Another crazed vet
Claymore sends us a link to the Atlanta Journal Constitution which reports that a guy murdered his 16-year-old stepson. And of course, the main thrust of the article is that Eric Brandon was a door gunner in the Sinai two decades ago which probably caused him to gun down the teen;
On his Facebook profile, Brandon, 46, said he began working at UPS about 10 years ago after working six seasons as a park ranger in North Dakota and serving six years in the U.S. Army in the 1980s.
During his years in the Army from 1984-1990, Brandon said, he served as a doorgunner in the 82nd Airborne Division’s Combat Aviation Battalion, and as a peacekeeper in Egypt’s Sinai desert.
And, oh, yeah, he was one of those bitter-clinger members of the National Rifle Association;
He listed few details about his family, but listed the National Rifle Association and the Wounded Warriors Project as interests.
So if his service included a stint on a peacekeeping mission, the Jimmy Carter-inspired peace mission designed to keep separated Israel and Egypt, wouldn’t he be trained to NOT pull the trigger? I wonder how much PTSD he had from flying around the desert NOT pulling the trigger.
He worked ten years at UPS, but six years as a crew chief on a helicopter is what made him pull the trigger. He also had six years as an armed park ranger. He was a high school grad….wouldn’t that make him have a lot less patience with teenagers?
In fact, one common thread running through all of these veteran-involved shootings is that they all went to high school. Maybe we should have the police focus on all high school graduates – that makes at least as much sense as the veteran scare.
Category: Veterans Issues
Being a UPS driver in Atlanta might be more than enough to drive someone batshit crazy, but of course the stint in the Army is what put him over the edge. When I heard this story on the way in this morning, I was cringing waiting for the proverbial “other shoe to drop”…they talked about how the details were sketchy but there was an apparent argument and the man shot this kid three times with a 12-gauge. The last comment before moving to the traffic report was about Eric Brandon’s Army service and his depression. THUD.
Commandment One of the MSM: Thou shalt not question the motivation or the agenda of the MSM/libtards.
Of course, had that psycho Powell up in Washington state been a vet instead of your run-of-the-mill pervert/wife-killer, they’d focus on that as somehow “contributing” to his crimes.
I was stationed at South Camp in 1996 and I’m still suffering from the stress of them making me come home. Best six months I spent in the Army.
Quarantines for returning vets coming soon…
I dunno, I didn’t think this article was implying his service had anything to do with his violent outburst. It was just listed as part of his background. If anything, I’m glad the writer included the where/when/what of his service precisely because it makes it easier for readers to see that it probably had nothing to do with him killing his stepson. Many lesser journalists have just run with the “Veteran murders family member!” cliche.
But where’s the value added in knowing of his service? What does it add to the story?
“Crazy dude kills his own son, also, he was once in the military”…
The AJC is a garbage rag. They pulled the quick release straps three or four years ago and left Atlanta. Most of their “reporting” is regurgitated crap from the AP. What is written by their own “journalists” is garbage like this, where a scan of a Facebook page counts for investigative journalism.
I read the article, and I’m not seeing the negative connection made between his military record and the murder. It seemed natural when describing the guy to list his military career and his membership to the NRA. If a he had stabbed his son to death and went to Thai Knife fight school and belonged to the NKA(national knife assoc) it would seem pretty normal to list it.
I just didn’t feel the anti-vet connection when I read it.
I didn’t think this article was implying his service had anything to do with his violent outburst.
Then why even bother mentioning it? Hint: it’s NOT relevant, but thou shalt not disrupt or question an agenda when the MSM latches on to one.
I just didn’t feel the anti-vet connection when I read it.
Maybe I’m overly sensitive. I can also attest that the radio delivered version made specific mention of the military connection and this dude’s depression. If there was no connection to his act of murder and his service/state of mind, then why bother mentioning it?
“Then why even bother mentioning it? Hint: it’s NOT relevant, but thou shalt not disrupt or question an agenda when the MSM latches on to one.”
Maybe it’s not relevant. But they have to find some way to describe the guy, and profession is typically the first resort. At least they included every major job he held as an adult, of which the army was one. I agree it’s a lazy piece (seems they didn’t look much further than his Facebook page) I’m just saying in the panoply of “crazed veteran” stories, this one doesn’t seem particularly egregious.
