Cindy Sheehan calls it quits (1 Viewer)

[Rayderr]

Da Link

(CNN) -- Cindy Sheehan, the California mother who became an anti-war leader after her son was killed in Iraq, declared Monday she was walking away from the peace movement.

She said her son died "for nothing."

Sheehan achieved national attention when she camped outside President Bush's home in Crawford, Texas, throughout August 2005 to demand a meeting with the president over her son's death.

While Bush ignored her, the vigil made her one of the most prominent figures among opponents of the war.

But in a Web diary posted to the liberal online community Daily Kos on Monday, Sheehan said she was exhausted by the personal, financial and emotional toll of the past two years.

She wrote that she is disillusioned by the failure of Democratic politicians to bring the unpopular war to an end and tired of a peace movement she said "often puts personal egos above peace and human life."

Casey Sheehan, a 24-year-old Army specialist, was killed in an April 2004 battle in Baghdad. His death prompted his mother to found Gold Star Families for Peace.

But in Monday's 1,200-word letter, titled, "Good Riddance Attention Whore," Sheehan announced that her son "did indeed die for nothing."

"I have tried ever since he died to make his sacrifice meaningful," she wrote. "Casey died for a country which cares more about who will be the next American Idol than how many people will be killed in the next few months while Democrats and Republicans play politics with human lives.

"It is so painful to me to know that I bought into this system for so many years, and Casey paid the price for that allegiance. I failed my boy and that hurts the most."

Cindy Sheehan's sister, DeDe Miller, told CNN that the group would continue working for humanitarian causes, but drop its involvement in the anti-war movement. As for her sister's letter, Miller said, "She cried for quite a bit after writing it."

Sheehan warned that the United States was becoming "a fascist corporate wasteland," and that onetime allies among Bush's Democratic opposition turned on her when she began trying to hold them accountable for bringing the 4-year-old war to a close.

In the meantime, she said her antiwar activism had cost her her marriage, that she had put the survivor's benefits paid for her son's death and all her speaking and book fees into the cause and that she now owed extensive medical bills.

"I am going to take whatever I have left and go home," she wrote. "I am going to go home and be a mother to my surviving children and try to regain some of what I have lost.

"I will try to maintain and nurture some very positive relationships that I have found in the journey that I was forced into when Casey died and try to repair some of the ones that have fallen apart since I began this single-minded crusade to try and change a paradigm that is now, I am afraid, carved in immovable, unbendable and rigidly mendacious marble."

 

[PC Load Letter]

Na na na na, Na na na na, Hey hey, Goodbye

Stay classy.

 

[Hammered Finz]

 

[Rayderr]

Na na na na, Na na na na, Hey hey, Goodbye

Stay classy.

Trust me, compared to things I could've said, that is quite classy.

 

[Sweet J]

If I lost my child I may go slightly crazy, too. I'm not saying she is or isn't (crazy, rational, smart, dumb, whatever). I'm just saying that I don't really begrudge her motivations.

That being said, I do feel bad for her. I do think she was over her head, dealing with people (both her "enemies" and her "allies") who cared little about her or her ideas.

There but the grace of god go I.

 

[kupcho1]

Is it just me or is the irony off the charts on this one: She's quitting the effort to get us to quit Iraq.

Or maybe its a symbolic gesture.

Or maybe she wasn't in the news lately.

 

[PatsWillWin]

At least she's doing some good exposing Democrats on her way out.

 

[Tecumseh]

O/U 8 pages.

 

[Righetti]

Da Link

(CNN) -- Cindy Sheehan, the California mother who became an anti-war leader after her son was killed in Iraq, declared Monday she was walking away from the peace movement.

She said her son died "for nothing."

Sheehan achieved national attention when she camped outside President Bush's home in Crawford, Texas, throughout August 2005 to demand a meeting with the president over her son's death.

While Bush ignored her, the vigil made her one of the most prominent figures among opponents of the war.

But in a Web diary posted to the liberal online community Daily Kos on Monday, Sheehan said she was exhausted by the personal, financial and emotional toll of the past two years.

