After stepping down as GOProud chairman for “accidentally” outing Rick Perry‘s pollster Tony Fabrizio, Chris Barron has put his foot in his mouth once again.
Barron took to Twitter this morning to express his insightful opinions on recently surfaced videos which show U.S. soldiers urinating on the dead bodies of Taliban soldiers. In our war against these “minority-murdering barbarians,” apparently Barron believes we must engage in similarly shameful tactics.
Most conservative commentators have gone non-partisan on this issue because it’s pretty clear that peeing on corpses—even those of enemy combatants—is morally reprehensible.
If the most advanced army in the world stoops to this level, how are we to expect our foes to give our dead soldiers any level of respect? As a passer-by noted after glancing at our screen: “As someone who has had a family member killed in action, I would rather not have his memory associated with these acts.”
How about we take this to the next level?
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MEJ
Much ado about nothing.
ron
How stupid were these Marines to actually film their disgusting act? In this day of phone cams and Twitter and whatever else, what did they think was going to happen to the footage? Have they not learned anything from past scandals where people were clueless enough to put something on film?
avr
Don’t try to make your petty Twitter spats into news, please.
Ronbo
Is it a mystery as to why much of the world has lost respect for America. Right now, most Americans don’t respect America. These wars must end or they will end us!
Ronbo
@ron: So their disgusting acts are OK? Just don’t document it? Another lost soul… another Republican.
Michael
Wow, America continues to prove to the world why we’re so hated and gay Republicans strive to remind us why they’re so out of touch with our community.
christopher di spirito
Barron is correct in his characterization of the Taliban. They’re brutal thugs who kill gay people and subjugate women. As for the Marine’s behavior, it was sophomoric, boorish and unacceptable. So Barron got it partially correct.
CBRad
The Taliban’s method of executing homosexuals was to have them buried under a wall (pushed down by a bulldozer). I don’t care that their corpses are urinated on. I do think these guys were incredibly stupid to risk it going public, though.
Spike
@CBRad: At what proof do you have the the corpses are Taliban?
BTW, if the pic was of the so called ‘enemy’ pissing on US soldiers, would your response reference how the US christian right republicans deny homosexuals their rights?
DavyJones
@Michael: Peeing on the corpse of a Taliban solder has very little to do with the opinion of Americans around the world… Americans’ tendency to make broad generalized statements from a position of arrogance on the other hand…
Riker
@CBRad: How do you know these corpses actually belonged to enemy combatants, and not just some poor Afghan civilians? several hundred thousand civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan have been killed since 2003. Do you trust the same stupid kids who defiled corpses to positively identify enemy combatants?
Libertarian Larry
@CBRad: You hit the nail on the head, Rad. I’ve got no problem with our soldiers pissing on some dead piece-of-shit terrorists, but why they allowed it to be filmed is beyond me.
CBRad
@Spike: Why are you asking me if they’re Taliban corpses? Ask Queerty where the proof is for the headline. For the second question, when Republicans start executing gays in the same manner I’ll…feel that way.
CBRad
@Riker: see above response
David Ehrenstein
I’d love to pee on Chris Barron — save for the fact that he’d probably love it.
Riker
@CBRad: According to my newspaper, it isn’t clear who who corpses are, or even which soldiers committed the heinous acts.
CasseyAnthonyYupIKilledmahbaby
Fuck these dead taliban soldiers, I dont care a flying gnat about GoProud or that Barron douche but as for the marines who peed on those rotting bags of scum I say THANK YOU! Had it been me I would have taken a large shit in their mouths too. Give me a fucking break people, how politically correct are we going to get over a bunch of disgusting terrorist who wont think twice about killing every single one of us if given the chance. BY the way, the same goes for the bodies of George Bush, Rick Santorum, Anne Coulter, Dick Chenney, Sarah Palin and heck why not, Mitt Romney when the time comes. Let me at them corpses, Ill make sure to have a huge meal and drink two gallons of water. Peace out.
CBRad
@Riker: uh huh/// then maybe it was just a watersports scene…
Interesting
(a) War atrocities are common. This is something that our war happy society does not get when it sends troops abroad. Americans like to think of war as like Rambo. Actually, “war” is not even the right word for what we do as a country. We don’t attack countries that really have any chance of equalling our trillion-dollar a year military machine. Saying “war” in this context is like the child saying the child is at war with an ant.
