Another Summer of '68 ?

A story about a wounded veteran marching with his family at a Fourth of July Parade being called, "murderer" and "baby killer". I wanted to write a long rant about this but the lovely Michelle Malkin, whom I linked to at the bottom of this article, does a much better job.
---Larry Everett
Veteran gets rude welcome on Bainbridge
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

By ROBERT L. JAMIESON Jr.
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER COLUMNIST

Think about the Seattle area -- Bainbridge Island to be exact -- and you think scenic views and liberal-minded tolerance.

At least the killer views are still there.

The bucolic island's deep reputation for civility got a gut check this week during the annual Grand Old Fourth of July celebration.

That's when Jason Gilson, a 23-year-old military veteran who served in Iraq, marched in the local event. He wore his medals with pride and carried a sign that said "Veterans for Bush."

Walking the parade route with his mom, younger siblings and politically conservative friends, Jason heard words from the crowd that felt like a thousand daggers to the heart.

"Baby killer!"

"Murderer!"

"Boooo!"

To understand why the reaction of strangers hurt so much, you must read what the young man had written in a letter from Iraq before he was disabled in an ambush:

"I really miss being in the states. Some of the American public have no idea how much freedom costs and who the people are that pay that awful price. I think sometimes people just see us as nameless and faceless and not really as humans. ... A good portion of us are actually scared that when we come home, for those of us who make it back, that there will be protesters waiting for us and that is scary."

On the Fourth, Jason faced his worst fear.

It was such a public humiliation -- home front insult after battlefield injury.

[Read The Whole Thing]

Chez Malkin fires back...
Michelle Malkin
SEATTLE HATES AMERICA
By Michelle Malkin · July 10, 2004 09:32 AM

My old hometown of Seattle--the Berkeley of the Pacific Northwest--just can't stop showing its contempt for America.
Take a look at this disgraceful incident on Bainbridge Island, a few miles west of Seattle proper (and the future home of Hollywood liberals Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston). One of the participants in Bainbridge Island's annual Independence Day parade was Jason Gilson, a 23-year-old military veteran who was injured in the line of duty in Iraq. He wore his war medals and carried a sign indicating his support for President Bush--heresy on liberal Bainbridge Island. Upon seeing Gilson and his sign, the crowd booed and called him names including "murderer" and, yes, "baby killer."

[Read The Whole Thing]