At a recent football game on the campus of San Diego State University, the infamous Blackwater Corporation found yet another way to dishonor America.
On December 1, Blackwater, the notorious mercenary corporation which brought scandal upon itself when its highly paid empployees in Baghdad shot and killed more than a dozen innocent civilians, took part in a halftime show. A Blackwater employee, wearing military-esque apparel, parachuted into the stadium and literally dragged the American flag through the mud.
Here's a video from the same event last year; skip ahead to about 2:40 to see Blackwater's shameful presentation:
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As discussed at Calitics by Lucas O'Connor, this halftime show was part of an event in San Diego which honors the men and women who serve our country in uniform. Blackwater's mercenaries, of course, are not American servicemen and servicewomen -- they're employees of a for-profit corporation which has made a mint through war profiteering.
I am outraged by Blackwater's wanton disregard for the flag. And I am in disbelief that Blackwater would think that they can simply "blend in" with the honorable men and women who serve America at the Fleet Week event in San Diego.
O'Connor spoke with organizers of the event, who told him that they had no intention other than to honor our veterans. I'm sure none of the event organizers intended any insult, but it's quite clear that Blackwater Corporation has no business taking part in Fleet Week festivities.
Blackwater is a corporation out to make a profit, no different than Ford or IBM. The problem is that Blackwater's product is war -- they provide mercenary soldiers through no-bid contracts. They have no right to carry the American flag in a Fleet Week event.
Clearly, Blackwater is hoping to blur the line between their mercenaries and the brave men and women who serve in the armed forces. The past three years or so of appearing at Fleet Week in the guise of American servicepeople is unacceptable and galling considering the opposition that Blackwater Corporation faces in their attempt to build a giant, corporate mercenary base in Potrero, San Diego County.
It's time to tell Governor Schwarzenegger and our Senators to STOP BLACKWATER.