(b) How many members do GOProud have in total? I ask that because they seem to get a lot of attention for such a small organization. Who gives a fuck what they think? What happened to the Log Cabin Republicans, w ho while still Republicans, were a little less crazy? I mean GOProud is endorsing straight up homophobes.
(c) I love how here you have folks endorsing the crazies in the GOP by saying “well they aren’t murdering us, or wouldn’t”
Here’s the deal: They are against the repeal of the anti-sodomy laws. Many of the GOP platforms, including the state of Texas, include the recriminalization of being gay. So, when people argue here “they aren’t against killing us” this at the very least is misdirection. Many Repubicans under their platform are for putting us in jail for being gay.
(d) It takes a special kind of delusional to babble on about the Taliban, which is not in the U.S., as a sign of what our standards should be. This is the type of thing that I often get into with Obots. They will say ‘Obama is better thanthe GOP” like that’s a standard for how we should see our rights. Sorry, but my views of what rights i should have are not based on the lesser evil. So, comparing someone who wants to jail me to someone who wants to murder me is not going to convince me that the GOP is not evil. The lesser of two evils is still evil.
Will I take a trade off to protect myself? Sure. that’s why the Democrats are marginally better than the GOP. That’s why the Republicans are marginally better than the Taliban, bu, that leads to (e)
(e) What the fuck does that have to do with anything? We aren’t over there killing folks due to gay rights. Anyone bringing that up is either retarded or damn retarded. As a gay person, I would love for people to stop using us as the latest props to prove how “open minded” they are while committing other atrocities. Let’s say the Taliban suddenly started supporting gay rights- that’s not going to in my book my the Taliban any less of an evil. The fact some crazy Republican like Anne Coulter says she supports gays so long as we have no protections under the law does not mean shit. Nor, does it mean anything in terms of what ever else she says.
Rant done. Back to the sufferficial comments by the other denizens here.
Mike in Asheville
@David Ehrenstein: Thanks David, thanks a lot — now I have to really clean my keyboard of the coffee I just spewed all over my laptop from uncontrolled laughing!
Mike UK
nice to see the fuckwits are out in force today!
regardless of who was pissed on regardless of whether it was the taliban or civilians when something like this makes news it makes things worse for westerners living and working in the country.
I have a friend who works for the UN over there and speaking to them on line last night the shit is definitely going to hit the fan, they now have to be more aware of where they are going and who they are with, they are basically holed up in their compound because of the threat of retaliation.
before you make stupid statements about how “awesome” it was think about the people working over there that have nothing to do with the army but are in the firing line simply for being western and an easy target!
Ashton C
I find it funny that some of you are making such a huge deal about this when not even the Taliban itself really cares about this non story. http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/01/corpse-video Then again some of you only live to complain. Im guessing the same people complaining about the marines are the same ones who get offended when they hear the word tranny. Time to up your meds boys, either that or get laid, your call.
shannon
THIS IS WHY THEY HATE YOU
Caliban
If Christopher Barron is going to say that people who promote and encourage hate against gays should be pissed on, he should never leave the house without an umbrella.
hyhybt
@Ronbo: There is nothing about saying it’s foolish to record your actions that implies the actions are OK so long as nobody knows.
Ken
@Chopper Man: No. This was a disgarace to the Corps and everything it stands for. Honor. Courage. Commitment.
Honor requires each Marine to exemplify the ultimate standard in ethical and moral conduct. Honor is many things; honor requires many things. A Marine must cling to an uncompromising code of personal integrity, accountable for his actions and holding others accountable for theirs. And, above all, honor mandates that a Marine never sully the reputation of the Corps.
Courage is moral strength, the will to heed the inner voice of conscience, the will to do what is right regardless of the conduct of others. It is mental discipline, an adherence to a higher standard. Courage means willingness to take a stand for what is right in spite of adverse consequences.
Commitment means a Marine never give up, never give in, never willingly accept second best. Excellence is always the goal. There is no such thing as an ex-Marine or former-Marine. Once a Marine, always a Marine, because commitment to the Corp and Country never dies.
Honor. Courage. Commitment. That is what it mans to be a Marine. That is what a Marine is faithful to – Always.
Chopper Man
@Ken: You’re absolutely right, friend. What I said was intended to be supportive of the Corps, but you’re right about them disgracing their honor with this act. They should have known better.
tjr101
Admittedly I may piss on the corpses of homophobes as well, the present crop of GOP candidates deserve the same send off.
JayKay
They’re savage, barbaric, third-world cultists who would gladly kill me, you, and everyone else here. Getting a post-mortem golden shower is getting off pretty light.
