Pennsylvania Veteran Kills Family, Will PTSD Be Blamed?

 

Here is another one for the crazy veteran files.

john-rambo

 

Yesterday I wrote how Tom Coburn thinks veterans get enough mental health support. That same day,?a story comes out about a Marine veteran in Pennsylvania who is evidently experiencing some sort of mental break brought on by an ugly custody battle. I experienced an ugly custody fight myself, with many issues being brought up, my Iraq service one of them. I am waiting for the media to present this as another dangerous veteran with PTSD. If this man had just been an angry father faced with losing his children, this story would still be about the ability of people to get guns, even after credible threats have been made. Since he is also a veteran, it makes the story extra sexy.

It also feeds the myth that all veterans are somehow mentally damaged. After all, numerous movies and TV episodes have been made about the crazed veteran, who decides to arm himself to the teeth and go crazy, reliving the horrors of war by attacking his fellow countrymen. However, in nearly every case of a veteran doing something like this, it boils down to the same reasons that anyone snaps under mental strain and lashes out. Granted, being a veteran the person may have a better grasp on how to effectively carry out murder and destruction, and know how to use weapons and survive off the grid, making them more difficult to track and ultimately catch.

homeless-vet1

 

The final point I want to make is that had this veteran been African American or Hispanic, that angle would have been played up. If he had been a Muslim (as was John Lee Malvo,the DC Sniper) that would have been splashed across the news as well. What this all comes down to is that when tragedies like this occur, the media has a duty to report the facts. In the last decade however, the media has been building narratives about certain groups of people, and sticks to those narratives slavishly because they increase viewership and website clicks. In short, the fact that someone is a veteran, a Muslim, African American, Hispanic, mentally ill, on drugs, or any of the other juicy tidbits that feed into the fear porn that is broadcasted 24/7 should be reported on, but should not be used as some sort of excuse or example.

Veterans and our issues are not click bait.


Let us know your thoughts at the Liberal America Facebook page. Sign up for our free daily newsletter to receive more great stories like this one.

Redneck disabled veteran in South Louisiana. My college transcripts show either a very well rounded academic or someone with the attention span of a gold fish. Served in Iraq.