> I asked: "When and where did the slogan 'Support the Troops -- Bring
> Them Home' originate? In the anti-Gulf War movement?" I've received
> many fascinating replies. Thanks to you all for replies on and off
> the listservs (L-I, LBO-talk, Marxmail, M-Fem, MLG, PEN-l, Portside
> [sent to its moderators], Rad-Green, Socialist Register, Solidarity).
> I have a few more questions:
>
> Q2 Why not simply say, "Bring the Troops Home _Now_," rather than
> "Support the Troops -- Bring Them Home"? That's shorter, clearer,
> and more pointed, no?
>
> Q3 Is the slogan "Support the Troops -- Bring Them Home" a US
> slogan? Or is the slogan now being used in Australia, the UK,
> Israel, etc., too? Has it been used in other nations before, e.g. by
> anti-war protesters in the UK during the The Falklands War/La Guerra
> de Las Malvinas (1982)?
In the UK the media, politicians, etc. tend to talk about "our boys". (We are exhorted to "back our boys", et cetera ad nauseam). So "Bring the Boys Home" would be a more common slogan, I think, though I don't claim any expertise on the history of antiwar slogans in this country.
For a recent example of this language in action, see this column by Paul Foot: <http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,916977,00.html>.
Chris