At the protest in DC, on Saturday? I missed the protest, unfortunately, because I'm still recovering from some accidentally self-inflicted burns. But a friend of a friend, who was at the protest, said that there were an impressive number of Iraq War veterans, and mentioned a man carrying a mocked-up coffin, and the boots of his son, who had died in Iraq.
"The anti-antis beat the crap out of him," I told her, "He was carrying an upside-down flag.". "What? Why?" she asked. "It's disrespectful.", I answered dryly, "It's a sign of distress.". But it didn't make any sense to me either.
While reading up on yesterday's protests, I'd come across a reference to Carlos: I never seen such nasty psychopathic people , by noofsh :
Also, Carlos Arredondo was jumped by eight members of the Gathering of Eagles. Beat him to the ground and kicked him repeatedly until a group of Veterans for Peace and Iraq vets pulled them off. He was at his truck, which is his memorial to his son, Alexander.
I spoke with Carlos and Medea and Gael, and Carlos is unstoppable, going to press charges. A Code Pink woman was slapped in the face by the Gathering of Vultures. A woman named Amy who was with Carlos was pushed around. Carlos was the only one beaten up. The pro-deathers also threatened people over a bull horn and shouted things to let the Code Pinkers know they knew the details of activities in the Code Pink house.... Carlos said he was holding an American flag upside down, which is what led to them attacking him.
and on freerepublic, I'd read the corroboration: :
Update from Michelle Malkin
http://michellemalkin.com/...
Update 5:45pm Eastern. Here’s the AP’s dispatch mentioning some of the arrests of demonstrators who jumped the fence at the base of the Capitol. We were up the steps in the middle of the crazies who started barking "Fascism!" when the police took away the fence-jumpers.
~~~~~~
Update 5:00pm Eastern. Well, they came, they spewed, they cursed. Several thousand Soros marchers descended on the Capitol yelling "Fuck Bush" and "Fuck you" at Gold Star Families. As Capitol Hill police arrested the "die-in" participants, young peaceniks shouted "What does a pig look like?
The Capitol police" and "Oink! Oink! Oink." Others shrieked about "Fascism!" and gleefully performed "Sieg Heil" salutes. We’ll have video from the midst of the moonbats. Across from Taft Park, some anti-American demonstrators waving a large, upside-down American flag and pulling a coffin with Army boots got in a scuffle with Eagles. We’ll have that video of that as well.
but I didn't realize just how rude what apparently happened was until I read Carlos Arredondo's wikipedia entry :
Carlos Arredondo made national news when his son Marine Lance Corporal Alexander Arrendondo, 20 years old, was killed in An Najaf, Iraq during his second tour of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom on August 25, 2004. Later that day, Carlos Arredondo's 44th birthday, the Marines' Casualty Assistance Team went to his home in Hollywood, Florida to notify him of his son's death. The Marines had not brought a chaplain with them and notified him in the front yard of his home. After close to 30 minutes during which Mr. Arredondo requested for the Marine to leave, he became extremely upset and agitated. At the same time in Bangor, Maine, the Marines were notifying Alex's mother and brother of his death. After some time went by and the Marines refused to leave, according to news reports, "Arredondo was so distraught after the Marines came to his Florida home to tell him, that he climbed in their van and splashed it with gasoline. A propane torch he'd brought inside was lit, Arredondo says accidentally, and he was blown outside. He recovered from his burns and apologized. He was not prosecuted."[1]
...
Mr. Arredondo along with his wife Melida formed an organization called People United for Peace. He is now a strong anti-war activist and has speaking engagements around the country speaking about his personal tragedy and to parents about the methods recruiters use to enlist youth. He especially works to reach out to the Spanish-speaking community.
Is this possible? Was the father of a soldier who died in Iraq attacked and beaten for exercising his freedom of speech? Was a man who so mourned the death of his son that he apparently set himself on fire really brutally knocked down, kicked and beaten, by pro-war counter protesters? Was the mere fact that Carlos Arredondo was flying an upside-down flag adequate grounds for such vicious physical violence?
What happened to Carlos Arrendondo? I wasn't there, I'm just reporting accounts from the web. I can't imagine what possible rationale there can be, even for the most patriotic, pro-Bush, pro-troops, pro-America, pro-war counter-protestor, to lay hands on the father of a soldier who was Killed In Action.
What happened to Carlos Arrendondo?