Cindy Sheehan calls it quits!

[Jenmarie]

There have been hundreds of thousands of other American mothers who have handled their son's death with grace and dignity.

I agree, and I also agree that she was not one of those graceful, dignified mothers. I'm not saying she's right, I'm not saying I condone anything she did. All I am saying is that I am so very sorry for her and her loss. And I hope that she will finally start handling it in a way that her son could be proud of her.

 

[bert]

She was a self promoter and attention whore...period.

She raised a son who chose to serve and gave his life in that effort. I will honor her (and anybody else) for that, and ignore her for everything else she has done.

 

[statesman]

She raised a son who chose to serve and gave his life in that effort. I will honor her (and anybody else) for that, and ignore her for everything else she has done.

On the one hand I agree with you, she lost a son and regardless of her views on the war or anything else for that matter her loss should not be made light of.

That said, I do believe she used her sons death for personal gain and to further an agenda.

The situation reminds me of Lance Armstrong and Cancer, or Christopher Reeves and spinal injuries. They did very little to further their agenda before they were affected by their respective illnesses.

Cindy Sheehan in a similar fashion seems to have done little until her son was killed and only after she was affected by it did it become a part of her life. What further upsets me about Sheehan was how political she became about it. It would never have been enough for her to meet with the president, this is obvious from the fact that she did have a meeting with the president. She never would have been as effective as she was without her son dying, and there in lies the problem.

 

[eddie]

The situation reminds me of Lance Armstrong and Cancer, or Christopher Reeves and spinal injuries. They did very little to further their agenda before they were affected by their respective illnesses.

Cindy Sheehan in a similar fashion seems to have done little until her son was killed and only after she was affected by it did it become a part of her life.

Individuals listed aside, how else do you expect someone to become a big time "activist" for a cause other than to have a personal stake in it? How else could you honestly expect someone to be so motivated about something?

Yes, there are Mother Theresas out there, but still...

 

[HeyJoe]

Individuals listed aside, how else do you expect someone to become a big time "activist" for a cause other than to have a personal stake in it? How else could you honestly expect someone to be so motivated about something?

Yes, there are Mother Theresas out there, but still...

Then how do you account for Jane Fonda?

 

[Steve Wilkins]

Ward Carroll has a few choice words to say in his Op-ed on Cindy's latest news and here's the full letter

Ward's last paragraph is spot on.

 

[eddie]

Then how do you account for Jane Fonda?

Like present and accounted for? With a baseball bat, usually...

My mistake on wording late last night. Of course there are people out there who hijack "causes" (benign ones or otherwise) with mercenary intent, but to lump anyone who's ever dedicated themselves to fixing something after being personally affected by something with the likes of Miss Fonda, is, I think, a bit unfair.

 

[HeyJoe]

Like present and accounted for? With a baseball bat, usually...

My mistake on wording late last night. Of course there are people out there who hijack "causes" (benign ones or otherwise) with mercenary intent, but to lump anyone who's ever dedicated themselves to fixing something after being personally affected by something with the likes of Miss Fonda, is, I think, a bit unfair.

I'm simply questioning your question and premise...reread your question below....the how else = Jane Fonda or Susan Sarandon or Sean Penn or Tim Robbins...all motivated big time activists but with no personal stake

Individuals listed aside, how else do you expect someone to become a big time "activist" for a cause other than to have a personal stake in it? How else could you honestly expect someone to be so motivated about something?

Yes, there are Mother Theresas out there, but still...

 

[eddie]

I'm simply questioning your question and premise...reread your question below....the how else = Jane Fonda or Susan Sarandon or Sean Penn or Tim Robbins...all motivated big time activists but with no personal stake

As I said, my original question was poorly worded and without proper context. It originally addressed and made provision for the Jane Fondas of the world, but then I "edited" the post for "sense" and length. :icon_roll

My bad, shame on me.

So, when you pointed out this massive semantical, structural, and logical flaw to me, I wrote:

Of course there are people out there who hijack "causes" (benign ones or otherwise) with mercenary intent, but to lump anyone who's ever dedicated themselves to fixing something after being personally affected by something with the likes of Miss Fonda, is, I think, a bit unfair.

This is NOT what I said the first time, but it IS what I wanted to say.

 

[HeyJoe]

As I said, my original question was poorly worded and without proper context. It originally addressed and made provision for the Jane Fondas of the world, but then I "edited" the post for "sense" and length. :icon_roll

My bad, shame on me.

So, when you pointed out this massive semantical, structural, and logical flaw to me, I wrote:



This is NOT what I said the first time, but it IS what I wanted to say.

I wouldn't be so hard on yourself. That said, IMHO, Cindy was hurt and grieving and wanted to lash out with impact and found her voice alone did not have the impact she sought sooooooo she allied herself with those seeking a cause or needing a poster "child" to further her/their cause. "Professional" Activists like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are more than willing to jump into all sorts of causes so no surprise when Cindy showed up with Jesse Jackson. I'll give her credit on score of finally realizing that how that works, but not on her dissatisfaction with the country because they did all rally to her side and the ones that did were diminishing in number. That should have told her something more than she has admitted.

BTW - in reference to my eralier comment, I am starting to believe she's really calling it quits and not saying it to revive her cause. Reason: she has her Crawford property for sale.