It’s Time to Haul Down Another Flag of Racist Hate (POW/MIA Flag)

A venomous liberal national correspondent for the Washington Spectator described the POW/MIA flag as a symbol of “racist hate” and thinks that it should be pulled down.

Damned Progressive hippies are still fighting the Vietnam war!

www.newsweek.com...

You know that racist flag? The one that supposedly honors history but actually spreads a pernicious myth? And is useful only to venal right-wing politicians who wish to exploit hatred by calling it heritage? It’s past time to pull it down.

Oh, wait. You thought I was referring to the Confederate flag. Actually, I’m talking about the POW/MIA flag.

(Paragraphs of BS)

That damned flag: It’s a shroud. It smothers the complexity, the reality, of what really happened in Vietnam.

We’ve come to our senses about that other banner of lies. It’s time to do the same with this.

So Now the POW/MIA Flag Is Under Fire — as a Symbol of ‘Racist Hate’


www.nationalreview.com...

Another day, another argument that a flag must come down. Today’s target is a bit surprising — the POW/MIA flag that flies from government buildings, honoring the hundreds of Americans still missing and unaccounted for in Vietnam.

Writing in the pages of Newsweek, a very angry Rick Perlstein is simply not having it, declaring, “That damned flag: It’s a shroud. It smothers the complexity, the reality, of what really happened in Vietnam.”

In fact, he claims the entire emphasis on American missing and POW’s was nothing but a political trick designed to detract from alleged American deceptions and war crimes

It’s not common to see a leftist still carrying the torch for the Viet Cong and the NVA, but it’s a useful reminder of the rage that beats within some leftist hearts, a rage that can even take a symbol meant to honor and remind Americans of the undeniable fact that there are — in fact — men who are missing in Vietnam, men we can’t account for an may never be found, and turn it into a symbol of — you guessed it — racism.

a reply to: infolurker

Not to worry, Jesus will return soon and all your problems will be over.

a reply to: infolurker

Let's see... There were Asian Americans , Afro Americans , Arab Americans , Latin Americans , and Anglo Americans in the American Armed Forces during the Viet Nam War . Some were Captured and Held by the Enemy at the Time . Where does Racism come into the Picture here ? The people who are behind this Besmirching of our Veterans are Mentally Disturbed and should be Ignored as Idiots .

originally posted by: Astyanax
a reply to: infolurker

Not to worry, Jesus will return soon and all your problems will be over.

How so ? will he be burning all the flags !

a reply to: infolurker

Well, all I have to say about that reporter is "ya can't fix stupid." There are a lot of seriously important things to change in the world and taking pens, word processors and positions of public influence away from IMHO delusional morons might be a good start.

Cheers - Dave

a reply to: infolurker



McCain and the POW Cover-Up
The “war hero” candidate buried information about POWs left behind in Vietnam.

"Throughout his Senate career, McCain has quietly sponsored and pushed into federal law a set of prohibitions that keep the most revealing information about these men buried as classified documents. Thus the war hero who people would logically imagine as a determined crusader for the interests of POWs and their families became instead the strange champion of hiding the evidence and closing the books." www.theamericanconservative.com...

...a secret letter dated February 1, 1973, was sent to the North Vietnamese Prime Minister from Henry Kissinger. The letter stated that the United States was willing to pay $3.2 billion dollars over five years.

April 6, 1973: Angered by reports of torture, the US Senate voted 88-3 to bar any financial aid to North Vietnam.

April 12, 1973: The Pentagon declares all American POW’s dead.

April 30, 1973: White House staffers Bob Haldeman, John Erlichman and John Dean, were forced to resign. The POW issue was forced to take a back seat as the Nixon Administration became entangled in Watergate.

Being skeptical of Nixon’s ability to deliver the $3.25 billion dollars, which he never did, the North Vietnamese decided to keep their collateral, meaning prisoners from the war.

www.whiteoutpress.com...

The British did a documentary on it about two decades ago:
We Can Keep You Forever.

a reply to: infolurker

Come on, now. It's just one guy calling for this. Here's the guy we're talking about, Rick Perlstein.

On August 4, 2014, a New York Times article reported that Perlstein's 2014 book The Invisible Bridge, received "sharp criticism from some scholars and commentators who accuse Mr. Perlstein of sloppy scholarship, improper attribution and plagiarism." Conservative author and historian Craig Shirley alleged that Perlstein stole distinctive words and phrasing from Reagan’s Revolution.'[7]

That quote is from his wikipedia page.

The flag in my avatar, however, has been a repulsive symbol for 150 years. The KKK & other racist groups have waved it proudly since their inception. And it's even featured in this neo-Nazi recruitment video, starting at the 1:52 mark:
So I'd hardly say these situations are the same. It's more likely that the guy is trying to cash in on the kneejerk reactions he'll receive.

a reply to: enlightenedservant

yup at 1.52 you can clearly see the stars and bars on a flag pole on his right but on his left is a flag pole that .certainly looks like the stars and strips.

Hmm since he is using the stars and strips also I guess the it also stands for racism .

originally posted by: Zanti Misfit
are Mentally Disturbed and should be Ignored as Idiots .

Hell, as far as I'm concerned anyone who attacks an inanimate object and ends the attack with "because: racial hatred!" is mentally disturbed and should be ignored because they are an idiot.

it would appear that this Pearlstein guy is an effing moron.

personally I feel offended by him and feel he should be banned!

a reply to: infolurker

A venomous liberal national correspondent for the Washington Spectator described the POW/MIA flag as a symbol of “racist hate” and thinks that it should be pulled down.

