Words have power

To most of us this statement is obvious. I have deliberately refrained, til now, from joining the noise surrounding the "Billy-Bob" Arkin fracas - as CJ at A Soldiers' Perspective calls the op/ed writer of the Washington Post.

But today I am more than a little steamed.

I am guessing that all of us have read the original opinion piece in the WaPo that maligned and disrespected our troops. Most of us saw Matt of BlackFive answer this 'writer' on CNN on Friday. And the milblogs have been buzzing. And A***hole Arkin's inbox has been flooded as we all rush to have our 2 cents worth in response to his inflammatory remarks.

Other writers have way more right to speak on military perspectives than I, since they are either boots on the ground, or family members of these very same men and women who Arkin ever so cavalierly denigrates.

I don't need to defend our men and women; they do a fine job of that without my help.

What I do have issue with is the disingenuous tone Arkin is now adopting after he has set off the firestorm. He has, on the one hand, 'apologised for calling our troops 'mercenaries'. We all know he is not apologetic. Why would he be? His inbox got over 9000 hits just on the first 2 coluumns alone.

And today - before my first coffee - I see he has another kick at the can up, under the guise of an op/ed. If you, must go here.

A***hole Arkin is enjoying this newfound notoriety. Believe me, he is. I can't even read the whole diatribe. He would have you believe that as a writer, he has the right to freedom of speech. He would have you believe that that he 'sincerely apologises to anyone in the military who took [his] words seriously.'

BULL! He is not sorry. He says right at the start of this latest that he "intentionally chose to criticise the military". Well, newsflash for him. I am not a soldier but even I know when you take the pin out of a grenade you better expect explosions. And so does Arkin.

Arkin tries to strike the tone of disingenuous "aw shucks", but I know he is relishing his 15 minutes of spotlight. He is in the BUSINESS of revenue generation. He is also not as ignorant of the effect of his words as he would have the reader believe. All well and good to advocate debate on any issues facing us today, but - words have power, and Arkin well knows this. He knows very well the impact his words have. I read other places that he is a 'military analyst' and if you read B5 and other sites, you will find the lists of Arkin's true alliances. He is NOT a friend of the military. Having him write on such matters is like asking the fox in the henhouse to comment on the living conditions of the hens. Absurd, and of course those opinions mean absolutely nothing.

As with the other anti-troop diatribes floating in cyber space this last while, A***hole needs us to read his op/eds. The more we respond, on his page, and to the WaPo and all the other scum msm, the better they like it. His job depends on it. And of course, their employers depend on our attention too. They are in the BUSINESS of making money. And it hurts me to say this, but the more we read his crap, or any others of his 'ilk', we are making it easy for them to laugh all the way to the bank. We are.

How do I know this? Once upon a time, in another lifetime, I had a very short career as a book reviewer for a major newspaper. I'll spare you the details but one book review that had my byline on set off an uproar across the country. To say the personal attacks on me were vicious is an understatement, and yes, I felt the stabs. But my book editor LOVED it all. The letters to the editor, and the threats of vile (non academic) actions the critics wanted heaped upon me, served to reassure this newspaper that they were read. You know the managing editors were thrilled to see such ardent readership.

My point in all this? (Hey - still working on my first coffee here...lol) The point is, as much as A***hole can cloak himself in the freedoms enshrined in the charter of your great country - fought for and maintained by the very honourable men and women he insults), YOU, and every citizen in the country also have freedoms. YOU have the freedom to speak with your $$. As I have said elsewhere, speak with your $$. Instead of adding to his coffers, his notoriety, with-hold your $$ from EVERY business/ advertiser that contributes to the bottom line of these msm who make money on the blood and sacrifice of the very troops they take glee in badmouthing.

Sure, you can write your opinions to the editors, but really, you are just encouraging them to continue arrogant disdain for our troops. I have written to a few of these editors, asking for equal time. Promising them no abuse, but a well thought out counter column, I have heard nothing. No surprise.

So, speak in a way you WILL be heard. With your wallets. I promise you that if you let every advertiser know that you will NOT add to their bottom lines, that you refuse to help their profits, you WILL effect change. I am not suggesting for one milisecond that we ignore people like A***hole. Not at all. He and his cohorts have got away with this for far too long. What I am suggesting - urging - is that since the managing editors show no interest in equal time for opposing opinions on their pages, we need to be creative. I have no idea what the military term is, but now is the time for a different approach.

We really ARE in this for the long haul, This IS the fight of our lives on the homefront. Just as our guys in the sandbox oftentimes need to reassess ops that are not maximising success, so do we need to mount campaigns that will be felt.

Yes - words have power, and so do dollars. Money talks! A****, the 'arrogant and intolerant' are speaking to YOU! Your 15 minutes is just about up, Billy-Bob!

Let's get 'er done.

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