Political & Elections

pima · Guru

RE: Wounded Iraq vet heckled at Columbia

BigG · Guru

Columbia, because of resources, tradition, accomplishments of alumni, etc., is one of the top universities in the world.

But no institution has infinite "political capital". Berkeley used to be equivalent to Harvard and Yale.

Duke has suffered from the administration and faculties' "rush to judgement" in the lacrosse team false accusation circumstance.

Cheer the terrorists and disrespect the veterans enough, people will come to regard you as a fringe nutcase and your institution will decline in prestige. It has happened before.

geeps20 · Senior Member

disgusting....It amazes me that so called "smart" college kids can heckle someone who is doing his job and providing the freedom so these snot nose idiots can in fact heckle.
These anti-war folks are attacking the wrong people.

soccerguy315 · Guru

injured Iraq war veteran = heckled (2011)

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad = cheered (2007)

Seems Columbia is doing well for itself.

-- Edited by soccerguy315 on Tuesday 22nd of February 2011 07:52:46 PM

pima · Guru

I have a very good friend whose children and now grandchild attends Columbia. He was a 2x wounded Vietnam vet and to him this just made him go insane.

Here is a great blog about the incident
http://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/?p=1474

The obnoxious and offensive behavior of a handful of students, of course, shouldn’t be an indictment of Columbia or Ivy League schools in general. (In fact, as Iraq Vet and Columbia quasi-student Matt Gallagher pointed out, Columbia leads Ivies in student Veteran population). But these events call into question the health of civilian-Veteran relations. The university campus is a flashpoint for Vets reintegrating back into society, and can often be the first interaction young people have with former service members. Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders of the country, and what happens in the classroom has the power to affect civilian and Vet relations for decades after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan end. We have to remember what Vietnam taught us: the way Vets reintegrate has a profound impact on their success later in life. So until this troubling behavior disappears from the school campus, Vets will be passed over with their service as a factor, a disturbing trend that has increased recently. Facing stigmas attached to service like PTSD, Vets already have an uphill battle when coming back into an unfamiliar and occasionally hostile society.

Throughout this controversy, I keep thinking about Anthony Maschek, a wheelchair bound Veteran in his first year of college. Secretary Shinseki has given students a new mission: graduate and succeed in the workforce. Mr. Maschek has experienced the ugly side of the civilian-Veteran divide. By living through grievous wounds, his courage and persistence have been laid bare. But how does he go to school tomorrow, and the next day, and sit next to the same students who shouted him down? I remain encouraged by one thought: he grits his teeth and drives on, like he did on the streets of Kirkuk

Bullet wrote an eloquent post about this on the other forum. I think his last line summed it all up perfectly for these Columbia students
The students attending these institutions ARE passionate. That passion would be a tremendous contribution to our Armed Forces, if only they weren't so afraid of "the boogie-man".

SamuraiLandshark · Guru

Some people are just stupid.

Hecklers are idiots looking for attention. Usually to highlight their own inadequacies.

I am sure that this vet could give a rat's ass that a classmate thinks little of him. In the end, they will both have the degrees. The heckler will still be an ignorant idiot lacking character.

BigG · Guru

Why would anyone EVER vote for an Ivy Leaguer for anything?

The current developing "backlash" against the "elites" is due and justifiable.

I think RACIST as a perjorative has lost its impact from overuse.

Not that society as a whole has been particularily enlightened regarding race relations, but the military has been ahead of most institutions in this regard.

pima · Guru

This is a very heated topic on another forum I belong to.

To me the saddest thing is this vet is a student at Columbia, imagine how he feels today knowing exactly what some of his classmates think about him when he enters each and every class.

berurah · Senior Member

Not only is this man a wounded Iraq vet, he is also a classmate of these people. How shameful that these "best of the best" students could not give a respectful forum to one of their peers. News flash: the left is no more "tolerant" than the right.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/hero_unwelcome_Zi3u1fwtRpo87vXAiAQfSN