I gotta say, I have a lot of respect for Pat Tillman's family. They could have let everything go and supported the Army's story that their son died in a hail of gunfire while fighting off an enemy attack and saving the lives of his fellow soldiers. A lot of soldiers' families would have done just that, preferring the legacy of their fallen son/daughter as a hero going down fighting in a blaze of glory, even if it wasn't true. Like Jessica Lynch's family. No complaints from her or her parents when the military completely fabricated the story of her capture and eventual rescue. And they've made the most of that bullshit story too, selling it to Hollywood to make that crappy TV movie of complete fiction.
But not Tillman's family. They want the truth. Even if that truth is ugly and it tells them that their son died for nothing, or even worse maybe died for some reason more sinister. They haven't allowed the Bush administration to use their son as a propaganda tool. The truth is what they want, and they have pushed hard for it.
After he died, the conservative went out of their way to use him as a prop for their agenda. All the wacko-righties jumped on the bandwagon, from Coulter to Limbaugh, calling him a true American hero. What most of them weren't saying is that Tillman thought the war in Iraq was illegal, he hated Bush and was supporting Kerry for president. Tillman had joined up to fight for his country after the attacks on the World Trade Center but, like most smart people, he was against the Iraq invasion. I know, I know, I'm not usually in the habit of giving jocks credit for brains, but this guy counted among his favorite authors one Noam Chomsky. In fact, it has been said that he arranged to have a meeting with Chomsky when he returned from his tour in Afghanistan. There is speculation that he was going to come home and use his celebrity voice to speak out against Bush and the Iraqi war. We'll never know for sure.
The investigation into his death has been done only because his family pushed hard for it the whole time. They still haven't gotten the whole story. All they want is the truth.
Was Tillman killed on purpose or just an accident? I don't know. But the fact that his clothes, body armor and even his personal diary were destroyed right after his death says somebody is covering something up for some reason. Whether that reason is embarrassed soldiers covering up their fuck-up, or something more sinister is something his parents have a right to know.
I don't know anything about the Tillmans' politics or point of view about the Iraq situation or the Bush dictatorship. What I do know is that, unlike the Lynch family, they won't let their son be reduced to being a propaganda tool for Dubya's wars. I don't think they'd allow it for a President Gore or Kerry either. I don't expect it, but I hope they finally get the answers that the military has resisted giving them.
La Oprika Paprika
2 weeks ago
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1 comment:
Your article distorts the reporter's balanced message, and displays a sexist attitude destructively ignorant of human nature, both male and female, and the adverse effect that over drinking and using any kind of drugs can have on interactions.
The article merely was pointing out that women render themselves vulnerable to the more violent side of certain males' behavior. Most men are not violent in such amanner, but some are - that's life. The article merely sought to remind us not to make ourselves vulnerable. Never once did it counsel us not to go to bars, or to stay at home. It cautioned us to be careful adn alert (two things that alcohol and drugs take away), both for ourselves and for our friends.
I wonder, what advice would you give a daughter or a son, if you had one? The world is a woderfully safe place, and there is no need to keep control over your wits at all times when out with strangers? You really need to be more responsible in your comments. Hopefully, no teenagers rely on you for advice.
P.S. And notwithstanding the doctor's own worthwhile agenda an the dangers of alcohol, the article's focus was not there, nor most likely ever intended to be there, as much as the doctor would have liked it to be so.
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