I get so angry when I hear Trump and sycophants demean and discredit military personnel and their service. Freedom isn’t free, as they say. Without the sacrifice of so many, the world would look vastly different and not necessarily for the better.
Military personnel sacrifice their lives, their health, unreclaimable family moments and milestones. Yet they continue to support the mission. I an a better person because of my 28-year military career. I still believe in selfless service and I also believe that service should be respected and not used as a political prop.
In the U.K. we do not have quite the same tradition of overt gratitude to service personnel, though losses are felt just as deeply. So I well understand the offence which is given by Trump’s words, not least because this is far from the first time that he has disrespected those who have made the ultimate sacrifice or otherwise suffered in the service of their country.
What I don’t understand is why his team have not explained it to him. Or is he so dense he doesn’t understand what they are telling him? Or so arrogant he ignores them?
He is a narcissist and sociopath with no empathy. Because of that, he is able to stomp humanity without a furrow in his brow. The only things he understands are transactional exchanges. He has no other values. (What does he get? What's in it for him?) This man is dangerous. And I despise him and those who stand up for him.
Dr. Vince Greenwood, Ph.D. the country owes you (and other psychiatrists and analysts like you) a huge debt of gratitude for spelling out the very scary condition of Donald J. Trump in your linked paper, "The Science Behind Donald Trump's Dangerous Personality." And we also thank you and all professionals for forming and carriying out "The Duty To Inform"
I beg everyone to read this linked attachment. Dr. Greenwood is an excellent writer and it was a very readable piece. He explains the terminology well in an understandable manner for the layman. And he uses Donald Trump's own actions and behaviors (available in so many documented types of media) to explain not only what the diagnosis is and how he (and many others) have made, but also warns with the strength of his knowledge how dangerous DJT was as an elected leader and how he continues to threaten our country and its people.
So we need not lean only on our feelings of disgust and towards this mentally disabled man, but we have medically documented proof we cannot let him get near the seat of power ever again.
But Dr. Greenwood, why are there so many others that are willing to support him, even now? What is going on with the MAGAS, including elected Senators and Representatives? How can they possibly not see what we see?
Powerful piece, David. Thank you for providing the words I need to share in response to Trump's appalling comments. Glad your father is doing well. I missed your piece on your Dad; I'll pull up and read. My 97 yr old Ohioan rooted father passed away in May, and my 96 yr old walking buddy was in the hospital last week. Such a privilege to learn from these folks. I got a glimpse of PTSD with my walking buddy, also a veteran, but raised in Liverpool during WWII. The bombings of children take him right back to two years of his childhood. I'll share this article with him.
Both my late parents were WWII veterans. Dad was in the Army and served in the European theatre. All I know about it was that he was in France for at least part of time and that he went to college on the GI Bill. That's it, because he never talked about it. (My parents met several years after the war and Dad had graduated from college).
My mom joined the Marines, went to boot camp at Camp Le Jeune and ended up at the Pentagon in a clerical roll to free a male Marine up for active duty. She didn't talk about it much while my dad was alive, but after he passed she joined a veterans group for women Marines and she started telling us stories - especially about her adventures in boot camp.
Mom had 6 older brothers and I think 5 out of the 6 enlisted in one branch of the service or the other in WWII. My uncle (Mom's closest brother) was killed in Feb 1945 and is buried at the Cambridge American cemetery in the UK.
He came home a bitter, angry alcoholic. Stopped the drinking after a dui, never got over the anger. He also didn't use the VA. Also thought he didn't need it. I lost my lovely brother in Vietnam although his body returned home. But he and his family did become Trumpers. I think because he validated that anger.
My brother was in Nam… very little talk about it. When he first came home you needed to stand in the door way to try to wake him, because if you touched him he might come up swinging.
Your beautifully written piece is a testament to those who honourably served. And who carried with them the effects of their service, with dignity and grace. They raised families, served their communities and lived good lives . Some, suffering from severe injury didn’t do so well. Semper fidelis (always faithful) is the US Marine Corps motto. But not for JD Vance who received all the benefits of service and who seems now to side with those who denigrate his comrades. I’m a Vietnam vet - NZ. Served from 16 to 60. I respect all US citizens who served their country. Sadly, your country is afflicted with grifters and crooks like DJT and JDV. Time for a good clean out. Harris and Walz have the broom. Voters have the opportunity to release them. Thank you again for your essay.
Thanks for writing this. I read it after helping my 78 yr old family member today who won the Distinguished Service Cross in Vietnam.
The way ConOLD talks about the military and wounded veterans is absolutely disgusting and offensive on every level. I wish more veterans were aware of it.
You are a hell of a good writer and storyteller. This is powerful stuff. I didn’t serve, getting a lucky number, but lived through the Vietnam war years and the cold reception returning vets often received then. Not many of my HS friends volunteered, but one I know who did was killed there.
Both my parents were in the Army. My mom was a WAC and my dad an enlisted officer. That is where they met. My dad would feign a stomach ache to go see her.
old-don and his sidekick jd are despicable. We are privileged to live in this country to have so many great men and women who served and those still serving in the Military. I almost forgot. My mom was an immigrant from Yugoslavia (Slovenia). Something else for don-old to show his hatred.
