Those nutty vets

Olga sent us a link last week about James Hackemer, the legless iraq veteran who fell to his death from a roller coaster in my old stomping grounds at Darien Lake amusement park. I thought that it was a tragedy, but there wasn’t much I could say about it. Until today when our buddy David Bellavia linked a Democrat and Chronicle article on Facebook. the title of the article is “Roller coaster death shows risks of veterans’ thrill-seeking”;

Combat veterans are known to come home from war hungry for adrenaline, taking up things like motorcycle racing or sky diving to satisfy their cravings. And some who come home without arms or legs are simply determined to do the things they did before war redefined normal.

James Hackemer’s family insists the father of two who lost both his legs to a roadside bomb in Iraq was no thrill-seeker, but his fatal fall from a roller coaster highlights the challenge of balancing the desire for excitement and even normalcy with the reality of new disabilities.

Yeah, it’s because of the Iraq War that he was on the rollercoaster. And why were the other people on that same ride? And why do hundreds of thousands of Americans ride roller coasters every year in this country despite the fact that most of them have never been to Iraq? Why couldn’t James Hackemer have been on that roller coaster because he wanted to be normal and spend time with his family? Why does it have to be because he needed an adrenaline rush to replace the one he had in combat? Why couldn’t he just want to be like everyone else in spite of his injuries?

“Going on a high-speed roller coaster is not the same as getting shot at and the danger involved with it is next to nothing, but it’s just the intensity of the high speed, the curves and everything else that are just so exciting,” said Dr. James Tuorila, a psychologist who’s worked with veterans and their “adrenaline addiction.”

Fuck you, ya ignorant asshole pseudo-intellectual fuckstick. Why can’t we take our kids on an amusement park ride without being accused of being nutty rush-junkies who can’t put the war behind us? I’ll bet James Tuorilais is one of those faggots who won’t ride a roller coaster because it’s too scary for his pussy ass.

I used to deliver the Democrat and Chronicle during the days of the Vietnam War when it was good newspaper that reported the facts, but I wouldn’t line a bird cage with it now. If that’s the kind of tripe they print now, letting a bird or a dog shit on it would be redundant.

Category: Media, Veteran Health Care, Veterans Issues