Remember: they love and respect the troops more than you do.
kentuck (70,611 posts)
Is it possible that Bowe Bergdahl is mentally ill?
His fellow troops thought he was a little "weird". He would say crazy stuff.
Is his behavior that of a "normal" soldier?
One soldier that was in his platoon said that one time he pointed toward a mountain and asked if China was on the other side? As if he might go exploring?
It's certainly not the way your average soldier would behave.
So far, no one has broached the subject of mental instability but is it something that should be considered?
OKNancy (32,519 posts)
1. I think he may have been harassed and bullied
by the others in his platoon. He was "different".
Yes, treason is, in fact, different.
monmouth3 (3,290 posts)
5. He read books......n/t
LOL 'cuz soldiers don't read and stuff.
kentuck (70,611 posts)
8. Reportedly...
He studied Buddhism and ballet as a teenager.
So, maybe sitting in the plywood and sandbag bunker, 10-15 miles from anyone in the middle of nowhere, he might be seen as a little "different"? He may have been "bullied" to the point that he simply walked off?
OKNancy (32,519 posts)
9. sure
if they called him names and harassed him. I have no idea if he walked off, or if he went to the latrine, or if he just wanted a little peace and quite for an hour or so. I guess we will find out eventually.
names > throat-slitting jihadists
deutsey (17,956 posts)
4. From what little I know of his background
he was raised by a family and in an area that don't sound "conventional."
I don't mean that as a put-down (I wasn't raised in a conventional situation, either).
That puts you outside the shared experience of a lot of people who have a more mainstream background.
Like, for instance, in his case: He apparently wanted to go to Afghanistan to help provide humanitarian aid to Afghans. While noble, I think that's a very naive aspiration that's probably rooted in what sounds like a very alternative worldview he learned at home.
But I have no clue at this point.
I'm only speculating based on what very little I've learned about him and his family on Democracy Now! this week.
If you haven't seen these reports, they're an excellent counterbalance to the media circus polluting the airwaves on corporate TV.
He went to Afghanistan to make it better so he ran off to join the cancerous sand rats that mutilate, murder and rape.
Considering how ****ed-up in the head DU is, I totally believe Bergdahl could be overcome by overwhelming cognitive dissonance.
kentuck (70,611 posts)
14. I just think...
that there is probably a lot we do not know about this young man and the pressures he may have been under?
TRANSLATION: Nobody is buying our bullshit. We better think of an alibi, quick!
fredamae (1,836 posts)
18. At this point
and with the available facts--I'd say "we" are mentally ill--but only because too many are buying MSM hype/opinion and direction of What we think and feel about this whole thing, imo
TRANSLATION: I reject your reality and substitute my own!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025053439
