More than PTSD

Eduard Alfonso

ASA 2 Section 2

Week 5 Response

Empire of Death and the Plague of Civil Violence

I know there is a lot that is hidden from us, from the mainstream media, things that don’t cast a good image on people who are to represent America. When we think of veterans, we believe them to be hardened people of the utmost honor, or at least that’s what I would like to think. After reading the article, I never would have thought that the vile things soldiers have done on the warzone would carry over, other than PTSD symptoms.

I like how Hamamoto shows examples of PTSD cases, where veterans would go off on shooting sprees. It was a great base for showing how prevalent possible racial based attacks were alongside them. It’s horrible to see how cases with racial cause were easily thrown out and ignored. It’s one thing to think about the lives you’ve taken, but it’s another thing to want to relive moments where you’ve overpowered others’ lives.

One question is did the feeling of white supremacy validate the soldiers intentions? What could have been going on in their head to cause all of these cases to happen.

I chose this image because it’s the typical image you think of when you hear of a veteran with PTSD. You don’t think about the other things going on in their head other than taking other’s lives. It goes to show that you can’t always have a good connotation behind something. This also brings up something else that I’ve heard, war brides. Not only did they have to face the dangers of racism, but also the possibly ill intentions of their was husband.

source: http://warbridesof1945.weebly.com/war-brides-act.html