Memorial? Not quite

Matthew Hoy
By Matthew Hoy on November 23, 2005

This is the sort of article that really ticks me off. Why? Because it's not up front and honest about what's going on.

SLO display features soldiers killed in Iraq war

Boo Boo Records on Monterey Street in San Luis Obispo has dedicated its front window to an art exhibit that shows the faces of nearly 2,000 soldiers

That's the headline and subhed -- it's an art exhibit. Is it honoring the fallen troops?

Not quite.

What started out as 300 faces last year now displays nearly 2,000.

The display, called "The Faces of War: A Peace Memorial," shows the U.S. soldiers killed in the Iraq war to window shoppers who walk past Boo Boo Records on Monterey Street in San Luis Obispo.

Here's a hint what this is about -- it's a "Peace Memorial."

It is put together by San Luis Obispo resident Melinda Forbes and about 12 teens from Atascadero and San Luis Obispo high schools.

Forbes and the students, who make up a group called Young Objectors United to End War, meet at her home to transform photos of the dead into pieces of the memorial.

The project is inspired by "Arlington West," a documentary film featuring interviews with Iraq war veterans.

"The objective was to de-politicize the war and look at it with a more humanistic view," Forbes said. "It both honors the dead and calls for peace."

Does it really? Is it really designed to honor the dead when the sacrifice is highlighted without acknowledging what the sacrifice was made for? Are you really capable of de-politicizing anything when your little group is called Young Objectors United to End War?

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