Two prayers....

God's will be done and may He have mercy upon us all.

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A Catholic who follows Rome & the Magisterium. I'm against gay "marriage", abortion, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia, human cloning. Altar girls, Communion in the hand, Eucharistic Ministers and "Protestant" music in the Church doesn't bother me at all. A proud American retired submarine sailor. Our borders should be secured with a 10 ft. high fence topped by concertina wire with minefields out to 20 yards on both sides and an additional 10 yards filled with warning signs outside of that Let's get energy independent NOW! Back Israel to the max, stop appeasing followers of the Pedophile Prophet. Pro 2nd Amendment, pro death penalty, Repeal all hate crime legislation. Back the police unless you'd rather call a hippie when everything hits the fan. Get government out of dealing with education, childhood obesity and the enviornment. Stop using the military for sociological experiments and if we're in a war don't micromanage their every move. Kill your television, limit time on the computer and pick up a book. God's will be done and may He have mercy upon us all.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Looking for advice.....

Let's start off with this.

Okay, with that little news bite in mind let me tell you about my latest foray into the Twilight Zone.

I recently sent a letter to the editorial pages of the Dallas Morning News after they ran Eric Fair's "Haunted By Fallujah" article. His article's been circulating on the blogosphere and it details his remorse of what he had to do as an interrogator of detained terrorists in Iraq. I try not to dignify them with the term "insurgents".

My letter ended with the line, "If the safety of our troops requires taking these terrorists apart with a blowtorch and pliers, so be it. Bill me for the propane". Maybe a bit over the top but it got the point across. The letter was published.

So yesterday evening I received some snail mail from a total stranger taking me to task for my comments. No profanity in it but he made it evident he thinks I suck on toast. Whatever, life isn't a popularity contest.

Now the Dallas Morning News wouldn't have given him my home address so he had to find it. The only thing the DMN lists is my name and the town I live in. No big deal there either, I've lived here long enough my name & address is probably on a few publicly accessible databases. As an example, I recently verified the address of my first wife by doing a plain old Google search, nothing special, no pay site involved, just boredom & persistance. Something to keep in mind if you publicly state your opinions and have a not too common last name.

So, now what do I do? My gut feeling is the letter writer is harmless. But for every ten like him there's probably one or two nutjobs that might want to make their displeasure known in a more personal and immediate manner. Again, perhaps like the idiot in the story I linked to.

Hell of a thing. Where I come from you can voice your opinions and if someone disagrees with them they go to the same forum you were heard in. Any dissenters DON'T contact you at home. Even via snail mail. For years I've written letters to the editor of whatever paper might be read where I live. Sometimes I've been pretty strong on my statements, but I've never gotten a reply sent to my home.

I don't worry about myself. But I've got a young wife and three young children. They don't need this crap.

And I won't shut up. Seems I remember that's what the Nazi's counted on when they rounded up the Jews, nice quiet, compliant sheep. Sorry, going quietly into that good night doesn't fit into my game plan. The bastards want me they better pack a lunch, it'll take some time.

Because of a recent attempted break-in of my home we've got a gun for the wife. I made it a bit more accessible for her tonight. And I'm soliciting suggestions as to what else I can do. Shall I contact my local police chief and have him talk to his peer in Dallas, trying to find out about this guy? Do I get a lawyer? WTF. This is new to me. If I was living alone I'd respond by writing back to him. As it is I don't want to stir any pots that might be ready to boil over.

I had a close buddy who took his own safety for granted. He ratted on some "business associates" back in '79. After the first one got out of jail in '84 my buddy was shot and subsequently died one month later. It all involved some heavy drug trafficking, that's a part of living that life I guess. But with that in mind I take this VERY seriously, especially since my family's safety might be involved.

Do I seem pissed? I am. Because no matter how unacceptable and strong someone's comments may be, in this country we're STILL guaranteed freedom of speech. And intimidation of any sort doesn't go down well with me. Yes, I look at this as a form of intimidation even if, as I suspect, the letter writer is some pipsqueak with pipestems for arms, it's still sounds like it's one step removed from, "Nice house you got there, is it insured?' Maybe it IS overreacting. I really don't have the objectivity to make that call.

And no damnit, I WON'T SHUT UP!!

4 comments:

Cookie..... said...

Sent an E-mail to you my friend....

Cookie...

Anonymous said...

If there was a return address on the envelope you received, I wouldn't worry too much about it. If not, if it would make you feel better, contact your local police. It can't hurt. At least you alerted them.

Also, if he signed his name, and using the town of the postmark, you can go on Anywho.com, and see what you turn up. If he has a listed number, you might get his phone number and address, if he didn't give it anywhere else.

Subvet said...

Hey Sonarman,

Yeah, there was a return address. The letter itself wasn't threatening, just the idea this clown would directly contact me got my goat. Cookie said pretty much the same thing about contacting the police. Should I get any followup correspondence I'll do that.

And to be honest, when you rattle some cages like I did you've got to expect some sort of blowback. Just didn't like the idea of him making it more personal than I'm used to.

For whatever it's worth, my mother-in-law was given the address and said it's right in the middle of the local gay community. So this guy has other problems besides a dislike for me. I know that sounds "homophobic" but every gay man I ever met had a real need for psychiatric help. Just the way it is.

Thanks for your help. Good hearing from ya!

Anonymous said...

Thanks, and glad to help.

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