UW Student Senate rejects memorial for Pappy Boyington

[Koobuh]

And people wonder why I chose to attend WSU...

Seriously, no surprise at all. Well, maybe a little, I would have figured the WWU student body to do something like this first. Weekly war protests and all.

 

[Father Knows Best]

Ms. Edwards is hearing about it!

I did a little sleuthing online and quickly discovered that Ms. Jill Edwards is on the Student Senate apparently as a representative of the "Honors Croquet League."

If you want to email her your thoughts, her address is [email protected]

You won't be the first, though. In her February 7 "report" (http://students.washington.edu/croquet/senate_reports/?date=2006-02-07), she posted the following:

Senate this week was interesting. I talked more than I ever have before and realized exactly why I never talk. I apparently upset a lot of people when I opposed a memorial for a Colonel from WWII who had recieved a Medal of Honor and who was a UW graduate. This was the main discussion and rather than go into it, I think I would rather post some of the charming and sweet letters I have recieved since then.

“. . . most of you aren’t informed at all about that which you discuss. That’s a sad commentary about a university education that is supported by my tax dollars. No doubt you all have been corrected for your erroneous and sometimes outrageous remarks (Jill Edwards, Ashley Williams). It is one thing to stand up for your political beliefs. It’s entirely another to totally misrepresent the truth for political reasons.”

“ Against overwhelming odds, [Boyington] helped the overall cause of stopping what had been started on Dec. 7th, 1941 when the United States was attacked by the Empire of Japan. Or had you forgotten? Or did you ever even know? You should be honored that such a person is an alumnus of your school. Most schools can’t claim such an honorable person. I’m just sorry that your school has to claim you.”

“If it were not for a lot of people like Greg Boyington, you’d probably be attending classes in German or Japanese…………. Kinda sad—-—but such is life in the Socialist Soviet of Seattle, ‘ay?”

So there you have it. Thanks, I am thouroughly regretting opeining my mouth. No quote of the week this week, I think the above suffice.

Note that she doesn't say that she regret sthe content of her statements, or believes that she was wrong. She just regrets "opeining [sic] my mouth." That's not good enough for me.

Here's the best part. In her first report dated October 27, 2005 (http://students.washington.edu/croquet/senate_reports/?date=2005-10-27), she wrote the following:

Stupid people like to hear themselves talk and also talk louder than normal people. They are the bane of my existence. There are two senators who feel the need to comment loudly on everything, yet the few times I even attempted to follow what they were saying, I could not even fathom what their point was. Remember mad-libs, where one fills in blanks randomly. Those make more sense than these people. They should listen to our former president Abe Lincoln who said “Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.”

She should've taken her own advice.

 

[LawDog]

Apropos of nothing, I notice that the University of Washington Student Senate by-laws require a public database listing of all Senate-critters.

http://senate.asuw.org/membership/membershipdb.cgi

Jolly nice of them to provide e-mail addresses. Maybe a touch naive, but still nice.

Of course, if someone wanted to drop a polite e-mail to the President of the University of Wshington, one might use the public e-mail address found on this page:

http://www.uwnews.org/Uwnews/sites/OOP/index.asp?sm=38

Civility and courtesy are the watch-words of the day, ladies and gentlemen.

LawDog

 

[Kentak]

A war hero is not the kind of person...they want to produce...

What a depressing non-christian-god forsaken day (to keep from offending anyone out there )

I am offended. Why do you think christians have a monopoly on the values that would want to honor an American war hero?

K

 

[Father Knows Best]

I am offended. Why do you think christians have a monopoly on the values that would want to honor an American war hero?

K

I think you misunderstood him, Kentak. I read his statement as referring to day that was "god forsaken" and he specifically added "non-Christian" to make clear that he wasn't referring solely to the Christian God. In other words, methinks he was trying to be careful NOT to offend people in the very way that you ended up being offended.

Anyway, the issue is off-topic. If you want to discuss it further, I would suggest that you send a private message to KriegHund and ask him what he meant.

 

[Kentak]

I think you misunderstood him, Kentak. I read his statement as referring to day that was "god forsaken" and he specifically added "non-Christian" to make clear that he wasn't referring solely to the Christian God. In other words, methinks he was trying to be careful NOT to offend people in the very way that you ended up being offended.

Anyway, the issue is off-topic. If you want to discuss it further, I would suggest that you send a private message to KriegHund and ask him what he meant.

Fair enough. I re-read and agree with you. Especially since he added that disclaimer about not wanting to offend. Perhaps, though, it would have been best not to make a religious-oriented statement at all. Just a thought.

K

 

[YellowLab]

When did we start linking off to The Low Road.
Whatever you feelings on this topic, and they are probably about the same as mine. There was no calling whatsoever for comments like that. This is the High road, we are above acting like this.

Supressing free speach.. what could be lower?

There was nothing offensive in what I said..... but I respect the boards right to edit any and all content.

 

[No_Brakes23]

Now hang on, before we lambast the entire senate, only two of them made any real offensive comments. That's hardly 100%.

I'd be willing to bet that UW is far from the only school with one anti-military female and one classist, racist, misandrist female on the school senate.

As a Marine, I am pretty offended by the comments, but let's not paint all these kids with the same brush.

 

[Hockeydude]

Now all they need is a Lenin statue.

 

[Sergeant Sabre]

Didn't you guys know that Pappy Boyington was a rich, white murderer? Just like Ira Hayes was, too.

 

[Old NFO]

Now all they need is a Lenin statue.

That would probably get unanimous approval...sigh...

