Who You Gonna Believe, Me or Those Lying Photos? (UPDATED)

Mark Hemingway of NRO on the beating of Gold Star father Carlos Arredondo by self-styled patriots in Wash., D. C. last Saturday:

Arredondo was bringing up the rear of the march; almost everybody was already on the Capitol lawn when he came by dragging his casket. Fred Peterson, an ex-Marine, was standing off to the side of the road. Peterson was upset, not just as a participant in the counterprotest offended by the marcher’s politics and their perceived lack of patriotism, but because he felt exploiting the death of a fallen Marine crossed a line. Fred walked out into the street and snatched the picture off of the casket. Arredondo didn’t even know what happened until it was pointed out to him by others. By the time Arredondo figured it out, Peterson was walking away. In a rage, Arredondo took off and tackled Peterson from behind at a full run. Arredondo was pulled off Peterson very quickly by a number of Peterson’s fellow veterans and counterprotesters, but not before Peterson was bloodied in the ensuing scuffle.

Here's brave Fred's boo-boo, from NRO. Oh, & just for the hell of it, here's a picture (of several) of Arredondo being kicked while down:Colorful emphasis added by Just Another Blog™. Now let's compare & contrast. From AfterDowningStreet, by Mélida Arredondo, Carlos' wife & the stepmother of Carlos' son, Alex, a Marine who was killed in Iraq a little over three years ago:

As Carlos passed counter protesters, one man ripped a picture of Alex from the memorial. Carlos leaped on the man to retrieve the picture. It was at that point that approximately five others all began to attack Carlos by kicking him in the head, legs, stomach and back. The Capitol police bicycle patrol then appeared to break up the fight. Several officers including a female officer were engaged in breaking up the fight and were able to stop any further injuries from occurring. Hannah Jones who was walking with Carlos was also assaulted.
[...]
Soon, an ambulance showed up as well as many concerned activists. The paramedics provided first aid to Carlos but he did not seek further medical attention. Carlos sustained bloody cuts on his shins. He also reported bruises all over his torso and head where he was kicked.

More crap from Hemingway, writing in the present tense, yet.

While Arredondo is leaving, four young boys are walking by and hear what happened. They walk up to Peterson and made a point of shaking his hand. They’re all barely out of high school, “8th and I boys” as they’re known in D.C., after the address of the local Marine barracks. As soon as Peterson hears this he exclaims, “My brothers!” and is all smiles and backslaps. He gestures wildly toward the thousands of protesters on the lawn above him and tells them, “One drop of your blood is worth more than all of theirs, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” They nod respectfully and say “Yes, sir.” It’s too bad they met like this — if Peterson could have met
Arredondo under different circumstances, he would have told him how valuable his son’s sacrifice is. As it is, Fred has two children in the military, including a daughter at the Naval Academy.

Yes. Please tell him how valuable his son's sacrifice was. We're sure he wants to hear it from the sad-ass losers who make wars possible. Valuable to the rabid bloodlust of assholes like Fred "Mommy, look at my boo-boo" Peterson. Or the greed & powerlust of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, ad nauseum. Or to the profit margins of various & sundry corporations. Not very valuable as far "keeping our country safe." Oh, don't forget honor, duty, country & all the other bogus words used to keep tools like the Gathering of Eagles in line. Look at their site. See how honorable & patriotic they are. Read some of the comments. "Liberals. Moonbats. Our way of life." The same tired clichés of the poorly educated, ignorant & brain-dead.

From the GOE Mission Statement:

1. Gathering of Eagles is non-partisan. While each member has his or her own political beliefs, our common love and respect for America and her heroes is what brings us together.
2. We are a non-violent, non-confrontational group. We look to defend, not attack. Our focus is guarding our memorials and their grounds.
3. We believe that the war memorials are sacred ground; as such, we will not allow them to be desecrated, used as props for political statements, or treated with anything less than the solemn and heartfelt respect they–and the heroes they honor–deserve.

Non-partisan, except that only drooling right wing patriots fetishize war memorials, and call them "sacred." How 'bout when Bush & Cheney use living service personnel as backdrops for their political activities. Haven't heard much complaining about that from the Gathering of Eagles. And of course they're non-violent. Just look at their expressions while they're kicking Carlos Arredondo.

