Why does this article piss me off so much?

[Rude Horner]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/03/ohio.marines.ap/index.html

The article is about the horrible loss of soldiers from an Ohio town these past few days in Iraq. I agree completely, it's horrible. All of our soldiers deaths and wounds are horrible. But what pisses me off is the attitude of this statement:

<<snip>>
Shop manager Pat Wilsox, who said some of the reserves from the battalion frequent the doughnut shop, threw her hand over her heart when she heard the news that the unit had suffered more losses. "Oh my God," she said softly. "I'm all for protection, but this is getting a little bit ridiculous."
<<snip>>

I'm curious how this woman voted. I know sometimes words taken out of context can be taken wrong, but this sounds to me like her attitude is - well all those other 1800 soldiers who died, well that was too bad. But now that it's happened to a few people from my hometown...NOW it's getting a bit ridiculous.

Sooooo...BEFORE it wasn't so bad since it didn't effect YOU personally, but NOW it's a "bit" ridiculous.

Sorry if I'm profiling here, but I'm guessing - Bush voter. Having a hard time admitting that her vote in some small way was the cause of those kids deaths.

[agincourt]

Only when it is in their backyard,

do a majority of Americans see a problem. It's one of the reasons we are at where we're at.

[lvx35]

1. Probably a good call...

On her being a republican...Not to diss her too hard, things seem really distant when they are presented to you in news reality, but when its somebody close, you get the magnitude of the deaths. That's probably part of it with her.

[katty]

2. loss has to hit home, personally, for Americans to 'get it'

why are huge SUV's still sucking up highways and gas? if you still have a job and can afford to pour your $ into your gas tank-you just keep driving them. When gas rises to Euro prices (and it will)the For Sale sign will be plastered to the tanks and school buses Americans are driving-and then, who will want to buy them?

[Berry Cool]

3. Don't assume anything about an individual.

The Cleveland area voted quite blue...if its votes counted, that is.

I would not presume to assume how any individual in Ohio voted, or even if that person's vote counted.

Please keep that in mind every time you're tempted to think of Ohio as awash in red. Some of us who live here would appreciate it. We didn't need devastation like this to convince us that things were "ridiculous."

Then again, the SUV thing is a good point. As long as people insist on having access to all the gasoline they want, and on the supremacy of the personal motor vehicle in American life, this kind of thing will go on.

The day people decide their gas-guzzlers are not worth all these lives will indeed be a great day.

[ET Awful]

4. Well, in all fairness, this is the only case where that many people from

the same small town have died in such a short period.

You're talking about a town where basically everyone in town knows someone in the unit and in most cases knows one of those who died.

It's a town that lost 20 of its own in a 3 day period.

Do I agree with her "I'm all for protection" spiel? No. Do I understand why should would be more distraught over this than previous deaths? I sure do.

20 is hardly "a few" when they all come from one town, that's a pretty significant number.

[Rude Horner]

5. But this is my point.

For most Americans, the number 1800 doesn't mean anything to them until it hits home. THEN it's "this is ridiculous". But until that point, it's "oh well".

Do I understand that this is horrible for a town where most people know each other? Of course. But my point is that a lot of people don't think this is ridiculous UNTIL it hits them. To a lot of people, "support our troops" is just a mantra to plaster onto your bumper and feel better about yourself, to feel like you're doing your part. But actually CARING about the troops - ALL THE TROOPS - regardless of whether or not they are from your hometown or from 1000 miles away just doesn't sink in to a lot of folks.

This, to me, sounds like this is the first time this woman has questioned this war. Until now, it's been smooth sailing in her eyes. Well, I'm sorry about her loss and the towns loss, but I've been feeling this remorse about our troops for a couple of frickin' years now and I'm tired of people who don't wake up until it effects them.