two shootings at fort hood. nidal malik and ivan lopez. both military personnel, no history of criminal convictions, both traumatized by american wars, both go on a shooting spree. one is a terrorist who “went muslim” and became an insane, islam-infused murderer. the other has PTSD and psychiatric issues are the “fundamental underlying causal factor” behind his murderous actions. malik gets the death penalty. let’s see how lopez’s case will unfold. the media (and the american public) don’t even blink at the hypocrisy. it doesn’t register.
the point is this: rather than focus on why a particular military person snapped and went on a killing spree (the good mentally unstable killer vs the bad mentally unstable islamist killer), perhaps it would be more advantageous to explore the root cause of all this violence.
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Belen Fernandez: Investigative journalist Nir Rosen has emphasised that these “big scandals[,] like Abu Ghraib, or the ‘Kill Team’ in Afghanistan”, are far from uniquely malevolent manifestations of occupation, which he defines as “a systematic and constant imposition of violence on an entire country. It’s 24 hours of arresting, beating, killing, humiliating and terrorising.” It should thus not be overly startling, perhaps, when US soldiers conditioned to operate in such fashion and to view human life as devoid of value turn their guns on fellow military personnel – and on themselves. In fact, these episodes could be construed as symbolic of the military institution’s contributions to individual dehumanisation and alienation from humanity. […] The appreciation and concern for the wellbeing of US soldiers that is perennially voiced by the country’s leadership is, however, somewhat at odds with the situation on the ground. As CNN reported in November 2013, the suicide rate among military veterans may be at least 22 per day, and possibly higher – which suggests that Washington is not immensely preoccupied with ensuring that the people who fight its wars are properly looked after post-combat. […] Without speculating too much about Lopez’s motives, it’s worth recalling Rosen’s reference to the constant “terrorising” that has characterised the US’ recent wars. Seeing as the process of inflicting terror on other populations in the name of the “war on terror” has undeniably had adverse behavioural and psychological repercussions for many of its participants, it might actually be accurate to declare a connection between terrorism and the Fort Hood shooting. More here.