Vigil Turns Hostile Toward Family Of Killed Soldier

[Nambe]

DALLAS (NBC5I

A candlelight vigil took place Wednesday night to remember U.S. war dead in Iraq during the week of the 1,000th casualty. One North Texas family, whose relative -- Chad Drake -- was killed outside Baghdad Monday, was among the mourners at Dallas City Hall Plaza.

Drake's mother reportedly left the event in tears. The family attended the vigil because they thought it was meant to honor U.S. casualties. The event was organized by the Dallas Peace Center, which opposes the war. The Drake family was upset about the antiwar tenor of the assembled crowd. The director of the Dallas Peace Center said the event was not intended to be an antiwar rally, but said e-mail notifications of the vigil were sent to a broad audience. Because the venue is a public place, he said, a variety of people with various views on the war in Iraq attended. He also said the event was planned to include political overtones, but the Drake family should have been informed.

The center, however, did issue an apology to the Drake family.

[ronnykmarshall]

1. That's sick.

These people are not the enemy. They should be treated with respect.

[skooooo]

2. Country's getting torn apart...

...everyday it seems like there are acts of violence, or confrontation. I feel sorry for the woman. She's going through an emotional time and probably doesn't want to even think about politics.

[Habibi]

3. This is all according to a "family friend"

not an identified eyewitness, right? So it may not be gospel. There's no corroborating report in the cited article. A little redolent of Vietnam era reports of returning vets being spit on by war protesters.

Just imo.

[Jacobin]

4. Has anyone mentioned yet that this is just like fucking Vietnam?

Any time a country embarks on a military venture, you damn well better be sure its for a good reason, that there is overwhelming support for it, that you have an idea of exactly what the fuck you are going to do, and that you have an exit strategy.

Oh, that's right. It's the Powell Doctrine which Smirk and the neo-cons laugh at.

[gardenista]

5. I want to hear the whole story. nt

[anarchy1999]

6. Sooo, Everyone would like to hear the other side of the story from a

1st person account from someone who was there and helped to get the family and media before passing final judgement?

[anarchy1999]

9. I was there and here is a 1st hand account of the whole day!

I was there. As many of you know I am an activist in the Dallas community and I helped to organize this vigil yesterday. If you go to Texas in State and Country forums you will see where I posted info and invited DU'ers to please attend.

The Dallas Peace Center, MFSO, Vets for Peace, NTJP (North Texans for Justice and Peace) and several church leaders from the Community were sponsoring the vigil. I spent all day speaking with media, recruiting people to attend, answering questions, delegating tasks some of which I had to do myself, including finding someone who could be there to play taps (thank god for cell phones). I arrived at City Hall around 5:30 pm. I called the NBC 5 reporter who was covering the event to let him know I had arrived, he told me of this family and I offered to call and reassure them of what this vigil was to be about. (I had been in constant contact with who I was helping).

The message was that this was to be strictly a memorial for our fallen soldiers and the wounded. This was not to be a rally, nor a protest and no politics, just a space for everyone to come together and to be able to grieve together and try to start the healing process this nation needs. I called Chad's sister and spoke with her, she had been reassured by the woman with MFSO (well-known coordinator), she had been reassured by the reporter and I was reassuring her. They said they wanted to come, but not if was going to be anti-war or anything. They agreed to come en-masse (at least 10 showed up).

As different people showed up with signs, banners, hand-outs I monitored each one. Vets for Peace just had a banner that said Vets for Peace, okay on that one. Someone else had a banner "end the occupation of killing", ROLL IT UP and put it way, thank you. There was not lots of media, but plenty enough, Channel 5 had already left. Right around 7:00 a leader with NTJP showed up with a picnic basket and I welcomed him as I tied a black banner around his arm. I looked down into the basket and he had fliers about a future action re: "Our War Crimes President" and I explained to him he could not pass these flyers out here and repeated the message. As he was saying okay, I turned and Chad's family was upon me. I met Chad's mom, she was crying and several members of her family gathered around her. As I was talking with them one of the family members looked down and saw above mentioned flyer and picked it up. I reassured them this person had just arrived and I had been in the process of telling him not to pass them out and that I had made them a promise and it wouldn't be broken. Okay, so far, so good, that was smoothed over.

