Comments on: What the D.C. Sniper, Nidal Hasan & Timothy McVeigh Have in Common — the U.S. Army

By: AxelFoley

AxelFoley — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:45:32 +0000

“You can not talk about this subject without looking at how we treat mental health in this nation……besides, our troops have not been receiving assistance, etc because those members of Congress who claim they are the “real Americans” and “patriots' and “freedom fighters” are the same ones who vote against VA funding, while always giving themselves a raise and voting for tax cuts for the richest.”

And that's what I can't understand about those in the military who are or support Republicans. Those same Repubs who claim to be so patriotic and claim to support our troops always bote against VA funding, or anything that can benefit our servicemen and women.

By: AxelFoley

AxelFoley — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:45:32 +0000

By: rikyrah

rikyrah — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:03:35 +0000

EVENING OPEN THREAD IS UP

By: The_A

The_A — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:37:35 +0000

I live in Northern VA and vividly remember being completely terrified of going to pump gas. As the patterns began to emerge, we realized that the sniper had not taken out a black woman yet. I dang sure didn't want to be the first!

Hey- Please allow me take this moment to shout out to the Guardian Angels for coming into the area and providing a sense of safety, security, and peace @ the area gas stations. God bless you all!!

Jill I agree with your commentary except for the embarrassment about him being black. I can remember being shocked that he was black - not embarrassed. Our own stereotype is that 'we don't do things like that'. How ridiculous does that sound now? I know there are always stereotypes; however, sometimes I think we are the biggest ones keeping that 'representative of the race' thing alive and well in our own minds. It's time to let some of that thinking go- the good & the bad. If we are ever going to be allowed to be individuals within the larger society, we are going to have to decide to see ourselves as individuals first.

and quite frankly I really don't feel any conflict about his pending execution because he was a mentally wounded vet. I bet a good majority of those wonderful Guardian Angels were also military vets.

By: The_A

The_A — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:11:56 +0000

Yes; however, one thing to remember is that the veteran aftermath of these wars was not planned or funded.

We did not budget for the physically wounded so you know the mental wounds were not adequately addressed either.

The support they get compared to the support they need & deserve is like running a disaster area trauma center with only a small supply of band aids and one physicians assistant.

By: aleth

aleth — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:22:01 +0000

I have a question do persons returning from the military get debriefed and offered long term mental help? Do they still get to meet up with other troops to talk? What are the mechanisms in place for mental help besides medical drugs?

By: RobM

RobM — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:20:13 +0000

Stop making Sense!

By: Monie

Monie — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:49:46 +0000

I think we need to look at the fact that Mental Illness is overlooked in our society PERIOD. We all kbnow that is truth….and often the military is a microcosm of our society as a whole, and thus is no different. Then of course you couple that with military members who have traditionally carried the idea that seeking help for depression, suicidal thoughts, etc menat weakness and also, at least in the past, garnered flags on a servicemembers record.

You can not talk about this subject without looking at how we treat mental health in this nation……besides, our troops have not been receiving assistance, etc because those members of Congress who claim they are the “real Americans” and “patriots' and “freedom fighters” are the same ones who vote against VA funding, while always giving themselves a raise and voting for tax cuts for the richest.

By: morphus

morphus — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:30:33 +0000

Anthony Edward Sowell , recent Ohio murders, is a former marine.

By: Myth

Myth — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:08:01 +0000

From Obama at Fort Hood, “The killer (Hasan) will meet with Justice in this world and the next”.

LOL! They will make sure and get Hasan well, blame him for this act of terror and any other that they can, so they can put him to death. If he doesn't already, Hasan is gonna wish that he had died which I believe was what he thought would happen.

By: Myth

Myth — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:45:31 +0000

Two wars. No jobs. The worst economy since the great depression. All factors why desperate men do desperate things. There a soooo many people of the fringe of going off today. There are record numbers of people in our country who are on antipressants. All to keep more of these acts of violence from occuring. How many more people are on the brink, mad at the world?? No need to be embarrassed that Muhammad was black, it was more mental illness than any other factor. He was just one who couldn't hold it together after he came back from war. As you said they all were in the military and trained to kill. I oppose the death penalty too; however in the case of Muhammad, who turned a young AA boy into a killer, its my belief that he too deserves to loose his life. After tonight, he will be as hot as hell!! Good.

By: miss_opinion

miss_opinion — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:36:35 +0000

I understand your sentiment. We are not doing enough for these men and women that come back after serving their country. We are at a sad state when we view Memorial Day as a day of shopping. We can go out and buy a computer or some other product but we can't afford to give our time or at least 10 dollars to a veterans association. Our priorities are totally out of wack.

But I wonder if men such as these would have done something equally violent regardless of their military background.

I from time to time have those moments where I see someone that is black doing something stupid. I go "damn that makes us all look bad."But really, you share nothing with this person but skin color. I've outgrown the reflex of feeling like this is a reflection on me or my race. It was an individual act that I had no part in.

By: laRapierWit

laRapierWit — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:24:46 +0000

'These are mass murderers."

Well, of course they are..is there any other definition of a soldier? Please all soldiers are trained assasins, that is the very nature of the job. Perhaps, you are under the delusion that turning someone into an assasin and then expecting them to re-integrate into civil society is somehow easy and a 'natural" transistion?

It's not.

Point of fact, one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.

Don't go trying to indict the army for doing their job..of training human beings to be the best damn killing machines. The Army is expert at it. And just as with all things in life, there are some human beings who do it exceptionally well and have great difficulty coming back from that state of mind. There are studies already showing that PTSD takes at least 2 years to identify and even more time for the soldier to understand the emotional and mental dynamics of his own mind.

Most soldiers do not re=enter society just fine. They ALL struggle..some simply don't talk about it. But the families of the soldiers are trained to observe and to help them get help even if the soldier is unable to see he needs help.

So, yeah..the army trains them and as you can see it is far easier to create a combat machine than it is to create a civil citizen.

Most mothers know that.