At this point, everyone has heard about the Fort Hood shooting incident that claimed thirteen U.S. soldiers’ lives and wounded 38 others.
The assailant, Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, was allegedly disturbed about being deployed to Afghanistan.
The fact that Hasan was Muslim has been extensively covered to the point of being shoved down our throats. Yes, it was a major contributing factor, but I am sure there are other Muslims in the Army, and as a soldier, I have no problem serving with them.
It seems there is a heavy focus on his religion and race, but that was only one factor of many that lead to this horrible tragedy. Is it so difficult to get past the fact Hasan was Muslim? Let’s put this aside and look at a couple of facts, shall we?
Hasan was an Army psychologist. Soldiers came to him with their fractured psyches and conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder. Warriors came back from deployment with broken spirits and troubled minds, and Hasan’s purpose was specifically to help soldiers who came back from Afghanistan, a territory that was culturally and religiously relevant to him.
One can only imagine the problems this man has seen others deal with, and he was probably terrified of going over there himself.
In no way am I defending what he has done, but I will say that he probably did not commit these crimes solely because of his religion. The fact that Hasan had helped take the burden off other soldiers possibly contributed to his own mental collapse.
How can we expect a man to fix shattered psyches who was cracked himself?
What Hasan did was terrible and unforgivable, but we cannot just chalk it up to religious or cultural differences when there are other pieces of the puzzle. That will only feed a stereotype and promote hatred.
Another point: Hasan was an officer. He was in charge of America’s most precious resource: the blood of its soldiers. Yet a man who was responsible for many soldiers at Fort Hood took several lives.
According to the “Los Angeles Times,” Hasan took a seat at a table before the shooting commenced, and it seemed like he was there to help his soldiers before shipping them out to war. After a small prayer, Hasan started the bloodshed against his own kind. How could this have happened?
It is terrible to lose a soldier overseas in combat, but to lose a soldier on our own soil by one of our own commanding officers is even more gut-wrenching.
How can someone who was charged with the honor of being responsible for American lives take them so callously?
Was he so disgruntled about his deployment that he saw his own soldiers as the enemy? If this is the case, Hasan’s superiors should have seen this ordeal coming. Hasan gave presentations explaining why he thought Muslims should not be sent to Afghanistan.
As a soldier, I know what I signed up for. I know that there is a great chance I will be deployed. I love this country, and I will proudly go when that time comes.
You know what you commit yourself to when you sign that line. You are now a part of something bigger than yourself. How did this man who had such a strong opposition to being deployed remain an officer in the military? I know how we missed the signs. We did not expect for one of our own, an officer even, to take the lives of his fellow Americans. I think we dropped the ball.
The media concentrated so heavily on Hasan’s Muslim ties, but let us again put that aside. There are Muslims in our army that have not shot anyone.
American men and women were murdered. Their lives were cut short right here on an American base by someone they should have been able to trust. Hasan is a troubled man who became a murderer, regardless of his religion.
Everyone is so focused on the killer that the victims are falling out of sight. Let us not forget those who lost their lives or were wounded in this terrible event. Let’s keep their families in our thoughts and take a lesson to heart. We must not submit ourselves to focus on a single part of the puzzle.
Johnathon Schleicher is a senior journalism major and can be reached at js3q@mtsu.edu.
Ft Hood shooting about mental health
A call to arms
Published: Thursday, November 19, 2009
Updated: Thursday, November 19, 2009 01:11
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