As part of the effort to push back against high school, college, and professional players taking a knee in protest of police brutality, right-wingers have claimed that taking a knee dishonors our men and women in uniform. Well, one right-winger’s effort to supposedly honor our troops wound up taking advantage of a Gold Star widow’s sorrow.
As the right-wing anger over players taking a knee boiled over, longtime right-wing provocateur and conspiracy theory peddler Dinesh D’Souza fired off this tweet.
For people with normal human sympathies, it's not hard to decide which side to be on #TakeAKnee pic.twitter.com/JxY40GImJK
— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) September 26, 2017
The picture is of Seana Arrechaga bending over the casket of her husband, Sergeant 1st Class Ofren “AC” Arrechaga, in 2011. She was holding his hand one last time before he was laid to rest. Sgt. Arrechaga, a member of the 101st Airborne Division based at Fort Campbell, was killed on March 29, 2011 along with five other soldiers during a combat operation in Kunar Province, Afghanistan.
On Thursday, Seana found out that D’Souza had swiped this picture. She was not happy.
A prime example of personal photos being used against our wishes. I'm the living person in this photo. This guy got all those likes and retweets and I GUARANTEE he didn't know Ofren's name or story when he decided to use Ofren to make his point. #HONORourfallen https://t.co/arKoAXo4Ve
— Seana Arrechaga (@SeanaArrechaga) January 5, 2018
Seana had been getting bombarded with alerts about D’Souza using the picture for most of the day, and used the opportunity to educate the nation about her husband’s story.
Since people are briefly paying attention – Meet Ofren, aka AC. He was born Dec 22, 1982, in Havana, Cuba, and killed in action March 29, 2011, in Kunar Province, Afg. He was 28. Our son was three. AC served 10 years and four deployments in the US Army. pic.twitter.com/SxwFdZ1oo4
— Seana Arrechaga (@SeanaArrechaga) January 4, 2018
All of that is just the basics. What you don't see are his dance moves. What you don't hear is the Cuban accent and his boisterous laugh. What you don't feel is his devotion to his family and brothers in arms. Those of us who knew him are better for it. Come What May, my love.
— Seana Arrechaga (@SeanaArrechaga) January 5, 2018
Wow. And there’s more where that came from; visit a Facebook page Seana created in his honor here.
Apparently this isn’t the first time that Seana has been used as a prop.
If people could stop using photos of widows for their own political gain, that would be great. It happens to me multiple times a year and always without my permission. ? https://t.co/AyzVvXnJjg
— Seana Arrechaga (@SeanaArrechaga) January 4, 2018
Just to clarify – this photo is not mine. I do have one that is consistently used by others to push their opinion and I hate it. I don't know how this widow feels about this but I pray she gave permission for such a personal moment to be used this way.
— Seana Arrechaga (@SeanaArrechaga) January 4, 2018
Seana later chimed in to say that she has been overwhelmed with supportive messages.
It's impossible to keep up with my notifications right now but I want to thank everyone who has reached out in support, condolences, and prayers. I think Ofren would be super proud to know so many are learning his name today. ❤️ #speaktheirnames #HONORourfallen
— Seana Arrechaga (@SeanaArrechaga) January 5, 2018
Here’s a sample.
Dear Seana, I am so sorry for you and your son’s loss.
— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) January 5, 2018
He was beautiful. Your son is beautiful. You are beautiful
— Jaime Primak (@JaimePrimak) January 6, 2018
I’m so sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing his and your story. I hate that you were forced into the spotlight but really thankful that you’ve used it to let us learn about Ofren. I and so many appreciate your family’s sacrifice.
— Katy Widrick (@kwidrick) January 6, 2018
Salute your brave husband Ofren. May God be with you and your family always.
— Fernando Amandi Sr. ?? (@FernandoAmandi) January 6, 2018
Thank you so much for speaking out and standing up for yourself and other widows/families. Respect should always be at the forefront for those who have served and their loved ones.
— theladyfitzgerald (@ladyfitz72) January 6, 2018
The photo of you and your husband is so beautiful. Please accept my deepest condolences, I can scarcely imagine your loss. I am in solidarity with you in your request #HONORourfallen ??
— Elaine? (@starree) January 6, 2018
I'm glad to know his name, and what he did for us.
— peejaybee (@peejaybee) January 6, 2018
Meanwhile, D’Souza has been bombarded with angry tweets demanding that he honor Seana’s request and take his tweet down.
https://twitter.com/formalcloud/status/949292010933927939
this woman has been BEGGING you to delete tweet and stop using her husband as a political prop. And you refuse. Ur not normal.
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) January 6, 2018
Did you see that the war widow in this picture does NOT want it used for political purposes and specifically referenced thus tweet?! Take it down and apologize! If you are going to put a private moment out there GET PERMISSION and RESPECT our Gold Star families'
— Rachel Elzufon (@RachelElzufon) January 5, 2018
You should be ashamed of yourself! You need to apologize to this family for using them against their wishes. What you did is sick and evil and wrong.
— Vote November 6 (or Vote Early!) (@knightopia) January 6, 2018
Shame on you for exploiting this family. Remove this post. Signed, a Pissed Off Military Spouse
— Kristi Hanson Oleson (@milkywaykay) January 6, 2018
Veteran here, you’re insensitive to use this picture without the consent of the family. #TakeAKnee is a first amendment right. We serve to uphold the constitution, not your feelings. I don’t see you bitching about #bluelivesmatter flying a desecrated flag as their symbol.
— MourningAfter45 (@mourningafter45) January 6, 2018
However, as I write this on Saturday afternoon, the tweet is still up–and D’Souza has yet to respond.
If D’Souza really wanted to honor Arrechaga, he could have taken a lesson from country star and former Marine Josh Gracin. In 2011, he teamed up with Seana to write a song in Arrechaga’s honor, “Can’t Say Goodbye.” Watch Gracin perform an acoustic version here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ban0sBLqKKA
Wow. This was inspirational–unlike D’Souza’s outrageous tweet.
This man spent his entire adult life serving his adopted country, and made the ultimate sacrifice for it. And D’Souza saw fit to use Seana’s last moment with him to score political points? Deplorable.
(featured image courtesy Gage Skidmore, available under a Creative Commons BY-SA license)
