A few days ago an event occurred at the nation's largest military installation. I got a tweet from CNN stating that there was a shooting and 7 people were killed and 20 injured. A little while later that number grew to 9 and 25; then 11 and 27 and 13 and 30 was the final count. Each time I read the texts I was more and more unsettled. How did a terrorist get onto the base? What message were they trying to send? Did they catch them? Then the word came back that the person responsible for this bloodbath was a member of the US Army. I was taken aback, and then I became enraged! This guy had not only been a member of the Army for several years, but he was a psychiatrist; one who's sworn to aide those who had come back from the battlefield to deal with their stressors. This man had committed the unthinkable…he'd destroyed the trust that a soldier has with their therapist, the trust in another soldier. His actions have thrown into question the trustworthiness of every person of Middle Eastern descent that are in the armed services. He's caused the trustworthiness of every person of Islamic faith in the military forces to come into question. His deplorable, inexplicable actions has by default, weakened our military forces on the battlefield.
The actions of one can cause a ripple effect throughout a community, organization or country. Immediately following Sept 11 you were hard pressed to find anyone who wanted to sit on a plane next to someone of Middle Eastern heritage. It's unfortunate that the actions of a few people affect the lives, shape the prejudices of and mold the thought processes of so many others. It may not be fair, but it is reality. I may not totally agree with it, but I understand it and have been guilty of having predispositions about certain groups due to the actions of others within that group. It's something that we all need to be mindful of. I dare not say that we shouldn't 'profile' (the new politically correct term), especially since all too often this 'profiling' is true. Had our military not been afraid of not being politically correct and offending someone they could have averted this action and the loss of life at Ft Hood. Its ironic how they always come out with information they knew before the killing started that they thought meant nothing. It's ironic how they had someone on the radar prior to the time they did whatever they did, but didn't act on their findings, inclinations or evidence. I'm befuddled by this every time it happens.
I chose the title because it was a question that was posed to me Felicia, childhood friend that I recently reconnected with via facebook. I posted that I'd like Hasan (the Ft Hood killer) to undergo a series of torturous events over a period of time before dying an agonizing death. More specifically I said, "…have him kept alive and tortured continually for at least 6 months before allowing him to die from starvation and exhaustion". She initially asked a question I thought was humorous. She asked if I was serious. I retorted with a tirade about the casualties he left and how other methods of death were too good for him before telling her I was indeed serious. That's when the questions came, "So how you do you reconcile this position with your religious beliefs?" This question should have put me in a position where I reevaluated my belief system and the position I took on the treatment of the perpetrator. However, it didn't. I got even more angry and determined that he ought to be tortured. You see, I was reacting out of the emotion of seeing soldiers die senselessly. I was emotional because of the traitorous actions of Hasan. As I indicated in one of my responses my feelings were 'less than Christian'; I went on to say that I wouldn't apologize for having these feelings. This statement needs explication…we are all emotional creatures and sometimes react out of those emotions. Whether they are happiness, anger, jealousy, etc you see, I was reacting out of emotion and expressed those emotions. For feeling as passionate as I did about the subject (and still do) I can't apologize. I was extreme in my feelings and still today can't bring myself to retract them. He has negatively affected this country, our protection system (military). This angers and bothers me greatly. I'm not perfect, and have never professed to be. However I know when I've allowed something to bother me to a greater extent than it should It's kind of like what we were told when we were kids, "You allow others to control you when you allow them to get you angry".
I have a respect for men and women in uniform unlike any other. I acutely understand the sacrifices they make of time with their families, time for themselves and the mental toll some of the things they have to do has on them. I understand how you can be given a mission and not agree with the objective, but have to carry it out anyway. Furthermore I understand the trust a soldier has and the bond they form with their psychiatrist, therapist, counselor or whomever it is they unload their burdens to. For this reason, I am still incensed and can't see anything less than a torturously painful death for this individual. I know I'm not right, but it's how I feel. When I'm able to think differently I'll let you know. By he way, it's not ego…it's anger.
It's just my opinion and this time I know I'm wrong!
