porkabilly.com Blog

Last night 8 Fire-fighters died fighting a fire in South Carolina. Numerous news coverages, hour long news talk shows have been dedicated to this story. It is truly tragic when a public servant dies. But why do we value the lives of firefighters and police officers more than our soldiers. We say we support our troops but that is only in life. The coverage of the deaths of municipal public servants from communities seems to be given a lot lot more coverage than the death of each American fighting person in Iraq. Sure you see how bad things are going in Iraq but little attention is given to the individual loss of life. Why do we as a society deem sticking a bumper magnet on our car is enough attention to the loss of life, but others who lose their lives in domestic service get hours of television discussing the events surrounding their early and tragic death. A death of a soldier, sailor, airman or marine is no less tragic than the death of a firefighter in Charleston SC. Further, the service member who dies in the line of duty dies in service to a whole nation and not a local municipality. Each service members death is a national tragedy and should be the cover news story until the deaths end. Shit, if we gave nearly as much attention to service members deaths, maybe there would be enough movement in the country to end this war in Iraq. If most Americans with money knew people serving, maybe they wouldn’t be there in the first place. But like all wars this war is carried on the backs of the poor, those who do not gain the attention of the media, those who do not know people who can afford to contribute to presidential campaigns. Save for World War 2, the civil war and the Revolution… all American wars have been been carried solely on the backs of the poor. The fact that so many middle class served in World War 2 is the only reason we have veterans benefits today. This was started though after World War 1 when returning volunteers found themselves out of work and without pension, and they marched on Washington demanding rights. Today, in the all volunteer force it is not the children of the wealthy who volunteer. This is why the faces of those lost are left to local news coverage of just a blip, and nationally we do not mourn. We show numbers instead of names, 8 died today, 6 yesterday… grand total 3400+ THESE ARE HUMANS like you and me, they are not numbers. I want their sacrificed appreciated equally as all others. Take the Paris Hilton goes to jail shit off the news, and replace it with biographies of who is no longer with us because we allowed this President to conduct and illegal war.
Big kudos goes to my brothers and sisters in arms at the IVAW guerrilla protests in Chicago, their Operation First Casualty (Truth is the first casualty) yesterday. I was most impressed by the idiotic comments of Loop Businessmen like “well I hope they support the troops” my thoughts “you fucking moron they troops, and you and your stock portfolio of  Haliburten, McDonald Douglas and Boeing are profiting off their sacrifice”

Keep up the great work IVAW I stand with you, and I am angered by the government trying to silence you.