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In reply to the discussion: David Sirota: The Legend of the Spat-Upon Veteran [View all]malthaussen
(17,193 posts)74. According to Lt Frederick Downs
In the preface to his book The Killing Zone, while he was at the University of Denver one day a student, observing the Lieutenant's prosthesis, asked if he had gotten it in Vietnam. When Downs replied "Yes," the student said "It serves you right," and walked away.
"As the man walked away, I stood rooted, too confused with hurt, shame, and anger to react."
Perhaps Lieutenant Downs is part of the grand chickenhawk conspiracy to push the Stab in the Back theory. Perhaps he is telling the exact truth. It is not inconcevable to think that such an exchange would take place.
Whether or not such incidents were common, I would like to doubt. But assholes are everywhere.
-- Mal
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And O'Reilly slandered the 82nd Airborne by falsely claiming that the "Malmedy" massacre
AnotherMcIntosh
Jun 2012
#44
I assume that you're right. "O'Reilly falsely accusing the 82nd Airborne of a "massacre" in Malmédy
AnotherMcIntosh
Jun 2012
#52
I heard that story too, about vets coming home and "hippies" lining up on either side to spit on
HiPointDem
Jun 2012
#77
Is it credible that someone would hurt this guy's feelings by spitting upon him?
AnotherMcIntosh
Jun 2012
#3
Ask one of those vets what he would have done if a woman had done the spitting.
malthaussen
Jun 2012
#16
John-I-was-spit-upon-Rambo won't be able to answer because he was not a vet.
AnotherMcIntosh
Jun 2012
#24
What sometimes occurs to me is that there was a lot of opposition to "Kennedy's/Johnson's" war ...
zbdent
Jun 2012
#9
Are you suggesting that the war was not largely *seen* as Mr Johnson's creation?
malthaussen
Jun 2012
#29
My words speak for themselves in response to the poster who said it was "Kennedy's/Johnson's" war.
AnotherMcIntosh
Jun 2012
#34
My late husband spent 7 mo in San Francisco, never spat upon, never saw anyone spat upon
duhneece
Jun 2012
#10
I was at a lecture with other seniors listening to a retired college professor talk about
CTyankee
Jun 2012
#13
Or maybe he misremembered and over the years he's gotten more comfortable with it.
CTyankee
Jun 2012
#21
Have any of those allegedly familiar with spit victims ever claimed that the spitor was a woman?
AnotherMcIntosh
Jun 2012
#27
Stabbed in the back! The past and future of a right-wing myth - Harper's Magazine 2006
Kolesar
Jun 2012
#19
A corollary: the liberal media lost the war. Forget about the courage and
coalition_unwilling
Jun 2012
#41
Cronkite may not have sapped our will to continue, since continue we did
coalition_unwilling
Jun 2012
#46
I don't think LBJ allegedly said it to Bill Moyers (his press secretary). I think
coalition_unwilling
Jun 2012
#54
You are more than welcome. It's funny the tricks memory plays on you, as
coalition_unwilling
Jun 2012
#61
Most of us young men at the time were eligible for the draft. Any one of us could have been sent to
mulsh
Jun 2012
#28
I generally agree with and support Sirota. I do feel I must point out
coalition_unwilling
Jun 2012
#31
I'm not sure I'm allowed to reference DUers by posting name specifically - rules
coalition_unwilling
Jun 2012
#40
You mentioned that you were influenced by first-person reports from DUers in good standing.
AnotherMcIntosh
Jun 2012
#42
I understand where you are coming from (I think). Look, I was 8 years old in 1968 (when
coalition_unwilling
Jun 2012
#43
Reagan started 'The Big Lie' when he called Vietnam "A noble cause". I still
coalition_unwilling
Jun 2012
#55
I had a co-worker who told me her husband was spit on when he returned from vietnam. She
HiPointDem
Jun 2012
#76
I remember 'Coming Home' being a profoundly anti-war and sad movie but don't remember
coalition_unwilling
Jun 2012
#82
The one who spat hardest was Reagan, with his cuts to veterans' benefit and slashing social services
suffragette
Jun 2012
#83
There are some people who are much more to blame than a few scattered self-righteous kids
JHB
Jun 2012
#86
I served 3 tours in RVN, came through the SF airport 5 times, always treated well
1-Old-Man
Jun 2012
#88