John Boler and Mark Belling

UPDATE, JULY 3, 2008: "Summerfest statement on Army exhibit"

Summerfest has the utmost respect and honor for our armed forces. In no way did Summerfest intend any disrespect to our country's past and current cherished servicemen and women and their families with the recent modifications that were made to the virtual reality activity within the U.S. Army exhibit at Summerfest...

Summerfest cannot claim to have the utmost respect and honor for our armed forces when they take the side of anti-military, anti-war extremists and choose to censor the exhibit rather than stand with the U.S. Army.

More, from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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Mark Belling devoted a good deal of his program this afternoon talking about Summerfest doing the bidding of anti-military extremists by shutting down the Virtual Army Experience, part of the U.S. Army's exhibit on the Summerfest grounds.

Belling said no one from Summerfest had returned his calls when he tried to get information on the decision to target the Army.

Finally, after much discussion, John Boler, vice president of sales and marketing, called in and was interviewed by Belling.

Belling pulled no punches. Boler was on his heels.

Belling wanted to know what was objectionable about the Virtual Army Experience.

Boler dodged. He kept saying that they "had concerns."

Belling kept asking what they were concerned about.

Eventually, Boler said it was "the content. It was questionable."

Belling wanted specifics. What was questionable?

Boler said, "The questionable aspect was the patron that goes in there goes through the experience and we have concerns about it... It seemed to be a little extreme."

Boler said about the U.S. Army, "We're glad they're here."

Apparently, not that glad.

Belling asked how many complaints Summerfest had received about the game.

Boler again dodged, saying, "Several."

"More than 4?"

"Yes."

"More than 8?"

"Yes."

Belling brought up standards of what's offensive, such as profanities coming from the Rock Stage. Belling noted that's not banned. He brought up Stevie Wonder's Obama rally at his show. He mentioned John Mellencamp blathering his Lefty rhetoric. Those shows weren't shut down because some people would find that offensive.

Belling wanted to know, "Who made this decision?"

Boler answered by saying, "I've got to get running."

Belling wouldn't let him go. He asked if the Summerfest Board was involved with the decision.

Boler acknowledged, "This did not go to the board."

So who made the decision?

Boler said it was a mutual decision between the Summerfest "team" and the Army.

Belling wanted to know what Boler meant by "team."

Boler said, "The sales and marketing department."

Boler clearly was doing his damnedest to keep Don Smiley's name out of it.

Really, this is a public relations disaster for Summerfest, especially as the 4th of July holiday approaches.

Summerfest decided it was more important to kiss up to the anti-military extremists than to do something like enforce an older age requirement to play the game.

The fact that Grand Theft Auto, a violent video game, is available to entertain the kids on the grounds makes this slap in the face to the Army and the military in general even more disgusting.
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Here's the Veterans for Peace call to action:

JUNE 30, 2008
Take Action Against Military Recruitment at Milwaukee's Summerfest

The military has a clear and dangerous presence at Milwaukee's Summerfest (June 26 - July 6, 2008). One exhibit is especially offensive: kids as young as 13 years old can aim automatic weapons from atop a humvee at a large screen to virtually kill people.

UPDATE: Summerfest office was so flooded with calls objecting to the recruiters tactics that they they made them raise the minimum age to 18 and stop giving out the game DVD's. We will continue to hound them to shut this completly down, but it was gratifying to get some immediate results. Thank you to everyone who made phone calls!

We do not want to desensitize our youth to the violence of "war," nor cultivate the twisted reality that our aggression in the Middle East is "war," when the truth is that the overwhelmingly casualties are innocent civilians. The setting for this bloodshed is a residential area with "targets" of uncertain identity moving through the streets. This aggrandizement of violence and glorification of our illegal invasions abroad is xenophobic, profane, and undermines the basic values we strive to live by in America.

This Army atrocity is located next to a rock stage as it targets youth; while they ask for an ID to prove age 13 or older, they willingly accept a child's word and collect their name, age, address, etc.; no doubt for future recruitment.

Summerfest representative Dan Minahan barks that the festival is a place to "forget about the war" where one can "enjoy real high entertainment value." War is NOT a game, and this exhibit needs to be shut down immediately.

Please call the Summerfest administrative office and demand that it be shut down: 414-273-2680. (When I called, the person filled out a form with my concerns; I left my name & ZIP code; I did not give my phone #.)

[Bob Burkart-Lemke, Milwaukee Veterans For Peace; rablfe@tds.net]

Veterans for Peace requested, "Please call the Summerfest administrative office and demand that it be shut down: 414-273-2680."

Here's my request:

Please call the Summerfest administrative office and demand that the censorship on the Army's exhibit be lifted: 414-273-2680.