The "Good Guys" Who Can Do No Wrong
Why are we surprised at their racism, their brutality, their sheer callousness towards Arabs? Those American soldiers in Saddam's old prison at Abu Ghraib, those young British squaddies in Basra came -- as soldiers often come -- from towns and cities where race hatred has a home: Tennessee and Lancashire.
How many of "our" lads are ex--jailbirds themselves? How many support the British National Party? Muslims, Arabs, "cloth heads", "rag heads", "terrorists", "evil". You can see how the semantics break down.
Add to that the poisonous, racial dribble of a hundred Hollywood movies that depict Arabs as dirty, lecherous, untrustworthy and violent people -- and soldiers are addicted to movies -- and it's not difficult to see how some British scumbag will urinate into the face of a hooded man, how some American sadist will stand a hooded Iraqi on a box with wires tied to his hands. (source)
Picture 1: American soldiers stand behind a pyramid of naked Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, Iraq in this undated photo. (AP Photo)
Picture 2: Humiliation if Iraqi prisoners
Picture 3: A hooded and wired Iraqi prisoner is seen at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, Iraq in this undated photo. The prisoner was told that if he stepped off the box, he would be electrocuted. Unidentified soldiers said the unarmed captive had been threatened with execution during eight hours of abuse, and was left bleeding and vomiting.
A British soldier who took part in the alleged assault of the hooded man said the victim had been held for stealing. "As we took him back he was getting a beating. He was hit with batons on the knees, fingers toes and elbows, and head. You normally try to leave off the face until you're in camp. If you pull up with black eyes and bleeding faces you could be in s**t."
The soldier added that the prisoner's eight-hour ordeal ended when he was dumped from a moving vehicle. He did not know whether the man survived. One member of the regiment is already under investigation over claims that an Iraqi civilian, Baha Dawud al-Maliki, 29, died of internal injuries while in custody of QLR soldiers in September.
In another incident a photo was printed that showed a soldier apparently urinating on the prisoner, who was sitting on the floor.
An internal report by Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba sand that other abuses included threats of rape and the pouring of water and liquid from chemical lights on detainees.
Detainees were beaten with a broom handle and one was sodomized with "a chemical light and perhaps a broom stick," the report said, according to the magazine.
The report was based on "detailed witness statements and the discovery of extremely graphic photographic evidence," The New Yorker said in its May 10 issue.
Well, do we still support our troops in Iraq? Do we still support their actions? Are we still... proud?
I heard about these photos on the news along with everyone else. I wanted to see for myself what all the fuss was about. Now, I'm sorry that curiosity got the best of me. The people who did this are our own soldiers, and it disgusts me. I initially looked at the photos, became overwhelmingly angry, and shut my computer screen off. I told myself that I would not blog about this, and that, in times of war, bad things do happen. By taking it off my screen, I made it "go away".
But then, as I thought more about it, I decided that that's bullshit. We must expect more from our troops than to become common thugs. We all have our prejudices but we should not take our eye off the target and what we are there to accomplish. We are (supposedly) there to free Iraq, although it's never been concluded that Iraq desires to have our brand of what "freedom" is. I would venture to guess that the citizens of Iraq most definitely do not want our brand of brutality. Have we become Saddam Hussein?
I can no longer support being in Iraq. Not after seeing these photos, and the "support our troops" campaign is beginning to also stand on thin ice with me as well. How can I support something such as this? You can say that the people who do this are a few bad apples but you know what, they reflect us. They are us.
I know that they are us because I have been on the receiving end of their crap in this very country. I know exactly who they are and what they are capable of. So when they say, "You normally try to leave off the face until you're in camp. If you pull up with black eyes and bleeding faces...", I know exactly what they are talking about because they said the same damn thing to me when I was on the receiving end. We can dress them up in uniforms and call them our heroes and say that we support them, but at the end of the day, I know who and what they are. We can also make them a scapegoat, as Washington is so good at doing these days, to make this problem go away so we can continue our little campaign of bruality. Or, we can hold our forces accountable for these deeds.
