CNN and the “scary vets among us” fantasy
Despite the fact that its been proven that Benjamin Colton Barnes, the veteran when he was the subject of a manhunt after he murdered a park ranger in Mount Rainier National Park on New Years Day has been proven to be a fobbit who never set foot outside the wire or heard a shot fired in anger during his tour in Iraq, CNN is bound and determined to scare the living shit out of people with his image (above) and blaming Barnes’ behavior on his combat experience. They also throw in Marine Cpl. Itzcoatl Campo to bolster their smear on returning veterans.
A man opens fire in a national park, killing a ranger who was attempting to stop him after he blew through a vehicle checkpoint.
A second man is suspected in the stabbing deaths of four homeless men in Southern California.
Both men, U.S. military veterans, served in Iraq — and both, according to authorities and those who knew them, returned home changed men after their combat service.
Yeah, the CNN article doesn’t mention that both were terminated from the military for their behavior in uniform. The military doesn’t train the troops to shoot cops or stab homeless people. Both had been out of the military for more than a year, their families talk about how they had “changed” since they came home, but did nothing to get them help before they commenced their crime sprees.
CNN doesn’t mention that the media said Barnes had extensive survival training, but was found dead of hypothermia in a stream. The media was wrong about that, just like they’re wrong about so much. Normal people who are proven wrong time and again usually shut the fuck up, but I don’t think we can count on the media to admit they’re wrong.
It’s important to note, experts said, that the two cases represent the extreme end of a spectrum of behavior signifying difficulties faced by returning troops, and some experience little difficulty, if any.
“What we don’t want to do is stigmatize veterans by saying they’re walking time bombs,” said Elspeth Ritchie, chief clinical officer for the Washington, D.C., Department of Mental Health and a former U.S. Army colonel. “They’re not.”
But CNN has no problem stigmatizing veterans, painting them with a broad “crazy” brush.
But study after study has highlighted the struggles faced by troops returning home, including substance abuse, relationship problems, aggression or depression, she and others noted.
You know what studies DON’T exist? Studies on veterans who work through their problems on their own, or with the camaraderie of fellow veterans – because all of the therapists are locked out of paychecks when the most effective methods are used.
There are no studies that tell the public that veterans are mostly normal and that the Campos and Barnes are aberrations not indicative of most veterans. They won’t admit that the Barnes and Campos were behaviorally bent before their military service. Because it doesn’t fit the types of stories that the media wants to print.
Category: Veterans Issues
I couldn’t agree more. I’m tired of the media smearing the good name of all veterans because they want to sensationalize a story.
Jim, if only it were merely ratings-driven sensationalism–part of it is that, yes, but at least as much of it stems from the media trying to manufacture evidence to support the Janet Napolitano “US military veterans are dangerous right-wing extremists/psychopaths” strand of liberal thought.
It’s terrible, what they’re doing, but not surprising at all. Alex, I think you’re right. The sensationalism adds to the flow of money and attention toward the liberal mentality. I don’t even like using the word “liberal” for this current mode of opportunistic thought.
I know a guy who did three tours as an Infantryman and experienced very bad things on his last. To boot, his CoC treated him like shit after he spoke out about something he witnessed, his wife cheated on him while he was gone, and he lost almost everything he had shortly after coming home and ETS’ing (due in large part to the then ex-wife’s negligence while he was gone). He called me a few years back seeking advice on what he should do for an IRR call-up, but ultimately got it deferred due to PTSD.
Was he a “changed man”? Yes. Was it for the worst? I don’t think so. He coped and healed on his own, put his life back in order, and is now in uniform again. Stories like his would be refreshing to hear about now and then, but they do not meet the intent of our national media.
And yet I, as an actual combat veteran who has actually fired a shot in anger (ok I wasn’t angry I was just returning fire) should probably go all free fire on the Dub V campus. Hey since I’m a Veteran, and fully trained I should go all Ninja Rambo in the process, since I did work with SF a few times (WAS NOT IN SF for all those trolls that will get on about that).
I should point out something here. How many Marxist Leftists have gone on shooting rampages (lost count)? How many Veterans? I can think of a total of 4 (Whitman Oswald which actually fell under the first category, this jagabush and the one in Utah) How many high speed super killers do you know in the army actually did that after they got out?
The Left needs villains. And Rule 1 of Creating Villains (C) is don’t go after anyone who can sue the sh*t out of you.
These two men are essentially defenseless, and given veterans’ proclivity to due process and exercise of Justice, these two men aren’t going to be seeing any crusaders from the Right coming to their rescue (in the case of Barnes, his reputation). And that’s Rule 2 of Creating Villains (C): never choose anyone the Right, even RINO, may decide to champion.
