Salon.com News | "It was just for fun"
"Private Lynndie England, the woman who has become the emblem of America's shame over the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, showed no alarm when confronted with pictures of her gloating over naked and cowering Iraqi prisoners, a military hearing was told yesterday.
Instead, her first reaction to news that she was under investigation for abuse was: 'It was just for fun.' That utter lack of comprehension returned to haunt her yesterday as the hearing began to determine whether she will face disciplinary proceedings or the full weight of a court martial. "

This makes me sick on so many levels. Have you seen the picture of this poor, dumb, little girl, all knocked and dressed in fatigues? She literally looks like a Cabbage Patch doll. Apparently she also showed no reaction during the initial preceedings aside from a "nervous giggle." Oy. God, it's all so horrible and...stupid, for lack of a more eloquent term... Scapegoat or not, she obviously did some seriously fucked up shit. But then again, should she go to jail for 38 years? She's 21, in the military, and sleeping with her 35-year old boyfriend/military superior. I don't know. I think she's probably just really, incredibly naive in general. About life, the world, politics, etc., not to mention ordinary human fucking decency. This is a tough one, and I'm sure with more time on my hands, I could sift through my thoughts a bit more thoroughly... I just feel like, there's a really good argument for understanding Pte. England as an unfortunate product of her environment. And by "understanding," I don't mean letting her off easy. There's no excuse in the world for treating other human beings like shit. Wartime or otherwise. Bleh...

Salon.com News | "It was just for fun"
- posted by liz @ 8/04/2004 12:23:00 PM