The tears of a clone…
One of the numbers missing from the tally of U.S. servicemen that have perished in Iraq and Afghanistan is the number of soldiers that have committed suicide. Between those on active duty and those that have returned stateside we are looking at numbers like never before. I would say that this is an epidemic but that statement is superseded by all the other epidemics that we die from here in America.
Namely poverty. This has to be the number one preventable disease across the globe.
When you read the stories of the soldiers that are returning home without employment prospects and without skills that translate into post-millenial capitalism I am reminded of the story that my dad told me about returning home from Vietnam right after MLK Jr. was shot dead. This country was no place for the soldier that had lofty ideals of truth and justice. There was only madness here. Insanity and greed.
And just like the battlefield, you weren’t sure who your enemies were.
The stories that my dad told me make me feel sorry for the soldiers in our military forces. How do we look them in the eye and pretend to understand the things they feel about the things they have seen. Words are so fucking cheap. Everything is cheap. Like a dollar store toy section. Life is cheap. I hate feeling so poor and powerless as I do now.
I wish that all the U.S. soldiers could be with their families right now.
1 thing 4 sure, when dudes come home, amidst their angst, sense of displacement AND the global recession, kniccas will be robbin banks like it’s nobody’s bizness. i vaguely remember when dudes started coming back to BK from ‘Nam. Shit got mad hectic, weird and scary!!!
Just when I settle in that you are Bilbo Douche-baggins, you go and write something like this. I echo your sentiment, brother. Thanks for blessing us with this one.
haha @ Mark Dub. They will do that to you here. I was like WTF yesterday with that faux Pop Champagne video and the half-nekked girls, but now I’m back on board.
Thanks for this. People need to be reminded of the madness our soldiers endure. Unfortunately when they get home they’ll have to stand in line with the ex-cons, college grads, laid off auto workers, who all can’t get a j-o-b.
This is why I like this website. U get a little bit of everything. It’s funny that you mentioned MLK. Remember b4 he was taken out, he was speaking out against the Vietnam War particularly the the non-white soldiers that were fighting for the country but yet faced all kinds of shit much like what today’s Iraq War soldiers are facing.
Thanks for bringing our attention to this issue. We rarely hear about the real tragedies of war!
D!
yeah, it sucks. but you learn to deal with the bullshit for the most part. then theres the little dingleberries of animus you gotta swallow with a smile, lest you go crazy. christmas was sadly the only day anyone in my family cared enough to join together (besides funerals…) and i feel like a complete shitbag for not being able to make it this year…. but hey, im not dead so it all works out.
Word Is Bawn! biggups to my lil’ bro, USMC LCpl. Telley Vestal, who just finished up his 2nd tour in Iraq. Glad you made it back in one piece and back to a little normalcy in Hawaii.
Happy Holidays, B!
great poast
Great drop Dallas, succinct, opinionated and insightful. You stay on point, fuck that pretentious fugazi “objective” reporting. This is where I tip my hat to you son; you have me pissin myself laughing one minute only to just pull out the rug right out from under me…..