Defending America …
Posted on August 18, 2004 at 8:58 am | No Comments
A couple recent comments here on the ‘nac deserve some attention, so I’m using this post to shine a little light.
First, from a gent named Jerry, who commented on my post about the ads from MoveOnPAC.org that will air during the Republican convention. Says Jerry…
“I am a former Democrat is definitely voting for “W”. As a retired military officer, I hope someone in the Marine Corps is planning to court martial the sorry Marine who’s featured on MoveOn.com — Sergeant Lee Buttrill, USMC — for his traitorous remarks about the U.S. military’s efforts to free Iraq. Buttrill is featured in a video that MoveOn is planning to run as a pro-Kerry commercial during the Republican convention. He is a disgrace to the military and his country. He must think he’s being Kerry-esque by “serving his country” then coming back and vomiting on it. Try checking out the website of Swiftboat Veterans for Truth if you can stand to consider an alternate viewpoint of Kerry’s four MONTHS in ‘Nam.”
I’ll address my words to Jerry, despite the fact that this is obviously a canned spam job (informing me that ‘Buttrill is featured in a video that MoveOn is planning to run’ in a comment to a post that already says that means he apparently didn’t take time to tailor his cut and paste). I wonder if that grammatically unfortunate first sentence is just for me? Let’s take a look… ah ha. Here’s the same comment over on a MyDD.com thread, but with a few extra acronyms like TDY, FITREP, and POTUS… which means he must be a former military man, right? I mean, as if calling it ‘Nam wasn’t proof enough.
My favorite part is “… if you can stand to consider an alternate viewpoint.” Niiice one, Jerry. Actually, I know all about the “Swift Boat Veterans for Bush”, sorry, “Truth”, and the fact that they are funded by Bob Perry, the biggest Republican campaign donor in (wait for it…) Texas. But you knew that already, right Jer?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it now: The real, and most devious, traitors to this country are the ones who continually turn a blind eye to what is arguably the most damaging presidential term in our nation’s short history. Or worse, that eye is wide open, and they knowingly support this administration’s policies.
To me, Sergeant Lee Buttrill is even more a hero than he was during his time abroad… clearly standing up for his beliefs, subjecting himself to criticisms from people like you, because he’s compelled to do what he believes is right. In the meantime, you sit behind your keyboard, googling for mentions of his name, trolling to paste your vitriol with a couple mouse clicks. Pathetic.
I don’t care that much about Kerry’s distant past, and I’m hardly the person to call on to defend him. I disagree with him on more than a few issues, and think we could do better. But that’s quite honestly beside the point. It’s a total non-issue. He’s the man to beat Bush, and despite the cookie-cutter attack-dog efforts of people like you, Jerry, he’ll do that in a couple months.
In four years we can decide if more change is needed, but for now the short-term goal is clear… Defend America: Defeat Bush.
In the same thread, I mentioned that my favorite of all the MoveOn ads was Rhonda Nix’s. Surprisingly, Rhonda herself showed up in the comments to say thanks. My pleasure, Rhonda, and you’re the one who deserves the thanks for speaking out. I still hope your ad gets some airtime.
Y’know that instant-classic Bush ‘sovereignty’ quote I posted a couple weeks back? Well, someone is sharing up C-Span’s video of it… and it’s so much more painful than the written word. You can actually hear the crowd laugh at him. Amazing.
Remembering Kirsten Malone
Posted on August 11, 2004 at 12:28 pm | 1 Comment
Two months ago tomorrow, a Saturday morning on the 12th of June, Kirsten Malone was up early, biking through Boston to work on yet another art project, one of many she’d made in her 29-year life. At the intersection of Lincoln & Franklin Streets in Lower Allston, at the bottom of the caged footbridge over the MassPike, she collided with an unseen car. Her injuries were too severe, and she wouldn’t recover. In the early hours of Wednesday the 16th of June, Lady K was gone.
I didn’t know Kirsten Malone, but I sure knew her face. She was one of the familiar crew of local show-goers, people I’d cross paths with a couple times a month, characters who always stood out from the crowd. It wasn’t just at shows that I’d notice her… it was on the streets, on her bike, as I passed her in my car or she cruised by as I walked.
We had some mutual friends, more than I’d realized, and it would take her death for me to learn that. I’d heard some good things about her band, the Faux, but had never seen them. I would’ve walked into some club and thought “Ah ha! It’s that biking girl behind the keyboard!”. I just wish I’d had the chance.
The week she died, before I’d heard about the accident, I first noticed all the flowers and candles appearing by the footbridge, just a short block from my house. I turned that corner in my car, wondering briefly about it on my way to work. When I read about the accident, when I saw her picture, and then learned exactly where it happened… it hit me.
And it hit far harder than I would have expected, especially for someone I didn’t actually know. Reading the outpourings of emotion on messageboards, the articles about her, finding out about our shared friends… I felt a real loss, and part of me felt I didn’t even deserve to feel it. I thought about those who were really close to her and can’t even imagine what they were going through, must still be going through.
But here I am anyway, finally writing some words for her, hoping that her family and those who knew her well are doing ok. After she died, Amie and I joined some of her friends at the site of the accident to remember her.
Goodbye notes, pictures, little memories of her life surrounding a big orange sign that simply said “K”.
That makeshift memorial at the foot of the bridge is gone now, nothing left but a few ribbons and tattered bits of string hanging from the fence. I still think about Lady K on her bike every morning I pass it, though. Maybe I always will.
Wondering if some kind of permanent memorial for Kirsten would even be possible, I spoke with someone at City Councilor Jerry McDermott‘s office a few weeks ago. Not surprisingly, I wasn’t the first person to ask about this, and even though memorial plaques or streetsigns are usually reserved for veterans, it looks like something for Kirsten could actually happen (much like the corner at Brookline & Mass. Ave. being named for Mark Sandman).
I also found out that Kirsten’s death has finally triggered some much needed change at that dangerous intersection where Franklin & Lincoln Streets meet. Living so near to it, I’ve seen the evidence of more than a few accidents, and been involved in some close calls myself. There’s no signal, no stop sign, not even a crosswalk at the bottom of a bridge that gets a ton of foot and bike traffic. I take a risk every time I pull out from Franklin onto Lincoln, hoping that a car isn’t speeding towards me, completely obstructed by cars parked too close to the corner.
One change has already happened: “No Parking Here To Corner” signs have been put up that greatly help people trying to cross the street, or cars pulling onto Lincoln. But it’s not enough…
Thankfully, a special public hearing has been called, to take place at 5:30 pm on Monday, September 20th at the Honan-Allston Library on North Harvard Street, where possible improvements to that intersection will be discussed. I’ll be there, and hopefully so will many of my neighbors.
At the same meeting, Councilor McDermott will present a drafted order requesting a permanent memorial for Kirsten. The council will consider the request within a week or so, and if all goes well, something could be in place by early fall. I know I’d be proud to live near “Lady K Corner”.
A few days before the hearing, on Thursday, September 16th, a special show in Kirsten’s memory will take place at the Middle East Downstairs. Proceeds will help her band, The Faux, release a record they were never able to during their time as a band. In turn, money from sales of those discs will go to a scholarship fund at Mass Art for young female artists. The lineup for the show is Neptune, Gold, Mahi Mahi, Fat Day, U.V. Protection, Plunge Into Death, Cathy Cathodic, and Shore Leave, and the doors are at 8pm.
Online words and memories of Kirsten remain, so I’ve gathered the ones I’ve collected here. Set aside some time, click around, explore the impression she left on this city, on the people in her life, and even on those who never met her. If you know of any other links, feel free to leave them in the comments…