Andy Rooney's anti military comment

[steph]

I was so pissed listening to my fave morning talk show--they were saying how he'd said that the troops "shouldn't be looked up to as heroes, they are just doing their job, blah, blah, blah..."

I was LIVID! I'm a military brat--my pop fought in the Korean.
My dearly departed high school sweetheart was an MP who trained police dogs and the only ex-boyfriend I'm still friends with is in the Air Force.

The sacrifice these men and women make every day (and their families for having to live without them!)is IMMEASURABLE (sp?) and I for one would like to thank anyone who is or was in the Armed Forces. You are heroes to me and millions of others--keep it up--we need you now more than ever.

I hope he gets bombed with hate mail for this
(See, I'm still a BRAT!) 😀

XOXO

 

[AffectionateDan]

AMEN!

Nothing chaps my ass like ingrates who abuse their freedom by saying crap like this... Hey Rooney! Did you ever serve, dickhead? You'd better support those people "just doing their jobs", get down on your knees and thank them for the sacrifices they make every damned day so you can bad mouth them. What an asshole.

 

[milagros317]

Rooney seems to have forgotten that we have an all-volunteer army. Moreover, since the 1991 Gulf War, anybody who did volunteer had to realize that they were quite possibly going to serve in combat. So these people have made the voluntary choice to risk their lives in the service of the USA. They are heroes, Rooney.

 

[venray]

This is what was said in it's entirety.....


ANDY ROONEY

For release 04/09/2004

HEROES DON'T COME WHOLESALE

By Andy Rooney

Tribune Media Services


Most of the reporting from Iraq is about death and destruction. We don't learn much about what our soldiers in Iraq are thinking or doing. There's no Ernie Pyle to tell us and, if there were, the military would make it difficult or impossible for him to let us know.

It would be interesting to have a reporter ask a group of our soldiers in Iraq to answer five questions and see the results:

1. Do you think your country did the right thing sending you into Iraq?

2. Are you doing what America set out to do to make Iraq a democracy, or have we failed so badly that we should pack up and get out before more of you are killed?

3. Do the orders you get handed down from one headquarters to another, all far removed from the fighting, seem sensible, or do you think our highest command is out of touch with the reality of your situation?

4. If you could have a medal or a trip home, which would you take?

5. Are you encouraged by all the talk back home about how brave you are and how everyone supports you?

Treating soldiers fighting their war as brave heroes is an old civilian trick designed to keep the soldiers at it. But you can be sure our soldiers in Iraq are not all brave heroes gladly risking their lives for us sitting comfortably back here at home.

Our soldiers in Iraq are people, young men and women, and they behave like people - sometimes good and sometimes bad, sometimes brave, sometimes fearful. It's disingenuous of the rest of us to encourage them to fight this war by idolizing them. We pin medals on their chests to keep them going. We speak of them as if they volunteered to risk their lives to save ours but there isn't much voluntary about what most of them have done. A relatively small number are professional soldiers. During the last few years, when millions of jobs disappeared, many young people, desperate for some income, enlisted in the Army. About 40 percent of our soldiers in Iraq enlisted in the National Guard or the Army Reserve to pick up some extra money and never thought they'd be called on to fight. They want to come home.

One indication that not all soldiers in Iraq are happy warriors is the report recently released by the Army showing that 23 of them committed suicide there last year. This is a dismaying figure. If 22 young men and one woman killed themselves because they couldn't take it, think how many more are desperately unhappy but unwilling to die. We must support our soldiers in Iraq because it's our fault they're risking their lives there. However, we should not bestow the mantle of heroism on all of them for simply being where we sent them. Most are victims, not heroes.

America's intentions are honorable. I believe that and we must find a way of making the rest of the world believe it. We want to do the right thing. We care about the rest of the world. President Bush's intentions were honorable when he took us into Iraq. They were not well thought out but honorable.

President Bush's determination to make the evidence fit the action he took, which it does not, has made things look worse. We pay lip service to the virtues of openness and honesty, but for some reason we too often act as though there was a better way of handling a bad situation than by being absolutely open and honest.

© 2004 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.

 

[steph]

Thanks Ray!

I came in mid way thru the discussion so I missed how it all started.

