What was he fighting for?

Yesterday I arrived at the airport in Austin, Texas for a business trip and walked to the parking garage where the rental cars are located.  During this brief walk, I met a young soldier, still wearing his cammys, who had just returned from overseas (he did not specify in which country he had been stationed).  My "introduction" to him occurred when I looked over after hearing him say "asshole," not very much under his breath.  Without a word from me, he explained that he was upset because airport security would not allow him to catch a cab upstairs, but was requiring him to go downstairs to the airport cab stand.

"Explain" may not be precisely the right word.  Before I could explain that there are typically municipal ordinances that regulate where cabs can and cannot pick up passengers at an airport--making the decision totally out of the control of airport security--the soldier embarked upon an invective-filled diatribe.  The soldier called the airport security guy various names I won't repeat here, whining about the injustice of being required to walk downstairs and, finally, ending by calling him a "foreigner," as if that was one of the unrepeatably bad words with which the tirade began.

I was dying to ask this soldier why he fought overseas for our country, if it wasn't to make this the kind of place where "foreigners" and others could live and work in peace, without being treated with disdain due to not having been born here.  I did not do this, however, because I was afraid he would kick my ass and, for once, showed restraint.  But I thought for a long time about the hatred and prejudice in the soldier's voice.  I thought about what he did and did not learn while he was in Iraq or Afghanistan or wherever he was.  I wondered where and how one could possibly learn these lessons, if not there.  And I worried that there are many others like him, either because of the war or despite the war or having nothing to do with the war, and that they are the future of our country.

CAVEAT:  This diary is not intended as a slam against soldiers in general, only against the person I met.  That he is a soldier made this somehow worse to me, but it would have shocked and saddened me even if he was not a soldier.

•  What do you think?

  Is this kind of attitude common, whether in the military or among civilians?  Are there people like this in the Democratic Party?

  by Lawyer to Capitalists on Wed Mar 01, 2006 at 06:17:53 PM PDT

  •  I wouldn't be the least surprised...

    ... if many American soldiers are tired, jaded and bitter after what we, as a country, have put them through.

    Most of them are good kids doing a shit job for a government that doesn't care about them.  If this guy was an asshole, that's unfortunate, but I'm still going to thank them every chance I get.

    (I know that doesn't address your specific issue, but I have to say it.)

    by socratic on Wed Mar 01, 2006 at 06:24:00 PM PDT

    •  I hear you,

      and it occurs to me now that maybe what I heard from him was a response to months (maybe even years) of being treated like crap by this Administration while doing a tough job (i.e., no decent body armor, etc.).  I guess that would produce a wish to be treated well, even on something so small as getting a cab upstairs instead of down.

      by Lawyer to Capitalists on Wed Mar 01, 2006 at 06:33:54 PM PDT

      •  Yeah..

        Insulting someone for being a "foreigner" is bad, and we, Americans, should, of all people, avoid that.  But when you've spent a tour being shot at by foreigners who hate you and the only thing keeping you sane is your flag and your country, maybe it screws with your head.

        I don't know.  I grew up around the military, but I'm not in the military, so maybe I'm talking out of my ass with my nickel psychology, but I can't imagine the brain-f*ck that those kids go through, both in training and in war.

        by socratic on Wed Mar 01, 2006 at 06:37:33 PM PDT

  •  I think so

    I've lived near military bases all my life and see military people around town all the time. I've met a few who were genuinely nice people, including one soldier fresh from serving in Iraq who was damn happy to be going to college. I have family members who have served or are currently serving, they are all nice people. However, the vast majority of soldiers I have met/interacted with have been loud and rude and often racist and/or homophobic. While I was in college soldiers would often come to parties in the dorms - every single instance of violence at parties I am aware of was a result of soldiers getting drunk and starting fights. The worst case was when a gang of them started beating up two girls and provoked a small-scale riot. I'm sure I'll get some shit for saying this here but I'm pretty convinced at this point that most people in the military are assholes (no offense to those of you who aren't, I know you're out there!).

    by Jett on Wed Mar 01, 2006 at 07:20:16 PM PDT

  •  Welcome to

    Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

    Guy comes back from a warzone. You could have tried being nice, people respond to that. Instead of writing a complaint about him here. :P

    One of the symptoms of PTSD is anger-management issues.

    by kraant on Wed Mar 01, 2006 at 11:01:50 PM PDT

•  There are people like that everywhere.

      Don't blame the service, or his church or party affiliation. Assholes come in all shapes sizes, ethnicities, and genders. If your looking for someone to blame try his parents. The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.

  by irate on Wed Mar 01, 2006 at 06:19:28 PM PDT

  •  I agree.

    And I'm not blaming the service.  I am just surprised that the service, or more specifically, his most recent assignment, didn't knock that out of him.  It seems unfathomable to me that a person could go through the experience of time in Iraq or Afghanistan and not come out feeling grateful for our country and the opportunities it offers to everyone.

    by Lawyer to Capitalists on Wed Mar 01, 2006 at 06:21:07 PM PDT

    •  Undoubtedly from a long line...,

      of assholes. Maybe he won't reproduce.

      by irate on Wed Mar 01, 2006 at 06:28:56 PM PDT

•  Consider -

  he may have been told he'd be greeted as the welcome liberating hero and found somthing quite different.  Not justifying for a moment, but...maybe he's just young, confused, and just a little bitter.

  I don't envy the experience American soldiers face these days.

  by calebfaux on Wed Mar 01, 2006 at 06:32:03 PM PDT

  •  You may be right.

    At any rate, I really like the generous and optimistic spirit of you and the poster above.

    by Lawyer to Capitalists on Wed Mar 01, 2006 at 06:35:13 PM PDT

    •  Thanks-

      must have been disconcerting - but young people especially uneducated ones thrown into strange disorienting circumstances can sometimes have some pretty rough edges - doesn't make them all bad.

      by calebfaux on Wed Mar 01, 2006 at 06:48:34 PM PDT

•  Ahhh, but alas...

  we are all "foreigners".  Well, atleast those of us who can not claim to be American Indian.  But here is an interesting article that appeared in the Washington Post today about what many of our soldiers are facing as they return home.  

  http://www.washingtonpost.com/...

  Maybe he is still pissed off that he was not greeted with candy and flowers and is taking it out on the poor soul at the airport.

  by pmob5977 on Wed Mar 01, 2006 at 06:53:22 PM PDT