Anti-war mom Cindy Sheehan gives up
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/05/28/sheehan/
Anti-war mom Cindy Sheehan gives up her protest
POSTED: 10:55 p.m. EDT, May 28, 2007
Story Highlights Sheehan: My son "did indeed die for nothing"
She is upset that Democrats and anti-war politicians can't end Iraq war
She is exhausted by the personal, financial and emotional toll
"I am going to take whatever I have left and go home," she wrote
Adjust font size:
(CNN) -- Cindy Sheehan, the California mother who became an anti-war leader after her son was killed in Iraq, declared Monday she was walking away from the peace movement.
She said her son died "for nothing."
Sheehan achieved national attention when she camped outside President Bush's home in Crawford, Texas, throughout August 2005 to demand a meeting with the president over her son's death.
While Bush ignored her, the vigil made her one of the most prominent figures among opponents of the war.
But in a Web diary posted to the liberal online community Daily Kos on Monday, Sheehan said she was exhausted by the personal, financial and emotional toll of the past two years.
She wrote that she is disillusioned by the failure of Democratic politicians to bring the unpopular war to an end and tired of a peace movement she said "often puts personal egos above peace and human life."
Casey Sheehan, a 24-year-old Army specialist, was killed in an April 2004 battle in Baghdad. His death prompted his mother to found Gold Star Families for Peace.
But in Monday's 1,200-word letter, titled, "Good Riddance Attention fatlady," Sheehan announced that her son "did indeed die for nothing."
"I have tried every since he died to make his sacrifice meaningful," she wrote. "Casey died for a country which cares more about who will be the next American Idol than how many people will be killed in the next few months while Democrats and Republicans play politics with human lives.
"It is so painful to me to know that I bought into this system for so many years, and Casey paid the price for that allegiance. I failed my boy and that hurts the most."
Cindy Sheehan's sister, DeDe Miller, told CNN that the group would continue working for humanitarian causes, but drop its involvement in the anti-war movement. As for her sister's letter, Miller said, "She cried for quite a bit after writing it."
Sheehan warned that the United States was becoming "a fascist corporate wasteland," and that onetime allies among Bush's Democratic opposition turned on her when she began trying to hold them accountable for bringing the 4-year-old war to a close.
In the meantime, she said her antiwar activism had cost her her marriage, that she had put the survivor's benefits paid for her son's death and all her speaking and book fees into the cause and that she now owed extensive medical bills.
"I am going to take whatever I have left and go home," she wrote. "I am going to go home and be a mother to my surviving children and try to regain some of what I have lost.
"I will try to maintain and nurture some very positive relationships that I have found in the journey that I was forced into when Casey died and try to repair some of the ones that have fallen apart since I began this single-minded crusade to try and change a paradigm that is now, I am afraid, carved in immovable, unbendable and rigidly mendacious marble."
Anti-war mom Cindy Sheehan gives up her protest
POSTED: 10:55 p.m. EDT, May 28, 2007
Story Highlights Sheehan: My son "did indeed die for nothing"
She is upset that Democrats and anti-war politicians can't end Iraq war
She is exhausted by the personal, financial and emotional toll
"I am going to take whatever I have left and go home," she wrote
Adjust font size:
(CNN) -- Cindy Sheehan, the California mother who became an anti-war leader after her son was killed in Iraq, declared Monday she was walking away from the peace movement.
She said her son died "for nothing."
Sheehan achieved national attention when she camped outside President Bush's home in Crawford, Texas, throughout August 2005 to demand a meeting with the president over her son's death.
While Bush ignored her, the vigil made her one of the most prominent figures among opponents of the war.
But in a Web diary posted to the liberal online community Daily Kos on Monday, Sheehan said she was exhausted by the personal, financial and emotional toll of the past two years.
She wrote that she is disillusioned by the failure of Democratic politicians to bring the unpopular war to an end and tired of a peace movement she said "often puts personal egos above peace and human life."
Casey Sheehan, a 24-year-old Army specialist, was killed in an April 2004 battle in Baghdad. His death prompted his mother to found Gold Star Families for Peace.
But in Monday's 1,200-word letter, titled, "Good Riddance Attention fatlady," Sheehan announced that her son "did indeed die for nothing."