Can anyone find the complete clip of Dr. Phil spouting crap about PTSD the day this story broke?
the CNN article doesn’t mention that both were terminated from the military for their behavior in uniform
Of course not. Because they were almost certainly shitbags before they joined, managed somehow to slip through the cracks, and got shitcanned for their shitbagginess, and continued being shitbags. Gee, what a fucking surprise!
But then again, why would CNN let a little annoyance like facts get in the way of a good story?
Anyone wonder why I gave my last TV set to my granddaughter 5 years ago? Why I don’t watch the news while waiting at the VA except for an occasional FOXNews item? Why I get my news from online sources, i.e.: FOXNews.com/Israel Nat’l News/ local online feeds, etc. It is so much easier to filter out the crap when using online news services. FOXNews, while not an ideal source is at the opposite end of the spectrum from Commie News Nutwork.
Without the “Vets are crazy” meme, where will Hollywood get “original characters”?
Crappy B-movies and tv shows don’t write themselves ya know.
Chock–not to get too far off-topic, but Hollywood hasn’t had an original thought in probably 40 years.
“The nicest veterans of Schenectady, I thought, the kindest and funniest ones, the ones who hated the war the most, were the ones who’d really fought.” –Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse Five
One reassuring fact is this: the Mainstream Media isn’t mainstream anymore. More like a backwater. I don’t know anyone that takes the media’s word for anything anymore. Folks may read the initial report on MSN or hear it on CNN, yes; but then they go on-line and start digging for more information. The consumers are more sophisticated than they once were, and the media can’t dazzle them like it used to.
Checking Dr Phil’s website yields one link that comes up as a dead link that WAS posted and said “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a complex anxiety disorder that may develop after exposure to an extremely stre …
http://drphil.com/articles/article/665/
Then there is this link that is still on his site:
http://drphil.com/shows/show/1193/
[…] Time and Ron Capps make me grab the BP meds January 20th, 2012 Jeff sends us a link to this in Time magazine in the discussion of the CNN article we talked about the other day; […]
From the article “A coincidence — two recent high-profile cases? Or a sign of an increase in hostile behavior as U.S. troops complete their withdrawal from Iraq, similar to that seen when U.S. troops returned home from the Vietnam War?” This simply didn’t happen though, it was an image largely drawn from the popular culture and media.
I think it was in “Stolen Valor”, it was documented that Vietnam veterans reentered society and were more successful at higher rates then their World war II fathers.
From above “…fobbit who never set foot outside the wire or heard a shot fired in anger during his tour in Iraq…” exactly. These two were troubled before they entered the military.
“…Campos and Barnes are aberrations not indicative of most veterans.” Yep, but they can never seem to grasp this basic truth.
[…] I wonder where they got that idea? Unless they read this story, or maybe this one, or this one perhaps. And they ignored this one, this one and this […]
[…] favorite was Benjamin Colton Barnes (notice the scary three names) who was supposed to have been trained in awesome survival skills and […]
Great repost. One thing these miscreants have in common … they are all friggin crazy in the head … that is why they are no longer in the military! Including our most recent reject .. Mr. Skinhead Tattoo Band Boy who attacked a group of pious and peaceful worshippers. All fu*king crazy!
So then the question, master chief, is this: are they slipping through the cracks in recruiting just because some recruiter has to meet a “goal” set by someone in BuPers?
Ex-PH2 … perhaps …
Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.
Ernest Hemingway
War is pretty horrible thing maybe we shouldn’t try to fight them all the time and stay there forever.. For all you war mongers on this site who want this country in endless state of war.
So we sit on our butts and let them run over us roughshod?
I don’t think so. Not what my greatgrandfather, his three brothers and their uncle would say, either.
@23 Who is running us over? You need to quit listening to the war mongers on this site most of whom have never seen combat.. I have and it is not something to be entered into lightly or without good cause and no exit strategy..
@24 – How do you figure you know who here has seen combat and who hasn’t?
@24, your self-absorption has made it quite clear that you don’t have any respect for other people. Where do you get off saying that most of these people have never seen combat? And where, exactly, do you get that information?
These people are NOT war mongers. How dare you say something like that?
All I see is a whiny little snot who thought he’d have it easy in the military and found it wasn’t. What’s the matter? Break a nail on the job? Is that your mommy calling?
What an asshole.
@25 Alot of the prominent posters have told their stories at length.. people like NHSparky, Old Trooper and others who have gone after me for becoming a pacifist are who I am refering to.
@26 you insult me for supposedly assuming things about certain posters on this board and then you do the same thing to me.. If you want to know where I have been ask Hondo
[…] shot fired in anger during his service, which ended ignobly, too, but CNN and others loved to show the picture of him with scary black guns and tats. They even warned the public that he was highly trained in survival skills – but he was found […]