MovieChat Forums > Saving Jessica Lynch (2003) Discussion > Disappointed!

Disappointed!

posted 20 years ago by lyssaben02
25 replies | jump to latest

Alright, I am very disappointed in most of the things that I have just read on this message board. Do you people have no respect for someone who risks their life for our country? Okay, maybe she was the lucky one who did get a movie made about here, but what about what she went through for it? Is this how you feel about all of the people who are serving over there? That if someone else comes back and gets treated the same way that they are a horrible person? Does it say anything that they first of all went into the services in the first place? Second of all, went over seas and fought a war for us? I hope this isn't how you would treat the rest of the soliders. Just think about what they are doing for you. We have so many luxuries over here in the states that we take for granted. Ask one soldier something they miss about home. They will simply say something like a hamburger from McDonalds, or a walk in the park by their house. Think about that before you go and say horrible things about someone who risked their life for our country. I know many people over there, and it disheartens me to hear so much disrespect for them. Even if you dont agree with the war, how about you support our troops anyways. They are just doing what they are told to do. I pray every night for those troops to have a safe return home, and I hope they come home to a better response than to the one you have all given Jessica Lynch.

[–] magpiemegnut 20 years ago

Amen to that! Our troops are out there fighting for us, and they deserve to be supported!
~Megan :)

[–] 20 years ago

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[–] jimmyjazz73 20 years ago

I have a question;

I'm curious as to why the blonde, white female POW gets all the cherries (book deals, TV movies etc), and the black female POW gets, as far as I can ascertain, very little, if anything at all? (According to a previous post, Shoshana Johnson doestn't even get as much disability compensation as Lynch)
If one is a "hero", why is the other a nobody? After all, they were in the same unit and caught up in the same ambush.
And what does this say about "Our War" as some of you Americans like to call it. Just who is "our" in this case?
Hmmm, food for thought...

[–] BlackJAC 20 years ago

If the left distorts the image of the military by claiming that all soldiers are nothing more than hooch-burning pawns of the military-industrial complex, then the right distorts it by claiming that all soldiers are heroic, virtuous warriors who love God and fight only for justice. These reductive perceptions remove the humanity from our military. This is reflected in the current state of fiction about the military. It would seem that the novel, where all manner of themes and ironies may play against each other, would be the perfect place for accurately portraying the military. But for decades, military fiction has meant technothrillers, most of which put the hardware and patriotic dogma ahead of the humans. [Tom] Clancy may feel that he has done the military a service by imagining it acquitting itself with honor in far-fetched future wars, but his cardboard heroes getting themselves into absurd situations don’t reflect the real military.
--CDR Ward Carroll, USN, F-14 RIO, F-14 squadron commander, Naval Academy professor, Fox News military commentator, military technical advisor on Flight of the Intruder, and author of Punk's War, Punk's Wing and Punk's Fight

[–] lyssaben02 20 years ago

You all are pathetic(except for megan). Maybe she didn't fire her weapon, so what. The fact that she was over there makes her a hero in my eyes. It's people like you that make me sad to be an American. Yes, maybe the other soldiers who were with her aren't recieving the recognition they deserve, that gives you no right to treat her the way you are. SHE RISKED HER LIFE FOR US! FOR OUR COUNTRY! SHE WAS FIGHTING OUR WAR IN IRAQ. She IS a hero no matter what ANYONE says. I just hope that when my boyfriend gets home from being over in Iraq that American's will treat him better than you all are treating her. I am very saddened at this response to our soldiers. I thought you all would be greatful for those risking their lives, but apparently not. That's so pathetic. Like I said before, think of the luxuries you have. Those are everything they wish they had. All my boyfriend wants to do is come home and drive HIS truck and see HIS family that he hasn't seen for almost 2 years now. Dont bother replying if you dont have anything positive to say. I dont want to hear it, and you'll lose this argument anyways. Pathetic!

[–] BlackJAC 20 years ago

She wasn't fighting, she was in a support capacity like ten out of every eleven soldiers are.

You see Dr. Wen in there? He's explaining to that family that something went wrong, and that the patient died. He's gonna tell them what happened, he's gonna say he's sorry...and then he's going back to work. Do you think anybody else in that room's going back to work today? That is why we distance ourselves. That's why we make jokes. We don't do it because it's fun. We do it so we can get by. And...sometimes because it's fun. But mostly it's the getting-by thing.
--Perry Cox, Scrubs

Heroes occur when someone makes a mistake. We don't want any heroes today.
--anonymous US Army battallion commander during DESERT STORM

[–] lyssaben02 20 years ago

SHE WAS OVER THERE SERVING OUR NATION IN OUR WAR!!! Why are you soooo pig headed. I dont understand what goes through your brain. How can you hate someone so much who is over there for YOU! For every person in USA. Maybe she didn't get a chance to fight. She got injured while over there for us! You are a jerk and I dont understand how you can be so inhumain and still call yourself and American.