We have met the enemy and he is us!
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My question is: where are the officers who are supposed to be in supervision of what's happening?
Frankly, I'm embarassed.
That is why I am not very excited about going back home to Idaho.
I know that straight people cannot even begin to understand my fear of going back to that place. It wasn't so far away from where I will be that Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered. That was just five years ago and nothing has changed.
Let me make this very clear; Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado are all one and the same when it comes to gay people. All of them want us to not exist, and they don't particularly care how we are eradicated.
I'm not exaggerating. People won't come right out and say that because they would not think it is the Christian thing to do, but it's what is in their hearts, if they are really honest about it. Even in churches we are demonized. I'm so damn sick of this "hate the sin, love the sinner" bullshit that I want to puke. Any way you paint it, it is hate, hate, hate.
Fritz makes some very cogent points. Bill, when you spoke of things really changing I think you are right--for a relatively narrow strip of land up and down the east and west coasts and for a couple of enclaves like Chicago and one or two others at the most. For the rest, it remains business as usual, with racism and homophobia being absorbed at home, in church and at school. It's sad and it's dangerous for gays, but I really think that's the case.
Years ago I was lying in bed talking with a lover and I said I thought I could see a new man emerging, one who was more gay-friendly, more in touch with his feelings and open-minded. He squeezed my hand and said, "yeah, but don't waste time looking for him too far outside route 128." We are still best friends and I have long since told him he was right.
You are right Fritz, there should be no surprise at what these troops have done and I'm sure there are many many more stories just like them that we will never hear about.
In my naive way, I suppose I tell myself that things are getting better in people's attitudes against others who they see as "different". It has always been common sport for teenage boys to go out and beat up gays. They knew that no one would do anything about it. In a situation of war, it's even easier to see others as less than human.
Today, with such topics as gay marriage being openly discussed in our society, I had the impression that the sort of intolerant attitudes from the past were not so prevalent. Maybe that's somewhat true in our country, but what our soldiers did just reinforces a trait that seems to be part of the human race; it is part of what we are to dehumanize, victimize, and kill.
Why is this surprising? Consider the age of the soldiers who did this and the violence that is allowed to be perpetrated in our public schools.
The previous comment asks "where did this abborhent disregard for another human being come from?"
It came from the streets of America. It was done by the under-educated, bullying thugs we churn out from public high schools every year. These are the same caliber of people who engage in gay bashing and other hate crimes.
Go to Japan, Germany and other countries where our troops are stationed. You will find no fondness for American military personnel. You will hear stories of rape, murder, armed robbery and numerous other crimes that rarely make it into the papers here in the U.S.
Right here in my own community, a couple of soldiers raped a woman on a nature trail, stabbed her, and left her for dead. They were participating in some sort of secret combat game and actually stalked the woman and attacked her. The victim has recently filed suit against the Army. Apparently, they were aware of the violent tendencies of these two and did nothing about it.
I wasn't surprised by this story coming out of Iraq. We live in a violent society that encourages the victimization of the weak. Our sports heros rape and murder.
I have heard the argument that our very own c.i.a. had told these soldiers to do this to these prisoners,hhmm trying to accept this as a fact ,then I think what soldier was in boot camp and taught this?none !
so where did this abborhent disregard for another human being come from?I don't think that most of our soldiers would actually know how to commit such hienous crimes against humanity without the help of our own unintelligent agencies.sorry for the sp errors don't feel like looking them up!
I also read that there is question as to whether the commander of the unit is to be held responsible, and if she is one of the possible punishments is a "repremand." That makes me ill. I'm sorry but the guys who did this need life behind bars. They made a bad situation worse, they increased the hate for America that already exists, they blatantly disregarded human rights, badly represented their country, etc etc etc. My gut says don't even let them back into the US, but I know that won't happen. I just hope they get what they deserve. I still support our troops because I know they're not all criminals, but some of them are not making it any easier.