In the 1970's and early '80's I worked in one of those 24 hour crisis centers that you'd find in old houses in most communities. We had a big space on the third floor where we brought veterans who were having flashbacks from Vietnam, spacing out, depressed or out of control. The police routinely brought men to our door rather than keeping them or transporting them to psychiatric facilities. (PTSD was not even a term until 1980.) Some local VN vets reached out to us and we developed a protocol for contacting one of them when someone came into our facility. Most vets only trusted another vet to understand and help them. I was a smart ass know-it-all college kid protesting the war while those guys were putting themselves at great risk. That early experience with vets confronted me with the personal sacrifices and taught me respect for military service.
I say to all Veterans: Welcome home and thank you for your service!
As a Vietnam Veteran who lives with my own unspoken experience and finally recognized my deep need for help I went to the VA and spent over a month in the psychiatric ward. The first week was in bed restraints as I had been admitted for being both suicidal and homicidal. I was at that time a clergyman and I was very depressed because of my own actions and not able to accept forgiveness. That was over 20 years ago and I can now say that I am in a much better state than I was before going to the VA and I and my family are and have been by my side for all that I and they went through in that very dark time.
His (and I have a very difficult time even saying his name)remarks comparing the two medals were so offensive to me it made my blood boil. A person who previously had accepted the Purple Heart medal he had earned and gave it to Trump was equally as repulsive for Trump’s reaction was: “I always wanted one of these!” If that was what anyone who has been wounded knows it’s Not something you’d always want. So why didn’t he put on the uniform and serve?
He disgusts me with his pompous behavior and narcissistic behavior.
Anyone who can support him and his actions or words, to my thinking, has been brainwashed and manipulated into believing he really cares about anything but himself.
Beautiful story Dave about the impact of wartime service on a service person’s psyche. I hope your friend has recovered both physically and mentally from his ordeals.
Trump being a malignant narcissist has no room or interest in his limited capacity for empathy for others. Being mentally ill, he should have never held the presidency and should never again. He must be held accountable for his illegal actions, and if found guilty pay the penalty for his actions.
I get so angry when I hear Trump and sycophants demean and discredit military personnel and their service. Freedom isn’t free, as they say. Without the sacrifice of so many, the world would look vastly different and not necessarily for the better.
Military personnel sacrifice their lives, their health, unreclaimable family moments and milestones. Yet they continue to support the mission. I an a better person because of my 28-year military career. I still believe in selfless service and I also believe that service should be respected and not used as a political prop.
Thank you for your service.
In the U.K. we do not have quite the same tradition of overt gratitude to service personnel, though losses are felt just as deeply. So I well understand the offence which is given by Trump’s words, not least because this is far from the first time that he has disrespected those who have made the ultimate sacrifice or otherwise suffered in the service of their country.
What I don’t understand is why his team have not explained it to him. Or is he so dense he doesn’t understand what they are telling him? Or so arrogant he ignores them?
He is a narcissist and sociopath with no empathy. Because of that, he is able to stomp humanity without a furrow in his brow. The only things he understands are transactional exchanges. He has no other values. (What does he get? What's in it for him?) This man is dangerous. And I despise him and those who stand up for him.
Dense AND arrogant.😔
Very probably.
His brain “does not compute”:
https://drvincentgreenwood-89455.medium.com/the-science-behind-donald-trumps-dangerous-personality-disorder-49b3f8e416de
Dr. Vince Greenwood, Ph.D. the country owes you (and other psychiatrists and analysts like you) a huge debt of gratitude for spelling out the very scary condition of Donald J. Trump in your linked paper, "The Science Behind Donald Trump's Dangerous Personality." And we also thank you and all professionals for forming and carriying out "The Duty To Inform"
I beg everyone to read this linked attachment. Dr. Greenwood is an excellent writer and it was a very readable piece. He explains the terminology well in an understandable manner for the layman. And he uses Donald Trump's own actions and behaviors (available in so many documented types of media) to explain not only what the diagnosis is and how he (and many others) have made, but also warns with the strength of his knowledge how dangerous DJT was as an elected leader and how he continues to threaten our country and its people.
So we need not lean only on our feelings of disgust and towards this mentally disabled man, but we have medically documented proof we cannot let him get near the seat of power ever again.
But Dr. Greenwood, why are there so many others that are willing to support him, even now? What is going on with the MAGAS, including elected Senators and Representatives? How can they possibly not see what we see?
Thanks for doing a great write up of the link to Dr Greenwood. 😊
I’m no good at that kind of thing.
That was so sweet of you! I am just hoping this excellent paper is accessed by more people!
Powerful piece, David. Thank you for providing the words I need to share in response to Trump's appalling comments. Glad your father is doing well. I missed your piece on your Dad; I'll pull up and read. My 97 yr old Ohioan rooted father passed away in May, and my 96 yr old walking buddy was in the hospital last week. Such a privilege to learn from these folks. I got a glimpse of PTSD with my walking buddy, also a veteran, but raised in Liverpool during WWII. The bombings of children take him right back to two years of his childhood. I'll share this article with him.
