9/28/2005
Did you hear about it? I'm sure you did...the female officer charged with abusing Iraqi prisoners. There were photos everywhere, news snippits, it plastered the news for months. Yesterday Pfc. Lynndie England got her sentence...3 years in prison. Some are outraged, well mostly it's the men in Iraq are outraged. I've been kind of torn on this issue. I think it was wrong what she did, abuse is abuse no matter who is on the receiving end of it, but, why is it that we heard so much about what Lynndie England did, instead of what these prisoners were in prison for? It amazed me how much press coverage it got compared to how little press some other issues get. Some of the prisoners in that prison were forced to stand naked while a 'woman' pointed to their genitals and laughed while others took photos. Mostly, the prisoners were humiliated but not physically harmed. This doesn't make it right, but it does change my opinion on how serious this issue is. First, I think it's important to know why these men were in prison. They were terrorists. They killed people, innocent women and children. They drove into a town, shooting people. People that weren't terrorists or criminals. In fact, their only crime was that they were seemingly born into a country that doesn't really value human life...how could they when they think so little about strapping a bomb to their chest and blowing people up...for a cause. The article I read stated that the men in Iraq were outraged because it's a 'male dominated' society. You know what this means don't you? Women are less respected, they are considered lower in class. My GOD don't even get me started. Anyway, my point is that although all human life should be respected, regardless of whether that human life is worth much, where do we draw the line on compassion for these people? My compassion for a terrorist locked in an Iraqi prison is much less than that I have for those affected by Hurricane Katrina and Rita. If I crossed paths with Pfc. England would we become pals...probably not, but do I think she should spend the rest of her life in prison, no. I think 3 years is plenty for her to contemplate what she's done. She's 22 years old, she fell in love with some stupid guy and she followed him....right into the fire. Come on now....how many of us women have not done something stupid because of a guy. Maybe we didn't abuse anyone...maybe we did and we didn't know it. Maybe there's a little of Pfc. England in all of us...how many of us wouldn't love to point a finger at some guys genitals and laugh? Ok, I'm getting off track now....but really, can we please just spend our media dollars on a story more worthy?
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If we put people in a position of power, and of trust, then it's fundamentally important that the standards we expect of them are clearly defined - because otherwise it all goes to sh*t.
Whether the animals that were the subject of the "humiliation" deserved any better isn't the issue, because that's a really, really dangerous road to go down. Who makes the judgement as to the levels of protection afforded to them if that's the case? You? Me? Some f*ckwit with a white hood over his head and a noose in his hand?
Hmmm... I'd better take a couple of pills and quieten down a bit.