Reply #94: There is no documented evidence of any spitting on Vietnam-era soldiers...

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The scenario -- which has all the earmarks of urban legend -- is usually described thus: An American G.I., upon returning from Vietnam and still in uniform, is spat upon in an airport, or at a bus terminal, or on a bus. Often, the mythical spitter is a woman -- a mother, grandmother, or young hippie girl. Verbal taunts usually include the term "baby killer." The offended soldier just silently endures his mistreatment and moves on.

There is no record of any such assault crimes on the logs of airport security, law enforcement agencies, or any news-reporting entities. If any spitting or assault incidents had really occurred, it would make sense that there would be some documentation from the era.

The sad truth is that it was the U.S. government that figuratively spat on returning Vietnam-era G.I.s, by denying them the medical treatment they needed upon returning home, and by cutting their benefits. There is no question that these vets were discriminated against, particularly as the law applies to disabled vets. It was an era of cost-cutting and recession (thanks to eight years of Nixon-Ford), and Vietnam-era G.I.s bore the brunt of that as they tried to re-enter the workforce.

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0318-12.htm
Published on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 by the Cleveland Free Times
Myth Making and Spitting Images from Vietnam
by Patrick G. Coy
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More important, however, is that the charge is simply not rooted in reality. It is both unfair to Senator Kerry and to the Vietnam-era peace movement. The fact is, there is absolutely no record of any peace activist taunting or spitting upon returning veterans. It is myth, and like most myths it is hard to dislodge.

In 1995 sociologist Thomas Beamish and his colleagues analyzed all peace movement-related stories from 1965 - 1971 in the NY Times, LA Times, and SF Chronicle (495 stories). They found no instance of any spitting on returned troops by peace movement members, nor any taunting. Indeed, they found few examples of negative demonstrations involving returning troops of any kind, or even of simple disapproval of returning soldiers. Three years later, sociologist Jerry Lembcke conducted a similarly exhaustive study for his book, "The Spitting Image," with like results. He discovered war protesters being spat upon by war supporters, and hostile acts toward Vietnam veterans by conservative, pro-war groups like the VFW, but no taunting or spitting on returned veterans by peace movement members. Returned veterans and in-service GIs were welcomed in the peace movement, and many assumed leadership roles. Yet the myth endures.

Cultural myths are often created in a collective fashion over time, as such they represent widely shared values in the group. But myth making is seldom divorced from the politics and power struggles that are always present in society. That is, some myths are created or perpetuated to serve the particular political interests of subgroups. Similarly, some general cultural myths may be reconstructed to serve special interests at the expense of the common good. Myths also help us deal with events that don't fit our world-view. How could a superpower be defeated by a small, "primitive" country? The spitting myth helps redirect that responsibility to an unsupportive peace movement at home.

The Vietnam era peace movement directed its displeasure at policy makers, not at the soldiers. Yet the Gulf War and Iraq War peace movements have each had to defend against mythological charges that peace activism means they don't support the troops, or that they will soon by spitting on them. In fact, by opposing an unjustified war, today's peace movement has demonstrated its high regard for the women and men whose lives are forever changed - or lost - by political leaders too willing to go to war.
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