From The Herald Journal

Congressman rude to veteran

Thursday, August 21, 2008 2:45 AM CDT

To the editor:

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a Town Hall meeting hosted by Congressman Rob Bishop in Logan. I had never met Mr. Bishop or heard him speak, so I very much looked forward to hearing his stance on the issues.

After his opening remarks, Mr. Bishop opened up the floor to questions, and people began voicing concerns to their Representative — exactly what you would expect to see at a Town Hall meeting. What I didn’t expect to see was the mistreatment of an Iraq War veteran.

Marshall Thompson, an Army vet who served a year in Iraq, asked Mr. Bishop why he had refused to meet with him after he got home from his deployment. Mr. Bishop immediately turned defensive and began to interrupt Mr. Thompson, preventing him from finishing his point. Mr. Bishop then said that what Mr. Thompson had said was “a lie.” But he didn’t just say it — his voice was raised to a point that he was practically yelling, making me and several other people at the meeting feel very uncomfortable.

I walked away from that meeting appalled at the way Mr. Bishop had treated that veteran. I know that he cares about our troops and has met with many of them. But what I saw last night was nothing short of blatant and public disrespect for a man who had served his country overseas, putting his life on the line in our defense. Even if Mr. Bishop didn’t agree with the veteran, he should have treated him with decency and respect. Instead Mr. Thompson was interrupted, yelled at and accused of lying. I think a simple “Thank you for your service, but I disagree with you,” would have sufficed.

Celeste Britt

Logan