[–] BlackJAC 20 years ago

She was there for the populace of Iraq, not me or any other American save the ones already in theater that she was ferrying supplies to. Can the sojer groupie feldercarb for ten minutes and try to look at this objectively.

Wasn't really a war. A war is when two armies are fighting.
--Bill Hicks

[–] lyssaben02 20 years ago

I am looking at this as the fact that any person who goes into the services knowing that there is always a chance of them losing their life somehow. Whether we are at war or not, they go in to preserve our freedom. And How DARE you call me a groupie! I HAVE FAMILY OVER THERE! I HAVE PERSONAL CONNECTIONS! MY BOYFRIEND RISKS HIS LIFE DAILY FOR PEOPLE LIKE YOU WHO COULD CARE LESS THAT THAT IS WHAT HE IS DOING!!!! Maybe you oppose the war....there is no shame in that, but HOW DARE YOU no support the people who are the ones fighting this war just because they are assigned to it. Maybe you as well need to look at the other side of things. You tell me to be ojective about it, but you are so hypocritical. Maybe before you tell me to be objective you need to put on the eyes of a soldier, look at what they are doing, and then be little them. How dare you belittle the people who have fought/are fighting to preserve our freedom. If you dont like it so much then why do you live in America??

[–] BlackJAC 20 years ago

My father was Army, trained in artillery but served as a general's aide at Fort Dix; he briefly tried the Navy to be a P-3 driver, but his color-blindness grounded him. My late Uncle Nick was Army Air Corps and an unwilling guest of the Krauts after the nine-plane B-17 strike he was on got ambushed; only one other guy managed to hit the silk, and he didn't survive the boat ride back to shore. My cousin Larry retired from the Air Force as a colonel in Procurement, as did my cousin Stan from Army Intell. My cousin Ronny briefly attended West Point. One of my high school classmates is currently in the Navy, and another went to West Point. A college classmate of mine is in the Navy as a JAG lawyer in Coronado, and two more are in the Marines, one of them last reported in Afghanistan. One of my sister's old middle school classmates was one of the first Marines into Baghdad, and the son of her kindergarten teacher graduated rather high in his class from the Air Force Academy and is currently with the Alaskan Air Command by choice. And I considered the Navy, first flirting with Annapolis and then taking the officer aptitude test shortly after college; I have a rather high aptitude for combat aviation. I've even been to about half a dozen military installations, staying overnight at three, as well as toured at least four active-duty warships. Howzabout you?
One odd little common thread they all have running through them (apart from all being officers) is that they never made that much of a deal out of it. It's something that they did, and that was it. None of that recruiting-poster stuff you're regurgitating a la Saxby Chambliss (go to http://www.chickenhawkcards.com/8-diamonds.jpg for a better explanation). You don't want to be that guy in the bar wearing his old field jacket cussing out every yuppie who accidentally brushes into him on the way to the bathroom by loudly reminding everyone how his buddies died in some useless brushfire conflict in some Godforsaken Fifth World hellhole for his freedom. It's harsh, but it's the truth.

[–] rubi6047 20 years ago

0wned, if I may say so.

[–] nammage 20 years ago

Again, they are not 'preserving our freedom' for them to that we would have to be in danger from that particular country, and we never were or are.

[–] StarWarsIsMyLife 20 years ago

I think by not supporting the war in Iraq he is supporting the troops.

In case you didn't realize, wars kill people. Even soldiers. By supporting the war in Iraq you are agreeing to let our troops die for nothing.

Asking that our soldiers not be killed for something worthless is as supportive and as patriotic you can get.

"If you dont like it so much then why do you live in America??"

The thing is, they aren't protecting us right now. They are fulfilling the objectives of a government. Also, he isn't belittling our troops, he is specifically talking about Jessica Lynch. Also, the "why do you live in America" thing is rather screwed. Maybe as an American, he feels it is his duty to make it clear your boyfriend and his comrades in war are real lives that matter more than Martha Stewart ever will. He also feels that because they are soldiers, one should not be made into something she isn't when everyone else must suffer constantly.

Isn't that supporting our troops? Showing that their lives matter as much as anyone else's? America has gotten to the point we think soldiers are expendable. They're not.

And you ought to start attacking the principle, not the person. Especially considering calling someone pathetic for telling the truth is rather dead-ended.