XOXO

 

[venray]

I have been a fan of Mr. Rooney's for some time. I have always thought him to be an honest, straight to the point, no nonsense kind of guy. He tells it like it is and doesnt mince words. I do not believe that he was putting down our men and women of the military at all, but trying to paint a real picture of the situation. Food for thought that he has always provided and always will while he is still with us.

Ray

 

[Louis]

Interesting Thread. I am a Former Army Ranger and spent 7 years in Active Duty service including Desert Storm. Even though I get choked up and sniffly when I see soldier/family reunions and other stories that I find poignant, I do not condemn folks who have opinions that differ from mine.

I dunno Steph, I'm on the fence on this one. I can't say that I have never been inflamed by a columnist's remarks but I thought he was expressing his opinion in a somewhat respectful way. I simply disagree with him.

They are hero's in this man's opinion.

 

[red indian]

Interesting......

.......to read the whole piece, thanks for showing that Venners. However I am not sure his views make a lot more sense as a result. In my view anyone who joins the armed forces either as a regular or a reserve or what ever, does so of their own free will (putting conscription apart) and they know when they sign up what they are in for. I have the highest regard for anyone who chooses to take up a military career, and when they volanteer to represent their country and die for their country, they are heroes.

All the questions Rooney proposes to ask serving soldiers in Iraq, could have been posed to WW2 soldiers and Rooney would have got the answers he is insinuating he would have recieved from present day soldiers in Iraq. No doubt Rooney crows with the best of them about what "heroes" U.S. soldiers were in WW2, and no doubt he thinks they won it by themselves, and no doubt he thinks it was a worthy and noble cause.

 

[MrMacphisto]

*checks off #2 on list of the few things that Venray and I agree on*

Rooney is a pretty cool guy. My grandfather who served in the 82nd Airborne in WWII is still a big fan of him as well. I'd say the article sounds pretty level-headed, although I disagree with his assessment that Bush's intentions were noble....

 

[venray]

Careful...lest the list keep growing...😉

Noble? not in the least... honorable...I think so. I really think he believes he is doing what is best for us and the rest of the world..perhaps misguided would be a better term to use.

To me, war is never noble...necessary, yes...honorable, many times.

Ray

 

[steph]

They're still heroes in my book 😉

XOXO

I have been a fan of Mr. Rooney's for some time. I have always thought him to be an honest, straight to the point, no nonsense kind of guy. He tells it like it is and doesnt mince words. I do not believe that he was putting down our men and women of the military at all, but trying to paint a real picture of the situation. Food for thought that he has always provided and always will while he is still with us.

Ray

 

[venray]

I hear ya Steph. I have nothing but a great deal of respect for those that serve our country in the military and others who put their lives on the line for us.


Ray

 

[steph]

🙂

XOXO

 

[General Zod]

Re: AMEN!

Hey Rooney! Did you ever serve, dickhead?

Dan,if I am not mistaken,I believe he did serve in W,W.2 I think he was a reporter for Stars and Stripes But please don't hold me to that

 

[milagros317]

From his biography on the CBS News website:

Rooney attended Colgate University until he was drafted into the Army in 1941. In February 1943, he was one of six correspondents who flew with the Eighth Air Force on the first American bombing raid over Germany.

 

[MadKalnod]

I read something recently about this that somewhat debunks Rooney's assertion that 23 suicides (however tragic) is evidence of how awful the situation is in Iraq.

According to statistics from the National Institute of Mental Health, there were 10.7 suicides/100,000 individuals in 2001 . However, the ratio of male to female is 4:1. Therefore, the rate for males is 17.2/100,000, assuming a 50/50 population gender split. 1 in 7 soldiers deployed in Iraq is female (http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/1265/context/cover) (maybe not the best reference). Assuming 130,000 soldiers deployed in Iraq, one would expect 19.2 male suicides and 0.78 female suicides for a total of 20. The 23 suicies in Iraq is most likely not significantly different from any random group of 130,000 people in the US with a 6:1 split of male to female over a year. As usual, when condemning our actions, people fail to factor in what would have gone on over the last year had we not invaded Iraq.

This information was posted on The Corner, National Review Online's blog.