"I have tried every since he died to make his sacrifice meaningful," she wrote. "Casey died for a country which cares more about who will be the next American Idol than how many people will be killed in the next few months while Democrats and Republicans play politics with human lives.
"It is so painful to me to know that I bought into this system for so many years, and Casey paid the price for that allegiance. I failed my boy and that hurts the most."
Cindy Sheehan's sister, DeDe Miller, told CNN that the group would continue working for humanitarian causes, but drop its involvement in the anti-war movement. As for her sister's letter, Miller said, "She cried for quite a bit after writing it."
Sheehan warned that the United States was becoming "a fascist corporate wasteland," and that onetime allies among Bush's Democratic opposition turned on her when she began trying to hold them accountable for bringing the 4-year-old war to a close.
In the meantime, she said her antiwar activism had cost her her marriage, that she had put the survivor's benefits paid for her son's death and all her speaking and book fees into the cause and that she now owed extensive medical bills.
"I am going to take whatever I have left and go home," she wrote. "I am going to go home and be a mother to my surviving children and try to regain some of what I have lost.
"I will try to maintain and nurture some very positive relationships that I have found in the journey that I was forced into when Casey died and try to repair some of the ones that have fallen apart since I began this single-minded crusade to try and change a paradigm that is now, I am afraid, carved in immovable, unbendable and rigidly mendacious marble."
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quote:Originally posted by select-fire
Just remember folks our Constitution gives us the right to free speech whether it is right or wrong. If she believes the way she does, so be it. This Country was founded the same way. She did wake up a few though.. Now the polls say 75% of Americans are against the War.
She can say it, and I can disagree.
You give her too much credit. The reason the majority of folks are now against the war (it was the opposite in the beginning) is because the dang Iraqi's won't stand up and police their own country and we don't intend to do it for the forever. Also, the war has been mismanaged ever since the completions of the initial offensive.
All this sack of feces has done is dishonor her own son's wishes, service and sacrifice for her own gain. If there is such of a thing as karma, her next life will be hell on earth, and well deserved.0 -
quote:Originally posted by dheffley
quote:Originally posted by select-fire
Just remember folks our Constitution gives us the right to free speech whether it is right or wrong. If she believes the way she does, so be it. This Country was founded the same way. She did wake up a few though.. Now the polls say 75% of Americans are against the War.
She can say it, and I can disagree.
You give her too much credit. The reason the majority of folks are now against the war (it was the opposite in the beginning) is because the dang Iraqi's won't stand up and police their own country and we don't intend to do it for the forever. Also, the war has been mismanaged ever since the completions of the initial offensive.
All this sack of feces has done is dishonor her own son's wishes, service and sacrifice for her own gain. If there is such of a thing as karma, her next life will be hell on earth, and well deserved.
Well isn't George Bush the ' Commander in Chief ' I think the American public isn't as stupid as he would tend to believe. The American people are tired of all the $$$$$$$$$$$ spent and lives lost. The whole fiasco will eventually end with men coming home walking instead of in body bags. Let the Iraqui's fight their own Civil War. We did.0 -
quote:Originally posted by select-fire
Just remember folks our Constitution gives us the right to free speech whether it is right or wrong. If she believes the way she does, so be it. This Country was founded the same way. She did wake up a few though.. Now the polls say 75% of Americans are against the War.
The polls (that get published)also say c3's should be illegal, do you believe them also?0 -
quote:Originally posted by dongizmo
quote:Originally posted by select-fire
Just remember folks our Constitution gives us the right to free speech whether it is right or wrong. If she believes the way she does, so be it. This Country was founded the same way. She did wake up a few though.. Now the polls say 75% of Americans are against the War.
The polls (that get published)also say c3's should be illegal, do you believe them also?
What are you talking about? Show me verification.0 -
I don't think I can be that hard on her because I can't see into her soul. While I personally disagree w/what she has done, I believe that she truely believes in her cause. And did alot more to stand for them than most of us are willing to do for ours.
And in that I respect people who take a heartfelt stand against what they truely believe is wrong.
I don't agree w/her. But I'll leave it to God to judge her.0 -
quote:Originally posted by select-fire
quote:Originally posted by dongizmo
quote:Originally posted by select-fire
Just remember folks our Constitution gives us the right to free speech whether it is right or wrong. If she believes the way she does, so be it. This Country was founded the same way. She did wake up a few though.. Now the polls say 75% of Americans are against the War.
