neonmania
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posted on March 6, 2003 06:52:56 PM new
Tonight after the speech a local news station interviewed the "average guy on the street" (ok, guy on an excersise bike at the YMCA) about their opinions.
I didn't know if I should laugh or cry after this one........
"I think we should just ask our "allies" in the middle east France and Germany just what we did for them in WWII."
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stockticker
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posted on March 6, 2003 07:13:48 PM new
{{giggle}} I'm sure that Germany appreciated the help of its Americian ally during WW II.
Don't they teach history in American schools? I'm truly beginning to wonder.
Irene
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neonmania
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posted on March 6, 2003 07:17:36 PM new
Stock, scary thing is, this guy was in his 40's. Scarier, when I shared this little joke with another friend, their response was.... "What did we do for them?"
I really need some smarter friends.
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stockticker
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posted on March 6, 2003 07:23:42 PM new
How can any nation truly honor its war dead when its people forget what they died fighting against.
Irene
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neonmania
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posted on March 6, 2003 07:44:31 PM new
Stock - you forget, we have not so much as built a memorial to those who fought and died in WWII.
I had a roommate whose father was killed in Vietnam a week before she was born. She said that it wasn't until she was able to travel to DC and run her hand over his name on the wall that she ever felt a connection to him.
My paternal grandfather was killed in WWII. I've never so much as seen a picture of him. The closest I've ever come to something of him is a mention of his divorce from my grandmother on a website built by the kids of the lawyer that handled it. I never even knew his real name until I found the site (he was always reffered to by a knickname). I've always wished there was something to touch that was a reminder of who he was and what he did and the price he paid.
[ edited by neonmania on Mar 6, 2003 07:45 PM ]
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Helenjw
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posted on March 6, 2003 08:03:06 PM new
It must be tough to miss someone that you never knew. I miss people that I knew but I just can't connect to those that I never met.
At least, you passed History 101 and 102. LOL!
Helen
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stockticker
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posted on March 6, 2003 08:16:59 PM new
We have war memorials here all over. Remembrance Day (Nov. 11) ceremonies include the laying of wreaths at the various memorials.
In Ottawa every spring there is the Tulip Festival on Parliament Hill with masses of colorful tulips. Every year since the war Dutch tulip growers have flown in those tulip bulbs, a gift to the people of Canada in gratitude for harboring the Dutch Royal Family during World War II.
Irene
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neonmania
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posted on March 6, 2003 08:28:43 PM new
Helen, that side of my family is about as wierd as they come. I didn't find out my grandmothers real name until just before she died (she hated her name and adopted one she liked more. I know she has a sister but don't know her real name either (just a wierd knickname) to do any real research I still don't know her age because she refused to disclose it, even on her headstone. As the only child of two only children you look for family connections where ever you can. I guess I just consider my grandfather is part of still another missing link to the puzzle.
On the upside, family tree school projects didn't take much time to complete. 
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neonmania
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posted on March 6, 2003 08:41:29 PM new
Stock - we have Memorial Day here, no assigned day, It always falls on Monday and to most people it's more of a three day weekend to mark the end of summer than anything else.
Come to think of it, this is not a country big on history. Washington and Lincoln's birthday have been magically combined into Presidents' Day...again the closest Monday in order to create another three day weekend.
When I was a kid in Virginia I used to attend the Juneteenth celebration ever summer. One part of downtown was turned into a block party with artists, craft and food booths. It wasn't until last years later when I did some work with San Diego's Juneteenth organizers that I found out what it is.
(Juneteenth is a celebration of when Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation which ended slavery. Since no one knows the exact date it falls on what ever weekend is in the teens in June,)
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stockticker
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posted on March 6, 2003 09:05:59 PM new
I think your Memorial Day at the beginning of summer (4th Monday in May) not the end of summer. The previous weekend is a long weekend for us, supposedly celebrating Queen Victoria's birthday but in actual fact the signal for all to storm the garden centers in search of annuals - in many areas of the country it's considered the first "safe" weekend to plant annuals without the risk of frost.
I also thought that you called Nov. 11 Veterans Day?
Irene
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neonmania
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posted on March 6, 2003 09:57:07 PM new
Stock - you are probably right - I am infamous for confusing Memorial Day and Labor Day. One marks the end of summer, the other the end. You are also right about Veterans Day - are you sure you are not a closet American?
