I live in Lafayette and couldn’t be more proud of this display of love and appreciation. Because…one day a while back…my young son turned to me while driving pass the crosses and said, ‘I’m glad the crosses are there…we hear about military deaths all the time but to see the number who’ve actually died during this war really kinda makes you think’. Ever since then…I imagine if this hillside can inspire and touch one young heart…perhaps it will inspire future generations and leaders to find better…more creative ways to resolve our problems in this world…rather than such barbaric warfare.
It’s nice to be able to go on the web, and watch a video on my computer, in the comfort of my own home. Knowing that theres men and women, who are not with their families today, serving in Iraq. If this hillside can remind us all of the sacrefice that these soldiers have made for us, God bless the effort put forth by these volunteers! How many Americans & Iraquis must die before we put an end to this senceless war? Who is benefiting from all this? Bring them all home! Every soldier deserves to come home, and stay home!
First I find it sad that people in this country are ignorant enough to think this war is for nothing. Secondly, I find it sad people who have served in our armed forces don’t have respect for our country. Also, the people in the in armed forces today are there voluntarily, there’s no draft. Also, look at our troop losses in other wars, and you’ll realize that our losses haven’t been that severe (over 100,000 in WWI, over 400,000 in WWII, over 35,000 in the Korean War and over 55,000 in the Vietnam War). If you think that the tribes in Iraq will changes their ways if we go and sit down with them and pat them on the backs, you have a loooot of growing up to do.
Be proud of our troops, support them, and support what they are fighting for!!!!!
Has this idiot even thought once about all the CO2 that’s being put into our environment as a result of his stupid display. Think about it…….all the cars driving to his dumb$@s display, idling there to stop and ponder the “meaning of life.”
While our precious earth chokes on exhaust. All you other idiots that have admitted that your son made some lame comment while you’re driving by, are just as guilty and BARBARIC!
If any of you had to ride a bike to see this stupid display YOU’D NEVER GO BECAUSE IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER!
I think the crosses on the hillside is great! It reminds us all that a war is going on and that as citizens we can do something about it, especially if we are opposed to the war.
“Justin from Cali” writes that the losses from this war have not been severe. Justin has obviously lost no one close to him
to this madness. I would suggest that he ask the loved ones of the 3,449 American dead if they find the far greater number of casualties of this country’s previous wars a comfort in their grief.
And as for the rant of “Go Green or Go Home,” I think you’ve forgotten to take your medication.
It’s clear this display is intended as an antiwar display — but, unless I’m missing something, it’s nothing more than a cross (or Star of David, etc.) for each lost soldier.
The display is a memorial. It’s there in memory and recognition of our troops. They’ve died for our sake. YET — the simple act of placing a memorial has been called unpatriotic, bigoted, a cheap political message.
In the video I only heard two substantive arguments against the display.
1) A soldier’s name was used against his family’s wishes. Hurtful? The war itself has hurt them more than a simple statement of fact that their son was among the 3,470 or so dead US soldiers. But the family doesn’t deserve more hurt.
2) The display is an eyesore. If local law does not permit this kind of display, that should be respected. Then again, the war itself is not pretty.
But no other anti-display argument comes close. Political conservatives don’t like it simply because they see any display acknowledging negative aspects of the war as antiwar. Support the troops, yes; recognize the fallen soldiers, no no no. The emotional response against the display — “anti-American!” — is revealing in how the emoters regard the troops’ deaths: “Don’t bother us with it, because we don’t care.”
Louise Clark, Jeff Heaton and the political groups responsible for this “Blood Thirsty” display of disdain for this country and those who fight for it are what to be expected from a group of spoiled ungrateful people, who never cared about the blood being spilled by the thousands while they and this country were sleeping. This group sleeps better at night when they live in their fantasy world and worship at their fantasty “Memorial”. They will not be happy until we leave the millions of Iraqis to die at the hands of barbarians! Sleep well and bathe in your “Blood Thirsty” dreams and tell yourselves what a great service you have given to humanity! Keep pretending that the absence of War is Peace and most of all do not call on those who serve this country for their families to protect you from your own idiocy and naive fantasy’s. This land and foreign land’s are filled with dead Americans so you can be free to be stupid!!!!
