Today there was a(nother) shooting at Fort Hood. As I walked in the door tonight I found myself (internally) railing on people who try and deny PTSD is a real and valid … “thing.” The men and women I know who are or have been in the military don’t wake up one day saying, “I wonder what I’m going to do today. I know…” The people responsible for shootings (in general, military in particular) reach a point they feel that’s their only viable option.
Not excusing – in ANY way shape or form – pursuing said option. I think it’s abhorrent and reprehensible. Hurting and killing someone because you’re hurting is never, ever the right answer. While I understand where the need to lash out at something outside your head and heart comes from, there’s really just no way to justify having that something be a living being (animal or human).
For the same reasons it’s cheaper to provide contraception than it is to provide care after the fact, if we can provide our veterans and servicemen and -women with the mental healthcare they need when they get
home that will help prevent such atrocious crimes from happening again. I worry about my friends. I worry about my friends’ families. We worry enough about them when they’re on the front lines. We shouldn’t have to worry about them after they come home.
It’s incredible how deep my thoughts can go in the course of a thirty yard walk.
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