The family of fallen Lt. Col. Billy Hall did want you to see this, however. The 38-year-old husband and father was more than just number 4,011. But the Pentagon made it so that few sounds and images from his funeral would hit the media, keeping journalists 50 yards and a yellow rope away.
And, I say again, I don’t know what the Hall family wanted. I haven’t them quoted anywhere. All I can do is guess at the political view of the Washington Post columnist who unknowingly set this thread in motion.
RC, that’s your opinion and you’re entitled to it, but it’s not the opinion of the Hall family. It’s their business how their son’s funeral is conducted and nobody else’s. Unless the son specifically stated in his will that he would not want the media at his funeral, the it’s up to the family to decide what it is he would have wanted, it’s not up to the Pentagon.
Because the media is populated by carnival barkers, clowns and sellers of snakeoil.
The media is a joke, and their presence is an affront.
RC~ again I ask, why are you equating the media presence with a circus?
The Washington Post opinion piece does not actually quote any member of the Hall family. Rather it merely states that the family “gave their permission for the media to cover [Lt. Col. Hall’s} Arlington burial.”
Precisely what that means I don’t know. It could mean a family member put an X in a box on a form, or left it blank. I do not presume to take this as meaning they want television cameras stuck in their faces while they are burying a loved one.
The author of this article states that a great many grieving families also gave their permission, so that “the nation will learn about their loved ones’ sacrifice,” and “it’s hard to escape the conclusion that the Pentagon doesn’t want you to know…”
And that may well be true, but I don’t see any families quoted, or anything to suggest how this author comes by what he claims to know. And even if his statements are perfectly accurate, I stand by my previous post.
According to the Seattle Times, the Hill family held a memorial service a few weeks ago at Seattle’s Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church. If they had invited every media outlet on the planet to cover the service I would have nothing to say about it. I would agree that it’s entirely their business.
But this is Arlington National Cemetery we’re talking about. It’s different. It’s where the Tomb of the Unknowns is located. Take a look at the cemetary website and consider the history of this special place, and all the men and women who volunteered their lives in other conflicts, dating back to the American Revolution. And that’s why I say this is hallowed ground and it should be regarded in every sense with the utmost dignity and respect.
I have nothing but contempt for the Bush regime and it’s conduct of the war in Iraq, but Arlington is not the place to make a statement about that.
And the reason I equate media access with circuses can be explained in two words: flag pins.
The Fifth Estate did everything but roll out a brass band to help us get into the war in Iraq, and there is nothing the media will not trivialize or sensationalize for the sake of Neilsen ratings and advertizing dollars, and if they really want me to believe that they give a damn how the Bush regime is trying to cover up US casualties then they’re going to have to do a damn sight more than publish an opinion piece in the Sunday supplement.
Did the Washington Post columnist do as much as pick up a phone and call the family of Lt. Col. Hill to elicit their opinion? I see nothing in the article to suggest that he did, and frankly I think if the call had been made it would have been mentioned in the article.
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Hey, it’s a funeral, and on top of that it’s a funeral at Arlington, where this country’s veterans are laid to rest. This is not a place for a circus. The media should be kept at a distance. And if the family wants to make a public statement they’ve got every right to walk over to the cameras and say whatever they want.
It’s hallowed ground, and everyone, including the Hall family, should respect that.
April 24th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
RC I disagree. If the Hall family wanted to include the media so that they could televise this to the nation, then it should have been done. Why do you equate “media” with “circus”? It can be like that, but you should also consider that the media acts as a window, allowing us to see into different rooms of life so that we are not stuck thinking that life is only about what happens in our own little room.
April 24th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
RC, I disagree as well. A funeral is a family’s business, not the state’s. The government had no business keeping the media away if the Hall family wanted them there.
April 24th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
The Washington Post opinion piece does not actually quote any member of the Hall family. Rather it merely states that the family “gave their permission for the media to cover [Lt. Col. Hall’s} Arlington burial.”
Precisely what that means I don’t know. It could mean a family member put an X in a box on a form, or left it blank. I do not presume to take this as meaning they want television cameras stuck in their faces while they are burying a loved one.
The author of this article states that a great many grieving families also gave their permission, so that “the nation will learn about their loved ones’ sacrifice,” and “it’s hard to escape the conclusion that the Pentagon doesn’t want you to know…”
And that may well be true, but I don’t see any families quoted, or anything to suggest how this author comes by what he claims to know. And even if his statements are perfectly accurate, I stand by my previous post.
According to the Seattle Times, the Hill family held a memorial service a few weeks ago at Seattle’s Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church. If they had invited every media outlet on the planet to cover the service I would have nothing to say about it. I would agree that it’s entirely their business.
But this is Arlington National Cemetery we’re talking about. It’s different. It’s where the Tomb of the Unknowns is located. Take a look at the cemetary website and consider the history of this special place, and all the men and women who volunteered their lives in other conflicts, dating back to the American Revolution. And that’s why I say this is hallowed ground and it should be regarded in every sense with the utmost dignity and respect.
I have nothing but contempt for the Bush regime and it’s conduct of the war in Iraq, but Arlington is not the place to make a statement about that.
And the reason I equate media access with circuses can be explained in two words: flag pins.
The Fifth Estate did everything but roll out a brass band to help us get into the war in Iraq, and there is nothing the media will not trivialize or sensationalize for the sake of Neilsen ratings and advertizing dollars, and if they really want me to believe that they give a damn how the Bush regime is trying to cover up US casualties then they’re going to have to do a damn sight more than publish an opinion piece in the Sunday supplement.
Did the Washington Post columnist do as much as pick up a phone and call the family of Lt. Col. Hill to elicit their opinion? I see nothing in the article to suggest that he did, and frankly I think if the call had been made it would have been mentioned in the article.
April 25th, 2008 at 3:31 am
RC~ again I ask, why are you equating the media presence with a circus?
April 25th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Because the media is populated by carnival barkers, clowns and sellers of snakeoil.
The media is a joke, and their presence is an affront.
April 25th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
RC, that’s your opinion and you’re entitled to it, but it’s not the opinion of the Hall family. It’s their business how their son’s funeral is conducted and nobody else’s. Unless the son specifically stated in his will that he would not want the media at his funeral, the it’s up to the family to decide what it is he would have wanted, it’s not up to the Pentagon.
April 26th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
“Arlington National Cemetery is a national cemetery under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Army.”
And, I say again, I don’t know what the Hall family wanted. I haven’t them quoted anywhere. All I can do is guess at the political view of the Washington Post columnist who unknowingly set this thread in motion.
April 27th, 2008 at 1:38 am