I earlier had met a couple who's son is in Iraq and had been injured a few months ago, severely enough to be flown to Germany, recovered well enough to be sent back. I had arranged to have them meet with Chad's family, as I was escorting them to this couple we walked past a small group that were softly playing drums, a tune known as Heartbeat (?). The group playing are part of an organization called Drums Not Guns (they go into schools to teach non-violence, pick up and drum don't pick up a gun). I was ahead of them, one of the members of the family read the logo on the shirt, read it off to Chad's mom and all hell broke loose. Chad's mom started screaming we were all liars and I really don't remember what all else, she was very upset. Channel 23's cameraman closed in (remember, ugly is good), the family surrounded Chad's mom and I went after the cameraman, whose reporter had run up yelling "she just went after my cameraman", repeating just doing our job, and so on. I told them to have some respect and get lost.

I just got off the phone with the Board member from the DPC I was working with who was also in the melee only at a different moment and place. There was one woman, very long standing member of The Dallas Peace Center who had no clue as to what was happening, but when Chad's mom started screaming she did ask her to settle down, Chad's mom started to lunge towards this elderly woman and said above member stepped in between them. I heard no booing, no hissing and he agreed with me, he did not either. The most aggressive and ugliest in the whole scene was once again "the media".

I spent most of this morning talking with the woman from MFSO (her name is known to many of you here), and trying to reach the reporter at NBC 5. Someone was supposed to return my call within 10 minutes, they never did. By the way the reporter covering it yesterday was not there today, someone else was doing the follow-up.

We all feel REALLY Bad for what happened and in my conversation with MFSO she and I both agreed we both made a grievious error. We should have both not encouraged them to come to this event where there would be strangers and the MEDIA! Bad mistake and we learned from this lesson. This family needed to have been at home with friends and family, the pain was way too raw.

So far as for Lon Burnam and his remark: "He also said the event was planned to include political overtones, but the Drake family should have been informed." This is an issue being addressed right now. Lon did not help to organize this, was not in attendance and I will be getting to the bottom of it tomorrow. The Board Member I work with was so fearful of my upset over this he was afraid I would not be in attendance at tomorrow's event in front of BELO Headquarters where we get to meet up with the Protest Warriors. (I'm still making up my mind).

So there you have it guys. I'll be happy to answer any questions.
I'd really like to hear from Mari333 and VetWife.
Thanks.

[Kimber Scott]

14. I'm a military mom...

Thank God, I haven't lost my son, or daughter-in-law, who is currently in Iraq. My son was in Afghanistan and returned home earlier this year. The agony this lady has to be going through is unfathomable. I'm sure she is just trying to come to grips with her grief and possibly has doubts about the sacrifice she has given to this country. But, how can you doubt such a price? Can it be more comforting to think you've given one of your children for a righteous cause? I would think it has to be easier to believe that, than to believe your child's life was wasted for nothing - for a lie. It seems anymore, lies and truth have become so subjective. I feel for this mother and all mothers who have their children stolen from them, whether in righteousness, or evil. Either way, it has to be a nightmare.

Your vigil was attended by many for their own subjective reasons. We're all hurting. We're all angry and we're all afraid. I hope to God we can all get through this.

The vigil was not wrong and neither was she. But, unfortunately, none of this will ever be right.

[0rganism]

15. What did the logo on the shirt say?

I must have missed it in your (otherwise excellent) account, but it seems to be the turning point. I assume it was something seriously anti-war or anti-bush.

[anarchy1999]

17. No, Just Drums Not Guns. That is it. They've been operating for a

couple of years here in Dallas and as I said, they were started as an outreach group going into schools preaching non-violence. Pick up a couple of sticks and beat on a drum instead of picking up a gun. That's it. Period. No anti-war, no-anti-bush message on their shirts. Just their logo / a circular Drums Not Guns. Period.

I believe it was the flyer they saw when I first met up with them that put them all on edge. I did not stay close enough with them as I was walking them to the other couple with a son in Iraq to have de escalated the message they read on the shirts and to explain to them what the drummers were really about. It was my mistake.