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stockticker
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posted on March 6, 2003 10:13:46 PM new
If I said I was, could I post my vote on Cheryl's voting thread. I'm itching to cast my vote.
Irene
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Helenjw
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posted on March 6, 2003 10:17:12 PM new
Absolutely YES 
Helen
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rawbunzel
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posted on March 6, 2003 10:29:28 PM new
Stockticker, since the war would affect everyone no matter where they live there is no reason whatsoever why you should not be able to vote in the thread or to voice your opinion whenever you please about whatever you please.
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antiquary
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posted on March 6, 2003 10:30:41 PM new
Of course, Irene. You've been posting here forever and it is a global community. And in another twenty years......
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stockticker
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posted on March 6, 2003 10:38:56 PM new
Well the Cheryl said she was looking only for American votes.
I've been out hunting for a disguise. Found one.
Irene
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rawbunzel
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posted on March 6, 2003 10:39:21 PM new
Antiquary
It's the water , am I right?
Another poll discovered that 45% of Americans mistakenly believe that it was Iraq that engineered 9-11.
We are an uneducated lot.
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antiquary
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posted on March 6, 2003 10:41:22 PM new
Yes, I saw that. It results from all the disinformation. But people are awakening.
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Helenjw
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posted on March 6, 2003 11:04:25 PM new
Kraftdinner
You need to vote also!!!!
Helen
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gravid
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posted on March 7, 2003 01:18:47 AM new
According to what Bush is saying the Iraqi people will be eternally grateful at being liberated - So the German people should be the same.
You don't mean to imply that the German people actually supported Hitler do you? Every single one was forced to do his will with a boot on their neck - just like Saddam's people.
Be careful. If you suggest any Iraqis support Saddam that may go against official policy. The Homeland defenders may have to come take you away in the night for misusing your freedom.
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CBlev65252
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posted on March 7, 2003 04:16:12 AM new
EVERYONE vote! Helen is right, this war will affect the entire world. The US will not be the only ones with casualties. I think there should be a world vote of the people. To heck with the UN and to heck with the White House. How many of them will be carry guns and dropping bombs on innocent women and children in this war? NONE. Should it look like the US will be hit, the president and all his little men will be safely put underground where, when it's all over, they can rule again. Only this time, who the hell are they going to rule???
Cheryl
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meadowlark
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posted on March 7, 2003 04:54:33 AM new
Neonmania,
Juneteenth is a combination of the words "June" and "nineteenth" into one word.
Being a Texan, I was schooled in this holiday as a child since Texas figures in the forefront of Juneteenth's history. Here's a link to a website with the history:
http://www.chumpchange.com/Juneteenth/History.htm
Here's an exerpt from the article:
Juneteenth began in the great state of Texas when Major General Gordon Granger of the Union Army led his troops into the city of Galveston. There, on June 19, 1865, he officially proclaimed freedom for slaves in that state. Granger's ride through Galveston culminated a two-and-a-half year trek through America's deep south. But many states, parishes and counties had been excluded from learning of President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, leaving millions of African American slaves without their freedom. Thus it was that on this date the African American slaves of Texas and other parts of the South celebrated the final execution of the Emancipation Proclamation, giving them their freedom forever.
When I was a child in Houston, typically all the city and county parks (all the ones I ever saw, anyway) were used only by whites. I just almost never saw a black person in a public park. This was in the mid to late 50's and early 60's. On June 19th, most of the parks in Houston and those in it's surrounding counties, if not all, were allowed to be black only and they would be filled with those of African American descent, celebrating in the same way most Americans celebrated the 4th of July.
Law enforcement would actually keep whites out of the parks to avoid racist incidents (created by whites), I assume. Nowadays, the local celebrations include whites as the south has become more educated and tolerant.
Have fun!
Patty
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neonmania
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posted on March 7, 2003 07:08:41 AM new
Meadow - Thanks for the info. I was depending on the info I got from the organizers of the (very small) celebration here for my info. Considering that one of them was the same friend that I mentioned above who asked "what did we do for them" in regards to Germany and France I think that until I find those smarter friends, I better start doing more research.
As for the racial mix of the celebrations, the ones I attended as a kid in the 70s were, if anything, dominantly white. But then there was no mention of what the celbration was about. It was just a 12 block Block-Party downtown.
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