Some follow-up:
Booed on Bainbridge: Untold story of the story
Steven Gardner.
This is interesting in a lot of ways. I read this, Jack, and questioned the motives of the writer. Was he upset that they had passed up on a story that went national so quickly? Had they been caught with their pants down by another paper and ultimately the internet?
Was he discounting the item from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer as poor journalism? Because the family chose not to talk to him is more an indictment of his paper than an indication of their having been untruthful. There are papers to which I would not give the time of day in a situation like this.
Seriously, which one of you is going to give an interview to Mother Jones, the LATimes or Guardian-UK about something an anti-troops protestor or a black-hooded anarchist did or said to you in a situation like this? Not many, I'm sure.
Sorry, Bainbridge Island. The egg is on your faces, the tar was applied with your own brush on this one. Facts can bring a stinging truth, can't they? And a lot of folks are embarrased enough by the event they witnessed to deny they heard anything. Consider that, Stephen Gardner, staff reporter for Bainbridge Island. You've seen this before. I'll guarantee the Sun crime reporter, Derek Sheppard has.
Mayor apologizes to veteran for parade incident.
And Mayor, this was a day late and a dollar short. The greater question is, What are you going to do to discourage this sort of thing in the future?
And don't try to say for a minute that I'm advocating that you impose some sort of Celebratory Martial Law during the sorts of events that tend to draw malcontents and morons who fling insults at servicemen or their supporters. But your police force knows that while it's much more relaxing and pleasant to stand with a bunch of happy, civic minded, easygoing flagwavers, they belong with the bunch that looks like they might cause a problem.
Good links, Jack. The apologist for an inappropriate display by the crowd at a patriotic event started my day out nicely. I never doubted for a minute that there would be at least one.
Posted by Mamamontezz at July 17, 2004 11:00 AMThis apoplogy truly is a day late and a dollar short. Unfortunately as beautiful as Washington state is, and even with the 100,000 or so military stationed there, WA truly is a leftist state. Makes it rough for the good guys some days.
SlagleRock Out!
Posted by: SlagleRock at July 17, 2004 12:27 PM