Hey Berkeley, Go F**k Yourselves!

Berkeley, the famously liberal college town in California, has taken aim at Marine recruiters, saying they are “not welcome in our city.”

Berkeley passed a measure last week encouraging protesters to gather outside the Marine office. Republican lawmakers in Washington fired back this week, threatening to take back more than $2 million of federal funding to the city as well as money designated for the University of California-Berkeley, the campus that became a haven of protests during the Vietnam War.

The battle erupted after the Berkeley City Council approved a measure last week urging the Marine recruiters to leave their downtown office.”If recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome intruders,” the item says. It goes on to say the council applauds residents and organizations that “volunteer to impede, passively or actively, by nonviolent means, the work of any military recruiting office located in the City of Berkeley.”

Outside the Shattuck Avenue recruiting station earlier this week, a handful of protesters with the anti-war group Code Pink camped out, strumming a guitar as they sang anti-war songs and held signs against the Iraq war.

“Time to end the war, time to end the war, time to end the war right now,” they sang to the beat of “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.” One giant sign said, “No Military Predators in Our Town.” Another message on a pink placard read, “Join the Marines. Travel to Exotic Lands. Meet Exciting and Unusual People — And Kill Them.” Zanne Joi peered out from under her straw hat. “This Marine recruiting station is trying to recruit our youth to go to Iraq to kill and be killed. And we are against that,” said Joi, a member of Code Pink Women for Peace.

Protester Sharon Adams added: “This recruiting station recruits people to go fight and then once they fight and they serve their country, our country doesn’t take care of them. That’s a shame.”

Why Sharon, how insightful of you. My friends and I go to foreign lands and kill others – very true. We kill those trying to kill you. Maybe you forget a little fellow by the name of Hitler. Marines were instrumental in preventing the expansion of the Nazi regime – are you against that kind of force as well? Furthermore, the true shame is that I am forced to protect assholes like you who are a part of this country not supporting soldiers who return home.

I am 24 years old. I was able to enter USMA after serving my country overseas since I was 18. The first time I came back, I was met by cheers. The second time, little bitter “disenfranchised” citizens like you – who I had seen shot in Kosovo for even speaking ill against the government – were screaming at my brothers and I while we got off the C-130. They let protesters ON BASE, so that they could express their free speech. They actually sued the base (which I will not name but in CA) to allow protesters into a secured area reserved for immediate family.

I will continue to protect your right to protest, but when you try sh*t like this – you are going too far. Legally, there needs to be a recruiter presence anywhere there is interest. Are the people of Berkeley inferring that THEIR locals are too good to serve in the military? OH, that’s right – there can be recruiters in south-central LA, but not in Berkeley? I see how it is.

We, in the military, have made a commitment. All we ask in return is that there be some modicum of support. I agree with her in that there is little public support for soldiers when they return home. HEY LADY! THEN STOP BULLSH*T protests like this and get politically active. If there are people who support you, then your political initiatives will take hold, but preventing recruiters is completely irrational. Start an educational campaign teaching students what military service entails. If they still want to enlist – cheers!