stupid and wrong

As promised, though late:

The Evil Empire has eaten up much of my time in the last month, and left me grumpy (ask Evil Cat) and uninspired, so it's been difficult for me to express coherently exactly what is stupid and wrong about the burning of a U.S. Soldier in effigy at the protest in Portland last month.

I grew up around Sailors and Marines. Some are close friends of the family to this day. One in particular is like an uncle, though my siblings and I often refer to him a second dad, even. My little-league coach was a young petty officer from San Diego who I count among the most influential people in my young life to this day. Neither of those men deserve to be burned in effigy. And that's pretty much what happened in Portland.

I hate this stupid war as much as anybody who isn't living through it in Iraq. I've hated it from the first shot fired more than four years ago. But the men and women serving there do not deserve to be burned in effigy.

That, and fires should be lit in the spirit of fun, not in anger. Effigies are just stupid and wrong.