Where Is The Outrage?
Where is the outrage?
By request, a cross post from Tanker Brothers.
Remember this?
Or this?
Or this?
One week ago today, I woke to these pictures, just as the rest of us did. As always when I witness any kind of cruelty to children, my broken heart shattered into even more tiny pieces.
One week! One week - and CBS reported on this horrific scene that our troops almost missed. Almost missed, but didn’t; I can only guess that was by the grace of God that they did NOT walk by unknowing what horrors lurked behind the wall.
On a daytime patrol in central Baghdad just over than a week ago, a U.S. military advisory team and Iraqi soldiers happened to look over a wall and found something horrific….”They saw multiple bodies laying on the floor of the facility,” Staff Sgt. Mitchell Gibson of the 82nd Airborne Division told CBS News … “They thought they were all dead, so they threw a basketball (to) try and get some attention, and actually one of the kids lifted up their head, tilted it over and just looked and then went back down. And they said, ‘oh, they’re alive’ and so they went into the building.” [source]
One week ago, msm like CBS gave this story front page status. One week on? Nothing. Zip. Zero. NADA. You might be forgiven if you think it was all a bad dream, now that the media has gone on to the next big ’scoop’. They might have moved on, but I will not - and I will not allow self-righteous, self-serving politicians of the world to move on.
Yes, these are ugly pictures showing, for all to see, the basest of human nature, and we ALL want to turn away. The msm has, but I will not.
In the course of my life, I have worked with many abused and neglected children. Because of what I do, complete strangers still email me regularly with a never-ending litany of horror stories of neglected children. Children treated as so much garbage by the ‘adults’ supposed to nurture them and care for them. Every time I hear (or see with my own eyes in some cases) the neglect and mistreatment of kids, it just makes me stronger in my mission to work on behalf of the children. It outrages me all over again - even when I am so heart-sick of the never-ending stories, that I swear I can no longer be outraged. And then - and then. THIS shows up with my morning coffee, and I want to do unspeakable things to the adults who would do such things.
People like this:
Or this:
Or THIS:
orphanage worker
The caption on THIS picture?
A woman working at an orphanage smiles for pictures in front of the naked boys as if there was nothing wrong.
“Nothing wrong”????????? There is just sooooooooo much wrong with this story on so many levels, is hard to know where to begin. But begin we must, and never stop looking at pictures like this. Yes, it stinks to see these over morning coffee. Hell, it hurts any time of the day to see these pictures. But look we must. And we must act. To quote an old song “Tears are not enough”. Treating this story, and the many so far untold stories like this, as one day wonders, as various media outlets have done, and then moving on, is most certainly not enough. As I looked at these the first time, I immediately had to wonder how many OTHER - thus far unknown - children will bear witness to the horrors of the state-sanctioned evil that our troops are fighting against. Our troops. I dont need to imagine the reactions of our soldiers as they deal with this day in, day out. I don’t need to imagine. I know. For me, pictures like this are EXACTLY why our troops are in Iraq. And I want to go to some politicians’ offices and get in their faces and DEMAND they support the mission with every cell in their bodies.
In the past, ChrisG has posted pictures here of a little girl in Iraq. This little girl, wrote ChrisG (and I am paraphrasing now Chris - forgive me) reminded Chris WHY he does what he does, why he went to Iraq, why he serves in the military.
As a member of Soldiers’ Angels, and with the contacts I now have, I often see requests for shoes for children in Iraq who have no shoes. Our soldiers in Afghanistan write and ask for school supplies, teddy bears, footballs (okay, okay “soccer balls. lol). All well and good, and I am happy to report that every single request for those things IS met, by generous and loving folks - strangers to these children. Compassionate strangers a world away from the deprivation of kids they may never meet, open their hearts and their wallets so that others’ children may know the simple joys of chasing a ball, swinging carelessly on a swing in a newly rebuilt playground. You know - every day simple joys that we who do not live in places like Iraq take for granted every single day.
So I have a mission for every single compassionate person. THIS mission has nothing to do with opening your wallet. It has EVERYTHING to do with opening your heart. It has EVERYTHING to do with taking the outrage that any of us feel when we witness recurring scenes like these (remember Romania? We’ve come a long way baby. NOT!) and demanding, DEMANDING that your politicians give our soliders every single dime they need to complete their mission. We ‘cut and run’ as so many of the politicians insist is the only plausable, acceptable end to this war, and I dread to think how many more of children - JUST LIKE THESE - will go unfound.
In the immediate days following the breaking of this story, a few media outlets had this - you can go here, or here, or here,(YouTube).
I don’t care where you get the pictures from, or the facts from, but this mission must not fail. I have noticed how quiet all the politicians have been on this horror story. Why is that, do you think? That was a rhetorical question! I know, oh how I know, it would be s0 easy to ‘turn the page’ and just get back to business as usual. You know the line: WE have no business being in Iraq. We went there for oil. No weapons of mass destruction. Blah blah blah. Well, I for one have always supported our troops and their mission - whole-heartedly. For me, it is and has always been about the children. Children are MY business, and damn it - I am going to do all in my power to make sure that not another politican can turn their heads away from this story. Not another politician is going to be allowed to play bs games with the lives of our troops, or the children. The children, the thousands of children just like these, don’t have the luxury of turning away. They live - and they die - in the time it is taking you to read this and drink your morning coffee. It is ONLY because our troops are there that maybe, just maybe if the politicians get their heads out of their arses, that children just like these, and you know - kids used a suicide bomb decoys (and if that doesn’t outrage you, you are NOT fit to be part of the HUMAN race) - will be allowed to grow up, go to school, swing in the playground, and scream in delight. Our troops, and these children, deserve our support. Every soldier - and every CHILD, no matter where, IS one of our own.
