Monday, July 19, 2010

A matter of opinion

On my way back home from Austin, I switched planes in Atlanta. At the gate, there were about a dozen Air Force men and women in fatigues waiting for the same flight. I wondered what their final destination was, and if they had already been deployed or not. I didn't think they had. They looked too wet behind the ears, too neat in the collar, too unscarred.
You say....

"If I say, “We should be there,” then it’s a matter of justifying all the deaths that have happened on the Iraqi civilian side. There’s just so many ways you can look at it, and I don’t care about any of that. I care about the people who go and fight and whether or not they’re getting cared for when they get back."

This is why you're all bunch of hired killers that deserve your fucking PTSD.
The email excerpted here was sent to Fred Minnick by someone who read his story on The War Project. It was sent through Anonymous Speech, which conceals the email address of the sender. One has to conclude that the author did not want his identity known, that he has strong opinions yet is unable or unwilling to stand by them, that it is easier for him to attempt to say what he means than it is for him to reveal to the world whomever he really is.
Deciding to kill in a bullshit war is not just a 'job' you fucking idiot. Moral men make moral decisions, not just do what their fucking boss tells them, especially when the task is killing people in a country that never attacked yours.

God I fucking hate you. Seriously, what kind of a fucking idiot volunteers go and do this shit? You're a fool.

And don't give me this fighting for our freedom bullshit. No one has fought for our freedom since world war 2.
The young airman sitting next to me on the plane was reading a book, Emotional Bullshit: The Hidden Plague That Is Threatening to Destroy Your Relationships--and How to Stop It. I wanted to ask him what it was about, but I didn't.
If a real war comes along I'll fucking fight. Simply offering to be on 'standby' to kill whoever you're asked to is a fucking pathetic life decision.

Pathetic.

I hope you're haunted by the nightmares of those you orphaned and the pointless deaths of the men who were your friends, who actually I call murderers, I hope you are haunted by them for life, as you deserve to be.
After our flight landed at our destination, we all stood up and waited for the flight doors to open. Over the loudspeaker, the pilot announced that the airmen and airwomen were on their way to Afghanistan. He expressed admiration for the mission they had undertaken. He asked everyone on the plane to applaud for them. So, we did.
I spit on you and your bullshit 'service' Eat my shit.
After Fred forwarded me this email, I thought it was pretty stupid, but later I thought it was pretty much just sad.