NOPE NOPE NOPE

He did not say that. Read the authors and the editors note if you can't pull information from the article without holding your bias over reality.

He did not say that at all.

He went on to say how people were manipulated into supporting causes by a government that lied to them, and that government used a flag to pull on people emotional heartstrings, and that government didnt give a flying %%%% either way about either people on either side of the conflict.

It went on to say that war crimes depicted by our "enemies" in Vietnam were actually carried out by our allies, and that those crimes were used to get people to praise this flag and praise this cause. It talked about how they spied and infiltrated a MIA/POW Wive's organization to manipulate it for their own cause.

It went on to say how the Vietnam war was bull# and the people who deserve credit for it got crapped on by a government that took advantage of it and continues to push money into a phantom cause when they have the answer all along.

But sure, its democrat commy pinkos calling good people racists or something.

originally posted by: burdman30ott6

originally posted by: Zanti Misfit
are Mentally Disturbed and should be Ignored as Idiots .

Hell, as far as I'm concerned anyone who attacks an inanimate object and ends the attack with "because: racial hatred!" is mentally disturbed and should be ignored because they are an idiot.

Im guessing you didnt read the article. because if you did, you probably wouldn't be throwing the word "idiot" around, well, not on the side you're taking anyway.

Edit: I realize this conversation has drifted off topic a bit so I will at least acknowledge that here. Not sure if you are speaking about the OP article, or subsequent posts about the confederate flag, however, I suggest everyone in this thread discuss the topic at hand because while the author has cited other recent events, this story is more deserving of its own analysis by its own merit.

The editor has used a popular topic to raise concerns on a much older topic. The author and the editor have since apologized, but don't let the initial screw up stop you from actually looking at this subject objectively.

a reply to: wasaka

They explain it in the article. Its because the government at the time instead of saying we have 1000 KIA in veitnam [presumed dead soldiers] found it much more profitable to say, "we have 1000 MIA/POW left behind in Vietnam"

Im spelling it out because it seems people can't be bothered with reading the sources.

The government continued to spend hundreds of millions on organizations and official posts to investigate these "missing people" which they presumed dead, but official declared them missing to further their agenda.

People involved have said themselves there is no one to be found, the Vietnamese will tell you anything you want to know for some bribe money, and it doesnt even make sense for them to know the names or locations of enemy combatants.

Comparatively there were millions dead on their side probably unaccounted for?

Its actually pretty sad there is a really good story here but people are too fast to take a headline as fact and truth and be at the ready to burn the author alive.

The definition of a know-nothing readership.

originally posted by: BASSPLYR
it would appear that this Pearlstein guy is an effing moron.

personally I feel offended by him and feel he should be banned!

Because he holds an old administration responsible for infiltrating a POW/MIA wives organization and manipulating them into following their political agenda, at the same time lying to them so they could gain points with public perception, or because he says exactly why the flag was created , to hide the fact that thousands had died in Vietnam while the government was lying to people and telling them they were just MIA/POW so they could garner more support for their cause?

I mean, which part makes him an 'effing moron'

or wait, is it the people that failed to read past the headline that are the effing m... nah never mind.

This is what happens when you start down the insane PC road the country is travelling down. The video of a couple people from Black Lives Matter chasing Bernie Sanders off the stage at his own rally, where thousands of people showed up to see him says it all. The PC police are poweful, offend them at your own risk.

a reply to: boncho

because he used the term racist disingenuously in a poorly thought out attempt to manipulate the reader. either that, or he really at the time he wrote the piece, was hopped up on the every thing is racist bandwaggon and actually thought he had a point about racisim, which it turns out he didnt. that makes him a effing moron in my book. love his back peddling on his usage of the term after the fact though. to me, the make fixy fixy do overs attempt by the author just puts the other shoe in his mouth.

its a shame he tried to initially paint the article with the "racisim" slant cause he would of had some decent points otherwise regarding the political history of the Vietnam war.

a reply to: infolurker

I've been seeing this around facebook the last couple of days. I didn't see any news story about it attached at all. I thought it was one of those damn experiments they do. Now, I see that there is a news story. Hmmm. Anywho, if this really is true and people are calling it racist, those people are idiots. I don't see anything racist about it. It's for people who are missing in action or prisoners of war.

a reply to: BASSPLYR

You are right in that he horribly (and predictably) misused the term "racist" to sensationalize his title. And, to be fair, "know nothing readership" is really not appropriate when the author uses such base tactics.

But the substance of his story is true. The US Government is incredibly prodigous when it comes to lying and manipulating. And the entire MIA issue seriously needs to be investigated.

I think Vietnam was a criminal action on the part of the Federal Government.

It's time to "haul down" whiny idiots who walk around offended by everything.

originally posted by: BASSPLYR
because he used the term racist disingenuously in a poorly thought out attempt to manipulate the reader.

The first link in the OP doesn't use the word "racist" and contains this:

This piece was updated by the Spectator on August 13 to remove the word "racist" from the headline, and has been similarly adjusted here. An apology from the author and a response from Spectator editor Lou Dubose were also appended to the original article and have been replicated here at the bottom of the piece.

But the OP saw fit to include it in the title anyway, most likely for the sensationalism that the word engenders.

People are so butt-hurt about the state of S. Carolina FREELY CHOOSING to take down the confederate flag from the state building, they just can't get over it. People exercising their freedom to choose really pisses some people off...

My feeling on the story? So one or two people have an opinion. That doesn't mean the world is ending. Many have the opinion that the US flag should come down, but race isn't involved, so it's a non-story. Just some people with opinions. Without the "racist" sensationalism, this story is a non-story.