Capt. Benjamin Morales carries one of the special needs boys from a Baghdad orphanage after finding the children suffering in horrific conditions, in this photo given to CBS News.
“We’ll leave here and he’ll remember us ’til the day he dies.” Lt. Jason Smith [source]
Every one of these children and yes, every Iraqi child touched on a daily basis by our troops, (you know, the stories you will never see in msm) WILL remember the kind soldiers who rescued them, saved them. These children will remember that not everyone in the world treats them as so much garbage.
Please: I don’t care what your politics are. I don’t care of you are brainwashed by the anti-war rhetoric. That is your choice. I am telling you, in the matter of children, none of us has a choice. Really, we don’t. It is said that every society is judged by how it treats the weakest among them. How willl YOU be judged? Where is the outrage? Who will join me on this mission to ensure that NEVER AGAIN will any politician be allowed to play their political games. NEVER again will they be allowed - by the stroke of a pen in their cushy, air-conditioned offices, enjoying their fat paycheques (which YOU pay), to send the message to ANY child that they don’t matter. I swear that I will not sit quietly by and give the politicians the luxury of turning their head away from scenes such as these, and decide that their own games of one-upmanship matter more than any child. Enough!
This is MY mission.
Brat
(NOTE to Brat from Tanker Brothers from Spree—-Thank you for bringing this to our attention and offering it to my readers)
Outrage? Out of sight, out of mind.
Hmmmm…we’re talking about IRAQI children here–you know, the ones you’d abandon by pulling the troops out NOW because they don’t want us there? Why are you trying to spin towards Darfur–a place that’s had way more publicity about the atrocities and way more money thrown at it (but, because there’s no oil for you to scream about, it’s safe to say why aren’t we there?). Can’t face the facts of the atrocities continuing in Iraq and the pictures, facts you purport to want at all times, staring you in the face? Whatsamatta u? Truth too hard to face?
Look at THESE children in IRAQ as they welcome they’re AMERICAN rescuers and then go scurry in your hole trying to spin it.
bu-bye!
whose playing politics but you? your side wants the troops out now, your side says we’re not wanted–yet here’s the evidence to belie the koolaid…and you’re the one bringing in darfur–not me, you. so get off your high horse and try to concentrate on the post and the issue at hand. this is IRAQ and the IRAQI children–remember them? Not a psa for clooney tunes and darfur–and yes, darfur is utterly revolting. But that’s not what the post was about–plain and simple it’s a refutation to all the idiotic ‘cite pleases” whenever anyone says we’re wanted and needed in iraq–
to paraphrase—HERE’S your cite
Actually, despite your trying to distract and distort things, this post is up because these children deserve better.
So do the children of Darfur, but THIS post is about the children of Iraq.(I know it is difficult, but TRY to focus on the topic at hand, then comment separately on the posts about Darfur)
People like you want to help the people of Darfur but wish to say “screw the people of Iraq”.
We have your number.
so seeing children rescued by our troops doesn’t show they want and need us there–your intellectual dishonesty is stunning–you can’t stand to see any child abused but once again, make some asinine remark about it being all for show (of course,not a direct quote, some of us can comprehend as well as read) when facts are put directly in front of you. unbelievable
hey there spree! we must have been posting at the same time–i was answering him, not you.
yeah, to hear it from the left, these kids abused themselves as propaganda tools for hitler bush just so they could prove Iraq needs out presence there, against all the warm fuzzy’s of the left….that would make sense to a lefty, correct?
Mentally deranged liberals…the do as I say not as I do crowd…the touchy feely..oh the humanity crowd have “0″ solutions.
They want us to abandon Iraq. For what reason? Because they hate bush?
I see the shit birds marching with their stupid little signs protesting our presence in Iraq but I DO NOT SEE SOLUTIONS OFFERED. We hate bush, we hate America, we hate the right…but not ONE word about a solution.
All the Hollyweirdos want us to go to Darfur. Great! So go already. Get off your friggin soapboxes and D-O something for a change instead of criticizing.
Where is the U.N.? What about Europe? They’re too busy boycotting Israel.
The liberals scream and yell about atrocities but sit on their fat asses and D-O NOTHING except complain about bush and the so called missing WMD’s.
jwh you low life liberal scumbag, I have three words for you…GO FUCK YOURSELF.
where’s the pitts and jolies and madonnas and clooneys and decaprios and de vitos, and rosies? not in darfur! that’s for damn sure–not enough photo ops there to show their “humanity”
No cameras…no caring…pathetic
Where’s the Red Cross, you know the ones that are yapping about torture in Gitmo?
Odd to me that they care more about ( grown-up killers) but not children.
No our Troops are needed for I don’t see anyone from the U N darting around looking stupid, oh that’s right no more oil for food program.
Guys, if they decide to get off their butts and do something like admit our Troops must stay then that wouldn’t be politically correct.
Where’s fatfaced clinton with her broom?
These children need help NOW not when congress is good and ready and have nothing better to do the no good b-tards.
They are beyond pathetic.
Still amazes me that they cannot focus on the issue of a post, they always MUST try to bring up other issues, or other situations and can never admit that maybe these children deserve help and deserve freedom.
Going to bed, have fun ya’ll.
sleep well