So today I have something that is heavy on my heart, so we are gonna take a break today from talking about the myths and go straight into this topic. Let me start off with a story that happened to me this week.
I was at Costco with my mom this past Wednesday doing some shopping, and while we were checking out at the self-checkout one of the employees who was standing over there helping people noticed my hat. I was wearing my “Iraqi Freedom Veteran” hat, and she came over and thanked me for my service. We got to talking and she mentioned that her husband is a service member, so she asked when I got out, where I was stationed, you know – the typical questions that are asked by those who have a loved one that is serving or has served previously. So then her and my mom got to talking while I was loading the cart back up and I overheard them comparing post 9/11 service members and Veterans to Korean War Veterans and how we are being treated just like they were. I didn’t really think anything of it at the time, kind of just blowing it off, because what those brave men and women had to experience was a horrible chapter in the history of our country’s patriotism.
Since that day I haven’t been able to shake it, so I have been thinking about it, critically, and comparing the similarities and differences of treatment of those 2 groups of Veterans in my brain. I was astonished when I realized just how strikingly similar the treatment is. Now the Korean War Veterans experienced all the hatred and anger to their face, being yelled at, spit on, and called horrible names while having this country that they had fought for turn their back on them when they needed them the most. So post 9/11 Veterans do not experience that IN PERSON as much as the Korean War Veterans did, because lets face it – people in general have lost the balls to say things like that in person because they are afraid of the consequences – instead we have the “keyboard warriors” who feel they have no consequences to themselves personally, because they can do or say whatever they want to in the privacy of their home, as anonymously as they would like to, so it makes them feel invincible. Instead of in person, we are faced with an onslaught of hatred, anger, negativity, and stupidity on a MASSIVE scale online, but it is not limited to just our fellow countrymen, nope – we get to experience that from people all over the world. On top of that look at everything that has come out over the past couple years publicly, the secrets that have been hidden from us for so long – agendas, 9/11, wars, politically motivated actions on ALL fronts. Pair that with the horrible Afghanistan withdrawal by the current administration, and it leaves a HUGE group of post-9/11 Veterans with so many thoughts racing through their minds that they probably had never thought before. “Was it worth it,” or “did I make a difference,” or “did my service mean anything,” or “what was it all for” are just some of the questions that plague the minds of post 9/11 Veterans now.
This topic will be continued tomorrow, because there is so much more to be said about it, so stay tuned. We will get back to the myths after this topic is done. Hope y’all have an incredible rest of your Friday. Love all y’all.
IF YOU ARE A VETERAN WHO NEEDS HELP, YOU ARE NOT ALONE – YOU ARE LOVED – YOU ARE NEEDED!
CALL – 988 – OPTION 1
TEXT – 838255
CALL – 800-799-4889
CALL – 844-889-5610
GO TO – WWW.VETERANSCRISISLINE.NET
GO TO – WWW.STOPSOLDIERSUICIDE.ORG/GET-HELP
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