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From: inc@fluke.UUCP (Ensign Benson, Space Cadet)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Upside-down postage, Vietnam
Message-ID: <562@tpvax.fluke.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 6-Mar-85 13:39:55 EST
Article-I.D.: tpvax.562
Posted: Wed Mar  6 13:39:55 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 9-Mar-85 07:12:02 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: The Digital Circus, Sector R
Lines: 52

*** OLD LACE AND A FINE MASSAGE ***

In Article <1724@druxq.UUCP>, Sue Brezden writes:

> During the Vietnam War, when using the stamps decorated with the American
>flag, I always used to put the stamps on upside down as a protest (flying 
> the flag upside down is a distress signal.)
>
> It didn't help.


It certainly did. These little activities served quite a few different
purposes: they gave individuals the feeling that they were at least doing
SOMETHING about the tragedy; something other than trashing buildings,
firebombing ROTC headquarters, "bringing the war home" and all that mess, I
mean. Other symbolically meaningful activities on the same plane included
the draft-card burnings, dipping the flag in vats of blood, flying the flag
upside down from government buildings and private homes. These things kept
the war in the consciousness of the people, and small gestures though they
were, they showed that there was widespread disagreement with the policies
of the government.

I was in VietNam at the time of the protesting, and we were fully aware that
the war had paltry support at home, and it may interest you to know that we
did what we could to accomplish some of the same goals. Our postage was free
as long as we wrote the word FREE in uppercase block letters on the envelope
where the stamp would normally go. Most of my friends at one time or another
wrote it upside down, but the mail was usually returned. It was also usually
opened, and after one letter was opened, all your mail was inspected
thereafter. Most of the people I wrote to told me that when my letters
arrived, they were a mess: obviously opened, refolded differently than when
I had sent it, covered with cryptic rubber stamps, and very sloppily
scotch-taped back together.

We could get away with printing the word in lowercase, or even using cursive
writing, but upside down was just going too far, I guess.

The other thing we did was stay stoned all the time. See, we had this theory
that the Viet Cong financed their war through pot sales, so we bought as
much of that shit as we could choke down. Ah, the stories I have to tell my
grandchildren about my participation in the "war".

-Gary Benson



-- 

			       Ensign Benson
			       -Space Cadet-

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