As I mentioned in the earlier post, this family needed to be at home with family and friends. Not at a vigil with people they did not know in a strange land. It was much like F911 and the mother coming to deal with her feelings. This family had already reached out to MFSO and the coordinator in North Texas and I both feel we really let them down. We should have known better and kept them home.

[0rganism]

19. Wow. I underestimated how upset she was, then.

This is a very sad story. I'm very sorry things went the way they did.

[anarchy1999]

24. Thanks for the empathy. It was really rough and not at all what the

NBC article had to say. The NBC affiliate never talked with those of us that were there yesterday, I don't even know if they talked with MFSO coordinator. Probably not, because the reporter we were all working with yesterday was unavailable today. Sad as it seems the media continues to want to put a bad spin into anything we do opposed to this war or how we truly do support our troops.

Also I as said in earlier post, the gentleman, Lon Burnam that was quoted, had nothing to do with organizing and was not even there for the vigil. I'm clueless tonight and I am hurting, most of all for Chad's family and how they are feeling.

[cmd]

35. Hugs to you

Thank you for your work. I think you did all you could do under the circumstances. The sadness that this war brings will not go away. Peace to you and lots of DU love, cmd

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

7. Keep in mind this is a NBC affiliate in TEXAS!

Let's read what some newspapers have to say tomorrow.

[Just Me]

8. As a mother, I, too, would leave in tears.

What mother wouldn't?

As a mother, this article would piss me off because my mourning is being "used". As a mother, I would tell both the reporter and media to "fuck off"!!!

[anarchy1999]

13. This I believe was not an article, I believe it was a follow-up on

Channel 5 News sometime today. They have no publications. And yes, yesterday, in the midst of it all, there was a news channel there that IMHO overstepped the bounds of professionalism. Period. I was there and I had to stop him. Channel 23 cameraman with Mercedes the reporter, wanted to keep filming them and I stood between them and made him back off. It was a truly maddening moment. Trying to film someone's absolute grief and turn it into a media moment. I was not happy and I'm being nice. I was way more than not happy with this paticular cameraman. HE Was RUDE, as was his reporter with him. Channel 23 has not heard the last from me.

If Fox News defense, they kept their distance.

[Shallah Kali]

10. Chad Drake's death was only announced today - link

Another Texas soldier has been killed in Iraq.
http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2279992

Fort Hood officials today announced the death of 23-year-old Specialist Chad Drake, who was born in Garland but listed Dallas as his home of record.

---
If his family was really heckled that is unforgivable and cruel, but if someone lied about what happened that is wrong as well.

[anarchy1999]

27. I repeat and I will repeat 1000 times, this family was not heckled.

Please read my posts and if you want more PM me and I'll be happy to provide more.

[Shallah Kali]

32. I am sorry, I skimmed and missed your first person account

It was a tough situation all around and I am sorry the media went into a feeding frenzy to make it all that much worse.

[JSJ]

11. with this mother, it's all about HER pain- and peace be damned! n/t

[anarchy1999]

12. I'm a little confused by your message, could you try to help make it

a little clearer for me?

Please see my above post.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

16. Yes, her son had JUST been killed in the Middle East....

...what else should she have been thinking about? If it had been my son I doubt seriously if I would have been thinking about anything but the loss to me and my family.

Maybe I'm taking your post the wrong way, but you seem a little insensitive toward that mother.

[anarchy1999]

18. Yes, you are taking my message absolutely the wrong way. I've been

nothing but upset since yesterday evening and for the confusion, the media attack and their lack of sensitivity. I wanted nothing but for this family to know how much we loved them and hurt for them and that was the message coming from everyone gathered there. I know this without a doubt. I hurt more than you will ever know for what transpired in front of me yesterday and that I played a role in having any responsibility in intensifying their pain. I had promised them and they felt I had let them down. I have no idea where you get I was insensitive, but so be it.

[Carolab]

20. As a mother

I think that the LAST place I would be if my son had been killed two days ago would be at some PUBLIC ceremony. This woman should have been at home mourning her loss UNLESS she had something PUBLIC to share about her feelings toward this war. It's like she was looking for a venue to vent her anger. Doesn't anyone here know that right after you've lost someone you love you are intensely angry????

[anarchy1999]

21. I agree absolutely and please see my above posts.

Thank you.

