In the meantime, we are left with the aftermath no one wants to face or hear about. We've botched this planet but good. And since it's only us here, who can we blame? Thus, we turn away from our victims' cries and leave them to die. Which is why, of course, that will be the final fate of this planet. Your time's a coming, smart ass!
The Dallas Observer cover article this week is about Becca Morrison, whose husband committed suicide upon returning from Iraq. Military deaths have been skyrocketing ever since the widespread abuse of soldiers' service began with the Iraqi invasion of 2003, reaching an all time high last year. Hey, this is America, we like to be number one in everything!
While military worship has a long and storied tradition on this planet, it's always resulted in the destruction of same said empire in the end. Are we really going to save the world by getting in people's faces and calling them "queer bait motherfucker"? Good luck wit dat. And while we proclaim often and loudly how much we appreciate our military personnel, our actions say otherwise. We just like using them for the most part.
First off, the military is ill equipped to handle their own. It's a sensitive subject - but they sure aren't. When Becca's husband reached out for help he was shunted aside at every turn, dumped on drugs by the one person who did halfway listen to him but in the end left twisting in the wind. I don't care what anybody says, mind altering drugs are a bad way to deal with emotional problems. Go without eating or sleeping for a couple of days and see how out of whack your perspective gets. Pile drugs and depression on top of that and suddenly suicide seems the only way out.
The answer to a hurting soul
The military is like an abused, dysfunctional family. Yes, there is bonding in the abuse but there's no room for those who cannot survive it. Mental health complaints are not considered a good career move. Better act happy, little Johnny, or we'll kick you out of the house! The article cites this case:
In 2010, a former Marine named Lazzaric Caldwell was given six months in the brig, dishonorably discharged and court-martialed after he attempted suicide by slitting his wrists while on a base in Okinawa. Although his conviction — for bringing "discredit on the armed forces" — was overturned, it was still an undeniable message to many active-duty service members and veterans.
Yup, those are the kind of fuckers I want to go to with a problem. The military myth is popular even off the base too:
Ruocco, too, is a suicide survivor. Her husband of 15 years was U.S. Marine Corps Major John Ruocco, a decorated Cobra helicopter pilot. He hanged himself in 2005, while awaiting redeployment to Iraq.
When Ruocco's husband died, she says, "I felt like my loss was different than anyone's." The first time she went to a TAPS event, before she joined the organization, a woman approached her. She was making a quilt of pictures of military personnel who'd been killed in action.
"How do I get my husband on there?" Kim asked her. The woman asked a couple questions about John's death. Then she looked Kim over and said, flatly, "This quilt is for heroes."
Like I always say, everyone's got a religion - and is ready to kill for it. Capitalism, of course, is by far the biggest religion of all. And Baby Boomers, being the original hipsters, are also chiming in on the suicide trend. But a blind eye has been turned to their plight as well. Being 50+ years old and having to start over competing for retail jobs at The Gap is truly a shattering fate worse than death. But can we admit this any more than the wrongs we've inflicted on military personnel? Who dare be labeled a heretic of our ways?
Despite the vehement protests and caustic wailing by vicious Pollyannas, we each know the truth of what we do. Mere mention of this subject strikes a sharp chord among the guilty. When Becca Morrison opens up and shares the story of her husband's suicide, when she's a beacon to other survivors that life can go on, there are those who feel they must attack her and tear her down.
Some people couldn't understand why she kept talking so openly about her husband. A few months after the equine therapy story came out, a woman who worked for the program left a nasty comment on Becca's Facebook page.
"Let your husband be dead and buried," she wrote. "Stop digging him up for publicity."
Better to die than live with you fuckers!
Sure, we hung Jesus out to dry so I guess we're going to keep on doing it until we're proven wrong. In ancient Japan, when a vassal felt powerless to change his lord's destructive behavior he would commit remonstration suicide as the ultimate statement of his feelings. These suicides today are also statements on us as a monstrous society. When will we start to listen?
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