Many of you may not remember, but a few years ago the Smithsonian was going to put the Enola Gay's fuselage on display here. Once the revisionist historians got through with the accompanying monograph, the US was to blame for it's warmongering ways and killing of innocent civilans. For the first time since WWII, Col. Paul Tibbitts publically commented on what had been done, and it was NOT a polite comment. Eventually the display was cancelled. The entire Enola Gay is currently on display at the Udvar-Hazy expansion of the Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport, sans monograph!

If anyone is in the DC area, it IS worth seeing... Included is a great exhibit on the airborne machine gun and it's evolution too!

 

[MillCreek]

I am a (usually) proud alumnus of the UW with two degrees from there over twenty years ago. If I may be so bold as to presume to invoke the memory of the late great Colonel Boyington, whom I met once at an air show, and was proud to shake his hand, I like to think that his thoughts would be the same as mine:

I do not agree with their opinions, but I would defend to the death their right to voice them.

 

[LawDog]

I do not agree with their opinions, but I would defend to the death their right to voice them.

They aren't the only ones who have that right; we have a right to voice our opinions, too.

I do not agree with their opinions, but I would defend to the death their right to voice them.

They have the right to voice their opinions; they do not have the right to avoid the reasonable consequences of exercising that right.

LawDog

 

[Chupacabra]

:banghead:

Today I am ashamed to be affiliated with the UW.

Let's all chip in for a giant portrait of Pappy and have it placed in the UW student senate chambers!

I'm up for this! There is a plotter in the computer lab we can use!

 

[CB900F]

Fella's;

I think I read "Baa Baa Black Sheep" for the first time when I was about 9 or 10 years old. The first time I tried to check it out of the local library, they wouldn't let me have it, the literature was considered to be too mature. Called my folks as a matter of fact. SURPRISE!! Both of my parents were WWII USMC veterans. The librarian got an earfull & I got to read the book. And have re-read it several times over the years.

Dad was in the first Marine Division, served on Gaudalcanal, & was a crew chief on an F4U, though not in VMF124.

I attended UW, and would like to say that I'm glad that I have been in no way associated with the University of Washington. I attended the University of Wyoming. Just so there's no confusion over the term UW, there's more than the one in Seattle, thank God. I so dislike P.C. speech, thank the deity of your choice? If someone hears "Thank God", & can't convert that to whom or what ever they themselves worship, without getting their shorts in a knot, they're too 'sensitive' by an order of magnitude.

900F

 

[Kim]

Since when did students get to run the Universities-------OH I FORGOT it was during that great step forward cultural revolution of the 1960's. Yep we are a much better society now ----------NOT. I think the College Dean needs to be put back in power and these adolescent children taken out behind the woodshed for the first time in their life. I'm glad I was not infected by the 1960's mental disorder.

 

[MillCreek]

They aren't the only ones who have that right; we have a right to voice our opinions, too.



They have the right to voice their opinions; they do not have the right to avoid the reasonable consequences of exercising that right.

LawDog

I do not disagree with anything you have said, here. I concur that tolerance for different opinions goes both ways.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Ashley Miller, another senator, argued "many monuments at UW already commemorate rich white men."

Maybe racism isn't quite as uncommon as I'd thought.

 

[The Freeholder]

Here's hoping for the UW Student Senate to find themselves in dire need of men like Pappy Boyington soon, and finding none will come to their rescue.

Little lefty losers.

 

[7.62x54r]

 

[IndianaDean]

I say we call in Marine Air and level UW!

I second that. Put UW on my list of POS schools.

 

[cavman]

Since when did students get to run the Universities-------OH I FORGOT it was during that great step forward cultural revolution of the 1960's. Yep we are a much better society now ----------NOT. I think the College Dean needs to be put back in power and these adolescent children taken out behind the woodshed for the first time in their life. I'm glad I was not infected by the 1960's mental disorder.

During my days as a two year Student Senator at the University of New England, it was not all that it seems to be. There was a debate as to which piece of equipment of should be purchased for the gym. A lot of power (really?) with little result. Everyone had their little fiefdoms. This may have been theirs, regarding the Black Sheep statue. In my case it was an exercise of fighting over crumbs. The Student Senate had a couple of little projects and they hemmed and hawed endlessly. All opinion and very little fact. Other than one other guy, it was a quilt fest. (my stereotype for too much talk) I remember a bunch of do nothings, and of those that were more interested in hearing one's own voice that resolving the issue at hand.

cavman

 

[CrazyIrishman]

"Senate member Karl "MARX" Smith (there,fixed it!)amended the resolution to eliminate a clause that said Boyington "was credited with destroying 26 enemy aircraft, tying the record for most aircraft destroyed by a pilot in American Uniform," for which he was awarded the Navy Cross".

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It seems to me that much of todays youth is detached from reality and they know little, if any , of OUR HISTORY as a country, and even less if thats possible, about the men and women who helped create this UNITED STATES through their sacrifices of blood,sweat,guts,tears and fortunes!

If these students think so little of an alumni,especially one who was famous AND a genuine HERO, I would hate to see what they would say about the founders of our country!

I never had the priveledge of meeting "Pappy" Boyington. That would have been a nice memory to have! Its fortunate for us that in our time of need we had men like "Pappy".

What a shame that this generation doesn't have any of the grit and backbone that the WWII generation was known for!

 

[hillbilly]

Whoever made the quip about a UW monument to Lenin ought to know that UW most certainly DOES have a monument to the "Lincoln Brigade."

The "Lincoln Brigade" were misguided American volunteers who fought for the communist side in the Spanish Civil War.

So, volunteer fighters for communism get a monument at UW. Pappy Boyington can go pound sand......

hillbilly

 

[torpid]

If Pappy was alive again today and you told him about the whole sordid affair, I truly feel he'd look at you and say, "Huh? ...Who cares about a stupid monument? I'm alive again- how the hell did that happen- what's going on here?!!!"

.