F*** the Troops; F*** Your Petition

Recently there was a petition circulating around MySpace (specifically the military-related members of MySpace) to remove a MySpace group called "Fuck the Troops." This petition went round and round (I, myself, received it multiple times) and eventually succeeded. A group search for "Fuck the Troops" now results in finding nothing except other groups dedicated to removing "Fuck the Troops."

Many of the virtual signers of the petition were military, military spouses, or others with direct connection to the military or with what they refer as an "innate sense of Patriotism." Well, I've got news for you. None of you 1st Amendment-limiting assholes who signed that petition are Patriots. In fact, you're the exact opposite.

Before you get wired up, let me explain...

First of all, the group "Fuck the Troops" was NOT about slandering troops or otherwise giving those who serve this country a bad name. Had any of you bothered to peruse their group page, you would've found several disclaimers (and everyone knows that I love using those myself) stating that they support the troops. The phrase "Fuck the Troops" merely reflected what the proprietors of the group felt that this current administration was doing to our men and women in uniform. In other words, the group would have more accurately been monikered, "Fuck George Bush" (which is, in and of itself, an equally ignorant statement).

Instead, however, we get a group of people who were simply told that a group called "Fuck the Troops" existed, and they overreacted badly. So badly, they didn't even bother to research their "enemy."

Disclaimer: Now, despite what I just wrote, I'm not really saying that everyone who signed it is an idiot... I have plenty of friends who've signed it, but they did so out of reaction. In an occupation where a quick reaction can save one's life, they probably just signed it and moved on.

But you know what? That's not even the point. The point is that everyone who wears a uniform does so to protect the Constitutional rights of Americans. Constitutional rights... of which the first amended right is Freedom of Speech and Expression. The idiots who created "Fuck the Troops" (don't get me wrong, the name pissed me off, as well) absolutely, without doubt, had EVERY RIGHT to create their group. Those of us that wear or wore the uniform should know this. We may not like it, but that's what we're here for... to protect the right to dissent or to complain. Policy is not ours to decide, but to uphold.

In the end, what was done to "Fuck the Troops" was a disservice to the Constitution and a disservice to the military. You may not agree with my train of thought, but the fundamental logic remains. A small piece of our Freedom of Speech was destroyed. Way to go. Some have obviously forgotten what you're supposed to be defending.

The First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."