Victims, Villains and Heroes

The American Thinker ^ | November 11, 2009 | Ben Voth

[Scanian]

American soldiers find themselves once again caught in the inhumane crossfire of the Media. Since the Vietnam War, the Media designates Soldiers as being in one of two unfortunate categories: victim or villain. The current struggle to make meaning out of the Hisan Nidal terror attack at Fort Hood is indicative of the immoral rhetorical frame created by the national punditry. Even the President has entered the fray, departing from his rash indictment of the Cambridge police officer to urge caution in judging Nidal's actions.

For NPR and related 'journalistic' outlets, Nidal is a "victim" of the trauma associated with war. Though he had never been deployed, as a psychologist he witnessed the trauma of combat soldiers and the burdens of war and found that 'too much to bear.' Consequently, because of America's 'warmongering character', psychologist soldier Nidal Hisan 'snapped' and fired more than 100 rounds at Fort Hood killing a dozen American soldiers and wounding dozens more.

[livius]

The deliberate actions of Nidal were not those of a mad man or a solitary freak. They were the byproduct of a concerted six year misrepresentation about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

They were actually the actions of an Islamic jihadist, the very type of person the US is trying to protect people from. But the reaction of the press and the left, including Obama, which has by now almost made a misunderstood hero out of Hasan, is definitely shaped by years of misrepresentation.

[RU88]

Political correctness is eating away the very fabric of our society. Nidal is a manifestation of the disease.

[Rappini]

The Liberals are going to get us killed. I don’t like to wear anything on my head not even a hat.