Just one item from the GOE forum, w/ some words from Boo-boo Fred:

This guy Carlos is a certifiable NUTCASE…PERIOD.
While I feel for any Gold Star family member. Having a son or father, sister, brother or mother killed in defense of their country AND it's way of life, does NOT give one the right to desecrate the memory of that fallen hero in furtherance of the cause of everything CONTRARY to the beliefs of said country. This guy Carlos has been co-opted by the left for their own political gains and his nationwide "road-show, street theater" makes a mockery of every other Gold Star family out
there. Cindy Sheehan has made her place in history by exploiting the honorable service of her son, and our little Carlos is being PAID to do the same in his own sick twisted way throughout the country with the death of his.
Remember folks, that this guy went ballistic when the Marines came to his house with the news. He took a hammer to their van, and then tried to douse it with gasoline and light it on fire! We as a society don't tolerate nut-jobs going whacko on people just because they're "feeling pain in their hearts". Nor should we. This guy belongs in an institution, not on the news as a poster boy for "the agony of loss". Besides, he's flat out LYING about the circumstances of his "scuffle".
How do I know this? Because the animal BIT ME! Yes, I'm the guy that he bit. This freakshow would be in jail now, were it not for the compassion of Fred Peterson, (a 61 yr old, arthritic, Viet-Nam vet) who was attacked from BEHIND, and myself not pressing charges against the nut-case for his assault on US! He attacked Fred. I pulled him off. He BIT ME! When that kind of savagery takes place…all bets should be off. But the HUMANS chose to let sleeping dogs lie…so to speak.
Here below is the account from the Eagle he attacked. You can decide who to believe…but I was there. After reading what the pathetic BITER is saying now, I wish we HAD pressed charges. Perhaps he's be singing a different tune. But I doubt it. His handlers love the lie.

From the pen of Fred Peterson:
I was leaving Capitol Grounds. The activity there had just about ended with the arrest of over 600 provocateurs and agents 'anti-war' of violence. There, we Eagles had organized teams of six men - mostly veterans- to protect the safety of Gold Star Moms (and Dads) from the physical threats and insults of hard-edge left socialists, Seattle anarchists, random lefty Raggamuffins and reflexive anti-Americans who made up the ANSWER Coalition …
I had spent the day in the company of an American hero - a youthful Army amputee, who wanted only to rejoin his brothers and renew his sacrifice indefense of country. It was a humbling and inspirational experience, to be in the presence of such selfless virtue in one so young and brave. It invited a camaraderie of high principle and enervated a keen sense of obligation to preserve and protect these worthy veterans from the predations of those lessers who insult their country and cause…
My teams broke up at the Capitol, mission accomplished, and I was walking alone back to the Mall when I saw the photo-image of a proud young Marine in dress blues being held hostage in company not of his own choosing and affixed to a coffin not his own.
The insult to his honor and disrespect to his Corps and cause by his captors was immediately obvious and intended. These same peddlers of provocation are paid to push their coffin-prop
all over the country they revile. They subvert a common will and undermine the cause and country for which this hostage-Marine had sacrificed his very life.
The captive Marine was not among his own.
He was surrounded and outnumbered by those who shamelessly exploit hisi mage and memory, disgrace his uniform, his brothers in arms, and his willing sacrifice. He would never choose such company. He needed a rescue…
I liberated his image from the midst of the hostile crowd, intending to replace it in a position of honor Arlington, where he would rest with heroes and among his own…I respectfully carried the image of the fallen Marine and was not opposed nor confronted in any way until I has walked perhaps 25 yards down the sidewalk. There, I was attacked without warning and tackled from behind by a demonstrator who crashed into my back at a full run. I went down forward, tearing pants knees and shirt sleeve and five separate wounds requiring hospital attention. The Marine's image, along with camera and sunglasses were smashed into the pavement. Before I could respond, six or so Eagles-vets were immediately pulling me away from the anti-war attacker. One Eagle was holding the attacker and yelling, "He's biting off my arm! I cannot believe this (A-Hole) is biting my arm!" That Eagle also went to the hospital where he was treated and given shots.
Other Eagles separated the two and held the attacker/biter for the police. Police Interviews were conducted and Eagles were asked if they wanted to prefer charges… No charges were filed by Eagles, who are unaccustomed to whining about minor injuries when they stand in defense of larger principles unappreciated - uncomprehended - by their attackers. Two Gold Star Mothers who witnessed the entire episode and gave police statements said, "I am so proud of what you did! I wanted to do it myself … That coffin is such a disgrace to my son and all the others who have died to help others be free. Thank you so much! It made my day."
Well, actually, - those few precious words, from one who has given the full measure of issue from her own body to the defense of our country, 'made my day' also …
Semper Fidelis.

Your Editor® has seldom read anything more flat out stupid & foolish in his life. Wouldn't it be nice if people were just a tad more concerned w/ the living & suffering than w/ the images & memorials of the dead? Not likely to happen though, as it might require actual cogitation on their part, & the realization that all the "values" they've dedicated themselves to are as empty as their heads.

Added Info (23 September 2007 @ 0030): From Sadly, No!, where your editor was first inspired to do the searching that led to this item, comes this informative comment:

J— said,
September 22, 2007 at 16:32 [Kraut time. -9:00 for PDT.]
That Peterson text is fascinating, and not just for its “Cara al sol” tone and tenor. I’m especially struck by Peterson’s fetishization of Alexander Arredondo’s image. It reminds me of a practice in 17th- and 18th-century Spain and Spanish America, in which portraits of the monarch were taken not as representations but as physical embodiments of the monarch himself (see Osorio 2004). I’m sure there are examples of similar beliefs and practices elsewhere.