The polls (that get published)also say c3's should be illegal, do you believe them also?
Take your pick:
http://tinyurl.com/2sabey
Now, show me your polls showing 75%?
What are you talking about? Show me verification.0 -
cindy sheehan accused the democrats of playing politics with the war ? hmmm, like we didnt know that from the begginging. 0 -
I only hope she finds some measure of peace. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by select-fire
Well isn't George Bush the ' Commander in Chief
Yes he is, and it rests directly on his shoulders. That being said, she dishonored her son's life and service and she is a puke for a mother. I feel for Casey's father, but I have nothing but disdain for her and how she dishonored his life, service, and even the country he fought for when she hugged Hugo Chavez. I hope the sorry b!tch burns in hell for eternity. Not because of being against the war, but because of they way she dishonored her son.[:(!]0 -
amen 0 -
She is sure enough a sad little piece of snuff she don't have the power to discredit her boys life and I wont do it. I stop short of throwing stones at her cause a woman who loses a child like that cant be consoled. Hell look at my ass when I loose a dog or cat. Damn Straight. 0 -
quote:but I have nothing but disdain for her and how she dishonored his life, service, and even the country he fought for when she hugged Hugo Chavez. I hope the sorry b!tch burns in hell for eternity. Not because of being against the war, but because of they way she dishonored her son.
You know, dheff, I have always respected anything you had to say, and know from previous posts you are a Christian gentleman. But what you said here is just plain wrong. How can you call her a
b!tch and hope she burns in hell? She lost a son. I don't know what that is like. You might, I don't know. I don't agree with anything she has said or done, but I feel great pity for her, and have prayed, and will continue to pray, that God grants her some measure of peace.0 -
quote:Originally posted by iluvguns
quote:but I have nothing but disdain for her and how she dishonored his life, service, and even the country he fought for when she hugged Hugo Chavez. I hope the sorry b!tch burns in hell for eternity. Not because of being against the war, but because of they way she dishonored her son.
You know, dheff, I have always respected anything you had to say, and know from previous posts you are a Christian gentleman. But what you said here is just plain wrong. How can you call her a
b!tch and hope she burns in hell? She lost a son. I don't know what that is like. You might, I don't know. I don't agree with anything she has said or done, but I feel great pity for her, and have prayed, and will continue to pray, that God grants her some measure of peace.
gunz, you are dead wrong! I totally agree with Danny!
She has disrespected her son with her doings! Her son volenteered for his job and obviously believed in it or he would not have done so.
Yes I is sad and tragic that he had to die. But her doings is the ONLY thing about his death that had no porpose. He died combating for makeing this world a better place and she is too blind to see it as she only know that her son died and refuses to see the good that is going on over there!
And the same is true for millions of Americans who only listen to what CNN and the likes tell them!0 -
quote:gunz, you are dead wrong!
Actually, it's wrong to wish that ANYONE would burn in hell. You don't have to agree with her. Lord knows I don't. But to wish that she burn in hell? As before, that is flat out wrong.
quote:Her son volenteered for his job and obviously believed in it or he would not have done so.
And how do you know he BELIEVED in what he was doing? My uncle served in Vietnam. He told me he was proud to serve his country, but by the time he was finished, he sure didn't believe in what he was doing there. Said all he cared about was he and his fellow soldiers getting home safe and sound. Casey Sheehan is dead. You can't speak for him. Maybe his mom can. I don't know. But she has a right to speak what she believes.0 -
Git - Did he really die to make this world a better place? I have to call you out on that. We can pay all kinds of tributes to the fallen, all of which sound great, but the fact remains that the guy is dead, a mother has lost her son, and REALLY, FOR WHAT. "To make this world a better place?" Come on, that's no more sensical than when a tragedy happens and someone says "God Planned It".
You could have argued that he died making the world a better place for Exxon Mobil. That the world is a better place for Halliburton. All of which I would agree with.
