This followed the creation of a number of threads by members that wanted to comment about King's remarks.
The cover-story for shutting down the boards came from the Moderator in a thread entitled "Stephen King Insults Soldiers":
The Board is just about to be shut down for the week for my vacation so this will all be coming to an end for now anyway.
Isn't that convenient, especially since just three hours before, a new member started this thread with the following:
"...the fact is if you can read, you can walk into a job later on. If you don't, then you've got, the Army, Iraq"
Ummm... somebody want to tell Steven that studies show recruits are more educated than the equivalent general population?
See this link: http://www.heritage.org/Research/Nat...da05-08_t1.gif
On a personal note:
Hey Steven: I'm about to graduate with a Civil engineering degree, and I just enlisted, but hey - since you think I can't read, I guess I won't be reading YOUR books.
Don't disrespect the military. It is US who gives you the freedom to spew your garbage.
Roughly an hour later, the Moderator posted the following:
Steve asked me to post this reply:
"That a right-wing-blog would impugn my patriotism because I said children should learn to read, and could get better jobs by doing so, is beneath contempt. Noel Sheppard says, “Nice sentiment when the nation is at war, Stephen.” I guess he feels ignorance and illiteracy are OK when the country needs cannon-fodder. I guess he also feels that the war in Iraq has nationwide approval. Well, it doesn’t have mine. It is a waste of national resources. . . and that includes the youth and blood of the 4,000 American troops who have lost their lives there and for the tens of thousands who have been wounded. I live in a national guard town, and I support our troops, but I don’t support either the war or educational policies that limit the options of young men and women to any one career—military or otherwise. If you agree, find Sheppard on the internet, and send him an email: “Hi, Noel—Stephen King says to shut up and I agree.”
Steve"__________________
Last edited by Moderator : 17 Hours Ago at 04:21 PM.
Now, assuming Ms. Mod was indeed going on vacation, and the message boards are closed during such, wouldn't it have been more appropriate for King to wait until she came back BEFORE sending his dogs out to attack me?
Regardless, on a related ironic note, one of the "older" members of King's website started his own thread concerning this subject before the boards were closed. See if you spot something hysterical given the context of King's comments that sparked this entire controversy:
Even if you don't agree, you must agree with the fact that we all joined the military to preserve the thing that makes a free society unique.
That is the right to speak your mind--have your opinions.
The only thing that angers me about this whole thing is how reactionary people are. Is it a surprise that we can't get along as a country when something like this can be so polarizing? Not to me.
Stephen King has a right to his opinion, just like you do.
Think our country is going to hell in a hand basket? Good for you, I fought for your right to think that.
Think the war in Iraq is wrong? Good for you, I fought for the right for you to say that where ever and however you feel.
Have strong opinions on why people join the military. Good, in this country you can voice them.
Lets stop taking this so personally you guys--we live in a free society and we all want the same thing for it. To preserve it.
So from me to you SK--you go right on saying what you feel, that's what we all fought for.
You really can't make this stuff up.
*****Update: A Stephen King fan e-mailed me the following:
Ms. Mod's vacation has been planned for quite some time now, and the board is routinely shut down on her vacation days and weekends because it is a fully moderated forum, an idea you might consider trying yourself in order to keep some of your readers from spewing forth such senseless drivel. If you'd take the time to check your facts, you would see there is no conspiracy to shut down the board over your little vendetta against Stephen. But, that wouldn't be quite as interesting, would it?
I guess this person conveniently missed this paragraph above:
Now, assuming Ms. Mod was indeed going on vacation, and the message boards are closed during such, wouldn't it have been more appropriate for King to wait until she came back BEFORE sending his dogs out to attack me?
As such, I did make it clear that this vacation might have been the real cause of the boards going down. However, if her pending vacation was known, and it is customary to close down the message boards when she's gone, then King shouldn't have posted a call-to-arms at his website until she returned.
Once again, that would have been the decent thing to do in my opinion.
*****Update II: I received this e-mail moments ago (with permission:
Dear Mr. King,
Since there is no way to contact you directly, I am reduced to emailing your webmaster.
Your comment concerning literacy and the military is one of the most ignorant, misinformed comments I have ever heard about the men in women in uniform. It is those brave soldiers, sailors and airmen who protect the right of people like you to make such idiotic statements.
As a former member of the U. S. Army Special Forces, I also take it as a personal affront. I served shoulder to shoulder with men who could read, write and speak multiple languages. And, that doesn't even take into consideration the technical requirements needed in the modern military.
The average person in the military today is at least as educated as the general public. Most likely they are more educated. Literacy is required by the military. It is not optional.
It is persons like you and the Hollywood elites on the left who are the uninformed and closed minded. But, that's ok. The next time you feel like showing your ignorance to the world be sure to end your statement by thanking those in the military for protecting the Constitution that gives you're the right to make such moronic statements.
Father Dennis O'Brian wrote the following:
It is the soldier, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.It is the soldier
who salutes the flag,
who serves under the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
who allows the protester to burn the flag.He was a Marine. I would think you would agree he is fairly literate. But I don't hold out hope.
By the way. There was a tragic storm that hit the country of Myanmar. It will be our illiterate military who will respond first, not you or your elitist friends.
*****Update III: A King fan has asked me to post this:
I didn't want to go to the trouble of registering on your site just so I could make a comment, so I thought I would e mail you instead. I think that you have made a mountain out of a molehill regarding Stephen's comments about the troops and the war in Iraq. Clearly he does not support the war, but that does not mean he doesn't support the troops. It is a shame that people such as yourself can't make the distinction between those two things, for they are entirely different matters altogether.Stephen routinely honors autograph requests made by the soldiers and their family members, despite his policy of only doing that for the lucky ones that happen to be at his increasingly infrequent book signings. In addition, he has donated countless books to the troops overseas. And lets not forget the money he has donated so that soldiers on layover at his local airport may use cell phones to call their loved ones. Why haven't you noted any of this in your blog? Is it not flaming or controversial enough? I guess positive comments wouldn't draw as much traffic, would they?Stephen makes a very valid point. While some join the military because they feel the call of duty, or because it is a lifelong dream or family tradition, countless others do it simply because they don't have other options. This corrupt system makes it hard for the less fortunate to further their education through less dangerous paths. But you don't mention that in you blog either.I'm starting to see a pattern here.....Why don't you do the right thing and publicly apologize for your comments, Mr. Sheppard?Sincerely,A Stephen King fan that thinks you should shut up.