She wrote that she is disillusioned by the failure of Democratic politicians to bring the unpopular war to an end and tired of a peace movement she said "often puts personal egos above peace and human life."

Casey Sheehan, a 24-year-old Army specialist, was killed in an April 2004 battle in Baghdad. His death prompted his mother to found Gold Star Families for Peace.

But in Monday's 1,200-word letter, titled, "Good Riddance Attention Whore," Sheehan announced that her son "did indeed die for nothing."

"I have tried ever since he died to make his sacrifice meaningful," she wrote. "Casey died for a country which cares more about who will be the next American Idol than how many people will be killed in the next few months while Democrats and Republicans play politics with human lives.

"It is so painful to me to know that I bought into this system for so many years, and Casey paid the price for that allegiance. I failed my boy and that hurts the most."

Cindy Sheehan's sister, DeDe Miller, told CNN that the group would continue working for humanitarian causes, but drop its involvement in the anti-war movement. As for her sister's letter, Miller said, "She cried for quite a bit after writing it."

Sheehan warned that the United States was becoming "a fascist corporate wasteland," and that onetime allies among Bush's Democratic opposition turned on her when she began trying to hold them accountable for bringing the 4-year-old war to a close.

In the meantime, she said her antiwar activism had cost her her marriage, that she had put the survivor's benefits paid for her son's death and all her speaking and book fees into the cause and that she now owed extensive medical bills.

"I am going to take whatever I have left and go home," she wrote. "I am going to go home and be a mother to my surviving children and try to regain some of what I have lost.

"I will try to maintain and nurture some very positive relationships that I have found in the journey that I was forced into when Casey died and try to repair some of the ones that have fallen apart since I began this single-minded crusade to try and change a paradigm that is now, I am afraid, carved in immovable, unbendable and rigidly mendacious marble."

I guess in your world protesting is UnAmerican

 

[Sweet J]

Na na na na, Na na na na, Hey hey, Goodbye

Stay classy.

Trust me, compared to things I could've said, that is quite classy.

hmmm. . . I'm curious what non-classy things you would have said. What exactly is your beef with this woman? Does she get more of your ire than the run of the mill anti-war activist?

 

[cubd8]

The ironic thing is she has been irrelevent for the entire time she has been in public. She didn't change any policy, and the Democrats just ignored her also.

 

[TheIronSheik]

Na na na na, Na na na na, Hey hey, Goodbye

Stay classy.

Classy like when she met with Hugo Chavez-classy?

 

[Sweet J]

Is it just me or is the irony off the charts on this one: She's quitting the effort to get us to quit Iraq.Or maybe its a symbolic gesture.Or maybe she wasn't in the news lately.

Actually, I just figured it was the result of the Dem's recent concession about the war spending/timetable bill. Once they made that concession, I'm not sure there is much for someone like her (advocating immediate withdrawal) to fight for. Sure, she can keep up the "good fight." But for what? She lost, she's tired, and she's going home. There is nothing wrong with it.

 

[PC Load Letter]

Na na na na, Na na na na, Hey hey, Goodbye

Stay classy.

Classy like when she met with Hugo Chavez-classy?

Oh you just don't like him because he's hording all that oil.

 

[johnnycakes]

The woman lost her son. It's not like she wrecked a car that can be replaced. She's entitled to say whatever she wants, in any way she wants.

 

[Ozymandias]

She is a subject of pity, because her loss caused her deep emotional stress. On the other hand, the media shamelessly exploited her, because it fit with their agenda. Their exploitation just added to her difficulties.

 

[zamboni]

The woman lost her son.

That is precisely why I never had an issue with her actions. No parent should have to go through the unbelievable pain of burying their child.

 

[Tecumseh]

The woman lost her son. It's not like she wrecked a car that can be replaced. She's entitled to say whatever she wants, in any way she wants.

NM. I'm just not in the mood today.

 

[Rayderr]

I guess in your world protesting is UnAmerican

All I did was post a CNN story.

 

[Rayderr]

Na na na na, Na na na na, Hey hey, Goodbye

Stay classy.

