The Huffington Post has now confirmed it: a wounded war veteran was heckled at Columbia

[bluestateguy]

I had held back because the story was originally picked up by the NY Post and Fox News. Hence I was holding back on taking it seriously, but it is now being picked up by Huffington Post.

People said they wanted the ROTC off campuses because of the DADT policy. DADT has been repealed, but now the anti-ROTC agitators are still not appeased. They are finding new things to piss and moan about, and they heckle and smear a wounded war veteran too.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/21/anthony-maschek-wounded-w_n_825874.html

[cali]

1. That's just disgraceful. There are ways to disagree without this shit.

[BeFree]

5. well

What did the soldier speak about?

I heard he claimed that there are people out there who were trying to kill everyone.

Personally, a young soldier told me just that.

Kill them over there so we don't have to kill them over here?
Gawd, what other bullshit are they telling our young soldiers?

[sufrommich]

2. That's really disgusting. Shame on them. nt

[hedgehog]

3. Children of the Yuppies!

I guarantee you whoever was doing the heckling will land a cushy job with a family friend right after grad school!

[bluestateguy]

4. Of course

This is all about some bullshit "awakening experience" for them to feel good about themselves in college while there are no consequences.

[northoftheborder]

6. That's going too far.

[HereSince1628]

7. How far must our sympathies go? We can't disagree with veterans?

Goddamit. No one TOLD ME THAT! I must be OWED thousands of victories on DU!

Heckling is part of politics.

RPG's and IEDs can break my bones, but heckling will never hurt me.

[Smarmie Doofus]

8. Heckled? Wow.

I see they "hissed" and "booed" as well.

Scary stuff.

[DinahMoeHum]

9. Is this veteran Maschek an Allen West-type guy?

Because if he is, then I have no sympathy for him.

[Erose999]

10. Did they heckle him specifically because he's a disabled vet, or because he was

saying xenophobic and potentially racist things? I just listened to the audio and to me it seems like the latter:

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/senate/militaryengagement/20110215clip.mp3

"Other parts of the world are plotting to kill you when you go to bed"

"They hate America, they hate you"

Note that he didn't say "terrorists" or "Al Qaeda", he said "people in other parts of the world".

You know, people... ALL of them.

I would have boo'ed him as well.

[stillwaiting]

12. Indeed. If true, I would have as well. Blessed are the peacemakers of ALL countries.

This guy, again, if true, would certainly not be a peacemaker. He would, instead, be a huge part of the problem that leads to continued violence and killing.

[WCGreen]

15. why they hate "us" is because we have allowed the corporations

and the military to be the tangible projection of our way of life...

Isn't it any wonder these "people" hate us...

[luvspeas]

11. I'm having trouble seeing anything wrong with this...

His comments were stupid and he deserved to be called on them.

[EstimatedProphet]

13. I personally don't buy into the "he is a wounded vet, so suck up to him" crap

The right likes to talk that way, as evidenced by the comments by the inbred redneck jerks on that article. He can be a vet, serve honorably, give his all for his country, and still be a jerk at the same time. If he went off on a racist tirade about how there are people who are trying to kill us all, etc. etc. I would quit listening to him too.

[bluestateguy]

20. Remember how Max Cleland was smeared in 2002?

Of course, the other side seems to have some immunity on the issue that our side does not have.

But that still does not excuse such behavior.

[EstimatedProphet]

21. I do remember that, yes.

And I don't believe in heckling. Either listen to what someone says, or don't. However, after reading the comments at HuffPo I get the feeling that there are a lot of people who believe that, since this guy was in combat, everything he ever says from now on is sacrosanct and any criticism of what he says is treason. Standard rightwing crap, and I don't buy it.

[Robb]

22. I think the idea is simpler than that, even.

This kid will look at most people who rally around any cause, and judge them by what they were willing to sacrifice in the name of that cause. He's missing body parts, so from where he's sitting he's got a bit of high ground.

[EstimatedProphet]

23. Yeah, OK

Valid point, when it comes to him. Not valid a bit when it comes to a freeper fuckwit screaming "Respect are country!" if you disagree with him - especially when they scream "Commie infultraitor!" whenever a soldier, even a combat soldier, talks about war being a bad thing.

[jp11]

14. I listened to the clip he wasn't heckled at best he was jeered as the story states.

Some people laughed and gasped at his comment that 'people want to kill you' that was pretty much it, no one screamed at him or booed him, he wasn't prevented from saying what he wanted to say.

[Stanchetalarooni]

16. Believe it or not...

..but "some" wounded war veterans can make asses of themselves too.

[EFerrari]

17. I hope Columbia sticks to its guns, no matter who shows up

to sell ROTC.

[starroute]

18. I call propaganda on this one

If you google on Anthony Maschek, you find that every right-wing blog in creation is all over this one -- and going on about how it brings shame and dishonor to Columbia.

You also find that Maschek's story was quite widely reported a couple of years ago on "wounded warrior" sites. See, for example, the rundown at pipl.com: http://pipl.com/directory/name/Maschek/Anthony

The pipl listing shows that there are a couple or three different Anthony Mascheks in the county, but almost all the linked stories have to do with Anthony Quinn Maschek of Twin Falls, Idaho, his injuries, and his recovery. So it seems possible to me that this was a setup from the start -- but even if it wasn't, it's certainly become the property of the right-wing echo chamber now.

[Robb]

19. Wait, wait. It's "propaganda" because he was actually wounded?

Or actually at Walter Reed, and his name appears in a NYT piece from a few years ago about wounded soldiers getting out once in a while?

Or is propaganda because it's a story most popular with right-wing sites?

It's wholly unsurprising that we wouldn't want this story to gain traction, and they would. That doesn't make it patently false. Overblown, probably.

[trumad]

24. Well from the comments above...

the guy's speech was a bunch of bullshit.

Being disabled does not make you immune from criticism.