 

[MrMacphisto]

While the statistics make a little sense, this is the National Review that you're quoting... one of the most notoriously conservative news sources out there... Only the Fox News Channel and Newsmax surpass its right-wing tendencies.

 

[AffectionateDan]

Well, open mouth, insert foot, and chew vigorously...

That's what I get for going off on a rant without all the information available. (points at Steph) *SHE* started it. Stone HER! 🙄 😛 😉

 

[steph]

Like I said, Big Dan Grizz Man...

I still think they're heroes...
😀 😛

XOXO

 

[Oddjob0226]

He also got arrested while in uniform for protesting the racial segregation of the military. And a few years ago did a good piece on people claiming to be Medal of Honor winners who were not.

 

[Knox The Hatter]

Guess what? If you could stand out there next to your tank in 115 degree heat, wearing a kevlar helmet, a heavy suit, and forty pounds of gear, you're a fucking hero!
That being said, I think Andy Rooney's great. He's not afraid to speak his mind, and trust me, he walks in lockstep with no one. This compared to many people I know, who have no real thoughts or opinions of their own, but spout what they are spoonfed by such outlets as Talk Radio. People like that are of no account.

 

[chrisheaven]

Correct, Knox!

 

[steph]

I respectfully disagree...Any jerkoff with a high tolerance for pain could fit that description--big deal.
IMHO, to be a REAL hero takes, guts, heart, bravery, willingness to die for your country and what you believe in (shrugs) but obviously I'm the only one who feels that way. A million apologies to anyone I offended...
(Skips off to be spoonfed by her fave talk radio show...)

Guess what? If you could stand out there next to your tank in 115 degree heat, wearing a kevlar helmet, a heavy suit, and forty pounds of gear, you're a fucking hero!

 

[Knox The Hatter]

I respectfully disagree...Any jerkoff with a high tolerance for pain could fit that description--big deal.
IMHO, to be a REAL hero takes, guts, heart, bravery, willingness to die for your country and what you believe in (shrugs) but obviously I'm the only one who feels that way.

No, you're not the only one who feels that way.

It takes a lot, given the conditions over there, to dedicate yourself to doing what you're doing every day, especially when in the back of your mind, you might wonder if today's the day when your number comes up, and you're ambushed by, well, whoever, doesn't matter who anymore. Hey, it takes a lot more now...especially if you've been told that you have to stay, that no one's coming to relieve your unit. Having been in the service, with the absolute finest of America's youth, I can tell you that these people are pissed...and they're wondering just what the hell this is all for. Liberation from Saddam Hussein and WMDs ain't washing anymore.

My grandfather fought in Mark Clark's army, fighting inch by inch, hill by hill, up through Italy. In extreme heat and cold, rotten food, days and days without sleep, watching his buddies die. No one, and I mean NO one had to tell him what the hell it was all for. Just the same, there were a million friggin' places he'd rather have been.
He spent the rest of his life in and out of the VA hospitals...I'm gonna be charitable and call it the effects of emotional distress brought on by combat. If you asked him seriously what a hero was, he probably wouldn't have given you the answer you wanted to hear. He'd probably tell you about walking around with a pile of shit sitting in your underwear. C'est la guerre.

Let's talk about dedication. This is an abstract quality that you simply can't buy. It takes a special human being to be so dedicated as to, say, walk back into the WTC, and climb the stairs to try to save people after said human being realizes there's no chance. It's no place for jerkoffs who like pain, because said jerkoffs would've been weeded out already. It takes a special person to be there and to be able to put up with the little things every day. This person will come home someday (hopefully), and wonder just what the hell it was all really for. One thing's for sure, it's not for you, and it's not for George W. Bush, or Dick Cheney Inc., or the Sunni minority. It's for THEM...the guys and girls sitting beside each other in the tanks and the personnel carriers, the people on the ground, all for each other. Only they know their hardships. Heroism isn't something that they think about. Getting to the next day, and getting home to their families is.

 

[steph]

that was well said...

I'm a girl who never served so maybe I'm speaking from ignorance.
My guess is if I asked those of you who are (or were) in the military, if you thought yourself a hero, you'd probably say "no" I guess, which is probably what makes us admire you all the more...

😀

XOXO