GI Suicide Epidemic?
Maybe, maybe not. CBS sees smoke, cries fire. Neglects to tell us much about whether the Fire Department is actually on it, whether anything’s actually burning. Ignores evidence of a curious counter-epidemic. Anyway, would it have killed them to add a line about their methodology in the actual report? Well, they’re TV, whaddaya want. I’d expect a higher standard of performance from actual print scribblers, real scholars. Hey, wait a minute.
Further thoughts on GI suicide, reporting of same, and cultural context here.
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 8:51 am on Saturday, November 17, 2007
2 Responses to “GI Suicide Epidemic?”
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November 17th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
In my ten years as an army wife, I met a heckuva lot of GIs. A few of them were people I’d describe as on the edge, but in all that time, I never met but two who I thought might commit suicide. The first one was because his wife had falsely accused him of molesting her daughter (it was resolved without getting him sent to jail, she was an idiot). The second one was because he was middle-aged, on the verge of retirement, was alcoholic, and had no wife or children. It wouldn’t have made any difference if they were soldiers or truck drivers.
November 17th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
A “comforting cultural narrative” for life failure
Look, Ma! The totally awesome Jules Crittenden of forward movement– a Boston Herald city editor and columnist and Pajamas Media Network blogger extraordinaire — links to our Sid Blumenthal post with a pithy Ha.Our war dead are called a waste