I'm glad you spoke up, R. These are topics on which I hold your opinion in especially high regard.

I was deeply involved in the middle of that thread, and weighing-in on the subject of respect for veterans. I think that at several points I stated in too black-and-white a fashion the reality of the spitting and other violent incidents. I didn't actually mean to imply that it never happened, because of course history records that some members of the anti-war movement took it to extremes, in this and other areas. Christ, some of those whackjobs at the extreme edge actually built bombs.

What I was referring to as a "lie" is what it became in the hands of propagandists. The story was actively promoted and disseminated, and the tale grew in the telling. As it grew from individual incidents into a generality, it became, for many, an iconic representation of "the Left" (at the same time that the definition of "the Left" was expanding to ultimately include everyone who was not in "the Right", as polarization grew these three decades). It became a smear not because at its heart it didn't contain some truth, but because it was used to tarnish the reputations of a great many people who were not guilty of the crimes of the few, and who strongly and positively disapprove of those actions. I hope it's clear that I seriously disapprove now and even as a callow youth then I'd have known that it was beyond the pale.

The middle part of my thesis was to suggest that growing the story into an iconic tale about general anti-military attitudes was a disservice to former and present military personnel. If they're not really the objects of widespread disregard and disrespect, isn't it cruel to promote a story that falsely implies otherwise? On another level, isn't it a disservice to America to falsely promote disaffection among former and present military personnel? (Not rhetorical questions, what do you think?)

The final part of my thesis was that it would be better for America if it turns out that it wasn't a general phenomenon. That was an exercize in empathy, to believe that it might lift a burden, albeit very late...and if I got that wrong, I apologize.

Ya know, I'd hate to be one of the majority that doesn't have a fucking clue. I'm going to worry about it until you tell me in no uncertain terms where I screwed up. Go ahead, I submit myself for judgment.