14 replies to this topic

[Talon]

US draft dodger statue sparks row

A row has broken out in a small Canadian town over controversial plans for a memorial to US draft dodgers who avoided taking part in the Vietnam War.
A group of activists from Nelson, British Columbia, had planned to erect a monument to "honour the courageous legacy of Vietnam war resisters".

US veterans groups have criticised the proposal and asked US President George Bush to intervene to stop the project.

Some 125,000 Americans went to Canada during the war to avoid the draft.

Thousands returned to the US in the late 1970s when President Richard Nixon announced an amnesty, but many stayed in Canada.

'Slap in the face'

The project organisers have said they are reconsidering the monument's setting.

The bronze statue of two Canadians reaching out to a US draft dodger was due to be unveiled in Nelson in 2006 as part of the Our Way Home festival celebrating US conscientious objectors.

The head of the largest organisation of combat veterans in the US said he respected freedom of expression, but that the memorial was a "slap in the face to every man and woman who ever served in uniform".

"To honour draft dodgers, deserters, people who brought grief to the families they left behind and anguish to those American men who took their place is an abomination," John Furgess of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States said in a statement.

Nelson mayor Dave Elliot said he had been deluged with e-mails and telephone calls since plans for the monument were unveiled earlier this month.

Nelson, about 45 miles (72km) north of the US border, is known for its ski slopes and artists community and relies heavily on income from the tourist trade.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3700254.stm

[Fluffybunny]

Draft Dodger statue?

What a joke.

[aquatus1]

Maybe we should raise a statue for our very own conscientous objectors who bravely went to Iraq to serve as human shields.  Yeah, they came back when the Iraquis wanted them to shield military installations instead of poor innocent waifs and wives, but hey, it's the thought that counts, right?

[Angelofmercy]

This is ridiculous, apart from the insult to the veterans, it's an insult to Americans in general.  It's a monument in honor of people who broke the law.  The Canadian government can't possibly be in support of this

[BurnSide]

What?

How are cowardly people who skipped out on a draft entitled to a monument?

That's stupid.

[JAZ76US]

That monument is tasteless at best. Why in the world would create a monument for draft dodgers ?

[Lottie]

They must be joking? What kind of stupid person thought of that stupid idea.

[Talon]

What kind of stupid person thought of that stupid idea.

Bleeding hearts?   

[Lottie]

Bleeding idiots!

[BurnSide]

Agreed.

Most likely it's those anti-war hippies. Horray they didn't go to war like the war told them too, give them a medal!

[Fluffybunny]

I'd be too embarassed to admit I ran away to Canada when my country called for my help.

Take the money that they were going to waste on this stupid statue and use it to help rehabilitate a soldier that actually faced their fears and did fight, there are plenty of kids coming home from Iraq sans all of the appendages that they left home with, I am sure they could use the help.

It's not like any of these guys are going to fight for the right to get the statue.

[Talon]

Oh I can understand why some fled to Canada and didn't want to go to war, such as pacifism or a strong the belief the war was wrong. But they shouldn't get a statue for it

[AztecInca]

A statue, a memorial for cowards who ran away and refused to serve their country, thast ridicuolous and although I can understand why they didn`t want to go as Talon said, they dont deserve recognition for running away! This is an insult to all those men and women that went and fought!

[Wings of Selkhet]

Refusing to serve in a war is not cowardly - why should we have to sacrifice our lives for a cause we may not believe in? But I agree that the statue is a stupid idea. I guess the Canadians just don't have anything else to build a statue for. o.O

[twpdyp]

Wings of Selkhet
   I presume you live in The United States of America, and I also presume that you enjoy the freedoms that living in this country provide. Now having said that I must ask you if the ability to continue to enjoy those freedoms is not a worthy enough cause for you to believe in and fight for? Have you ever given any thought to how many Americans have fought and died so you can come on to a web site such as this one and freely give your views? I will protect to the death your right to do so but in return all that I ask is that you at least give honor to those that fought and died so that you have the freedom to choose. In your statement you said "Why should we have to sacrifice our lives for a cause we may not believe in?" To that I say you believe in the cause you just may not be ready to make a sacrifice to defend your freedom to do so. Sorry to my fellow unexplained-mysteries forum writers I do tend to get off of the subject and I apologize for it. I get what Stephen King referred to as "diarrhea of the word processor"