LAT: Breaking Their Silence (Families of U.S. troops)

[kskiska]

Families of U.S. troops have long adhered to a clan code that prohibits speaking out against a war. Now some are going public over Iraq.

PHILADELPHIA — In Love Plaza, about 75 people mingled in bright sunshine, chatting noisily while one speaker after another droned on at a campaign rally. Vendors hawked T-shirts, and children frolicked in a fountain opposite ornate City Hall.

Then Celeste Zappala stepped onstage. Standing between columns of red, white and blue balloons, she held up the Purple Heart awarded posthumously to her oldest son. The plaza fell silent.

(snip)

Before her son left for Iraq early this year, Zappala, 57, joined a group of military families who support the troops but oppose the war. Today, Military Families Speak Out has more than 1,700 member families across the country who participate in protests, appear on radio and television and confront public officials. By telling stories about their loved ones, they hope to sway hearts and minds and help bring an end to the war.

(snip)

For centuries, soldiers have been trained to think as a group. With its uniforms and strict regulations, military culture fostered an us-versus-them mentality. The powerful sense of solidarity applied by extension to close family members. In military households, it was understood that speaking out violated the code of the clan and carried consequences.

more…
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-na-speakout6oct06,1,5933080.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[Barrett808]

1. kick

[realFedUp]

2. Front page of LA Times, lefthand column

Poignant story. Why are they dying in Iraq?

[Eloriel]

3. That's why Vets -- and now Families -- are so valuable and

carry such credibility when they protest a war:

For centuries, soldiers have been trained to think as a group. With its uniforms and strict regulations, military culture fostered an us-versus-them mentality. The powerful sense of solidarity applied by extension to close family members. In military households, it was understood that speaking out violated the code of the clan and carried consequences.

I would also point out that family members who spoke out could get their service member in TROUBLE for doing so (official or just the kind of unofficial harrassment that can so often go on in the military). That still applies, AFAIK, which makes all this especially courageous.

[lostnfound]

4. kick

[struggle4progress]

5. kick

:kick: "For those of us who have been in the service, I wish more parents would speak out," said Steve McCarter of Glenside, Pa. "This shows that not everyone connected to the military is united behind this war." :kick:

[4dsc]

6. Operation Truth

http://optruth.org/main.cfm

I hear these people all the time on Air America!! Thank god for liberal radio!!