(in mourning for the death of respect and honor in Tallahassee)Todays Escort of Master Sgt Shawn Simmons was one of the largest we have had in Tallahassee to date. As usual when Patriot Guard Riders unfamiliar with Tallahassee come here for a run they are taken aback by the fact that the Tallahassee Police Department and Leon County Sheriffs Dept. continue to refuse to provide an escort for servicemen that return home, some to be buried here in their home town.
You see this is the only city we have ridden in that refuses to provide an escort for those who do what there country ask of them. Even if it means dying. We have asked but have been given numerous excuse as to why this can not be done. Which I can only believe are bogus excuses.
Panama City not only provides an escort, but does so right through main street downtown when less congested routes are available. The people of Panama City line the streets with flags and hands held over there hearts. Traffic stops whether it needs to or not.
Wakulla County will meet us at the county line with lights flashing and the streets of Crawfordville will be lined with citizens paying respects.
We cross the state into Georgia and are picked up at the state line by highway patrol and met in Thomasville by police officers in every intersection with white hats, gloves and hands held over there hearts.
Alabama will escort us from Dothan to Ft. Rucker. Cars on both sides of divided highways pull over out of respect with Americans, some of them Mexican immigrants, getting out of their vehicles with hands over their hearts. Streets lined with people waving American flags. On one run they even closed one lane of a busy highway so we could park our bikes on the highway without fear of them tipping over in soft sand.
Jacksonville has been known to shut down I-295 to enable fallen service men to to be escorted to their final resting place unimpeded.
Pensacola doesn't just shut down one lane of traffic for a fallen soldiers procession, but the whole road. Again people pull over out of respect. Get out of their vehicles and salute or put their hands over their hearts.
The people in these cities are not so absorbed n their own self importance as to not take a moment of their time to day, THANK YOU!
But not Florida's Capital City. In fact, not only do the police refuse to escort a man or woman who has given there lives for their country. But often time the citizens of Tallahassee unlike the others we ride in blow there horns not out of respect, but because you are holding them up.
They will see 50+ Bikes flying American Flags being followed by a Black vehicle carrying the body of a fallen warrior and not only not pull over, but try to run over you!
In a town with two major University's. Buildings full of government workers, many having to do with veterans affairs and a Capital building one can not gain entrance to without being scanned out of fear of some act of domestic or foreign terrorism is one supposed to believe that citizenry of this town is to ignorant to understand what is going on?
Is this town so enamored with FSU Football that they forgot their sons and daughters are dying?
On our run today From Orange ave. to Timberlane Road I saw no citizens demonstrating respect. I saw citizens trying to run over a "Special Forces Soldier" who disgusted, risked his new Cadillac to help clear the road for his fallen Brother.
To the pickup truck that only stopped when 3 of us pulled in front of him. You disgust me.
To the two people that damn near clipped me because a procession of patriots was not important enough for you to slow down, YOU DISGUST ME.
To the people who blew there horns out of impatience so that the family of the fallen warrior could hear your lack of respect. YOU disgust me.
But then none of you probably knew that there were three vehicles full of Green Berets and other special forces who had they got out of their vehicles in response to your disrespect my bet would be you would have pissed all over the horns you were blowing in impatience, if not left your cars running in the middle of the street while you ran in cowardice!
But they did not do that. No, those that serve to protect you did not respond to your lack of respect Tallahassee. Instead they held heads high with dignity focused on the task of burying one of their own while you focused on what?
We believe that the street cop understands. Because they understand what brotherhood and watching each others back is about. They are not the politicians their bosses are. Some of them remember coming home from a past war to a country that treated them much like Tallahassee treats current veterans. One would think the lessons of the Vietnam war were not learned in a city of institutes of higher learning and law making.
Oh but wait, the Vietnam Wall is coming to Tallahassee again. Thats when we will see the patriotism. Thats when we will see the politicians with balls the size of grapes falling all over themselves to get on the podium to profess their patriotism and I and others will puke in their presence perfectly cognizant that their self serving talk is followed by little to no action.
We understand that many citizens in Tallahassee and Leon County may not be aware of the disrespect their officials and their neighbors exhibit. Well, now you are. And if you believe that such behavior is disgraceful. If you did learn the lessons of past wars. If you do care about the sons and daughters of your neighbors then take advantage of the following information and demonstrate that their are some in Tallahassee with nuts enough to say this situation sucks and you want our soldiers honored! No excuses, no compromise! They die for you! Can you stand for them?
Tallahassee Police Chief , Dennis Michael Jones, A Vietnam Veteran 850-891-4200
Leon County Sheriff Larry Campbell, U.S. Marine Corp Reserves, 850-922-3346
e-mail campbell@leoncountyfl.gov
Tallahassee Commisioners: Use this link to contact all of them at once
http://www.talgov.com/email.cfm?id=commissioners
Use this link to contact all the County commissioners at once:
http://www.leoncountyfl.gov/BCC/email/
They work for you! Do not take no for answer. Tell them you vote. They will listen.
If the citizens of Leon County and Tallahassee cannot get this done then take down the flag across the street from the capital. Because to leave it up and not act disrespects it!Add to Technorati Favorites
While not a citizen of Tallahassee or even Florida, I sent them my 2 cents worth on my disappointment and embarassment for their shameful showing of disrespect of our fallen hero. I was proud to block, at times recklessly, some of these idiots who were too busy going no where to take less than three minutes to silently pause to say thank you to a real hero. A hero who gave his life for the very luxuries and the gasoline that was powering their vehicles that they were using to disrespect him with. For shame Tallahassee, for shame.
ReplyDeleteIt is so sad to think that such blatant disrespect could be shown in the Capital of Fl., shame on you all and REST IN PEACE Master Sgt. Shawn Simmons.
ReplyDelete