Trust me, compared to things I could've said, that is quite classy.

hmmm. . . I'm curious what non-classy things you would have said. What exactly is your beef with this woman? Does she get more of your ire than the run of the mill anti-war activist?

When she went from protesting the war to being an attention hog is where she went wrong imo. Started off somewhat noble with the trying to end the war. Then she started joining in Anti-Israel protests, Pro-Chavez rallys etc just to get attention.

 

[Elway Lives]

I guess in your world protesting is UnAmerican

Suing over getting coffee spilled in your lap is American too, but it doesn't mean you should do it, nor does it mean if you do that a lot of people are not going to like you for it.

 

[PC Load Letter]

Na na na na, Na na na na, Hey hey, Goodbye

Stay classy.

Trust me, compared to things I could've said, that is quite classy.

hmmm. . . I'm curious what non-classy things you would have said. What exactly is your beef with this woman? Does she get more of your ire than the run of the mill anti-war activist?

When she went from protesting the war to being an attention hog is where she went wrong imo. Started off somewhat noble with the trying to end the war. Then she started joining in Anti-Israel protests, Pro-Chavez rallys etc just to get attention.

This is good posting.. I just thought "Kiss Him Goodbye" was in poor taste.

 

[Sulla]

I guess in your world protesting is UnAmerican

All I did was post a CNN story.

Na na na na, Na na na na, Hey hey, Goodbye

You forgot to add "Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Cindy!".

 

[Rayderr]

I guess in your world protesting is UnAmerican

All I did was post a CNN story.

Na na na na, Na na na na, Hey hey, Goodbye

You forgot to add "Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Cindy!".

I'm not familiar with that lyric in the song.

 

[fsword]

It is a tradgedy her pain was so grossly exploited. Those who manipulated and then abandoned her have shown their true colors. This woman has lost her son, alienated her family, and grieved in a public way beneath her dignity, imo. While I disagree with most of her expressed politics, I hope she finds some inner peace and can pick up and moveon.

 

[Righetti]

I guess in your world protesting is UnAmerican

Suing over getting coffee spilled in your lap is American too, but it doesn't mean you should do it, nor does it mean if you do that a lot of people are not going to like you for it.

what does one have to do with the other?

 

[TinHat]

Sheehan warned that the United States was becoming "a fascist corporate wasteland,"

Either a case of "even a blind squirrel..." or the fact that this is so obvious, anybody who stops to look would notice it.

 

[TommyGilmore]

Na na na na, Na na na na, Hey hey, Goodbye

 

[Leo Scanlon]

The ironic thing is she has been irrelevent for the entire time she has been in public. She didn't change any policy, and the Democrats just ignored her also.

That doesn't make her irrelevent. She got people thinking about this war and how it was taking lives for no reason whatsoever. I can understand her frustration about nothing being done, even by the Democratic party, who have gone gutless about pushing for troop withdrawals.

 

[Davej626]

The ironic thing is she has been irrelevent for the entire time she has been in public. She didn't change any policy, and the Democrats just ignored her also.

That doesn't make her irrelevent. She got people thinking about this war and how it was taking lives for no reason whatsoever. I can understand her frustration about nothing being done, even by the Democratic party, who have gone gutless about pushing for troop withdrawals.

Newsflash: People are and have been thinking about this war everyday. It was happening before she came along and it will happen after she has left. That is what makes her irrelevent. So she's irrelevent. So what? Just let her ride into the sunset and carry on. No news here. Carry on.

 

[CBusAlex]

Don't cry, Cindy. Don't raise your eye. It's only corporate wasteland.

 

[Idiot Boxer]

Her son's death isn't meaningless just because she says so.

Her son found his calling meaningful. She's upset he's gone, but the fact that she refused to accept his choice is where I have a beef with the woman.

His death meant something. To him, to me, to this country. I'm saddened that she feels it meaningless.

 

[Foosball God]

This fits her MO perfectly. If the going gets tough just quit, pack up and leave.

 

[redman]

She is a subject of pity, because her loss caused her deep emotional stress. On the other hand, the media shamelessly exploited her, because it fit with their agenda. Their exploitation just added to her difficulties.

And we're entitled to criticize her for what she says and how she says it. Ain't freedom great!