[JSJ]

22. she was at a vigil to remember kias- when she realized it was...

...also attracting people who wanted to keep a vigil for peace, she wigged. Why is a matter of conjecture- my take was they, the peace advocates, were 'competing' with her 'moment in the sun', so to speak. Not wanting to allow even a single moment for words of peace to mar her wishes for a grandiloquent paen to 'the troops'- peace being a direct threat to her view that this event was staged/meant for 'war heroes' and the vainglorious and, by the way, keep your peace shit out of here- she instead made a scene upon departing the event. She got what she came for. And, of course, this is just my post mortem of the event- a harsh one, to be sure.

[napi21]

23. There was to be a national vigil honoring the 1000 who died.

I got the email too here in Ga. I'm ashamed that some anti war people chose to use that forum to push their agneda! That's wrong, and they should be very ashamed as well.

[anarchy1999]

25. Please read my posts above and then tell me and the rest of us we

have something to be ashamed of. That is harsh and leads me to believe you have not read what I posted.

[napi21]

28. I admit, you tried. Unfortunately, you failed.

I'm not criticizing you, I'm criticizing the idiots who failed to think about the families of the dead soldiers!

It's a damn shame few people think about others or the consequences of thier actions these days.

[Carolab]

26. You'd have to be an idiot

Not to think there would be peace groups there. I'm telling you, this lady was looking to vent. She is ANGRY and feels guilt--mothers want to believe they can protect their children--and she wanted to turn that anger OUTWARD because otherwise she'd direct it at herself.

[anarchy1999]

29. I appreciate your post, Welcome to DU, yes maybe, but the media

reporting in this manner is an outrage. All it does is fuel the fires. All of us making this event happen were very committed. We possibly could have intervened had media been so not on top of it and filming and gettting in the middle of everything that was happening in just a few brief moments. It was a very ugly moment I never wish to be in or a part of again. The media that was the ugliest was Channel 23, the reporter's name was Mercedes (she told me, like the car) and her cameraman. They were the worst, but then again Channel 5, NBC came in with their bit today. Total lack of responsible journalism, IMHO.

The other part is, there was virtually no positive media on what we did. Really Sad. And here we go tomorrow at BELO headquarters asking for them to give us back our 4th estate while we have the Protest Warriors to contend with all the while. I really wish more of you were in Dallas to help.

[anarchy1999]

30. Carolab, I'm giving you a pass.............

"you'd have to be an idiot". Maybe you've been lurking a while, maybe you've been here under another name. "you'd have to be nothing but an idiot", is nothing but an offense.

Careful how you make friends.

And welcome again to DU!

[Carolab]

34. Sorry I've been listening to

Teresa Heinz Kerry too much

[nosmokes]

31. sometimes things go sideways on us

and there is just nothing we can do about it. it's like watching a train wreck. it's terrible while it's happening and it just gets worse each time we replay it. it sounds to me like you did the very best that coulda been done considering the situation, anarchy. my heart aches for all y'all involved.

damn this war.

[anarchy1999]

33. Thanks, and that is exactly what it was, just a trianwreck. Actually more

of a derailment. The train went off the track as best I can figure. I really just can't express to all how painful this family's hurt to all of us was and how sorry we all were for what happened in just a few short moments.

I'll be happy to answer any questions more, most of all, I've got to get to bed, but I need to talk with VetWife and Mari333 asap. Thanks, and peace out.

[DinahMoeHum]

37. Methinks the train wreck started when political paraphernalia

was allowed at this vigil in the first place. That should NOT have been allowed.

Cues should been taken from the group September 11 Families For Peaceful Tomorrows. They have just completed a Boston-to-New York "Stonewalk" in honor of "unknown civilians killed in war"
They have also hosted several vigils in the past, including last year's "Circle of Hope" vigils on the 2nd anniversary of 9/11.

One thing they make absolutely clear (and in writing!): They tell EVERYONE to "LEAVE ALL POLITICAL SIGNS, ETC AT HOME"!! (and any found would have been confiscated)

For further info:
www.peacefultomorrows.org
www.stonewalk.org

Sorry this had to happen to you, anarchy1999. Live and learn, I guess.

:shrug:

[JSJ]

36. kick against jingoistic emotionalism