Spent this snow day examining the fiery event in Las Vegas. It was shocking to see the rush by people on both sides of the political divide rush to fill in the blanks with their own agenda. Check it out and I’d love for you to subscribe too. open.substack.com/pub/fpwellma...
I am trying to convince anyone with a bigger platform on the left to talk to me in order to have a very important discussion about what the right wing (potentially FA) are doing on YouTube. Sadly my success rate is0, which sucks cause I have a bad feeling after 20th of Jan we will not get much help.
Sadly he's of the mindset of the next SECDEF
Thanks for this summary. I didn't know about some of these details.
A very thoughtful, poignant article. Thank you for sharing this, I needed to be reminded to listen to both sides.
Very well written and thoughtful article. Mental health is a very real issue in this country.
It’s those who continue to push their agenda or narrative after the facts come out. They are the disingenuous ones. They have no interest in truth.
trump hacked into the election, he did it in 2020 fell short, they made sure in 24. “Under performance” of the vote is the HACK! Only president Biden can stop the transfer of power, by declaring a national security threat emergency. We only have 11days left!
The truth is not always the best spin. IMHO Democrats need to spin stories (and news sources need to be spin-less) in the way that Republicans spin every story to fit their narrative. What can Democrats do to win over the minds of more than last election, without losing their dignity and integrity?
BTW the rush to spin will be at the heart of every story that CAN be spun. It’s a new reality (in the era of social media replacing corporate media) that cannot be ignored if we want to win over minds and win elections.
The number of green berets and other sof types not letting this pass is astonishing .. its like a conspiracy machine gone nuts .. For every question, there are dozens of "theories."
Yes it is.
I will repeat this again. As a society, “I am afraid that we are one unanswered question away from the fear of angering the stars are the moon.”
TaliMAGAban
I really appreciate your incite.
Similar to the NOLA, a man whose life went off the rails grasps at an ideology or cause to justify suicide. Like many mass shootings/ murderers. Add in TBI and PTSD you have a dangerous mix.
Fred-please write about what’s happening in North Carolina!! They’re trying to steal a seat on the state Supreme Court. It will flip control to Republicans. NC politics is a 💩 show!
Can we talk about something fred
How are you doing Fred
He had mental health issues. He also committed a terrorist act. He knew his message would be found. Why are so many finding it difficult to name this event for what it was? The FBI should fully investigate his radicalization.
Yep, poor vet my arse. Fuck him.
Exactly points. It does seem lacking in compassion when we politicize peoples mental health struggles. It is a very present issue.
Fred, please keep it up. It matters. SF
Beautiful article. Your thoughtful and knowledgeable insight is right on point.
Thank you.
Insightful. Well written People are complex. No 2 brains alike He probably does not know how many people he killed. Sad all the way around.
The dude, like many from the armed services, probably suffered a lot more maternally that we can never know. Although I despise Trump, he seemed to feel like he was patriotic supporting him. Misguided, but very real. Hope his souls has found peace.
He called for violence, supporting Trump, I hope he’s burning somewhere.
Insightful. We also need to ensure the VA continues to be funded & stop privatizing efforts. The DoD avoids recognizing impacts of TBI/PTSD. Still issue a yr ago when my nephew left USAF. He tried to get help while serving & was instead a target of vicious campaign by a new PA at the clinic.
🤔
Ok, I'll withdraw the last comment. So he went out like the famous bhuddist monk that poured petrol over himself and lit it, in protest, but for very different reasons, one of which was severe mental health problems likely caused by a neural injury from past service as I see it, is that correct?
If so, that's very sad and highlights the need for better mental health accessability in your country. Britain isn't much better to be honest, we need to ramp up mental health treatment and diagnosis here too. I was in my 40s when I was diagnosed with ADHD and BPD.
An active explosives expert military operative drives a Tesla truck to Trump towers and sets off a bomb right before shooting himself, the inside is incinerated but hey still found his plastic identification relatively unscathed and no footage of the truck driving up has been presented? Hmmmm....
Because he didn’t build a bomb. He set off fireworks. He literally wrote that was his plan. He was committing suicide to get attention. Or….you know…make shit up. Either way you four read the article before commenting.
Ok, fair point, I'll peruse it.
Fred, thank you again for another fact-based, insightful status report on a painful tragedy that involved a special operations soldier with untreated, unmanageable, mental health problems. I really appreciate your unshaded portrayal, and your personal experience with your own PTSD issues.
It was such an unbelievable story to begin with, talk about going out with a bang.
I saw an interview today with his ex-girlfriend. She said she unexpectedly heard from him a couple of weeks ago, and he told her he was struggling and very down. She was in tears telling this, as I just know she feels guilty for not doing something to get him help- even though it's not her fault.
Well done, sir.
I just see it as sad we weren’t able to help this guy. I have a distant family member in the same boat and fear the same outcome. We send our military into horrible situations, then discard our soldiers. This is among the worst things our politicians do.
Excellent article about the complex subject of mental health. I commend you for sharing your own personal story as well, Fred. Unfortunately, trauma is an invisible force that shapes all aspects of life and is at the root of our deepest wounds.
That was a great article! Well worth the read!
This is an important point. Suicide is a complex issue that is rarely a rational act. People think there's "an answer" as to why, and it's not that simple.
Suicide is a symptom of depression and in the case likely PTSD as well.
And the TBI.
As an USAF veteran the PTSD is still dismissed. Heck I was told because I'm female I couldn't get PTSD. We've spent over twenty years at war and our soldiers, seamen, Marines, and airmen have not received nearly enough help let alone help with transitioning out of the service
Women can’t get PTSD 🤦🏼♀️ Tell that to the lady vets at the PTSD inpatient unit in SW Florida. Lots of them and they are doing the hard work to get themselves better! I appreciate the sacrifices you made to protect this country. I am greatly appreciative. 💙🇺🇸💙
Thank you and we lady vets do not get nearly the amount of services our brothers do. My fellow sisters we are always our best resources
There's a song here in Australia called "I was only nineteen" by a band named "Redgum" that has helped many veterans understand PTSD you should give it a listen! It's on YouTube and has a lot of YouTubers doing reaction videos to it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrXx...
It was all for profit by having our kids at war. What a shame on both party.
Have these soldiers been programmed to go off? Serious question 🙋♂️
No. Absolutely not.
Thank you for answering. I’m having a hard time understanding their motivations for destruction if MAGA won control of the government.
He was really off the rails mentally.
That does seem to be the automatic reaction now. One side presents a favorable political spin and the other side counters and reality just gets squished in the middle.
I say this as a Veteran, as a person who for years has advocated for Veterans: it is wrong to assume that someone is good because they serve(d) in the military. Just like any population, some are good, some bad. The ones that write hateful manifestos are bad, full stop.
Americans have a hard on for vets, regardless.
Hu
It's worth mentioning that one of the catalysts for the terrorist's final solution was his wife leaving him. I see this as a theme among powerful men who lose their shit. Musk went insane after his wife left and he decided buying twitter was a good idea.
Appreciate this insightful read, Fred. I have family members who still cannot talk about certain aspects of their time in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, respectively. They each know they are surrounded by love and support. They had our six; we now have theirs.