 

[redman]

Her son's death isn't meaningless just because she says so. Her son found his calling meaningful. She's upset he's gone, but the fact that she refused to accept his choice is where I have a beef with the woman.His death meant something. To him, to me, to this country. I'm saddened that she feels it meaningless.

 

[One]

Na na na na, Na na na na, Hey hey, Goodbye

 

[redman]

If I lost my child I may go slightly crazy, too. I'm not saying she is or isn't (crazy, rational, smart, dumb, whatever). I'm just saying that I don't really begrudge her motivations.That being said, I do feel bad for her. I do think she was over her head, dealing with people (both her "enemies" and her "allies") who cared little about her or her ideas.There but the grace of god go I.

The parents and family members of the other 3500 members of the armed services who lost their lives in Iraq since 2003 have managed to avoid making spectacles of themselves. I happen to think that she was probably emotionally/mentally unstable prior to all of this occurring. Her own family has shunned her on this, which speaks volumes frankly.

 

[cartel]

If I lost my child I may go slightly crazy, too. I'm not saying she is or isn't (crazy, rational, smart, dumb, whatever). I'm just saying that I don't really begrudge her motivations.That being said, I do feel bad for her. I do think she was over her head, dealing with people (both her "enemies" and her "allies") who cared little about her or her ideas.There but the grace of god go I.

This woman was used and abused by both sides. She has sacrificed more then most of us and gained nothing from it. This is a very sad story.

 

[bigbottom]

If I lost my child I may go slightly crazy, too. I'm not saying she is or isn't (crazy, rational, smart, dumb, whatever). I'm just saying that I don't really begrudge her motivations.That being said, I do feel bad for her. I do think she was over her head, dealing with people (both her "enemies" and her "allies") who cared little about her or her ideas.There but the grace of god go I.

 

[PatsWillWin]

Her son's death isn't meaningless just because she says so. Her son found his calling meaningful. She's upset he's gone, but the fact that she refused to accept his choice is where I have a beef with the woman.His death meant something. To him, to me, to this country. I'm saddened that she feels it meaningless.

I doubt her son would approve of her exploiting his death and using it as a badge of credibility so she could further her own anti-war agenda.

 

[CBusAlex]

Her son's death isn't meaningless just because she says so. Her son found his calling meaningful. She's upset he's gone, but the fact that she refused to accept his choice is where I have a beef with the woman.His death meant something. To him, to me, to this country. I'm saddened that she feels it meaningless.

I doubt her son would approve of her exploiting his death and using it as a badge of credibility so she could further her own anti-war agenda.

I'm sure you know her son better than she does.

 

[redman]

Her son's death isn't meaningless just because she says so. Her son found his calling meaningful. She's upset he's gone, but the fact that she refused to accept his choice is where I have a beef with the woman.His death meant something. To him, to me, to this country. I'm saddened that she feels it meaningless.

I doubt her son would approve of her exploiting his death and using it as a badge of credibility so she could further her own anti-war agenda.

I'm sure you know her son better than she does.

No, but I'm sure her family knows her son as well as she does, and I take note that they've all disavowed her.

 

[Rayderr]

Her son's death isn't meaningless just because she says so. Her son found his calling meaningful. She's upset he's gone, but the fact that she refused to accept his choice is where I have a beef with the woman.His death meant something. To him, to me, to this country. I'm saddened that she feels it meaningless.

I doubt her son would approve of her exploiting his death and using it as a badge of credibility so she could further her own anti-war agenda.

Having worked with Soldiers and Marines, every time her name popped up in the news, we'd usually have a discussion about whther or not this is what her son would've wanted. All the Soldiers and Marines said they would not want their relatives using their death as a platform to speak out against the military action in which they were killed. I'm sure there's a few out there that would say otherwise, but I haven't found them.

 

[PatsWillWin]

Her son's death isn't meaningless just because she says so. Her son found his calling meaningful. She's upset he's gone, but the fact that she refused to accept his choice is where I have a beef with the woman.His death meant something. To him, to me, to this country. I'm saddened that she feels it meaningless.

