Angry in the Great White North

a heat-seeking missile in the Conservative arsenal

I wrote about how the name of fallen soldier Robert L duSang appeared on one of the Camp Casey crosses that Cindy Sheehan and her group had put up, claiming the group was speaking on behalf of all of those dead (and by implication, their surviving families), not just Casey Sheehan.

I wondered if the duSang family had given their permission.

Apparently, permission was not sought for any of the names.

From the Democratic Underground:

uh oh, on KWTX tv a mother is being featured saying that when 'they put up the cross with her son's name on it, they crossed the line.."that was the teaser and will put up more later

Sounds like that mother did not give her permission. And then this response:

Well, if she asks...I'm sure that they will gladly take down her son's cross.

And this one:

Hmmmmmm. She didn't want her son to be honored? Something smells here. What mother wouldn't want to honor her son that way? I smell a rat.

And this one:

Either a rat, or a Republican operative (if there's any difference).

And this one:

Instead of going to the media, she could have simply asked that it be...taken down. Sounds to me like she wants attention, so she's trying to hitch her wagon to Cindy's star, albeit in a very perverse way.

And this one:

Other parents have already told Cindy they don't want their child's name on a cross. I am sure Cindy and the others honored their wishes.

So let me get this straight:

• It is reasonable to assume any fallen soldier, and the grieving mother, father, widow, or widower, would support Cindy Sheehan.


• No grieving mother, father, widow, or widower, therefore, was asked for permission for the names to be used to promote Cindy Sheehan's protest.


• If they don't support the protest, then they need to find out Cindy Sheehan's email address or cell phone number and call with an explicit request to have that one particular cross taken down. We'll just have to take their word that the cross has come down.


• Anyone who makes such a request is quite possibly a Republican agent posing as a grieving mother, father, widow, or widower, and should be treated with suspicion. Perhaps proof of ID would be required before taking the cross down.

I've got an idea. Cindy Sheehan and her people should make a list of all the names they have up and publish it. Heck, send it to me and I'll publish it. Then that way anyone who cares to know can check the list and decide if they want their loved one on the list.

Of course, it could be tricky in the case of a family split on the issue. Common decency says that in such a case, the name should come down. Common decency...

Or here's another idea. Take all the crosses down, and then start calling each grieving mother, father, widow, or widower, one at a time, and get permission. It'll be interesting to see just how many crosses go back up.

It would give us all a real measure of the support for Cindy Sheehan, not the quite possibly pumped up level suggested by Cindy Sheehan's negative option display of grief.

Update: Someone put this comment up in an attempt to justify the use of the names:

Hey, just because she doen's [sic] want to honor her son doesn't mean someone else can't. Dead soldiers' names were put on the Viet Nam memorial wall. I am sure they didn't get permission from the parents before doing that.

Well first, the Viet Nam memorial is just that -- a memorial. It's not meant to be partisan. In fact, it avoids the typical soldier's memorial form of a victorious solder holding up a flag, or some other patriotic image. But the logic behind the notion that someone else wants the name at Camp Casey is bizarre. Imagine this conversation:

Cindy Sheehan: Cindy Sheehan speaking. May my peace be upon you.
Grieving mother: Please, I saw in a picture the name of my son on a cross. Please take it down.
CS: I am so sorry for your loss. Please take strength from me. I'm sending it over via the phone line.
GM: Um, thanks. About my son...
CS: What's his name?
GM: PFC [name withheld]
CS: Let me check my list. Sorry, someone explicitly requested that he be memorialized at Camp Casey.
GM: What?! Who?
CS: Me. Goodbye. *click*

[Michelle Malkin provides a link to a caravan of mothers who don't support Cindy Sheehan heading out to Crawford. For everyone's sake, I hope those crosses are gone, or there's going to be trouble.

Captain Ed also considers the question of exactly who Cindy Sheehan is speaking for.]