Only in Amherst (forum)

Umass Daily Collegian covers the Parade controversy
Typical brain-dead, knee-jerk, uber-liberal response on Masslive.com Amherst forum to the pernicious parade soap opera that keeps marching on and on.

Townie ‘Anne12’ (probably not Anne Awad although I heard that rumor once) started a string by saying Memorial Day is approaching and it’s too bad the Memorial Day parade is not getting the same press as the 7/4 parade, echoing a point I made when hammering the Bulletin editorial that suggests Memorial Day or Veterans Day are less “cherished” than the 4’th of July.

Ryan Willey, who selflessly started “Operation Going Home” where he will honor any local war veteran with a free formal funeral sendoff via his skilled bagpiping, responded:

The worry here is if it ever became an event that was attended then the protesters would want to march. Then the Memorial Day parade would end up just like the 4th of July parade a political pinata hung up for a beating. No thanks keep it small and attended by those who honor and remember.

LloydLoar, detonated an IUD:
So, now do YOU support the War for Lies?

Another frequent female townie ‘Cavemansgirl’ (hey, it’s the internet) responded:

How do you read someone's wish to keep a Memorial Day parade on topic about remembering the fallen, and get out of it that they support the war in Iraq? Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for soldiers of wars stretching back to the dawn of our country. Wanting to keep it protestor-free does not mean that someone is gung-ho about Iraq. Calm down and keep your head about you.

LloydLoar, supposedly a peacenik, countered with the combative: “Having trouble answering the question? Having trouble with things all over the place these days, eh?”

Normally you would brand LloydLoar the quintessential ultra-left wing whacko, who gives liberalism a bad name. But then, look at current Select board Chair, His Lordship Gerry Weiss (or better yet look at the bumper stickers on the back of his car): pushing a town bylaw to handcuff police from enforcing immigration law or pressuring a local chapter of the Boy Scouts to publicly repudiate their national organization's stand on gay scoutmasters in order to use public land to sell Christmas Trees?

And of course encouraging Larry Shaffer, the unelected Boss Hogg Town Mangler, to nationalize the July 4’th Parade without the full Select board input.

Yeah, “normally” is a word not often heard in reference to the People’s Republic of Amherst.
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UPDATE: 10:00 PM (yeah I know it ‘s only been 20 minutes since I uploaded but loquacious Loyd just posted a doozy):

5.1.1.2.1. You raise an excellent question.
by LloydLoar, 5/7/08 21:27 ET
Re: Memorial Day Parade... by Anne12, 5/7/08
I'm always ambivalent when facing this issue. Here's a detail or two that troubles me. When I see men my age marching in their Vietnam era uniforms, tears come into my eyes for them and for us all- I'm sad, torn when it comes to celebrating their service because I think we ALL let them down for allowing that action to be so deeply politicized and wrongly prolonged. I'd say that everybody in my age has complex and deeply troubled felings when we see them marching.

Then along comes a Vietnam era jeep with an anti-aircraft gun mounted on the real and I'm reminded how many non-combatant women and children were killed indiscriminately by these weapons.

It's THEN I begin to wonder HOW can we "Support the Troops" when the effort was WRONG, ILLEGAL, DEEPLY DAMAGING TO ALL INVOLVED and the US Crime of our Lifetimes up until the IraqAttack/War for Lies/Endless Occupation.

Lastly, when faced with the Gulf War and returning from Iraq and Afghanistan vets, all I can think of is the HUGE numbers deeply injured by PTSD,the VA debacle unfolding before us,.....

What's to "celebrate"?