There seems to be an awful lot of judgement and criticism circulating around the return of US prisoner-of-war Bowe Bergdahl. I find this to be unbelievably inappropriate. Here's why:
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This poor guy Bowe just spent the last five fucking years in Taliban captivity. I've been held in captivity before, in Texas, which is inhumane enough -- but it can't possibly compare to five years as a prisoner of war of one of the most evil extremist groups in the history of humankind. NOBODY is entitled to judge the circumstances -- ANY of the circumstances surrounding the release of this poor kid. And he IS just a kid -- well, actually, the past five years surely toughened him up enough on the inside to be a man. But he was only a kid when this shit went down five years ago. It doesn't matter what his personal views were, because he was a fucking child. Do those talking heads in the United States not understand this very material fact? You send children over to foreign countries to engage in organized murder (aka WAR) and you expect everything to go smoothly. You expect no emotional, psychological, spiritual variables to enter into the equation.
I don't care what this kid Bowe believed or didn't believe, and I don't care how many other kids may have been killed while looking for Bowe. They were SENT by their superiors to do so. So any mothers and fathers who are pissed off because their child died looking for Bowe -- you need to direct your contempt toward the United States Department of Defense. The commanders and officers are the ones responsible for sending your children into the lion's den. Plus, it comes with the territory. War is a ridiculous concept to begin with, especially when it ignites absurd discourses across America about how a certain kid was murdered and why and where and what went wrong.
My point is this: There is NO HONOR in war. It's violent. People enter into war with the intent of murdering other people. So people die. Everybody knows this. So I don't want to hear any parents crying about their kids being killed in war. It is not honorable. They're not 'defending' anything. Patriotism is bullshit -- it's just nationalism covered in sugar. It is sad. Very sad, that children are sent to do the business of men. I think you know what I mean. If you have a functioning brain, this should make sense.
So leave this kid Bowe alone. He's been through hell, and unless you've walked in his shoes, you have no credibility even discussing the matter. I can't watch CNN anymore. It makes me want to vomit.
-peace,
Jude
