I am totally appalled at the inhumane response this soldier got. Yes, there are morons out there but please ....
Update [2005-1-26 10:2:13 by Bexley Lane]: Last total I saw was that you all had donated about $1300 so far. Paul is pretty overwhelmed, to say the least! Thank you all so much. I will post a follow up diary this am.
Update [2005-1-25 14:59:51 by Bexley Lane]:
(he has a paypal acct set up and you can donate here: lysdexic@cox.net. His name is Paul Christian and he's very thankful to all who have written him. You guys are so f'ing awesome, I mean it.)
Anyway, if you know of a way to help this guy get a used apple computer, can you let me know?
If I had one, I'd give it in a heartbeat.
From Craigslist(DC)
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/sys/57023877.html
Vet posted this:
I'm a disabled veteran returning to school to learn a new job. I can't do my old one from a wheelchair. I need help getting an Apple computer. I'm studying computer programming, photography, and graphics. I really need a newer Apple computer for what I'm doing.
My parents are tapped out after remodeling the house so I can live here, and getting funding from the government sucks. They really pinch their pennies. They are acting like I'm trying to rape, pillage, and plunder.
Can anyone help,... please? If you want I'll meet to prove that I'm in a wheelchair.
An idiot responded:
Soldier,
Let me start by saying there is no Honor or Dignity in begging. This is conduct unbecomming of a soldier/NCO/Officer.
If you are a disabled vet then the Veteran's Administration has taken care of you for the next four years in college. All tuition paid plus more. That's more than the average student who needs to borrow or work.
So, lean forward, adjust, and overcome. Nobody is being insensitive, but if you think your biggest problem is not having a computer for school, your in for some major obstacles.
If you are not a veteran, don't use our name in vain and for your benefit.
Thank you.
Vet responded further:
RE: RE: Disabled Vet needs computer for school
Reply to: anon-57023877@craigslist.org
Date: 2005-01-25, 12:07PM EST
Since you refused to leave an email address for me to reply to I'm doing it here. I am a Veteran, I am disabled, I am stuck in a frickin' wheelchair for the rest of my life.
Yes, The VA is going to pay my tuition for college. Yes, they give me a monthly stipend, which doesn't come close to covering the bills. (Bills, I might add, that I had no problem paying while at my old job, before being recalled. Bills that I have to keep paying or file bankruptcy.) Yes, they're helping with some other things. However, when it comes to hardware and software that I need for my classes the VA and the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services are being tightwads. They INSIST I find funding for them elsewhere. "Get another loan," my counselors tell me. YEAH RIGHT!! I'm barely staying afloat now.
Like I said: My parents are tapped out after making modifications to my home that the VA insisted I have, but wouldn't pay for.
You're very right about there being no Honor or Dignity for a vet to beg. But you know what? If I didn't have to, I wouldn't. I seriously doubt that you'd really know what the TRUE meaning of conduct unbecoming really is. Look it up in the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
And while we're on the subject of not knowing things. How about this: Do you know what it's like to wake up and feel nothing from the chest down? Do you know what it's like to have to piss through a tube the rest of your life? How about waiting in line for 15 hours for medical attention. How about 6 hours of filling out forms only to be handed another 6 hours worth,... just for basic benefits. No!! I don't think you know what it's like. And I doubt you know what dealing with the VA is like.
You know what? I'm not bitter about going over there. I'm not bitter about what happened. I'm not bitter about being paralyzed. I'm not bitter about the VA and how it's run. I AM BITTER about asshats like you that have NO CLUE what it's really like. Especially when you make snide remarks about Honor, Dignity, and Conduct,... things that I HIGHLY DOUBT you really know the meaning of.
~Soldier