Time and Ron Capps make me grab the BP meds
Jeff sends us a link to this in Time magazine in the discussion of the CNN article we talked about the other day;
Yeah, it pissed me off at first, too. Author Ron Capps, supposedly a veteran, raised my blood pressure even higher with his first line;
NEWS FLASH: The new threat to American security seem to be the very people we laud for providing our security: the veterans who fought America’s wars.
Two recent reports by reputable journalism outlets (CNN and the Christian Science Monitor ) have re-positioned the “psycho-veteran back from the war” scare front and center.
Luckily for Capps and my cardiologist, that’s as bad as it got;
It seems to me that these murders have spawned a new round of “if it bleeds it leads” journalism rather than a discussion. Both articles feature a number of reasoned comments by professionals in mental-health care and policy. And both articles seem to roundly ignore the reasoned advice of the experts that two incidents are not a trend.
In their favor, both articles spend significant time detailing the real trend of large numbers of returning combat veterans needing and seeking help from DoD and the VA. Both articles also highlight the grim fact of 18 veterans’ suicides per day. This is helpful.
What’s not helpful is the note that we should expect “more and more of this,” made by one of CNN’s experts being echoed in the headline. What we should expect more of is combat veterans returning to overfilled and under-resourced health care facilities. CNN and the Monitor might focus their light on these issues to greater effect.
Thanks, Ron for giving us a voice in the liberal media, for a change. Just so you know, I was halfway through dialing the subscription department to cancel mine, by the time I got to your point.
Category: Media, Veterans Issues
Life in this country is media driven…if they can’t find a story, they make stuff up. When I went to work with the student vets at a local college, some of the staff actually said they were worried about the vets coming back and having problems.
When I pointed out that I was an Iraqi vet, and they already had about 50 at the college—and didn’t even know it…they realized they were freaking out for no reason.
As a civilain cop, I’ve been to manny incidents that were reported in the local news paper. Usually 50% of the info was not correct.
I am not sure if the media does it on purpose or if becasue they have a degree in the subject, they really don’t seem to know much about anything.
I think we’ll be OK, we do have to remind the dumbass media that they really know nothing about anything.
Freaked just a little bit…
The Ron Capps I know, and grew up with, drives a 320mph Top Fuel Funny Car for Team NAPA 🙂
This imposter Ron Capps….is a turd in the punchbowl. His resume reads a little long and far traveled for a Reservist. jus sayin’.
One thing I’ve noticed about media outlets, they almost all have stories that seem derogatory towards Veterans, but they also have stories that illustrate the opposite.
As CI Roller Dude said, I think as long as we do our part to highlight those stories, we’ll be OK.