Tracy Kidder, author of My Detachment, a memoir of the Vietnam war, may be the biggest douche who ever lived.
as an Ivy League-educated intelligence officer, he never saw combat. instead, he carried out boring orders and then wrote letters back home to his friends and family detailing some completely fabricated "romantic" war experiences. he pretended to feel what combat soldiers felt. he claimed to have killed VC and befriended orphans and fell in love with village women, though he did none of these things. he pretended to be traumatized.
he ended his book by saying that only a tiny minority of soldiers in Vietnam ever saw combat, and of those few, even fewer actually had the experiences they claim. you see, the majority of combat soldiers were just jaded kids who wanted to experience the horrors of war and civilian deaths and losing limbs and watching their friends die. they pretend to have seen these things because that's what everyone wants to hear.
he said they made it all up. probably because that's what he did.
he's discounted the tragedies of hundreds of thousands of his fellow soldiers because he never saw or did anything tragic. because he's jealous that his Vietnam was generally safe and bland. follow protocol, drink all night, cry in your hootch because the colonel didn't let you pass inspection because your men aren't up on their hygiene. HOW SAD. what about the men who actually killed? what about anything? what about the American soldiers you are basically calling liars because that is what you are.
the vomit.
I have never been so offended by a book. and I've read a lot of books. this man won a fucking Pulitzer.
in other news, happy anniversary DrStinkypants. I know it's a dumb thing to celebrate because pretty much every day with you is the best day of my life and we probably have more fun every day than normal boring couples have on their anniversary.. but it's also pretty awesome. June 15 of last year, and the ensuing five days, changed my life forever and I'm infinitely thankful for those few days, the air-conditioned hotel rooms we barely left, the long lost drives through Wisconsin greenery and the way you made my life feel.. good. for once. and you still do, I can't even tell you how much. I hope it never stops.
as an Ivy League-educated intelligence officer, he never saw combat. instead, he carried out boring orders and then wrote letters back home to his friends and family detailing some completely fabricated "romantic" war experiences. he pretended to feel what combat soldiers felt. he claimed to have killed VC and befriended orphans and fell in love with village women, though he did none of these things. he pretended to be traumatized.
he ended his book by saying that only a tiny minority of soldiers in Vietnam ever saw combat, and of those few, even fewer actually had the experiences they claim. you see, the majority of combat soldiers were just jaded kids who wanted to experience the horrors of war and civilian deaths and losing limbs and watching their friends die. they pretend to have seen these things because that's what everyone wants to hear.
he said they made it all up. probably because that's what he did.
he's discounted the tragedies of hundreds of thousands of his fellow soldiers because he never saw or did anything tragic. because he's jealous that his Vietnam was generally safe and bland. follow protocol, drink all night, cry in your hootch because the colonel didn't let you pass inspection because your men aren't up on their hygiene. HOW SAD. what about the men who actually killed? what about anything? what about the American soldiers you are basically calling liars because that is what you are.
the vomit.
I have never been so offended by a book. and I've read a lot of books. this man won a fucking Pulitzer.
in other news, happy anniversary DrStinkypants. I know it's a dumb thing to celebrate because pretty much every day with you is the best day of my life and we probably have more fun every day than normal boring couples have on their anniversary.. but it's also pretty awesome. June 15 of last year, and the ensuing five days, changed my life forever and I'm infinitely thankful for those few days, the air-conditioned hotel rooms we barely left, the long lost drives through Wisconsin greenery and the way you made my life feel.. good. for once. and you still do, I can't even tell you how much. I hope it never stops.
VIEW 16 of 16 COMMENTS
...*looks around SG*
Thanks for the kind words. I was in Canadia for several months in between gigs, getting my heart used like some sort of hockey puck by a maple syrup loving beaver worshiper. But then I went to London for a bit, and finally, Iraq. Except not finally as I came back with all my bits still attached (yay me).
Iraq is probably over for me (and sadly for the Iraqis as well). It was just a phase I was going through, like when I watched WWF wrestling for two months when I was 14. Except not as homoerotic and better paid.
Love,
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