Thursday, November 13, 2003
Troops Hate Jessica Lynch
Troops hate Jessica Lynch. No, really. I mean it!!! They can’t stand her. If she appears on a TV for six seconds in front of a crowd of soldiers, you will hear comments like “Shut the fuck up, bitch.” “Welcome to the military.” “You fucking phony.” It happens all the time.
And this is often from surprising sources—from soldiers whom I know very well, and know to be perceptive, intelligent, and thoughtful.
It’s totally irrational, and it pisses me off everytime I hear it. I haven’t heard a soldier stand up for her in months, but with the media blitz surrounding her book and the made for TV movie, it’s coming out like venom from a fang.
Now, my response has generally been “Ummm, what did she do to you?...Is your best friend still alive?...Is everyone in your squad still alive?...Have you ever been captured?” And then close with “I don’t think you have any idea whether or not she’s a phony” or some variation on that theme.
I don’t know what else to do, if anything. Except, again, confront ignorance where it arises. I can’t fight it on every front. But I can fight it in front of me.
And this is often from surprising sources—from soldiers whom I know very well, and know to be perceptive, intelligent, and thoughtful.
It’s totally irrational, and it pisses me off everytime I hear it. I haven’t heard a soldier stand up for her in months, but with the media blitz surrounding her book and the made for TV movie, it’s coming out like venom from a fang.
Now, my response has generally been “Ummm, what did she do to you?...Is your best friend still alive?...Is everyone in your squad still alive?...Have you ever been captured?” And then close with “I don’t think you have any idea whether or not she’s a phony” or some variation on that theme.
I don’t know what else to do, if anything. Except, again, confront ignorance where it arises. I can’t fight it on every front. But I can fight it in front of me.
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