Much is being made of PC and the enemy after the Massacre at Fort Hood. Who knew what? And why were the right people not notified of Shooter Hasan’s nefarious activities on the internet? Why didn’t someone report his interaction with patients and colleagues? The answer to these questions has not yet been determined but the powers-that-be have called called for answers. The President wants a preliminary report by November 30. Senator Joe Lieberman has called for a Senate investigation.
Americans are right to ask these questions. We are at war and we are at war with an enemy that is without a nation. There is a good chance that the enemy is everywhere.
Some of us here on Anti have been watching the 10 hour series WWII in HD this week. We were at war with nations–nations that had borders and boundaries. There were nebulous areas, like our internment of Japanese Americans, but that is a shameful story for another day. We have heard the enemy called Japs and Krauts for 10 hours.
People nowadays would not think of calling a Japanese person a Jap (or nip or any of the other pejorative names American servicemen had for the enemy). We wouldn’t call a German a Kraut. Or would we? My relatives who were alive during WWII sure would still do it. So would many people I know who were of the ‘greatest generation.’
So are these people wrong? Are they politically incorrect? Is it wrong to have a slang nick name for an enemy in times of war? And once the war is over, when do we have to stop calling them by these nick names? Is it something special that those of the generation get to do? Is it okay as long as the last veteran of the era lives? I thought of that as I heard the old veterans talk of their service. I don’t know the right answer. Other opinions?
