rightwinger
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- Aug 4, 2009
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In the 1970s we heard disturbing reports of veterans returning from Vietnam being spat upon in airports. I never personally witnessed anything like this and I can't personally recall anything like this actually happening. But the reports were there. And the right ran with them painting each and every American who saw that war for the disaster it was as capable and probably culpable of such attacks.
In 1960, Bill Mazeroski hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to win the World Series for my Pittsburgh Pirates over the damn New York Yankees. Forbes Field held less than 40,000. Yet as the years drift by, one would be amazed at the number of eye witnesses to Maz's epic blast!
Are some folks out of line? Absolutely. Does that make everyone who was in attendance at the event guilty? Absolutely not. Can such behavior be rationalized? Not by anyone who has an once of decency.
Let's see how many Right Wingers here step up and decry the treatment of say Kent State students on May 4, 1970 while cheering on the slobs who spat and called names last weekend on Capitol Hill.
The veterans being spat upon at airports appears to be a myth
Vietnam Veterans Against the War: THE VETERAN: Debunking A Myth
How does one attempt to prove a negative - that something didn't happen? This author does it by examining the positive side and failing to find any conclusive proof that it occurred. Along the way he finds many indications that it is indeed a myth
His research examined newspapers from New York and San Francisco, as well as police reports detailing the interaction between protesters and veterans. No spitting incidents were reported, and the observers noticed that over time the veterans assumed leadership positions among the protesters. Lembcke did find newspaper reports of spitting during demonstrations in the late 1960s, but they referred to hawks spitting on anti-war protesters.
Reinforcing his myth hypothesis, Lembcke cites a Harris poll reported to Congress in 1972 that indicates 93% of returning veterans found their homecoming friendly, while only 3% found it unfriendly. The poll also reported that over 75% of returning vets were opposed to the war.
The first documented reports of being spit upon don't begin to appear until the early 1980s. According to the author, who is currently an associate professor of sociology, the time delay is a strong indication that the story is a myth. So where did the myth come from?
Though no definitive proof can be produced to absolve activists, or to confirm their innocence, one can examine existing records and determine that, with the lack of positive proof and in the face of other events, it is unlikely any spitting occurred.