She made my point better than I could — the anti-display camp would rather forget thousands of troops have died and have little argument better than “I DON’T LIKE & U R DUM.” According to Ms. Perussina:
symbolic wooden crosses + count of fallen soldiers = blood-thirst fantasy
recognition of lost exemplary Americans = careless disregard for troops
Unusual math. Maybe that’s why the number 3,000 doesn’t seem to strike a chord.
I only want to reach out to the mother that lives across the street from the crosses and has her child asking about death everytime they go outside.
I often take my 5 year old daughter to the hill to put flowers on the crosses (dispite the comment in the vidio that there are not flowers at the crosses, there are indeed flowers - I have spent several hours decorating crosses with flowers, both live and artificial). I don’t tell my daughter the crosses represent the brutal and unnecessary killing of Americans, I tell her the crosses are to remember soldiers. She knows what a soldier is. She does not need to know the soldiers are dead. She does not need to know that it is something going on right now.
Unfortunately, I don’t think the mother will see this message. And if her child thinks there are dead bodies on the hill then the explanation for the crosses was already handled wrong and that is a shame. It could have been a great learning experience - an experience of compassion, an experience of thinking of others not just one’s self.
I can only hope that this family will get so fed up with the crosses that they will make it their own personal cursade to get Bush out of office and all of our Troops out of Iraq.
And a note to Sherry Purrusina the only Blood Thirsty display I see is the one created by Mr. Bush.
Exactly what are we fixing. Not a God Damn Thing. That is why we need to leave. Because 1000, 2000, 3000, 10,000 dead American troops is not going to change the Iraqui growing pains. They gotta go through it to find out what government will work for them, just like we did, but we don’t have to go through it with them. I’ll send them money, I’ll send them food, I’ll send the medicine, but I won’t send them my life. - call me selfish.
The amount of doublethink present in the negative comments here is instructive: the protest hurts the environment, the peace activists are “blood thirsty”, those who want peace and dialog are naive and “have a lot of growing up to do” (as opposed to those who think that an ancient culture can be changed in a few years by men with guns). None of these people seem to recognize or respect the primacy of a simple American imperative: political speech is protected by our Constitution simply because it is so compelling for opponents to try use the government to silence those who have a compelling and persuasive argument that gores their ox.
Superb! I can’t tell you how thrilled I am about this outstanding story having received the Multimedia News Story award: http://poyi.org/65/winners.html
Congratulations, Pauline. It’s nice when your profession recognizes your excellence in photography/multimedia.
I am so proud of all the volunteers who tend to the crosses in Lafayette and so grateful that they honor my son and the other losses in this way. This display takes your breath away when you first see it and every time afterwards. It is a fitting, yet gut-wrenching display of the loss of US life in Iraq.
I am sorry that Shelly Valerio finds this display an eyesore. She says that she lives it, breathes it and sees it every day. Strange, that’s how I feel about the war. Since my son, Lt Ken Ballard was killed nearly 4 years ago in Bush’s war, there is not a minute that I do not live the war, breathe the war and see it- I only wish I could turn it off for one minute.
And Justin from Cali- any number more than zero was too many deaths in this war turned occupation.
I am also sorry that people see this as an anti-war display. If people are disturbed by this visual display, perhaps it is really having to face the excruciating losses that these last 5 years have left us.
What a wonderful piece. It is a fair representation of the many sides and emotions on the memorial from pro-war, to anti-war, to remembering the fallen, to thinking it is an eyesore in an affluent community. It was great to find this because it accomplishes one of my goals that i began my blog the crosses of lafayette with: to let images, interviews and testimonials about the memorial speak for themselves, The power of the memorial is presence not opinion, in its reminder that we are fighting a costly war and not a condemnation of our troops (it is in fact the opposite). I am very greatful to all the volunteers and media makers who have made the memorials presence, both on the hill and online, successful.
I would like to say that Sherry Perussina’s comment trouble’s me deeply. It is not the fact that she believes that the memorial is represents a disdain for america and american troops and that it is naive but that she says “They [peace activists] will not be happy until we leave the millions of Iraqis to die at the hands of barbarians!” The term barbarian is close to hate speech towards people living in the middle east, and that hate is dangerous and could keep us in war indefinitely for no good reason.
