Tragedy

I have debated myself over whether or not to post this blog. I am disgusted and saddened by Thursday's events at Ft. Hood. The United States Army has been part of my life since my dad enlisted when I was three months old. I married a soldier, who is now retired, and it is fair to say that at times I have been unhappy with the Army, but I have also received numerous benefits, both tangible and not, from this association. I tend to be irreverent and snarky, but I am also fiercely patriotic and proud of this country and our service men and women. For whatever reason, they have chosen to put their lives on the line for our freedoms and neither they, nor the civilian workers present, deserved the cowardly attack they were subjected to. I don't want this blog to be about Hasan except to say that I believe he will have his day in court and justice (at least the earthly Uniform Code of Military Justice kind) will be served. What happens to him in the hereafter is, of course, left to much higher authority. In the days and weeks to come, I know we will learn more about the shooter and his motives, but I wanted to write this blog about the media and the frustrations I have with the members of the Fourth Estate.


1. When someone in the military reports that the shooter has been "neutralized" this does not mean his pH has been restored to 7 (thanks to NNG for that one). Please don't wonder aloud on the air what that means. It means "he is no longer shooting people because we have stopped him from doing that by whatever means necessary".

2. The phrase "whatever means necessary", Newspeople, leads me to my second frustration. I know initial reports from the post indicated the shooter was dead, but was it really prudent to lament this fact, saying "Now we may never know a motive."? Honestly, knowing a motive is not nearly as important to me as saving lives, and if you kill the perpetrator in the process of saving innocent people, so be it. Please do not act disappointed that the murderous traitor may have been harmed.

3. A three star general dealing with a massacre on his post should never be approached as if he is an actor on Oscar night. This person is dealing with issues and logistics most of us cannot imagine and he doesn't have time to chat. When he says he'll take one more question or that he will not comment on a motive, he means it. Don't act like he's part of a conspiracy to keep information from you, Woodward.

4. If you are going to persist in live interviews with random idiots who have nothing to add and just want to be on tv, could you please put the following as the identifier under their faces on the screen: Miscellaneous Dipshit. That way, we all know that this person has nothing credible to add and we can ignore their ramblings and speculation. You might also apply this idea to your natural disaster coverage as well.

5. Please stop insulting our soldiers, even though you are doing it inadvertently. Yes, non wounded and wounded service members rendered first aid to those more hurt than themselves, even if they were putting themselves in harm's way to do so. Understand that this is what they are trained to do and this is what they have always done. When you respond to this fact with incredulity, you imply they did something above and beyond, and I understand that would be true in the civilian world. But in the military, what they did is standard, which is why our soldiers deserve much more respect than they get.