Why these readers and veterans objected to Kid Rock as parade co-grand marshal

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Kid Rock wasn’t right choice for Veteran’s Day parade

Why was Kid Rock the co-grand marshal of the Nashville Veterans Day parade? Great question.

Kid grew up in a rich Detroit enclave (his last name is actually Richie, no irony), has never served in the military, and has disparaged women, gays, and blacks – a group that makes up a significant portion of today’s armed forces.

He embraces a former president (another angry, white rich kid) who dreams of an authoritarian America (think Putin) and who told his supporters that Senator John McCain was not a war hero after he spent six years in a North Vietnam POW camp. They love the vets—until they don’t.

But Kid’s parade appearance was never about celebrating vets. Was it revenge by local right-wingers for Nashville’s refusal to host their political convention, their general contempt for the city, or simply a plan to plug Kid’s Lower Broadway bar?

Nothing new.

Historically, vets have been used by politicians, celebrities, and businesses to sell products and advance their agendas. Yes, Kid has donated resources to vets and their families, but that isn’t a get-out-of-jail card for all of his mean-spirited behavior over the years. Kid never fails to live up to his name.

As a veteran my hope is that next year’s parade will have a nonpartisan adult as co-grandmaster, preferably a veteran, someone who is aspirational to kids, and one who makes vets feel they are not being used as political pawns on the one day that honors them. Is that too much to ask?

Jim Bellar, Hendersonville 37075

Another view: Kid Rock is a complicated human being

Rapper’s crudeness should not be rewarded

I am writing to voice my concerns with the selection of Kid Rock as the co grand marshal of the 2023 Veteran's Day Parade on 11 Nov.

As a veteran and a gay man, I am disheartened that Nashville gave such an honor to a man who has demonstrated his feelings concerning the LGBTQ+ Community.

He got so worked up about Bud Light teaming with transgender TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney for its Bud Light Easy Carry Contest during the NCAA's March Madness that the "Don't Tell Me How To Live" singer tried to destroy 12-packs of Bud Light with a semi-automatic rifle as he yelled, "(Expletive) Bud Light and (expletive) Anheuser-Busch.”

But he started back selling Bud Light at his bar soon after. Amid fierce backlash over a homophobic remark on. Kid Rock finally decided to address critics - by repeating the same slur that got him trouble in the first place.

“If Kid Rock using the word (f*****) offends you, good chance you are one,” tweeted the 50-year-old rapper  once tweeted in a statement credited to his real name, Bob Ritchie.

Those are just two examples on the many slurs and remarks you can find of the World Wide Web.

I know he is a strong supporter of the military, but I also know he a Trump Republican and for me that shows he not the kind of person that should be the co-grand marshal of the parade.

Bill Kibler, Hermitage 37076, post commander, AMVETS Post 66 Nashville

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Honor veterans by funding the VA fully

I am a Vietnam Veteran. I support and respect veterans. I live near McCrory Road near the veterans cemetery and over the past few days I have been stopped by a funeral procession taking a vet to their last resting place.

I thought to myself isn’t this just typical American, pull off the road display your temporary respect and then go on about your day, never caring about the vet or the family and what they suffered along with that veteran.

It is like “Thank you for your service,” but if I stop and try to explain about my service it gets uncomfortable.

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On TV I saw a triple amputee vet honored, but no one ever asked about the war or what he was ordered to do or whether he was actually protecting our freedom. All I saw was a few smiles, handshakes, photo ops, and then “Leave us alone.”

No one wants to talk about or act on military and veteran suicide, no one wants to consider the PTSD and moral injury that comes with the military. We still do not have a solution to military sexual trauma.

America, Nashvillians, if you want to honor service then call your member of Congress and say fully fund and staff the Department of Veterans Affairs and stop trying to privatize our health care. And take a moment to wonder about that veteran who is finally getting some peace. Ask yourself, why did we send that vet to wherever and why do we continue to send our young men and women off to suffer?

Jim Wohlgemuth, Nashville 37221

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Veterans Day Parade: These readers opposed Kid Rock as grand marshal