[…] POYi przyznali nagrody w kilku multimedialnych kategoriach. Polecam obejrzenie materia?u o krzy?ach na wzgórzu w Kalifornii symbolizuj?cych ?mier? ameryka?skich ?o?nierzy w Iraku. Oraz histori? o ?miertelnie […]
After reading all of the comments it is amazing how many are so quick to want to voice their anti-war or pro war comments. This is a memorial to our fallen solders. Each number of crosses represents a life, a name. Whether you are pro-war or anti-war, what happened to respect to other human life, living or dead! This memorial represents so much to all of us & more to those whose life is represented. I look at the videos & the comments & see people arguing their beliefs under any cost…isn’t that what starts wars to begin with, religion, land, money, their beliefs. Why all this arguing & fighting among you all? Take a long hard look at yourself, you are a product of what you’re arguing against. Instead of trying to shove your “idea” down someone else’s throat why don’t you take all that energy & learn how to have respect & manors to your own kind.
I am the grandmother of one of the fallen soldiers represented by the Lafayette Crosses. My grandson, Marine Cpl. Christopher D. Leon, was 20 years old when a sniper’s bullet took his life on June 20, 2006. My dear friends, Marcie and Chris Christensen live close by and have been kind enough to maintain Christopher’s cross in his memory and I cannot thank them enough. This tribute was meant to be just that - a tribute and a memorial to each and every American who has given his or her life for our country. It was not meant to be a pro-war or an anti-war “statement” of any kind and I am very proud that my grandson’s name is included. I understand that the average age of those who have died is 21. We owe them so much more than these humble crosses!
May 28th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
The video represents fairly the emotional reactions of many people to the crosses on the Lafayette hillside.
May 28th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
I live in Lafayette and couldn’t be more proud of this display of love and appreciation. Because…one day a while back…my young son turned to me while driving pass the crosses and said, ‘I’m glad the crosses are there…we hear about military deaths all the time but to see the number who’ve actually died during this war really kinda makes you think’. Ever since then…I imagine if this hillside can inspire and touch one young heart…perhaps it will inspire future generations and leaders to find better…more creative ways to resolve our problems in this world…rather than such barbaric warfare.
May 29th, 2007 at 5:21 am
It’s nice to be able to go on the web, and watch a video on my computer, in the comfort of my own home. Knowing that theres men and women, who are not with their families today, serving in Iraq. If this hillside can remind us all of the sacrefice that these soldiers have made for us, God bless the effort put forth by these volunteers! How many Americans & Iraquis must die before we put an end to this senceless war? Who is benefiting from all this? Bring them all home! Every soldier deserves to come home, and stay home!
May 29th, 2007 at 6:25 am
First I find it sad that people in this country are ignorant enough to think this war is for nothing. Secondly, I find it sad people who have served in our armed forces don’t have respect for our country. Also, the people in the in armed forces today are there voluntarily, there’s no draft. Also, look at our troop losses in other wars, and you’ll realize that our losses haven’t been that severe (over 100,000 in WWI, over 400,000 in WWII, over 35,000 in the Korean War and over 55,000 in the Vietnam War). If you think that the tribes in Iraq will changes their ways if we go and sit down with them and pat them on the backs, you have a loooot of growing up to do.
Be proud of our troops, support them, and support what they are fighting for!!!!!
May 30th, 2007 at 1:55 am
Has this idiot even thought once about all the CO2 that’s being put into our environment as a result of his stupid display. Think about it…….all the cars driving to his dumb$@s display, idling there to stop and ponder the “meaning of life.”
While our precious earth chokes on exhaust. All you other idiots that have admitted that your son made some lame comment while you’re driving by, are just as guilty and BARBARIC!
If any of you had to ride a bike to see this stupid display YOU’D NEVER GO BECAUSE IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER!
GET A BIKE, GET OUTSIDE, & GET SMART!
May 30th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
I think the crosses on the hillside is great! It reminds us all that a war is going on and that as citizens we can do something about it, especially if we are opposed to the war.
May 30th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
“Justin from Cali” writes that the losses from this war have not been severe. Justin has obviously lost no one close to him
to this madness. I would suggest that he ask the loved ones of the 3,449 American dead if they find the far greater number of casualties of this country’s previous wars a comfort in their grief.