A lot of things weren’t relevant, but still listed. “Dude shoots kid, but worked for UPS.” My brother-in-law calls that “going parcel.” It wasn’t relevant that he was a park ranger at one time, or that he was 46. The article does not seem to imply that being 46 or a former park ranger caused him to kill this kid. It also doesn’t seem to imply that him being a vet was a cause either. It was just more irrelevant material thrown in along with the fact that he is a 46 year old UPS driver who used to be a park ranger. It doesn’t seem to be blaming vets, denigrating vets, denigrating UPS drivers, or park rangers.
I have to wonder if somewhere on the internet there is a group of former park rangers complaining that the media just had to include that little detail in this guy’s history.
Then why not “crazed UPS driver”? That was his last, most relevant profession versus a stint in the Army over 20 years ago. Egregious or not, the seed has been planted and it is yet to be proved that it contributed to this awful incident where a 16 year old kid is dead.
profession is typically the first resort
And a guy who was in the Army for 6 years and out for 22 is somehow relevant? Again, that’s like blaming mass murder on not getting a cookie from mommy when I was 7. It’s irrelevant and it’s bullshit.
It’s a meme the MSM is pushing–that of the crazy returning vet. No wonder the veteran community has 12 percent unemployment.
Claymore @13,
Nowhere in the article does it mention “crazed vet.” It just lists his service along with everything else about him.
Utah Vet, et al–then why make the claim that the guy in Ogden who shot up the cops was a vet? Why Mister Prostrolo? Why anyone if their acts aren’t directly related to their military service?
Oh, and I’m surpised his “relatives” haven’t shown up here yet decrying the fact that he was such a good guy.
Nowhere in the article does it mention “crazed vet.” It just lists his service along with everything else about him.
The radio reports have all emphasized his Army service and his depression. Imply whatever you want.
They should have focused more on the Atlanta traffic, that probably had more to do with it than his military service.
NHSparky @16,
I live in Utah, not far from Ogden. And you’re right. In that case they should have just let it alone. They seemed to imply that his service was the impetus for his actions. That was even the case with our local media, The Deseret News, which is extremely conservative and even owned by the LDS church. I’m not talking about that case of media stupidity. All I’m saying is that in this case the Atlanta Journal doesn’t seem to be blaming his vet status any more than anything else.
Claymore @17,
Of the subject, but how do you make quotes show up in italics like that?
Of the subject, but how do you make quotes show up in italics like that?
Basic HTML tags. 🙂 Not sure I can show you without the post thinking it’s an actual tag, but you should be able to Google it.
UtahVet: I agree, if I was a park ranger I’d be starting to feel a little nervous about the rep we were getting.
All I’m saying is that in this case the Atlanta Journal doesn’t seem to be blaming his vet status any more than anything else.
You’re correct…the AJC isn’t really doing anything at the moment other than throwing a lot of information at the wall, including his association with the NRA and Wounded Warrior foundation. However, as others here have noted, the AJC has not exactly been a bastion of conservative authorship. In fact, it hasn’t even been a bastion of moderate authorship. Until VERY recently, it’s editorial board consisted of left-wing sycophants who were always quick to fire off an anti-gun, anti-Republican, anti-conservative screed at the drop of a hat. As more facts in this case come to light, we shall see how the paper handles it, but for the time being, the radio media (at least the one fed by CNN), appears to want to make this guy’s Army service an issue. I haven’t seen any local tv reports, so I cannot comment on them yet, but I’d gather they will take a similar tack. Rather than focus on the fact this was most likely an argument between a step-dad and his step-son that got out of hand, the well has been poisoned by innuendo and supposition about this dude’s former service and his involvement with two organizations that may or may not give certain people reason for pause.
Claymore,
Thank you.
What I really wanna know is; was he left or right handed?
If the Atlanta Urinal Constipation had no agenda, then they’d have mentioned every route he’d driven for UPS and every post he’d held as a Ranger. That they didn’t, but focused on what he did in the Army for a time, shows that the author was more interested in his time in the Army, and, horror, that he belonged to the NRA, than they were in just providing the facts in this case.
Yeah, apparently the NRA teaches people how to shoot. God forbid if they actually shoot at people. Then it must be the NRA’s fault. Guess what, I don’t blame my elementary for teaching me to write when I call some fucking retard a fucking retard on this site.
So what if he was a door gunner? I doubt he ever even heard a shot fired in anger while on that mission.
Ten years at UPS and he went parcel.