Updated: added video
Note: here’s Cindy’s post: “Killing is right and proper” (What happened at Travis AFB, yesterday) by Cindy Sheehan
photo from Cindy Sheehan’s
Facebook profile
Tempers Flare At Anti-War Rally At Travis AFB
cbs13.com
Nov. 28, 2009
FAIRFIELD, Calif. CBS13 ―A Saturday rally led by anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan at Travis Air Force Base nearly ended in a brawl when a military veteran physically confronted the protesters.
[…]
via: Tempers Flare At Anti-War Rally At Travis AFB – cbs13.com
Raw Video
Video Of Confrontation (Graphic Content)
***
Peace Protest With Cindy Sheehan Turns Heated
KTXL
FAIRFIELD – Some tense moments at a local anti-war protest led by activist, Cindy Sheehan.
Sheehan was at Travis Air Force Base as part of a peace caravan protesting President Obama’s plan to send more troops to Afghanistan.
They came in peace, but the protest soon involved pushing, yelling, and shoving.
[…]
***
War protest against an expected troop surge in Afghanistan
Fresno News – abc30.com
11/28/09
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Sheehan and her supporters will hold four more protests tomorrow in both California and Nevada.
Cindy Sheehan was joined by about thirty people, including members of Code Pink and other local activists at Saturday’s protest.
They said President Obama is not keeping his campaign promise if he sends more troops to Afghanistan.
Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan arrived in East Central Fresno Saturday with a caravan of supporters and a message for President Barack Obama. “We have 68,000. He’s sending half again as many and empires have never been successful in Afghanistan.”
[…]
via War protest against an expected troop surge in Afghanistan – 11/28/09 – Fresno News – abc30.com.
Updated
Right Wing Caricature Gets Physical at Cindy Sheehan Rally
mmflint
November 29, 2009
“It doesn’t get any easier but life isn’t easy and I’m never going to stop — no matter how much we’re oppressed, no matter how much violence they bring to us, we’re going to bring peace to them.” — Cindy Sheehan, Travis Air Force Base, Saturday, November 28th, 2009
Bringing peace to you daily at http://www.michaelmoore.com
see
“Killing is right and proper” (What happened at Travis AFB, yesterday) by Cindy Sheehan
Troop deployment to begin shortly after Obama’s war strategy speech By Greg Jaffe
Dennis Kucinich: Afghanistan is not a Left-Right issue
Dandelion Salad 
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The old guy in the Air Force uniform was not a veteran. The Master Sargert stripes were discontinued in the early ’90s, the baret was not Air Force, some of the things on the uniform were not US Air Force.
I think he went to a military salvage store, purchased a lot of pretty stuff and put it on a uniform that fit. A real veteran would not wear such crap.
If he was a ‘Nam retread he might have been wearing some joint service stuff and that might have been an old uniform of his, but as anyone in IVAW or VFP knows it is technically against the law for someone to wear a full uniform (which includes name, rank and fruit salad) if they are not an actual member of the US military. The exception is if the items being worn are obsolete, for example I can get away with wearing my 20 year old OD field jacket, woodland pattern camo or Desert Storm vintage “chocolate chips” because these are no longer used. So by using an obsolete rank insignia he might have been doing some CYA.
Your suspicion that he was just a crazed freeper chickenhawk or wannabe who went and decked himself like a military Christmas tree is just as likely. A lot of them do that too.
Whatever the case, the guy was definitely off his, uhm, chevron. ;-7
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This is also a very interesting story on cultural norms and expectations, and I would like to comment on the threat that this man exhibited ~ As a female for over 50 years in the United States, I have learned to protect myself against aggression from people, most of whom have been male by accident of birth. There is never any good reason to get closer to me than as far as my arms can extend horizontally. I can hear anyone shouting at me just fine from 3 feet away. I’ve been examining this video, and what I am seeing is somebody who is possibly intoxicated, trying to “rumble” with Cindy Sheehan. That’s what I see. That is not acceptable behavior for any man to ever display, regardless of his age. There! I completely understand the views of all of the pro-peace protesters re: this incident. Real men do not behave in a threatening manner ~ oops
I think the old veteran was baffled…as you say, a “cultural difference”–though I would apply the term to “day at hand regarding war.” The very verbal debate Ms. Sheehan and he exchanged indicates two views: His, the nobility of protecting the homeland domestic scene by going to war; hers, citizen-civilian declaring this particular war unjust.