And as for the rant of “Go Green or Go Home,” I think you’ve forgotten to take your medication.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:48 pm
It’s clear this display is intended as an antiwar display — but, unless I’m missing something, it’s nothing more than a cross (or Star of David, etc.) for each lost soldier.
The display is a memorial. It’s there in memory and recognition of our troops. They’ve died for our sake. YET — the simple act of placing a memorial has been called unpatriotic, bigoted, a cheap political message.
In the video I only heard two substantive arguments against the display.
1) A soldier’s name was used against his family’s wishes. Hurtful? The war itself has hurt them more than a simple statement of fact that their son was among the 3,470 or so dead US soldiers. But the family doesn’t deserve more hurt.
2) The display is an eyesore. If local law does not permit this kind of display, that should be respected. Then again, the war itself is not pretty.
But no other anti-display argument comes close. Political conservatives don’t like it simply because they see any display acknowledging negative aspects of the war as antiwar. Support the troops, yes; recognize the fallen soldiers, no no no. The emotional response against the display — “anti-American!” — is revealing in how the emoters regard the troops’ deaths: “Don’t bother us with it, because we don’t care.”
June 1st, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Louise Clark, Jeff Heaton and the political groups responsible for this “Blood Thirsty” display of disdain for this country and those who fight for it are what to be expected from a group of spoiled ungrateful people, who never cared about the blood being spilled by the thousands while they and this country were sleeping. This group sleeps better at night when they live in their fantasy world and worship at their fantasty “Memorial”. They will not be happy until we leave the millions of Iraqis to die at the hands of barbarians! Sleep well and bathe in your “Blood Thirsty” dreams and tell yourselves what a great service you have given to humanity! Keep pretending that the absence of War is Peace and most of all do not call on those who serve this country for their families to protect you from your own idiocy and naive fantasy’s. This land and foreign land’s are filled with dead Americans so you can be free to be stupid!!!!
June 1st, 2007 at 9:27 pm
She made my point better than I could — the anti-display camp would rather forget thousands of troops have died and have little argument better than “I DON’T LIKE & U R DUM.” According to Ms. Perussina:
symbolic wooden crosses + count of fallen soldiers = blood-thirst fantasy
recognition of lost exemplary Americans = careless disregard for troops
Unusual math. Maybe that’s why the number 3,000 doesn’t seem to strike a chord.
June 2nd, 2007 at 3:02 am
I only want to reach out to the mother that lives across the street from the crosses and has her child asking about death everytime they go outside.
I often take my 5 year old daughter to the hill to put flowers on the crosses (dispite the comment in the vidio that there are not flowers at the crosses, there are indeed flowers - I have spent several hours decorating crosses with flowers, both live and artificial). I don’t tell my daughter the crosses represent the brutal and unnecessary killing of Americans, I tell her the crosses are to remember soldiers. She knows what a soldier is. She does not need to know the soldiers are dead. She does not need to know that it is something going on right now.
Unfortunately, I don’t think the mother will see this message. And if her child thinks there are dead bodies on the hill then the explanation for the crosses was already handled wrong and that is a shame. It could have been a great learning experience - an experience of compassion, an experience of thinking of others not just one’s self.
I can only hope that this family will get so fed up with the crosses that they will make it their own personal cursade to get Bush out of office and all of our Troops out of Iraq.
June 2nd, 2007 at 3:18 am
And a note to Sherry Purrusina the only Blood Thirsty display I see is the one created by Mr. Bush.
Exactly what are we fixing. Not a God Damn Thing. That is why we need to leave. Because 1000, 2000, 3000, 10,000 dead American troops is not going to change the Iraqui growing pains. They gotta go through it to find out what government will work for them, just like we did, but we don’t have to go through it with them. I’ll send them money, I’ll send them food, I’ll send the medicine, but I won’t send them my life. - call me selfish.
June 4th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
The amount of doublethink present in the negative comments here is instructive: the protest hurts the environment, the peace activists are “blood thirsty”, those who want peace and dialog are naive and “have a lot of growing up to do” (as opposed to those who think that an ancient culture can be changed in a few years by men with guns). None of these people seem to recognize or respect the primacy of a simple American imperative: political speech is protected by our Constitution simply because it is so compelling for opponents to try use the government to silence those who have a compelling and persuasive argument that gores their ox.