But we're not fighting the Nazis here. If the "mission accomplished" was to get Hussein, great. I can and did support that, becuase we were told that we were in grave danger. Now we know it was BS. I don't want to get into the discussion about relying on intelligence, that the dems voted for it, etc. The fact remains that whatever our reason for going to war was, it was a mistake, it has been acknolwedged that we were mistaken, and continuing a mistake is insane.
If you've got a leaking gas tank, the cure for damn sure isn't to keep putting gasoline into it.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Jgreen
Git - Did he really die to make this world a better place? I have to call you out on that. We can pay all kinds of tributes to the fallen, all of which sound great, but the fact remains that the guy is dead, a mother has lost her son, and REALLY, FOR WHAT. "To make this world a better place?" Come on, that's no more sensical than when a tragedy happens and someone says "God Planned It".
You could have argued that he died making the world a better place for Exxon Mobil. That the world is a better place for Halliburton. All of which I would agree with.
But we're not fighting the Nazis here. If the "mission accomplished" was to get Hussein, great. I can and did support that, becuase we were told that we were in grave danger. Now we know it was BS. I don't want to get into the discussion about relying on intelligence, that the dems voted for it, etc. The fact remains that whatever our reason for going to war was, it was a mistake, it has been acknolwedged that we were mistaken, and continuing a mistake is insane.
If you've got a leaking gas tank, the cure for damn sure isn't to keep putting gasoline into it.
I'll respectfully disagree with your statement and stand behind mine!
We knew and still know that there are terrorist cells in Iraq! We are takeing on these cells!
And defeating terrorism at any level is makeing this world a better place![;)]0 -
All of you's is wrong.. He was old enough to make his own decision. She is old enough to make hers. I respect either's as well as everyones opinion on here. geesh.... If a man wants to go fight a war he believes in .. go for it. There is no draft... Maybe he joined up to get away from Mom.. ever think about that? 0 -
I'd care more about her opinions if she actually raised her son... 0 -
quote:Originally posted by iluvguns
You know, dheff, I have always respected anything you had to say, and know from previous posts you are a Christian gentleman. But what you said here is just plain wrong. How can you call her a
b!tch and hope she burns in hell? She lost a son. I don't know what that is like. You might, I don't know. I don't agree with anything she has said or done, but I feel great pity for her, and have prayed, and will continue to pray, that God grants her some measure of peace.
If you did a little studying on her, you would find that she made lots and lots of money from her protesting (somewhere over a million bucks) and still hasn't put a marker on the grave of her son she claims to love so much. You would also find that she was never a mother to the boy and he was raised by her ex-husband, the boys father. You would also find she had very little if any contact with the boy the last 10 years of her life, yet she is selling herself a the grieving mother of the year.
It's all lies and she doesn't deserve any respect or sympathy. She did everything for her gain, not for Casey's memory.
Then, she snuggles up to a sworn enemy of America? She is the scum of the earth and I hope she pays a dear price for it. To try to gain personally from the death of your own son who you didn't even communicate with is deplorable.
My anger towards her goes far beyond anything I can explain. She is not a parent, she's a parasite!0 -
quote:Originally posted by Jgreen
Git - Did he really die to make this world a better place? I have to call you out on that. We can pay all kinds of tributes to the fallen, all of which sound great, but the fact remains that the guy is dead, a mother has lost her son, and REALLY, FOR WHAT. "To make this world a better place?" Come on, that's no more sensical than when a tragedy happens and someone says "God Planned It".
You could have argued that he died making the world a better place for Exxon Mobil. That the world is a better place for Halliburton. All of which I would agree with.
But we're not fighting the Nazis here. If the "mission accomplished" was to get Hussein, great. I can and did support that, becuase we were told that we were in grave danger. Now we know it was BS. I don't want to get into the discussion about relying on intelligence, that the dems voted for it, etc. The fact remains that whatever our reason for going to war was, it was a mistake, it has been acknolwedged that we were mistaken, and continuing a mistake is insane.
If you've got a leaking gas tank, the cure for damn sure isn't to keep putting gasoline into it.
Keep your stinking politics out of it. I see the same crap out of your mouth I heard during Vietnam. BS!!! He followed orders and served. End of story. You're as bad as she is to try to find either some fault in his death or his service. Grow up an be a man. A soldier was killed while in service to his country and you disrespect that service when you try to minimize it with political fodder.
