Vietnam War Protest

The Vietnam War split our country. The government wanted us in Vietnam and a large portion of the populace didn’t. The GI was caught in the middle. Who was the Protester? Who was the GI?. Why was the protesting of the Vietnam War wrong?

The “Hippie” is what most people think of when they think of the Vietnam War Protester but to me they were used by a handful of instigators. Most Hippies were way into drugs and all they wanted to do was stay high and be left alone. The instigators realized that when these people were high they could be easily riled up.  Some of the instigators were draft age men who did not want to serve. Some were people who thought their skills were overlooked by the authorities. Some were just everyday people who didn’t believe in sending the young off to a war they didn’t think we should be involved in.

The GI was a young man for the most part were between the ages of 18 and 30. They were of all races and the majority came from less than affluent families. Very few ever got drafted while enrolled in college. Most Vietnam veterans had a year or less in the military before they went to Vietnam. They went because their government gave them orders to go.  Others volunteered because they believed in what they were fighting for.

The Vietnam War protests were wrong because they were directed at the GI and not the government. Young men and women came back from Vietnam to be called “Baby Killers” and were spit on. The veteran was the scapegoat for the government. Instead of spitting on Senators or congressmen or calling them baby killers the protesters were directed to point their hostilities at the GI.

The reason that today’s protesters ran into problems at the beginning was they too forgot to distinguish between the government and those doing their duties. The protesting of today has slowed to a crawl except for some religious nuts who think they are doing the right thing by protesting funerals. In my opinion they should be shot.

The American GI fights so that each American may have the freedom of speech. They just  can’t fight to give them the ability to use common sense. There is nothing wrong in being against a war. You just don’t blame the servant. You blame the master.

I’m not spending a lot of time on war protesters. Most aren’t worth the time. For those few who protest because they really believe they are right and do it right I tip my hat. For those who do it to make a name for themselves and protest against the GI, they can still kiss my ass.