That crazy vet with PTSD thing again
So we get this story, sent to us by Tman from some woman named Amanda Crum at a place called WebProNews. It’s the story of a supposed veteran by the name of Ray Miles who forced his way into WIBW-TV in Topeka, KS to convince the television station to air his grievances against his treatment at the Department of Veterans Affairs. While he was trying to force his way in, some people tried to stop him and he pulled out a knife and stabbed two in their legs. Here’s the video;
Now, I’m not defending Mr. Miles or condemning the TV station employees, But, I did notice that Mr. Miles is a bit off-balanced, which means that maybe he wasn’t a veteran at all, because the AP story where all of this comes from doesn’t mention that he’s a veteran. At this point, no one really knows if he’s a veteran or not, but they like to say it.
In fact, he’s homeless and has been for a while and he was asked to leave the shelter where he was staying for violent behavior, according to WIBW. And he’s assaulted a police officer in the recent past. We all know stories of homeless people who try to convince us that they were in the military, and I don’t see anyone checking on Miles’ status. And it looks like no one checked with the VA even, otherwise there might be a quote from the local VA folks.
But to me the most egregious part of the story is Amanda Crum;
While the story is disturbing to say the least, it also rings with a sad truth; that veterans who come home with serious emotional and mental issues are often overlooked or even ignored. Many stories have surfaced over the years of deadly prescription pill cocktails being given to veterans to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and unfortunately that seems to be the case all too often when a member of the military seeks help. While it’s not known if Miles was on any medication at the time of the altercation yesterday, officials are aware that Veterans Affairs did play a part in his agitation. Whether or not he will be treated is yet unknown.
Emphasis is mine.
It’s not known for certain if Miles was in the military, or if he was taking drugs, or if he has PTS, but that’s not going to stop Ms. Crum from warning us all that the streets are full of drugged up vets each on the cusp of a violent psychotic break.
I want to warn everyone that the streets are full of doped up, half-witted pseudo-journalists all just waiting to demonstrate how little they know about everything by arriving at completely irrational and unsupported conclusions.
Ms. Crum, even a cursory internet search would tell you that veterans who suffer from PTS are not likely to be violent or harm people other than themselves. It’s a myth perpetuated by the ignorant rushing to explain things they don’t understand.
Category: Media, Veteran Health Care, Veterans Issues
Bet you, another movie soon! These people are as predictable as the sun rising in the east.
The date time group on the tape is 17 January 2000. If the date is right this is hardly news. WTF? It took eight people to hold the guy.
The only close friend I have who was medicated for PTS symptoms was given blood pressure medicine to help him sleep. He kept passing out during the day. Hardly a “deadly prescription pill cocktail.”
(Well, I suppose if he were driving.)
” . . . veterans who come home with serious emotional and mental issues . . . ” —
I, DR_BRETT, have a SERIOUS emotional and mental issue with the God damned “press.”
” . . . officials are aware . . . ” — WHICH officials ??
Great writing, Mr. Lilyea: ” . . . the streets are full of doped up, half-witted pseudo-journalists . . . “
Thank you for bringing this story to our attention, why? because over the last 3 years I’ve made a fool of myself donating money to so-called homeless vets standing on the streets that claim they have PTSD and need help, only to find out later that none of them ever served in the military, but were just simply crazy and were using the vet excuse to gain sympathy..
I’m a 20 year vet myself, I retired in 2000 and I thought after serving so long that I could spot a real vet from a mile off, but I was wrong and have, like many others been taken advantage of by the Fakes.
Oh maaaan! How come I didn’t get any cool psychotropic drugs for my PTS?
dang, i never get no fun.
I am not even going to watch this video, but if this guy is a legit vet with pts. He is in the best city with the best VA to get treatment. The Topeka VA has the best impatient facility for the treatment for PTS and MST. In conjunction with that they offer AA, NA and Dual Diagnosis programs. They have an inpatient program for veterans that may have other mental health issues.
I know this because I was a patient at the Stress Disorder Clinic. They took me farther in my treatment in seven weeks than the five years outside had. I am not perfect and I blow it and I can be “crazy” but I am getting better.
Asshats like this and the media make me want to get better even more so that I can tell my story. So that I can say that yep I was bent and maybe even a little broken, but I am getting better every day. One day hopefully when asshats like this are highlighted I will be there making a call to the station to give my “expertise” on the subject.
By the way if you are interested in knowing more about the clinic and the services TSO and John know my e-mail and how to get ahold of me.
He cannot air his grievances until Festivus. What was he thinking?
No. 7 SARGE — !!
Journalism like this makes me glad I’m in Afghanistan and don’t get the “UP TO DATE” crap. At least I get time to let the crap filter and truth come to light before I get word of it.
[…] That crazy vet with PTSD thing again It’s not known for certain if Miles was in the military, or if he was taking drugs, or if he has PTS, but that’s not going to stop Ms. Crum from warning us all that the streets are full of drugged up vets each on the cusp of a violent psychotic break. […]
Looks like Journalistic brutality.
Quick note – there appears to be a fire extinguisher just to the rear, right side. Against a dude with a knife or impact weapon, a quick blast of sodium bicarbonate to the eyes and a smack upside the head with the extinguisher would have worked just fine.
I think I’ve said this several times before; as a civilain cop for 32 years, I ran into dozens of homeless people and others acting crazy who claimed to have been a vet…some vets of war. However, I knew what to ask them…simple quesitons like:
1.) What were you in? (Army, Marines, Nave, Air Force???)
2.) What was your MOS- If they said: “I don’t remember, they are full of shit.”
3.) If they made it this far (which most didn’t) I’d ask: “What unit were you in and where?
Most of the time, they didn’t pass my little quiz. Some told me: “I’m sorry, I won’t do that again” because I’d give them that option (you know the touchy feeling part of being a cop these past years) Others would get mad at me for proving them a fraud…in which case I would tell them that I’m going to inform all the local govt agencies that they are a fraud and not a vet.
If the media just knew what to ask–but they don’t because they went to journalism school while we went into the service.
At a symposium on trauma some with one of the leading researchers and clinicians on PTSD, Bessel van der Kolk MD let us know that 90% of the population with PTS are civilians. Only 10% of the population are veterans. The majority are women, children, and adolescent boys who have suffered trauma from physical, verbal and emotional abuse, and molestation.
Despite this statistic, we don’t hear people saying or journalists writing, “The streets are full of adolescent boys with PTS.” Or “The uptight, screaming lady who recoiled at being approached displayed symptoms similar to abused women with PTS.” Nope, unfortunately, any violent public act is usually correlated with veterans and PTS. It’s a hackneyed image, a stereotype that only hinders. Crum was negligent in doing some fact checking and also wrong to interject anecdotes that may not have anything to do with his circumstance.
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