[–] nammage 20 years ago

Every soldier who fights in a war is not a hero. A hero by definition is one who risks their life for someone else beyond the call of duty, who puts them before themselves no matter what the cost.

That is a hero, that is the mere definition of a hero, being a soldier or being a cop or being a firefighter is not being a hero, that is an individual person doing an individual job.

My dad was in the Army, he is not a hero. My Uncle was in Vietnam, he is not a hero, my Uncle's Father who has passed on, he was a hero, he risked his life in World War 2 and Korea for others, he is a hero.

Being a soldier doesn't make one a hero.

[–] nammage 20 years ago

'Our War'? Um, 'Your War'. I have never been for this war, and as it turns out, it was placed on false-pretense. Oh, and if you say 'well, you are a liberal so of course you'd say that.' let me tell you my father who is a Republican, agrees with me on that. Most of my family are Republicans and most of them 'agree' with me on that, and there are actual Replublicans in office - right now - that agree with that 'it was founded on false pre-tense'.

The United States only attacks a country when it feels in some way that it is threatened by that Country, for no other reason than that.

We were never in any danger from Iraq, ever. We attacked Iraq as an excuse, for what purpose, some say oil others say other things, who knows but those who initiated it.

I am not saying, and those who are against the war or were against the war are not saying that Saddam shouldn't have lost power or his family or his 'realm'. But, when we stoop to a low face, then we become no better than those who 'claim' to be evil.

And I agree Saddam Huissen is evil, but, we still had no cause to attack the country. And there are many other countries around the world who agree.

[–] jazz_girl04 20 years ago

So basically what you are saying is people are dying, losing limbs, losing family members, getting wounded for absolutly nothing. They are doing this for false pretenses. Tell that to those who have lost friends and family members. Tell that to the soldiers who lost an arm or a leg. I understand that people don't exactly agree with this war, but we should stop thinking about our wants and needs. People are dying out there and all we can do is complain. That's true gratitude. I'm not saying, by any means, that we must all support this war. We should, however, show more gratitude towards the soldiers who are dying and are wounded. That's all I'm asking. Maybe it's too much to ask.

[–] nammage 20 years ago

Please show me where, in any comment I've ever made on this thread or anywhere else, that I am against the soldiers? There is this quote I wrote earlier this year for those who spoke basically with the same breath as you: 'I am against any war, every war, all wars. I am not against those who fight in the war.'

When most people say they are against war, they actually are referring to the 'war' not those who fight in the war, because frankly those who fight in the war really have no choice, because if they don't they will get court-martialed or if on the other side, they may get shot or beaten or both - really depends who is on the other side.

Also, I did not say they were fighting for nothing, they are fighting for something, and they did fight for something, but what they fought for had absolutely nothing to do with us in general. All it was was 1 of 2 things, 1. Revenge 2. Oil - that's it.

The United States does not, for any reason, attack another Country without being attacked first unless attacking them has some benefit to the U.S.

Yes, we should stop thinking about our wants and needs because frankly they don't listen anyways. Do honestly feel that all the soldiers that are over there agree with the war, even before the war started? I doubt it, seriously.

They were sent in to do their job, it was they are trained for and that is what they did and are doing.

But, do you not find it strange under the office of George W. Bush that the United States has declared an act of War on 2 countries in less than 3 years? And if he is re-elected I believe the U.S. will attack at least 2 more and both as well more-in-likely be from the Middle East. The two being Syria and Iran.

People have to stop looking at situations like this in one or 2 views but as well look at in all points-of-view.

The war was declared over by Bush in what, May? Yet, during the war I believe there weren't as many that will be there in about a week or two.

But, this is all my opinion of course, I am sure you won't take it to heart, or maybe you will.

Nam

'...the ultimate ending, is war itself.'

[–] StarWarsIsMyLife 20 years ago

Jessica Lynch dug her own grave. Simple as that.

As for supporting our troops, I think disagreeing with the war is the best way we can support our troops. As long as we do, we show them we don't want them to die in something completely worthless. In other words, we support them by indirectly saying their lives mean a whole lot. I also think saying stuff about Jessica Lynch isn't so positive, but it does show we do care about everyone else. We just want them to be cast in a truthful, positive light. But so far, that hasn't happened.

[–] degraw23 20 years ago

Quote from Jessica Lynch- "They used me to symbolize all this stuff. I did not shoot, not a round, nothing…I went down praying to my knees. And that's the last I remember."

