Posted on 11/09/2003 6:26:28 AM PST by LurkedLongEnough
WASHINGTON — Tonight NBC will air its made-for-TV movie celebrating Pvt. Jessica Lynch, whose capture and dramatic rescue is the feel-good story of America’s war with Iraq.
But some African-Americans don’t feel so good about Lynch’s story. Instead, they ask: What about Shoshana Johnson?
Johnson, an Army specialist, belonged to the same 507th Maintenance Company as Lynch. Unlike Lynch, Johnson fought to stave off their Iraqi captors. Like Lynch, she sustained serious injuries.
But only Lynch got the headlines, the TV movie, the prime-time television interviews and a biography penned by a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer. Lynch, in short, got the full American celebrity treatment, while Johnson largely got ignored. Many African-Americans think that’s simply because she didn’t have the right "face."
African-American suspicions of a racial double standard were reinforced last month when it was revealed that Johnson, who was shot in both ankles, will get only 30 percent of her monthly pay in disability benefits. Lynch, who had a head injury and broken bones in her right arm, right leg, thighs and ankle, will get 80 percent disability pay. Lynch’s new book, "I Am a Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story," claims that she also was raped and sodomized by her Iraqi captors.
"Shoshana is getting the shaft, and people are outraged about it," said Mary Mason, a Philadelphia talk-radio host whose show was bombarded with callers complaining about the disparity in treatment.
"It’s ridiculous, and complete racism."
Johnson and her family in El Paso, Texas, say they have no proof that the issue is rooted in racism, but they’ve engaged the Rev. Jesse Jackson to press the Army to increase her disability benefits.
Lynch, through a spokesman, stressed that she and Johnson are good friends and expressed hope that "Shoshana gets 100 percent" of what she deserves.
Others think race hovers around the edges of this story. They see Johnson’s plight as another chapter in the long struggle of blacks trying to get their due from white society.
"There before you is the American dilemma: We are unfair in treatment and view when it comes to people of color," said William Smith, a Vietnam veteran and media adviser for the National Association for Black Veterans.
Robert Thompson, a professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University, said he doubted that race was the reason that Lynch became a media celebrity. But, he added, with her good looks and compelling story, Lynch looked like a figure from Central Casting at a time when the Pentagon desperately needed one.
Just weeks into the battle, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Gen. Tommy Franks were enduring heavy criticism over whether their battle plan provided enough ground forces to get the job done. The rescue of Lynch on April 1, filmed by the U.S. forces who raided the hospital where she was being held, helped stem the criticism.
"It was clear that she was going to become the icon, the star of the mini-series that was the war with Iraq. I think everybody was looking for a symbol of the war with a happy ending," Thompson said.
"Jessica Lynch fits the profile of the type of casting American television has done for years."
And the early version of Lynch’s story was good — too good. The Washington Post’s initial front-page report said Lynch had suffered knife and bullet wounds while ferociously fighting off her attackers.
Pentagon officials later said Lynch was hurt when her Humvee crashed after being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. Lynch, in an ABC interview to air Tuesday, says her weapon jammed and she never fired a shot. She also criticizes the military for hyping her story.
So do national civil rights leaders.
"There appears to be unequal treatment between Johnson and Lynch" on the benefits issue, NAACP President Kweisi Mfume said.
Army officials say both women’s disability benefits are based on the extent of their injuries and how they will affect their employment and lifestyle.
"There is no double standard in the Army," Army officials said in a written release about the controversy. "Every soldier is treated equally when they go before a Physical Evaluation Board and in all situations race is not an issue."
Lynch and Johnson get different benefits because a military Physical Evaluation Board placed them in different categories, the Army said.
Lynch was put on a Temporary Disability List, meaning she can stay in the Army for up to five years and her condition can be re-evaluated periodically. If her condition doesn’t improve, she could be medically discharged. Her disability payments could be lowered upon review, Army officials say.
Though Johnson is awaiting a final decision, her injuries were judged to be stable but permanent, and the board recommended that she be discharged from the Army. Johnson plans to appeal the board’s recommendation next week, according to Rep. Diane Watson, D-Calif., a member of the Congressional Black Caucus who’s been working with the Johnson family.
Donna Brazile said she couldn’t help seeing the Johnson-Lynch disparities as a black-white issue. The African-American political strategist, who managed Al Gore’s presidential campaign in 2000, said she wasn’t going to watch Lynch’s TV movie.
"Jessica’s story is a compelling story, but so is Shoshana’s," Brazile said. "My reason for not tuning in is simple: I am tired of the double standard."
Shoshana Johnson is no Halle Berry either.
And I still think the senior officer/enlisted person should be brought up on charges for deriliction of duty for getting the convoy lost in the first place. In the age of GPS, there is no excuse for 'getting lost'.
I suppose she wouldn’t consider telling Jackson to take a hike. He is not good PR for her. He’s not there for her. He’s there for himself.
The different treatment is because of the different outcomes. Getting shot in a war zone doesn't automatically mean you will get disability when you are done with your service.
Let's say soldier A and B are both shot.
Soldier A's injuries are such that he's walking (even with help) a week later and in 3 months he has an occasional ache at his wound site but now has trouble lifting boxes. That eliminates him from about 30% of the jobs in the market.
Soldier B's injuries are such that he's in a wheelchair a year later and facing surgeries for some time. He has been put on medical leave because he can't do his military job. He can no longer walk which eliminates about 80% of the jobs he can get.
This is vastly simplified, but can you see the difference? One of these soldiers will get 30%, the other will get 80% disability. I don't care WHAT color either one is, it doesn't change how disabled they are. Nor does the extent of their wounds matter, it's the extent of their recovery.
Let's throw a Soldier C into this mix. He is shot, tortured, starved, electrocuted and whatever. When he's recovered from his captors and taken to the hospital, he's unconcious and near death. It takes a week before doctors are even sure he's going to live and another 2 months of care to get him fully functional. His injuries were the most life-threatening of the three. He fully recovers, he gets no disability. Again, it doesn't matter WHAT color he is.
I don't know the extent of their injuries, I don't know how disabled Jessica and Shoshana are, I only know that Shoshana was walking a week later and Jessica still isn't. The only race issue I see is the media attention lavished on Jessica. Talk to the media, not the military about it.
SHOCKING! You don't mean the media could actually be biased, do you?
I have a theory as to one reason why she has been lionized but Shoshanna wasn't - Shoshanna's family is career military. I think her mom worked on base as a civilian and I think the dad is retired military. Her feelings are probably less in line with the mainstream media (i.e. she's pro military) than those that Jessica is parroting, thus she gets less coverage. I do know a family member has expressed concern about her disability settlement, but overall I haven't heard them trashing the military in general.
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