling bald-faced lies about a serious conditions with real victims just to score a point against the “Right”.

I’ll stop harping on this, but I found it pretty offensive to read a professor of sociology (and an “expert” to many who wont know better) slinging the same bullshit that for 60+ years kept victims from getting the necessary support& help they needed.

Pissing on suffering people is not “progressive”, even if its done to stick it to the right.

I wasnt referring to the spitting stories as “discarded” – I was referring to the notion that PTSD is a fake condition invented for political reasons (or, in the old myth, to avoid service). It isn’t anymore that Schizophrenia is made up to discredit the homeless.

I would rather see someone whap him across the kisser with a large, slightly rotten fish, in the manner of John Cleese and Michael Palin doing the “Fish Dance.”

What I remember is that I was as angry about that war as I am about this one, but my anger was less discriminating, less wise. It was, after all, a Children’s Crusade–we were very young and inexperienced . . . and deserted by most over 30. Both parties supported the war. There was no netroots, just Ramparts and the Berkeley Barb and the music. And there were drugs. And just a lot of confusion generally. We were challenging sex roles, traditional religion, every received anything from “the establishment.” We got a few things wrong, but as David Crosby noted once, given how young and fucked up we were, we got a whole lot more right.

The soldiers don’t deserve any contempt, ever. If it ever happened, it was a grievous mistake. But I sure wouldn’t grieve if someone spat on Joe Lieberman or his ilk.

My recollection is that by the 71 or 72, there were huge numbers of vets in the anti-war movement. I also recall that we (non-vet antiwar people) were cautious of those in uniform, but friendly towards those in civvies.

We have another example of this type of myth – that Steele had oreo cookies thrown at him (widely reported) when tape of the event shows nothing of the sort.