Posted on 01/26/2018 5:59:50 AM PST by ilovesarah2012
” On the other hand, maybe he had a severe case of PTSD which was untreated by our VA,”
Did he actually serve in Vietnam?
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According to the article, many people knew him well, including people at the Veterans' Homeless shelter. Could he have been a liar and never served? I guess, but I imagine that the other Vets would have sniffed him out a long time ago.
I have no doubt that he was a Vietnam Vet,but whether he actually served in country was my question.
I know dozens of Korean War vets who never went to Korea.
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Not sure if this answers your question, but he was also a police officer.
Do you mean you don’t already have other obligations which would preclude you from taking on full responsibility for another’s life? Or do you mean you would abandon any responsibilities you already have which would stand in the way?
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With regard to your first sentence above, I mean that I would not let my father or brother die in a box in a park no matter what that took. My “other obligations” would just have to temporarily get subordinated. And, “full responsibility” doesn’t have to be FULL.............necessarily because there are many FREE, or near free, facilities out there particularly for vets. And, most of the time, there are multiple family members willing to pitch in and help either with money or otherwise.
With regard to your second sentence, I don’t think I would have to abandon anything. I remember helping a long time best friend with his vet, alcoholic Uncle (dad’s brother). He was passed out on the floor of his house, long past due in rent, no electricity and the landlord was nice enough to call my friend to come get him.
We both jumped in his car and drove 100 miles to Waco and forcibly entered the house and duct taped his ankles and hands and took him to a rehab facility.
Ultimately, he recovered and lived a long and fruitful life.
I’m just saying “family members” should help, even if it’s inconvenient and even if it cost them a little money and time. Obviously, you disagree.
What did they know, and when did they know it?
For your reading:
Military Times: Malaria drug causes brain damage that mimics PTSD: case studyThe Guardian: Veterans say report on anti-malaria drug mefloquine downplays side-effects
BBC: Call for Army to stop using malaria drug mefloquine
Army Technology: Mefloquine – the military’s deadly malaria treatment
Thanks.
Obviously you know nothing of what it takes to be responsible for another person. I’m the full time caregiver to my husband, who is disabled. I cannot put him on a shelf while I run off to solve other people’s problems.
I find your claim that you “would” help a relative, if only they needed help, to be rather disengenuous. If you were really that kind of person, I think you would already have your hands full helping someone, rather than sitting on the sidelines judging those who are too busy helping others to step in and help those you “would” help, “if only.”
If you had any responsibilities, I think you would have a better understanding of what it means to be responsible. It’s nice that you can jump in the car and run off to play hero for a couple hours, but that’s really not the same as taking on the responsibility for another person’s life. If I hop in the car to go off to hogtie a relative who’s on a bender, my husband might very well be dead by the time I get back. Forget the fact that I’m also disabled, and not capable of overpowering another person and taping them up. Even if I was, I’m not naive enough to believe I can fix someone’s broken life with such a simple act.
Taking care of someone who can’t take care of themselves involves more than just sticking your nose in their business for a few hours, and then living off the story of your heroism for the rest of your life. It takes dedication, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 1/4 days per year. And it ain’t for sissies.
I think your confused about a lot of things and I won’t try to address all of them.
But, I won’t back off that “family members” should help if they have an elderly family member in trouble. Such help can take the form of just talking on the phone and organizing some form of assistance. I’m sure you talk on the phone each day even with your “responsibilities”.
Such help can take the form of just sending the person 20 bucks now and then. Most likely you can do that. Such help could take the form of calling local agencies or other family members or even the police and striving to get them to go find him and help him. I could go on and on.
Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, there may be, and doubtless are, exceptions like yours where family members are so strapped helping another family member, or are incapacitated themselves, that they simply cannot do ANYTHING to help.
But, I imagine on a percentage basis that situation is small in number compared to the total cases. There are just too many homeless out there evidencing the common knowledge that in farrr too many cases in America family members just don’t give a damn. That’s the issue. I’m sorry you so vigorously disagree with this sad fact about our society today. Unlike our homeless subject, now deceased, your husband is a very lucky man.
What makes you so sure his family never called him? Never sent him money? What makes you so sure they have anything to be ashamed of?
It may be easy for you to pass judgment on them, without knowing the first thing about them. And it may be real easy for you to claim you would do better, and more. But I’m thinking of getting a T-shirt that says “please don’t help,” because of people like you, who think you can solve all our problems without having a clue how to actually help anyone, because you’ve never tried to do anything more than a quick fix.
Last Fall I went to a PTSD awareness training seminar. It can be very debilitating for many vets. The VA does a poor job in the diagnoses and treatment of PTSD. It is sad.
LOL, you continue to totally miss my point. I am stating a FACT like “the sun is high in the air”. You are arguing, or attempting to argue, “no it’s not....it’s not up yet”.
BykrBayb, the experts agree that there are MANY tens of thousands of homeless people whose families ignore them and don’t help them but could help them.
Go argue with them. I’m just stating my opinion about a seriouos problem in our society and you are trying to make me in to some kind of villain.
Pound sand.
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