I'd sure like to see you pick up a weapon and stand a post without peeing your pants.0 -
quote:Originally posted by dheffley
quote:Originally posted by Jgreen
Git - Did he really die to make this world a better place? I have to call you out on that. We can pay all kinds of tributes to the fallen, all of which sound great, but the fact remains that the guy is dead, a mother has lost her son, and REALLY, FOR WHAT. "To make this world a better place?" Come on, that's no more sensical than when a tragedy happens and someone says "God Planned It".
You could have argued that he died making the world a better place for Exxon Mobil. That the world is a better place for Halliburton. All of which I would agree with.
But we're not fighting the Nazis here. If the "mission accomplished" was to get Hussein, great. I can and did support that, becuase we were told that we were in grave danger. Now we know it was BS. I don't want to get into the discussion about relying on intelligence, that the dems voted for it, etc. The fact remains that whatever our reason for going to war was, it was a mistake, it has been acknolwedged that we were mistaken, and continuing a mistake is insane.
If you've got a leaking gas tank, the cure for damn sure isn't to keep putting gasoline into it.
Keep your stinking politics out of it. I see the same crap out of your mouth I heard during Vietnam. BS!!! He followed orders and served. End of story. You're as bad as she is to try to find either some fault in his death or his service. Grow up an be a man. A soldier was killed while in service to his country and you disrespect that service when you try to minimize it with political fodder.
I'd sure like to see you pick up a weapon and stand a post without peeing your pants.
+ 10 -
quote:Originally posted by iluvguns
quote:but I have nothing but disdain for her and how she dishonored his life, service, and even the country he fought for when she hugged Hugo Chavez. I hope the sorry b!tch burns in hell for eternity. Not because of being against the war, but because of they way she dishonored her son.
You know, dheff, I have always respected anything you had to say, and know from previous posts you are a Christian gentleman. But what you said here is just plain wrong. How can you call her a
b!tch and hope she burns in hell? She lost a son. I don't know what that is like. You might, I don't know. I don't agree with anything she has said or done, but I feel great pity for her, and have prayed, and will continue to pray, that God grants her some measure of peace.
I don't hope that she burns in hell. She is, however a Class I B!tch to the First Degree.
This is a woman who cozies up to socialist dictators -- the worst of the worst in this world. Why? Because she thinks she's making a point, and she's taking potshots at Bush.
When you snuggle up to the devil, sometimes you get your ass burned in the process.
I don't mind her taking potshots at Bush. I do it, too. But, you won't ever catch me snuggling up to one of our enemies.
Yes, this woman lost a son. There's two explanations for her behavior since losing Casey, however. She's either become certifiably insane, in which case she should be institutionalized and heavily sedated, or she was a nutcase beforehand.
She's on some sort of power trip. It cost her her family. It cost her friends. It cost her any respect she might hope to have as a mother of a fallen American hero.
She made her bed, now she should lay in it. This doesn't mean that I wish she should go to hell. That's between her and God.
However, I'm free to reserve my opinion of her, and it isn't one to be held in high esteem.0 -
I think whoever the moneybags was that financed her lark in "Bush Bashing" has cut off the flow of cash. No pay, no play. To me that makes her a w-h-o-r-e. 0 -
Heff, I'm going to assume that this post has you particularly riled, becuase your attack on me is beneath you. I'll chalk it up to that.
I'm sorry if you feel that this is the same "BS" you heard in Vietnam. But I've got nothing to apologize for. I was 8 when the war ended. For what it's worth, I think most people in the US realize that the troops got a bum deal in Vietnam. I also think that most people in teh US think that Vietnam was a mistake.
Collectively, you need to stop believing that those against the war are against the soldiers. I am against gun violence, but I'm clearly not against Guns, or I wouldn't be on this board.
The problem is that when we have leadership that decides that the soldier is expendable in a fight not worth fighting.
If you are going to put a life on the line, it had damn well better be worth something. It had better be something that you are so committed to that you wouldn't hesitate to put your own kid on the line. The problem is that we are wasting American lives on something that isn't worth it. Period.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Jgreen
Heff, I'm going to assume that this post has you particularly riled, becuase your attack on me is beneath you. I'll chalk it up to that.
