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The Tragedy at Fort Hood
The Tragedy at Fort Hood
By Stephanie Westbrook
When I read of the tragedy at Fort Hood in my home state of Texas, where a soldier killed 13 of his fellow troops and wounded 30, I couldn't help thinking of my brief experience at the base.
It was the summer of 2006. I was in Crawford, Texas, home to Bush's ranch and Camp Casey, the activist camp out organized by Cindy Sheehan who lost her son in Iraq. It was the second year for Camp Casey. But this time, Bush had chosen to spend his holidays elsewhere, which left us with more free time.
Fort Hood, the largest army base in the U.S., where most soldiers heading off to war pass through, is an hour and a half from Crawford. We decided to go there to give information to members of the military. With us were veterans of the war in Iraq and we had leaflets from the GI Rights Hotline, an association that provides counseling to soldiers, including information on how to get out of the military.
We set up about a hundred meters from the entrance during evening rush hour as soldiers left the base. I expected to find myself in a hostile environment, but that's not the way it turned out.
We had signs with a very simple message, "You don't have to go." It was enough to cause many soldiers to stop for more information, even in uniform, violating the military code and in sight of the guards at the entrance to the base. Some drove by in their cars and flashed us the peace sign. Others stopped long enough to jot down the toll free number for the GI Rights Hotline written in large letters on the side of our van. Spouses,
mothers and fathers of soldiers stopped to get material to take home.
Fort Hood has the highest suicide rate of all U.S. bases. Nidal M. Hasan, the soldier who killed his fellow troops, had spent six years, from 2003 to 2009, as a psychiatrist at Walter Reed military hospital in Washington treating soldiers with post-traumatic stress syndrome. He was soon set to deploy to Iraq.
Over three years have passed since I was at Fort Hood. At the time, the Republicans controlled the House, the Senate and the White House. Now the Democrats have the majority. But I feel certain that if I were to go stand in front of the base with the same sign, the scene of three years ago would repeat itself.
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Stay warm this winter in a black hooded sweatshirt. Order one. Order them by the dozen and donate them to occupations!
Shotguns and rifles are for game. We must disarm in public to protect the innocent. We live in a sick society represented by our national anthem. I am so proud of the female police officer who saved a number of lives. She used a pistol for a necessary cause - law enforcement.
EW
"EVERY gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."--President Dwight D. Eisenhower, April 16, 1953
Web: GI Rights Hotline
Phone: 877-447-4487
Within an hour of these egregious murders I had heard what I knew would take my family through the racist, ignorant statements, words I thought I'd made a dent in giving some a hint of the true definition according to the Qur'an, so forth, now here we go again.... PTSD PTSD PTSD PTSD PTSD As I listened to the words of the wise(ass) Kay Bailey Hutchinson state, "Well we do know HE has an Arabic SOUNDING name, so, well....", yep well, well why the F$$K do you care if Dr. Hasan follows al Islam and WTF does it, if indeed Dr. Hasan is Muslim matter? His FIRST is of course non-existant even more so than ours 'cos Geez Louise that there surname sure sounds Ari-bik, yup, Dr. Hasan whom was educated with monies from the FED due to enlistment for a required amount of Active duty service, was at Walter Reed for his specialty which is PTSD/ emotional disorders affecting troops after they come home from our one illegal invasion and the other Sectarian or civil conflict where at that time he was a Captain, per quorum upon entry into Active Duty after graduation, then off to Ft. Hood, PTSD PTSD PTSD PTSD PTSD, where Dr. Hasan was promoted to Major PTSD PTSD PTSD and listened hour after hour day after day week after week he listened to other Americans, like himself, his American Brothers and Sisters in the military whom most likely had been Stop Lossed at minimum one to two and upwards to seven times tell horrific true occurances they were enduring daily in Iraq and Afghan-Paki-Stan, knowing he himself amid objections to his Superiors at his Objection to any violent action against another human PTSD PTSD PTSD PTSD PTSD being, ergo hands that his quibbling voices in his head PTSD PTSD PTSD told him those hands aren't yours any longer so as he fired close rang on unarmed young people, he was of course, according to somebody PTSD PTSD PTSD PTSD in that room swore Dr. Hasan said in Arabic," All Glory be Unto Allah ", as these young people fell bleeding, from those hands that those voices convinced him weren't his any longer, per chance Dr. Hasan was saying All glory to God for saving some of these poor soon to be less than human when arriving back in the US that now they are with God and will no longer have to be forced to suffer PTSD PTSD PTSD PTSD PTSD PTSD but then again his surname sounds Arabic, he was specializing in a particular Mental Disorder that PTSD PTSD PTSD was 750 : 1 , that's 750 troops to ONE, UNE, UNO, BIR Psychiatrist, cos that great well staffed always prepared VA thinks that yesterday was an anomoly is sure enough going to be revving up that "All Muslims are Terrorists, Jihadists[incorrect usage of Jihad again and again], members of al Qaeda, a Sunni or a Shi'a that certainly will kill all good Christian soldiers", but dollars to doughnuts the 40 year old man in downtown Orlando that went on a Homegrown Terrorist Homicide Spree to murder co-workers well I was wondering had anyone caught wind of his religion, his FIRST being denied, his last maniacal screams as he shot to death other Americans as did Dr. Hasan, him being American as well, well anyone know what religion he was , huh? PTSD PTSD PTS PT P ....
Here the hell we go again my family whom never were permitted to feel American again are going to still keep clawing our way back out of that USAn hate all Scurry Moslim Xtian hating hole and here we go agagodamngain.....
Namaste
Rhoda