I doubt her son would approve of her exploiting his death and using it as a badge of credibility so she could further her own anti-war agenda.

I'm sure you know her son better than she does.

Not sure you're getting the point.

 

[cartel]

Her son's death isn't meaningless just because she says so. Her son found his calling meaningful. She's upset he's gone, but the fact that she refused to accept his choice is where I have a beef with the woman.His death meant something. To him, to me, to this country. I'm saddened that she feels it meaningless.

I doubt her son would approve of her exploiting his death and using it as a badge of credibility so she could further her own anti-war agenda.

It takes a very cold hearted person to exploit their own son's death. She may be a little bit of a nut bag but I do not see her as expoiting her sons death. Pretty big mischaracterization IMO. The media on both sides were the ones doing the exploiting.

 

[PatsWillWin]

Her son's death isn't meaningless just because she says so. Her son found his calling meaningful. She's upset he's gone, but the fact that she refused to accept his choice is where I have a beef with the woman.His death meant something. To him, to me, to this country. I'm saddened that she feels it meaningless.

I doubt her son would approve of her exploiting his death and using it as a badge of credibility so she could further her own anti-war agenda.

It takes a very cold hearted person to exploit their own son's death. She may be a little bit of a nut bag but I do not see her as expoiting her sons death. Pretty big mischaracterization IMO. The media on both sides were the ones doing the exploiting.

Not really - I'm sure she doesn't view it as exploiting her sons death. And I don't think this woman is the anti-Christ, but I really cannot buy this "blame it on the media" angle this time - she pulled stunt after stunt after stunt and totally ate up all the media attention she could get.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

I hope she finds some measure of peace in her life.

I'll just leave it at that.

 

[Yankee23Fan]

I pray that one day she can find enough inner peace that the pain of losing her son doesn't become an all encompassing grief that she can't get out of.

And I pray that because I know that if I lost my son the level of dispair and grief I would fall to would be impossible to climb out of. I don't know how military families do it.

 

[cartel]

Her son's death isn't meaningless just because she says so. Her son found his calling meaningful. She's upset he's gone, but the fact that she refused to accept his choice is where I have a beef with the woman.His death meant something. To him, to me, to this country. I'm saddened that she feels it meaningless.

I doubt her son would approve of her exploiting his death and using it as a badge of credibility so she could further her own anti-war agenda.

It takes a very cold hearted person to exploit their own son's death. She may be a little bit of a nut bag but I do not see her as expoiting her sons death. Pretty big mischaracterization IMO. The media on both sides were the ones doing the exploiting.

Not really - I'm sure she doesn't view it as exploiting her sons death. And I don't think this woman is the anti-Christ, but I really cannot buy this "blame it on the media" angle this time - she pulled stunt after stunt after stunt and totally ate up all the media attention she could get.

This woman appeared to me to be pretty unstable and no clue how to grieve her son's death. She latched on to those who she percieved as helpful and in turn IMO they turned her grief into a circus. Both sides of the media played into it. If she was running around all antiwar before her son died and used her sons death to make her point louder I could see this was using his death for her own agenda. But as far as I can tell she did not have much of a political agenda before he was killed. Do I think she acted in a productive way after her sons death probably not but I have a hard time passing judgment on someone when I have not suffered the same terrible tragedy.

 

[bigbottom]

If I lost my child I may go slightly crazy, too. I'm not saying she is or isn't (crazy, rational, smart, dumb, whatever). I'm just saying that I don't really begrudge her motivations.That being said, I do feel bad for her. I do think she was over her head, dealing with people (both her "enemies" and her "allies") who cared little about her or her ideas.There but the grace of god go I.

The parents and family members of the other 3500 members of the armed services who lost their lives in Iraq since 2003 have managed to avoid making spectacles of themselves.

Cindy Sheehan saw what she perceived as an injustice and fought long and hard against that injustice. I'm guessing that the majority of the parents and family members of the other 3500 dead don't view the Iraq War in the same way that Cindy does. So it's not so much that the other families "managed to avoid making spectacles of themselves," it's that, unlike Cindy, many of them see no injustice or meaningless sacrifice in their loved one's death.