Well, it sends chills up my spine, with a boy in the service, that's for sure. A Muslim veterans group denies that there is a pervasive bullying of Muslims, contrary to claims by Hasan's family.
But let's say, arguendo, that there is. He's been taunted. Disrespected. So...the guards at Gitmo have been taunted. Disrespected. Is anyone saying they could be cut some slack if one of them when off the reservation and started shooting all the prisoners?
There is also a lot of talk about secondary trauma, working with PTSD victims. I don't want to say it doesn't exist, but most of my patients have experienced trauma, I see them in crisis, I've been doing this for three decades, and I don't know any provider who believes they have anything more than a little something extra to cope with. I mean, just so you know, those of us that actually do this job don't go around saying how close we are to suddenly popping off a lot of folks we don't like.
Hasan went into the service for a paid trip to medical school. Then he owed them some years. Then we went to war. Well duh, it's the military. It might happen, y'know? You should factor that in to your plans. He made a deal, he doesn't like it, so he builds up a narrative of victimhood to justify himself.
Just like the guys in jail, actually.
I'm having a hard time coping with this event. Tragedy? Terrorism? Lone Nut Case? All of the above?
ReplyDeleteThe claims of harassment are ludicrous. The guy is a major ! I know some psychiatrists who have more problems than their patients but he didn't "snap." He may have gotten more radical after hearing stories form soldiers during counseling. Some of his colleagues, all the way back to medical school, were complaining about him but the army seems to be seriously infected with PC.
ReplyDeleteAVI, I pray for your kid and all our soldiers daily. For their brave hearts, that GOd will guide their steps, keep them safe, and help them do the right thing.
ReplyDeleteAs to this shooter...I keep trying to tell myself innocent until proven guilty...without much luck.
Savage, in tears ever since hearing for the people he mnurdered.
I hope he gets a SWIFT trial, and immediate firing squad if proven guilty. No grandstanding or excuse making.
Apparently a traitor, a murderer, and a weasel. You take Uncle Sam's money to go to medical school, you meet your part of the bargain and serve faithfully as an MD for the required years. And if you have to go into a war zone? Part of the deal.
I have a friend who served over 12 years in the Navy as a psychiatrist after they paid for her medical school. She was grateful and proud to serve her country.
I find the guy's cowardice loathsome. It's unlikely that the Army would put a scarce resource (ie: an MD) in everyday danger. An 18 year old boy from up north is braver than that guy. Come to think of it, my neighbor, a young woman who chose West Point over Harvard, and went on to fly helicopters in Iraq, is braver. Come to think of it, the female policewoman who brought him down is braver.
Cowards shouldn't join the Army. Everyone is afraid, but people do their duty anyway. Facing your fear is bravery.
I wondered briefly if perhaps he was posting the stuff on the net and dressing in conservative robes as a way of trying to be forced out?
Or was he just recruited to do this kind of suicide mission on behalf of radical Islam?
Even if found guilty, any capital punishment for a military member must be cleared with the Commander-in-Chief. (He also cannot speak in a way that might jaundice the trial, due to his place in the command hierarchy.)
ReplyDeleteI believe that the military used to use hanging for capital crimes; now I suspect that they are limited to lethal injection. So, no firing squad.
As an aside: does this case change anyone's mind about the justness of capital punishment?
Yes, the current method of execution is lethal injection. There are nine convicts currently on death row in military prison, but the last execution took place in 1961.
ReplyDeleteThe president must personally confirm any death sentence; he also has the power to commute the death sentence.
Howdy Folks
ReplyDeleteThe military generally used hanging as its means of execution. The firing squad was for, oddly enough, lesser death penalty offenses like desertion (it was specified for desertion) and for the murder of an enlisted member. Last military execution was a hanging in 1961.
Military switched to lethal injection during Reagan's presidency. Hasn't been used yet.