Both my late parents were WWII veterans. Dad was in the Army and served in the European theatre. All I know about it was that he was in France for at least part of time and that he went to college on the GI Bill. That's it, because he never talked about it. (My parents met several years after the war and Dad had graduated from college).
My mom joined the Marines, went to boot camp at Camp Le Jeune and ended up at the Pentagon in a clerical roll to free a male Marine up for active duty. She didn't talk about it much while my dad was alive, but after he passed she joined a veterans group for women Marines and she started telling us stories - especially about her adventures in boot camp.
Mom had 6 older brothers and I think 5 out of the 6 enlisted in one branch of the service or the other in WWII. My uncle (Mom's closest brother) was killed in Feb 1945 and is buried at the Cambridge American cemetery in the UK.
He came home a bitter, angry alcoholic. Stopped the drinking after a dui, never got over the anger. He also didn't use the VA. Also thought he didn't need it. I lost my lovely brother in Vietnam although his body returned home. But he and his family did become Trumpers. I think because he validated that anger.
How sad.
My brother was in Nam… very little talk about it. When he first came home you needed to stand in the door way to try to wake him, because if you touched him he might come up swinging.
Your beautifully written piece is a testament to those who honourably served. And who carried with them the effects of their service, with dignity and grace. They raised families, served their communities and lived good lives . Some, suffering from severe injury didn’t do so well. Semper fidelis (always faithful) is the US Marine Corps motto. But not for JD Vance who received all the benefits of service and who seems now to side with those who denigrate his comrades. I’m a Vietnam vet - NZ. Served from 16 to 60. I respect all US citizens who served their country. Sadly, your country is afflicted with grifters and crooks like DJT and JDV. Time for a good clean out. Harris and Walz have the broom. Voters have the opportunity to release them. Thank you again for your essay.
I walk by houses that have “Veterans for Trump 2024” yard signs. SMH.
I usually give them the ‘one-finger salute’!
😭
Thanks for writing this. I read it after helping my 78 yr old family member today who won the Distinguished Service Cross in Vietnam.
The way ConOLD talks about the military and wounded veterans is absolutely disgusting and offensive on every level. I wish more veterans were aware of it.
David,
You are a hell of a good writer and storyteller. This is powerful stuff. I didn’t serve, getting a lucky number, but lived through the Vietnam war years and the cold reception returning vets often received then. Not many of my HS friends volunteered, but one I know who did was killed there.
Both my parents were in the Army. My mom was a WAC and my dad an enlisted officer. That is where they met. My dad would feign a stomach ache to go see her.
old-don and his sidekick jd are despicable. We are privileged to live in this country to have so many great men and women who served and those still serving in the Military. I almost forgot. My mom was an immigrant from Yugoslavia (Slovenia). Something else for don-old to show his hatred.
In the 1970's and early '80's I worked in one of those 24 hour crisis centers that you'd find in old houses in most communities. We had a big space on the third floor where we brought veterans who were having flashbacks from Vietnam, spacing out, depressed or out of control. The police routinely brought men to our door rather than keeping them or transporting them to psychiatric facilities. (PTSD was not even a term until 1980.) Some local VN vets reached out to us and we developed a protocol for contacting one of them when someone came into our facility. Most vets only trusted another vet to understand and help them. I was a smart ass know-it-all college kid protesting the war while those guys were putting themselves at great risk. That early experience with vets confronted me with the personal sacrifices and taught me respect for military service.
Wonderfully written with humility, and I respect your college-age decision to extend a hand in help.
Thank you for your kind words.
My brother joined at 19. He was the youngest of seven (the baby of the family). He was sweet and kind of goofy. He came home a bitter a
💜
I say to all Veterans: Welcome home and thank you for your service!
As a Vietnam Veteran who lives with my own unspoken experience and finally recognized my deep need for help I went to the VA and spent over a month in the psychiatric ward. The first week was in bed restraints as I had been admitted for being both suicidal and homicidal. I was at that time a clergyman and I was very depressed because of my own actions and not able to accept forgiveness. That was over 20 years ago and I can now say that I am in a much better state than I was before going to the VA and I and my family are and have been by my side for all that I and they went through in that very dark time.
His (and I have a very difficult time even saying his name)remarks comparing the two medals were so offensive to me it made my blood boil. A person who previously had accepted the Purple Heart medal he had earned and gave it to Trump was equally as repulsive for Trump’s reaction was: “I always wanted one of these!” If that was what anyone who has been wounded knows it’s Not something you’d always want. So why didn’t he put on the uniform and serve?
He disgusts me with his pompous behavior and narcissistic behavior.
Anyone who can support him and his actions or words, to my thinking, has been brainwashed and manipulated into believing he really cares about anything but himself.
Beautiful story Dave about the impact of wartime service on a service person’s psyche. I hope your friend has recovered both physically and mentally from his ordeals.
Trump being a malignant narcissist has no room or interest in his limited capacity for empathy for others. Being mentally ill, he should have never held the presidency and should never again. He must be held accountable for his illegal actions, and if found guilty pay the penalty for his actions.