March 8th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Superb! I can’t tell you how thrilled I am about this outstanding story having received the Multimedia News Story award: http://poyi.org/65/winners.html
Congratulations!!!
Michal
March 16th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Yes, congratulations — Tichens, Lubens, you guys did a superb job!!
March 17th, 2008 at 3:35 am
Congratulations, Pauline. It’s nice when your profession recognizes your excellence in photography/multimedia.
I am so proud of all the volunteers who tend to the crosses in Lafayette and so grateful that they honor my son and the other losses in this way. This display takes your breath away when you first see it and every time afterwards. It is a fitting, yet gut-wrenching display of the loss of US life in Iraq.
I am sorry that Shelly Valerio finds this display an eyesore. She says that she lives it, breathes it and sees it every day. Strange, that’s how I feel about the war. Since my son, Lt Ken Ballard was killed nearly 4 years ago in Bush’s war, there is not a minute that I do not live the war, breathe the war and see it- I only wish I could turn it off for one minute.
And Justin from Cali- any number more than zero was too many deaths in this war turned occupation.
I am also sorry that people see this as an anti-war display. If people are disturbed by this visual display, perhaps it is really having to face the excruciating losses that these last 5 years have left us.
Again Congratulations!
March 18th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
What a wonderful piece. It is a fair representation of the many sides and emotions on the memorial from pro-war, to anti-war, to remembering the fallen, to thinking it is an eyesore in an affluent community. It was great to find this because it accomplishes one of my goals that i began my blog the crosses of lafayette with: to let images, interviews and testimonials about the memorial speak for themselves, The power of the memorial is presence not opinion, in its reminder that we are fighting a costly war and not a condemnation of our troops (it is in fact the opposite). I am very greatful to all the volunteers and media makers who have made the memorials presence, both on the hill and online, successful.
I would like to say that Sherry Perussina’s comment trouble’s me deeply. It is not the fact that she believes that the memorial is represents a disdain for america and american troops and that it is naive but that she says “They [peace activists] will not be happy until we leave the millions of Iraqis to die at the hands of barbarians!” The term barbarian is close to hate speech towards people living in the middle east, and that hate is dangerous and could keep us in war indefinitely for no good reason.
Congrats on the award!
-chris
http://lafayettecrosses.blogspot.com
March 19th, 2008 at 1:59 am
[…] POYi przyznali nagrody w kilku multimedialnych kategoriach. Polecam obejrzenie materia?u o krzy?ach na wzgórzu w Kalifornii symbolizuj?cych ?mier? ameryka?skich ?o?nierzy w Iraku. Oraz histori? o ?miertelnie […]
March 20th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
After reading all of the comments it is amazing how many are so quick to want to voice their anti-war or pro war comments. This is a memorial to our fallen solders. Each number of crosses represents a life, a name. Whether you are pro-war or anti-war, what happened to respect to other human life, living or dead! This memorial represents so much to all of us & more to those whose life is represented. I look at the videos & the comments & see people arguing their beliefs under any cost…isn’t that what starts wars to begin with, religion, land, money, their beliefs. Why all this arguing & fighting among you all? Take a long hard look at yourself, you are a product of what you’re arguing against. Instead of trying to shove your “idea” down someone else’s throat why don’t you take all that energy & learn how to have respect & manors to your own kind.
March 26th, 2008 at 12:16 am
I am the grandmother of one of the fallen soldiers represented by the Lafayette Crosses. My grandson, Marine Cpl. Christopher D. Leon, was 20 years old when a sniper’s bullet took his life on June 20, 2006. My dear friends, Marcie and Chris Christensen live close by and have been kind enough to maintain Christopher’s cross in his memory and I cannot thank them enough. This tribute was meant to be just that - a tribute and a memorial to each and every American who has given his or her life for our country. It was not meant to be a pro-war or an anti-war “statement” of any kind and I am very proud that my grandson’s name is included. I understand that the average age of those who have died is 21. We owe them so much more than these humble crosses!
Sue Ruhl
Nevada
March 25, 2008