Jim
I’m surprised no nutjobs have blamed the repeal of DADT for this incident yet.
dvlaries
Yeah, it’s rather depressing but how can you blame them now that they know if they take a bullet themselves they could very well end up unceremoniously dumped in some Virginia landfill like their departed brethren in uniform before them?
http://www.truth-out.org/final-indignity-last-insult-real-america/1323396756
We have no business being shocked when those at the bottom of the military pyramid evidence no greater quality of decency than the example they’re set.
B
No. 17 · Riker wrote, “@CBRad: According to my newspaper, it isn’t clear who who corpses are, or even which soldiers committed the heinous acts.”
They know which Marines were responsible (possibly not when you posted that comment). Check out http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/01/13/bloomberg_articlesLXPN8A6VDKHU01-LXR62.DTL . They were part of a sniper unit from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and were in Afghanistan from March to September, 2011.
You should be pissed off at these bozos. The U.S. is currently holding talks with the Taliban and this incident is complicating those talks. Do you want us to spend any more time, money, and lives on that country than necessary?
BradT
What a vile, pathetic little man.
Shannon1981
IDK why this is even news. Chris Barron and the rest ofGOProud are nothing but self loathing homosexuals who pretend to think the likes of Ann Coulter has no issue with their homoseuality. Snooze. We can’t even call them gay. After all, real gay people realize they are gay and don’t vote against their own rights.
Fuck Chris Barron, Matt ” I don’t really like gay people that much,” Hissey and all the rest.
Shannon1981
Two wrongs don’t make a right. This was disgusting, and they were dumb enough to fill it. some military “honor.”
Shannon1981
oops wrong article, too many queerty windows open!
the crustybastard
I don’t think the dead guys were some decent folks who tried to sell the Marines a falafel, and the Marines suddenly murdered them in cold blood and pissed on their corpses. I bet they probably spent the last few moments of their lives diligently trying to kill those Marines.
I also bet they spent most of their lives treating their wives, sisters and mothers like slaves, buying and/or selling children for debts, raping pre-pubescent kids, using human shields, cooperating with criminals and terrorists, and generally believing that infidels deserve death merely for being infidels.
In short, the pissed-on corpses probably earned both the bullet and pissing several times over; however, the problem is those pissing Marines are going to be the reason some other opportunistic asshole Afghanis are going to feel justified in kidnapping an unarmed, well-meaning aid worker who’s going to end up with her head sawed off.
And that’s what really sucks.
mike
Chris Barron is an idiiot. While it’s true that the Taliban are awful, evil people, in war, such distinctions become blurred. When innocent people are killed by American troops, as has so often happened in Afghanistan, the stigma of evil spreads to the side that is there to fight the evil. The good vs evil notion then loses some of its impact.
In any case, urinating on corpses is unseemly regardless of how evil you might think that the dead person was. It’s puerile and unnecessary. The soldiers who did this should be fired from the military.
Daez
@Mike UK: Sorry, but they are holed up in their compound because they are in a country where the vast majority of the country, even the “innocent” civilians want them dead. They don’t need a reason for wanting them dead, they already want them dead. This is something that anyone in such a position should be well aware of when they make the CHOICE to enter such a job.
Daez
@shannon: No, the reason they hate us is best summed up in two words…Charlie Wilson.
E. S.
As someone who has been to combat twice, I find this statement ignorant and disgusting. What good is winning the war if you return as the monster you went to fight?
Furthermore, doing this (filmed or not) creates enemies in the local population and makes ending our involvement that much harder. Even if it wasn’t filmed, someone (likely local civilians) would bury have to bury these bodies and there is no doubt they would notice they had been urinated on. Certainly doesn’t make us out to have a just cause and likely gives them motivation to support the other side.
Wrong morally and wrong strategically.
Mike UK
@Daez: they are actually holed up in their compound because this has happened and is making the news! my friend works for a UN aid agency and work with the locals and were going around freely until this hit the headlines! I agree no one goes into this job lightly but then again they don’t expect soldiers to be filmed pissing on a body!
Ruhlmann
It chilled me to the marrow to see the bodies of young American servicemen being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu. Desecrating a body is soulless and beneath apes. Nothing an enemy does to you can justify this vile, loathsome behaviour.
DonsterNYC
I have always questioned the IQ levels of members of GOProud. Each new statement they make just confirms to me that I give them credit for too high a score.