Warrant Officer written by Saab Lofton “Nurture your mind with great thoughts. To believe in the heroic makes heroes.” – Benjamin Disraeli, former British Prime Minister (1804 - 1881) “That’s what it takes to be a hero: A little gem of innocence inside you that makes you want to believe that there still exists a right and wrong; that decency will somehow triumph in the end.” – Lise Hand, from The Truth in Words: Inspiring Quotes for the Reflective Mind (2002)
North St Louis Shady Jack’s 1432 N Broadway Dutch Town Friendly’s 3503 Roger Pl South County Steel & Ink Studio 3561 Ritz Center MOFO The Silver Ballroom 4701 Mofo Rd at Itaska Tin Hat 3157 Mofo Rd South City Shameless Grounds 2650 Sidney The Heavy Anchor 5226 Gravois
Jefferson Ave Bistro 3701 S Jefferson Ave Cherokee District Apop Records 2831 Cherokee St Downtown Crack Fox 1114 Olive St Soulard Shanti Tavern 825 Allen DB’s Sportsbar 1615 S Broadway Laclede Landing Show Me’s 724 N 2nd St Big Daddy’s 118 Morgan St
Affton Bob’s Liquor 9347 Gravois Rd Overland Just Bill’s 2543 Woodson Rd Priscilla’s 10210 Page Ave Central West End 34 Club 34 N Euclid Tom’s Bar & Grill 20 S Euclid The Grove Just John’s 4112 Manchester Ave The Atomic Cowboy 4140 Manchester
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The reason most whites can’t currently be trusted to have a White History Month is because there’s no accounting for who would be celebrated. It’d be one thing if the only honored historical figures were left-wingers (i.e., those who defend the poor and/or oppressed), but short of Stalinistically censoring the right-wing, that can’t be guaranteed. Granted, that chocolate covered version of the Religious Right – Elijah Muhammad’s/ Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam – is sadly placed on a pedestal in the black community, but my first novel (A.D., III Publishing, 1995) exposes its decades-old connections with the white supremacist movement, so I’ve done my part (at great risk to myself, I might add) when it comes to skewering right-wingers (i.e., those who serve the rich and/or powerful) of BOTH colors – though one is clearly FAR more influential than the other... I bring this up because there is at least one white historical figure that deserves to be deified: Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson Junior! During the Vietnam Invasion/Occupation, Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson Junior flew over the infamous My Lai Massacre (March 16th, 1968) in an army helicopter and spotted eleven civilians, including a wounded boy, running from American soldiers. Thompson then landed and ordered his men to fire on any solider who kept him from rescuing those eleven civilians, which he DID, thank God. According to the BBC’s obituary of Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson Junior, he was quoted as saying, “there was no way I could turn my back on them.” Now, that’s what I’m talking about! Leave no civilian behind! Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson Junior is LONNNNG overdue to have a major motion picture based on his heroics. In fact, if I’m ever able to beat the odds and somehow AFFORD* to become a filmmaker, I’ll entitle the film WARRANT OFFICER... Imagine THAT in giant, metallic letters on a movie poster! At the premiere, I would arrange for there to be a FLEET of white teenyboppers outside the theater squealing in ecstasy, “Warrant Officer... Warrant Officer... Warrant Officer..!” If Pepsi can take a no-talent hack like Britney Spears and turn HER into a superstar, then I swear by all that is holy and sacred, I would MAKE Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson Junior more popular than Uncle Sam, G.I. Joe and Captain America combined! Have budget, will travel* ... I envision the first thirty minutes being split between depicting the My Lai Massacre itself and a hard core, Zack Snyder-esque sequence where Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson Junior would be seen “whuppin” that ass sideways, so to speak. Did I mention that Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson Junior had to defy the direct orders of superior officers in order to save those Vietnamese villagers? Drama, baby, yeah! Then I’d have the final hour focus on the massacre’s aftermath: Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson Junior testified against the villainous Lieutenant Calley – the platoon commander at My Lai – during the latter’s court martial. Unfortunately, though Calley was sentenced to life in prison (the ONLY conviction in this case, mind you), then-President Nixon commuted that sentence to a mere three years of house arrest! In fiction, villains escape captivity quite frequently, but damn! For me personally, the worst part was when, upon returning home, some inbred retards started harassing Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson Junior. “I’d received death threats over the phone,” he told the CBS News program, 60 Minutes, in 2004 and even occasionally found dead, mutilated animals on his porch. Ain’t that a bitch? That’s exactly why there caN’T be a White History Month (at least, not yet) – all too many whites still don’t know their good guys from their bad guys..! Subsequent to being awarded medals such as the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson Junior eventually died of cancer on January 6th, 2006 at the age of 62. I’m sure the pundits from FOX News would claim that I’m merely out to guilt trip our armed forces by glorifying Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson Junior... Well, even a broken clock is right twice a day, because that’d be more accurate than not, BUT the question is WHY... Why do our armed forces need to be made to feel guilty? Aside from the fact that they ARE guilty of atrocities (raping prisoners in Abu Ghraib, dumping white phosphorus onto civilians in Fallujah, etc., etc., etc.), basing a major motion picture on Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson Junior would provide a positive role model for soldiers everywhere and maybe... Just maybe... They’ll finally adhere to the following standard... “We don’t put civilians at risk or even potentially at risk to save ourselves. Sometimes, that means we lose the battle and sometimes our lives, but if you can’t make that choice, then you can’t wear that uniform.” – Captain Sisko, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine THAT, white America, is how you tell your good from bad. Standards.