She's also said she joined the military in the first place so that she would be able to take advantage of benefits that would help her be able to go to college and become a teacher. This is more interesting to me than anything else that's come out of the whole Jessica Lynch phenomenon. The military is the biggest employer of young people in this country under the age of 24. All this talk of whether or not she's a "hero" aside I am personally much more concerned about the fact that working class young people are risking their lives in the hopes of securing a sustainable future.

I don't know maybe it's my (admitted) middle-class guilt but I never had to risk my life to get an education and I don't think anyone else should have to either. Higher education should always be affordable for everyone. These kids are so young. Jessica Lynch is so young to risk so much just to live her life. And I'm not even going to get into the politics of this war which are shameful to me. I'll leave it at that.

Sure Lynch is going to cash in with her book deal and she'll be fine financially but what about everyone else that didn't get their 15 mins of fame (and isn't "cute," white and blond/which is of course at least part of the reason why such a big deal is being made about her/and as more women join the military we will continue to see this confused representation in the media of them as brave yet helpless/women soldiers are a complicated thing for us to process as a society and I say that as a woman). Bottom line billions of dollars are being spent on this war and as far as I can see things aren't getting too much better for poor people in this country/as well as around the world (hasn't Bush been cutting benefits to soldiers as well??).

This is what I think about when I think of Jessica Lynch. Anyway although she claims she has no memory of it haven't doctors confirmed that she was raped while a prisoner of war? Have a little emphathy for her. She's been through hell anyway you slice it. The whole "hero" debate is so silly.

[–] nammage 20 years ago

The Soldiers over there are NOT RISKING THEIR LIFE FOR OUR COUNTRY. They may be risking their lives, but, it has nothing to do with our country.

All this movie is is Public Relations, she did nothing but her job, and quite frankly so did everyone else over there, and who is still over there 'doing their job'.

If she went above and beyond, then I wouldn't gripe, but, she didn't. She got a medal that was designed for those who go above and beyond and she shouldn't have gotten that medal, that is disrespect for all those who did 'earn' those medals.

She was a P.O.W. she is a 'girl' who was a P.O.W. and that is why 'she' got all the hype she did - no other reason.

Some would have you believe that she is or was the only 'woman' who was ever a p.o.w. and that frankly is not true.

She did her job, a movie should not have been written or made about her being a p.o.w. - or maybe it should have, but, not on lies as it was.

The WAR and the SOLDIERS are two different things, if someone is anti-war like myself, that does not mean we are ANTI-Soldier, in which I am not.

And there are plenty of Soldiers that are over there right now fighting and dying that feel they shouldn't be over there, from even before the war started, and most that are over there are Reservists, not regular Army.

And, they should get recognized, but, not by lies. And I think they would agree.

[–] Krog__ 20 years ago

If giving away your life for your country makes you a hero, I think we should reexamine who, exactly, is a hero...

Garbagemen slave away at a stupid job, wasting their lives so that we, as Americans, don't have to do it ourselves. Plumbers, ditto. Celebrities entertain America, giving release to Americans who suffer (which is everyone). CEOs keep their companies going, politicians make us feel we have control, scientists cure us of ailments, teachers turn us into productive members of society, bartenders listen to our woes, fashion designers make us feel good about ourselves, etc., etc., etc.

So, I guess, everyone's a hero in their own right.

Funny Arnold site: http://www.angelfire.com/ky3/arnoldforgovernor

[–] 20 years ago

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[–] captgeoslady 20 years ago

"Jessica Lynch couldn't keep her weapon clean. She received the bronze star."

Thats exactly what I am talking about djgranados. And, unlike lyssaben I can SPELL instead of spouting illiterate invective.

I am NOT a hero. I enlisted in the Army back in 1978. I did my job and left.

My father was NOT a hero...he spent the Korean War at Fort Dix, NJ teaching other soldiers how to aim their weapons and shoot. He rewrote the manual of arms during this period - and he was just a Corporal. Thanks to him many other soldiers DIDN'T die. But Dad was NOT a hero. He was just a guy doing the job he was assigned.

My ex-husband THINKS he was a hero. He served in Vietnam, went slightly deaf as a result of a distant explosion and now is passing himself off as "The Voice of The Veteran." In my opinion he and Jessica deserve each other!

Jessica Lynch is NOT a hero. She is merely a supply clerk who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got captured.

Some extended relations of Ms. Lynch live in my town. The local news media is making almost as much a frenzy out of them as the country is making out of Jessica. What is wrong with the media today? Isn't there enough REAL news out there? Aren't there enough REAL heroes out there?

[–] Master_X_3_1_1 20 years ago

there is real news happening out there, like all the soldiers who supposedly die in "non-hostile" incidents in iraq but they want to concentrate in successes instead of failures

[–] 20 years ago

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