BreakTheChain.org
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Red, White and You!Date Added: Apr. 11, 2003
E-mail is a popular way to organize and conduct a grass roots effort because it allows a few people to spread a message to many in a short time, with little effort. Unfortunately, e-mail's inherent unreliability make such efforts questionable at best. It can also create some confusion, as we can see with this one. Ladies and Gentlemen: It has come to my attention that quite a few Americans support our troops but as usual we are the silent majority. We are not organized to really reflect who we are. I would like to start a grass roots movement using the membership of the Special Operations Association and the Special Forces Association to recognize Americans who support our troops. My idea is not to stand on street corners once or twice, not to carry stupid signs in a rally, not to carry our flag in parades. Its much simpler than that. We need to inform the local VFW's and American Legion, our local press, local TV, and even up to the national levels as we start to get this going. My idea of showing our solidarity and support for our troops is that starting Friday and continuing on each and every Friday, that we and every red blooded American who supports our young men and women, WEAR SOMETHING RED. Word of mouth, press, TV, lets see if we can make the United States, on any given Friday, a sea of red much like a home football game at the University of Nebraska. If every one of our memberships share this with other acquaintances, fellow workers, drinking buddies, country club friends, I guarantee you that it will not be long before the USA will be covered in Red much to the disdain of the un-American ralliers. Lets get the word out and lead by example, wear RED on Fridays. Thanks for your time and consideration of my proposal. When I get home, I intend to send this out to everyone on my e-mail list, hopefully, you will too. Jim Butler SFA #1461 SOA # 1 This effort is supported by The Special Forces Association. Wayne Lawley
Jimmy Dean
Special Forces Association
By Spring, 2007, the message had mutated quite a bit, losing its attribution and gaining a personal, though anonymous, account of a touching scene with soldiers to being the point home, as well as new attrabution. Subject: FW: Let's Be Red Every FRIDAY...for their sake! As a Company, Southwest Airlines is going to support "Red Fridays." Last week I was in Atlanta , Georgia attending a conference. While I was in the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen. Moving thru the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camos. As they began heading to their gate, everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering. When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and cheered for, it hit me. I'm not alone. I'm not the only red-blooded American who still loves this country and supports our troops and their families. Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work and home without fear or reprisal. Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our service men and women, a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male soldiers. He kneeled down and said "hi." The little girl then asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her. The young soldier, who didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and what did she want to give to her daddy. Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek. The mother of the little girl, who said her daughter's name was Courtney , told the young soldier that her husband was a Marine and had been in Iraq for 11 months now. As the mom was explaining how much her daughter Courtney missed her father, the young soldier began to tear up. When this temporarily single mom was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second. Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a military-looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it. After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney , bent down and said this to her, "I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you." He then hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying "your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very soon." The mom at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet, he saluted Courtney and her mom. I was standing no more than 6 feet away from this entire event. As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, there were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier in one last act of selflessness, turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek. We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's good to be an American. RED FRIDAYS ----- Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the "silent majority". We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our opinions. Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America supports our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday -and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that.. Every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar will wear something red. By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the United States on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers. If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family. It will not be long before the USA is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once "silent" majority is on their side more than ever; certainly more than the media lets on. The first thing a soldier says when asked "What can we do to make things better for you?"is...We need your support and your prayers. Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example; and wear something red every Friday. IF YOU AGREE -- THEN SEND THIS ON. IF YOU COULD CARE LESS THEN HIT THE DELETE BUTTON --- IT IS YOUR CHOICE. WE LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE, ONLY BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE. THEIR BLOOD RUNS RED ---- SO WEAR RED ! --- MAY GOD HELP AMERICA TO BECOME ONE NATION, UNDER GOD. HAVE A GREAT DAY.
The most frequent question I get about this one is: "Is it legitimate?" As with most grassroots efforts, this one is as "legitimate" as its supporters want it to be. Someone came up with the idea and decided to use e-mail to spread the word - and the longevity of this idea proves some are listeni At the time this idea first hit the 'net, there were many social symbols already in wide use to show support of our troops: Yellow ribbons, red, white and blue ribbons, American flag pins, and the flag itself. Yet, it was "red fridays" that found a long life online. The choice of red (and only red) set off alarms among some. Many have questioned the symbolism proposed in this message because the idea of 'bathing a nation in red" can have negative connotations of death and defeat. One antiwar organization has already adopted the "wear red on fridays" campaign as a protest of what they call U.S. "warmongering." In 2004, other online organizers proposed "freedom Fridays," to protest the Bush administration's policies "at home and abroad." Credit for starting this idea to wear read to show support of soldiers goes to a member of area chapters of the Special Forces Association and Special Operations Association and the campaign had the limited support of those organizations. As expected, the more this idea circulates, more people and organizations are given (or take) credit for the idea. I have found no official statment from Southwest Airlines reiterating the company's support. Odds are, they became attached because an employee received this chain and forwarded it, adding their name and identity to it - a phenomenon I call false attribution syndrome. JoAnn Wilson also appears to be a victim. What's more, many individuals have found ways to capitalize on the high interest this one has. One site, WearRed.org, contains an exact copy of this chain and offers many red and patriotic clothing items for sale. This is a popular idea and people want to participate. Unfortunately, anonymous campaigns are hard to back. We are usually far more likely to follow a lead when it appears to be someone with some influence or connectino to the cause. Which, is precisely why this one will continue to pick up false attributions as it circulates. BreakTheChain.org generally recommends against forwarding any chain letter, regardless of topic, because of the risk of false attribution syndrom and exploitation for personal gain. References: None |