I'm sorry if you feel that this is the same "BS" you heard in Vietnam. But I've got nothing to apologize for. I was 8 when the war ended. For what it's worth, I think most people in the US realize that the troops got a bum deal in Vietnam. I also think that most people in teh US think that Vietnam was a mistake.
Collectively, you need to stop believing that those against the war are against the soldiers. I am against gun violence, but I'm clearly not against Guns, or I wouldn't be on this board.
The problem is that when we have leadership that decides that the soldier is expendable in a fight not worth fighting.
If you are going to put a life on the line, it had damn well better be worth something. It had better be something that you are so committed to that you wouldn't hesitate to put your own kid on the line. The problem is that we are wasting American lives on something that isn't worth it. Period.
Yep, I'm in a real bad mood because I lost my beloved little dog of 16 years. I'm, to say the least, cranky.
But, you were the one who dragged politics into the discussion of this subject and started peeing on the soldiers service as for Exxon/Mobil and Halliburton. How dare you! His death is no less significant even if what you said were true. He was a soldier who was following orders, and politics don't come into play when you are in harms way.
What really gets my goat is, you want to do it for the same reason his mother did, and that is simply as an attack on Bush. There is no excuse you can make for that action, absolutely none.
It was bad enough you didn't want people to feel sorry for the persecuted Duke boys because their parents had money, now you want to say his death was worthless because of who was in the White House. I can't and won't excuse that.
I don't care who or what is in the White House, no one in the armed forces deserves to have any of that connected to their service or used as a footnote to their death while serving, and you should be ashamed to have brought it into the argument.
When it comes to dead soldiers, I expect you to be man enough to honor the fallen without the democratic or republican party line connected to the war. It is insulting to Casey and everyone who ever wore a uniform, and you're either too young or to indoctrinated by politics to understand it.
And, who decides when a war is "worth it"? Are you upset the president didn't call you and ask you first? The majority of Americans supported the war until it became a mismanaged fiasco. How soon we forget.
Sometimes, you just don't know when to keep your mouth shut. Keep your stinking politics out of this discussion regardless of the side you support.0 -
Heff, and everyone else, All I'm asking you to do is to take one step back from this situation.
I'm not questioning the death of any soldier during war. For those of you who think that doing so is peeing on the troops, shame on you. My posts were plenty clear on that, so I'm not going into that any more.
I'm not putting a different spin on his death becuase of who is in the white house. How anyone could read that into any of my posts is beyond me.
Who decides when its "worth it"? I do. Everyone who votes does. America does. It for damn sure isn't the poor soldier who is told when and where to fight.
I guess I don't know how you can say questioning the war, or seeking an end to is dishonors the dead. Sometimes, you have to call a spade a spade. You can't question heroism or gallantry, and NO ONE IS DOING THAT. Whenever I hear someone bring up the argument that to question the war is to dishor the dead, I think that this person is trying to stop any questioning about the war. Who in their right mind is going to dishonor the dead? I personally believe that once someone is accused of dishonoring the dead by questioning the war, it's akin to playing the race card.
I won't be accused of dishonoring the dead by questioning the war. Continuing it betrays the living. Nuff said.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Jgreen
Nuff said.
Too much said is the point you miss. Like I said earlier, you don't know when to keep your mouth shut. You just keep blabbering and blabbering.
When it comes to men and women in harms way, question any and all politicians you wish, but don't include your stinking politics from either side in the discussion of their service or death. Twist and squirm your words how ever you wish, but you were the one who brought politics into this discussion so you could get a jab at Bush or the republicans or too support the democrats. I don't know why, but you did. All I did was call you on it and now you want to look like a hero.
LEAVE YOUR POLITICAL OPINIONS OUT OF ANY DISCUSSION OF A SOLDIERS SERVICE OR DEATH.
Simple enough? If you honor them, say so without political qualification. If you don't, do the same. Play politics with the politicians, not the soldiers.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Jgreen
Does a soldier die for nothing?
A soldier follows orders and tries to make the enemy die. If he dies doing it, it wasn't for "nothing", and I honor him. Sad he has to die for something you agree with to see it that way.0 -
think of all those american christians who died fighting hitler....for nothing. germamy was no threat to america. i dont see why we should have wasted american soldiers over nothing. 0 -
OJMayo - ???? 0
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