I had a very sad conversation with the mother of a soldier today

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

She called with a pest problem, and in the course of conversation, mentioned her son was being shipped off the Iraq in a couple of weeks. I commiserated with her, wishing him all the best, when she blurted out, "He has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder-he's on two different medications for it-I can't even get him into a psychiatrist-and they're shipping him back anyway! And since I'm part of his military family I can't speak out!"

I assured her that I and many others - I should have said some 80,000+--were working to end her son's nightmare soon. I wished I could have told her more about what she could do-but she told me she holds a county office and felt she must "step lightly" . So sad to see good people hurting, and feeling helpless to do anything about it.

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. "I can't speak out!" It's become little russia in the last 5 years

hasn't it?

[pocket]

3. way to slander Russia

[xchrom]

4. i'm re-reading gulag archipelago.

and one of the things he talks about is the after 1917 there was no resistance to the arrests{and of course spying} that the stalinists greeted the country with.

[babylonsister]

2. This is plain sick. The young man is already suffering from this

war; are they waiting for him to hurt himself, or others? We know this has already happened, but to how many? :banghead: :banghead:

[OneAngryDemocrat]

5. Military Families Speak out

http://www.mfso.org/



And visit my anti-war website, www.shockedandawful.com

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. Thanks

she'll be calling back soon, and I'll give her this information.

[Pharaoh]

8. that poor kid will not survive this

tell her to send him to canada!

we can take up a donation to do it? I don't know, this is all getting so insane and I feel there is nothing I can do about it.........

[OneAngryDemocrat]

12. :)

[uppityperson]

7. exactly, my thought too while reading the OP. Thanks for the link

[libodem]

9. Good god

sending him back with mental illness...even with the increased suicide rate among these fighting men? Have mercy...this is nuts. Oh, well i suppose his redeployment will save some rich kid from having his ass drafted.

[WePurrsevere]

10. Being a part of his military family has nothing to do with speaking out.

It's not uncommon to buy into that BS but it is BS. She's a civilian and his mother... she didn't sign up, he did. As a citizen we always have a RIGHT (and even a responsibility) to speak out. My heart goes out to her because I'm sure she does feel helpless but I know I'm not and if that were my child no one would stop me from speaking out... it sure didn't stop me as a military wife (now x-wife).

If she comes back in... please tell her to contact her representatives (and Military Families Speak Out) as another posted mentioned. If you're in a state where family members can get someone committed it may be in his best interest for her to get him checked in to a local psych center ... he needs help before it's too late and he hurts someone or himself.

edited to close parenthesis

[peacetalksforall]

11. We get little pieces and we think we are coping, but we're not. It is as

plain as our birth - we are sinking, sinking into a fascist, communist, dictatorial, military, corporate, barbarian country. We are vile, criminal, inhuman. And every leader who doesn't get it and fight for us is worse than the PNAC rulers.

How much more?