The New Yorker this week is all about war... stories from various wars, as well as a bunch from the current conflicts. Some of it is hard to read... some is funny.
Here's a bit from "Soldiers' Stories," from the project Operation Homecoming, in which distinguished American writers are helping troops tell their stories. I heard about the project when it started and thought it was terrific. Storytelling is a path to healing.
From emails to friends and family by Capt. Lisa R. Blackman, serving as a
clinical psychologist at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. She wrote about the light bulb that went off after seeing lots of troops who were reporting sleep trouble, depression, etc. She writes that *everyone* they see checks off "increased guilt" on their intake form. "At home I ask people if they have ever experienced or witnessed a traumatic event or abuse. But our here I ask, 'Have you ever been in combat?' Apparently, this is a question with the power to unglue, because all four of these troops burst into tears at the mention of the word, 'combat.' "And when I say burst, I mean splatter -- tears running, snot flowing, and I literally had to mop my floor after one two-hour session. In other words, I mean sobbing for minutes on end, unable to speak, flat-out grief by an otherwise healthy, strong, manly guy who watches football on the weekends and never puts the toilet seat down. "Each time, I sit there with not a clue what to say... offering tissues... saying I'm sorry... trying to normalize... trying to say, 'It was not your fault that so-and-so died' and 'If you could have done differently, you would have' and 'You had a right to be scared.' And, even worse, 'Yes, you killed someone, and you still deserve to go back to your family and live your life.' "Next time you are hanging out with a friend, think about what you would do if he turned to you and said, 'My boss made me kill someone, and I know I'm going to Hell for it, so why bother' What would you say to 'normalize' that?" And this, from Second Lt. Brian Humpheys in Hit, Iraq, about hiding the coffins coming home -- a subject I've been trying to write about ever since Wes was killed in Fallujah. "Pictures of flag-draped coffins being unloaded from Air Force transports surface on the back reaches of the Internet, as if they were a grainy celebrity sex video that decent people should avoid looking at. But I think otherwise. The images of flag-draped coffins show the end of war as we are meant to see it, and as we are meant to believe it. Uniforms, flags, patriotism, honor, sacrifice. In these images we are not street fighters struggling to survive and kill in a distant gangland but soldiers in the nation's service. They will help the families, I think. They will help us. In our own way, we, too, need to believe." Damn right. Nick -- Nick Arnett [EMAIL PROTECTED] Messages: 408-904-7198 _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