Yet, are “his day” and “her day” really different? We’ll never know since neither permitted the other voice! A one-way diatribe without space for response is asking a lot. And crashing the stage serves nothing either.
Nobody’s a hero here, in my opinion.
Annie
I have to agree with you on this. My personal feeling is that the person with the speaking voice owns the stage, and that anyone trying to usurp that person’s right to speech is in the wrong. However, the tension was clear. No winners here. But a man or woman does not have an unalienable right to get in another persons face, as the old gent did w/CS. But…old guy. Vietnam War era. I would have liked to see more respect shown to the gentleman as well (always call them gentlemen and they may begin to act accordingly), and publicizing his name, for what is apparently a way of shaming him after-the-fact, seems to me to be wrong. Complicated world. Totally agree though that there are no heroes here.
I am heartened, ooppoddo, to read your thoughts. It breaks my heart to note there seemed to be no peacemakers present–to intercede and begin a balancing of feelings between these two impassioned persons. We have to get off this paradigm of “my right vs your right.”
As a former teacher, I can tell you peaceful behavior has to be modeled and learned like any other universal aspect of being human. And where two of us get stuck in conflict, let it be universally understood, a mediator is what another citizen is invited to become.
Thank you for your wise perceptions–no one deserves or benefits by shame!
Annie
As the old saw sings, “nobody’s right, if everybody’s wrong.” Yup. We’ve got a long way to go from here. Thank you for reminding me. I know some people who went to school at Evergreen College here in the State of Washington, and conflict resolution was one of their specialties. I think I’ll go look them up! We’ve had some terrific protests here, esp. the Port Military Resistance people down in Tacoma and Olympia. They shut down the Port of Olympia in response to the Stryker Brigade returning, knew there would be arrests and acted accordingly. Thank you, Annie, for making me feel a little less alone. We cannot fight hate with hate.
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As usual, you are the “go-to” place for news. This event caused nary a trickle in the MSM. I just read Ms. Sheehan’s blog on this (posted @ an hour ago), and although I think the tone of her blog was a little over-the-top anger-wise (I just hate it when anyone uses the pejorative, “scum”), this “old man” did start the fracas. No one has a right to touch another person when they’re exercising free-speech rights, unless that person is being arrested. The MP’s who were in abundance there should have deescalated the situation immediately. Otherwise, what the heck are they good for? Kudo’s to Ms. Sheehan and Code Pink crew, and I wish you all well as you finish up this string of protests. And much love to you too, Lo. I hope your holidays are festive and pleasing to you! Love from Janet Detwiler
Thanks, Oop, always great to see you drop by. Happy Holidays to you, too.
The scene in the video disturbs me: There we have it–how easily war behavior emerges. Somewhere among all those people present–military personnel and civilians–there must be a mediator who can re-play a meeting between Sheehan and this veteran. Each of them comes from loss by war and good intentions.
Hi Annie, yes, it is very disturbing.
And the CodePink lists are dead silent about this, too, so far. Nothing on the web page, nothing on the blog.
Yikes.
I’m used to you blowing the doors off the mainstream media, when it comes to distribution of the news Lo, but it’s hard to scoop the activists themselves. Dang!
Anyway I hope everyone (including Cindy) is ok.
Thanks, Eileen. I would guess that Codepink will have something later today in their blog. Those that were there are still traveling and protesting again today.
To jonolan:
How have you been? Haven’t seen you here for a while. Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving.
How about rewriting your comment leaving the name calling out?
Thanks!