(no subject)

[theweaselking]

This is PFC LaVena Johnson, United States Army.

She joined the Army in 2003, went to Iraq, and died.

The Army coroner's verdict was "suicide".

Suicide, apparently, after beating herself senseless, pouring acid on her own crotch, setting fire to her hands, glueing army dress gloves on over the burns, leaving a trail of blood as she dragged herself from her tent, and then shooting herself in the head. The *side* of her head. The *left* side of her head (she was right-handed). With an *M-16*. An M-16, that, apparently, doesn't fire .223 rounds, and doesn't fire them at anything approaching rifle velocities.

Suicide, the Army coroner says.

Comments

[cliodhna.livejournal.com]

Ah, those wacky Army coroners and their "suicide" rulings (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/06/25/army_rules_soldier_from_mass_killed_self/). Great fun.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

"Suicide" is such a nicer verdict than "was raped and murdered by fellow enlisted, just like the last bunch, and the bunch before them who weren't murdered, just raped and then we said it was all their own fault during the courts-martial."

[http://users.livejournal.com/_jeremiad/]

Oh my god.

That's horrific.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

And typical. She's neither the first nor the last - apparently female US enlisted are more likely to get raped by other US enlisted than they are to be killed by anyone. Going to the bathroom at night, alone, while female, on an overseas US Army base is to take your life in your hands.

Or so all the reports from the witnesses go. The official US Army position is that they obviously wanted it.

[cbpotts.livejournal.com]

There are no good words. That poor little girl. Her poor family.

And knowing the military, that's all the investigation she's going to get.

[flemco.livejournal.com]

She knew what she was getting into when she signed on the dotted line. You liberal crybabies seem to forget that. If a female soldier doesn't understand that once she's deployed to Iraq, she will be tortured and raped to death by her fellow soldiers... well, I just don't know what to say.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_jeremiad/]

Whoa.

What?

Are you serious?

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Short version: No.

Longer version: flemco. No, no, not "it's him", click his journal and take a look around.

[flemco.livejournal.com]

Are you?

[http://users.livejournal.com/_jeremiad/]

I assume you know him, and I really try not to pick fights in people's journals, so okay.

Just a reminder though--nobody can do anything to deserve to be raped and nothing absolves the rapist of responsibility for their actions.

Saying that women who volunteer to fight for their country are asking to be raped and murdered is...well...my vocabulary isn't quite a big enough to come up with a word that fully expresses my rage, disgust, and loathing for someone who believes that.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I suspect he agrees with you. He's being sarcastic.

[the-paco.livejournal.com]

It could be that we're expecting too much civilization out of the people who are meant to be our government-approved killers.

I don't agree with the Army line in most 'official stories', though I'm not terribly surprised when someone whose job is to get up whenever or wherever called, unquestionably follow questionable orders into a very bad and poorly planned situation and murder every person who dresses differently yet is also armed (with a good chance of them having better arms, armor, planning, and knowledge of the area), displays far more sociopathic behavior than your normal run of the mill citizen. Considering how much rape and murder goes on amid the population of people who have NOT been exposed to artillery strikes, automatic fire, sneak attacks, or the knowledge that the first, second, and 245th person they knew, trusted, and cared for since they got where they are is dead or crippled for life...

War begets warriors, warriors beget war.

We could help them, but who would fight all these absolutely necessary wars of ours?

[unknownpoltroon.livejournal.com]

They got confused. They though she was one of the brown locals, and were using inhanced interrogation techniques on her to find out where she hid bin laden.

[anivair.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure what kind of world we live in where a little rape and murder is enough to smudge a military record. I mean, it's not like they were gay or voted for Kerry or anything antisocial like that.

[flemco.livejournal.com]

You know who I hate in the same way?

Stupid people.

[flemco.livejournal.com]

Hear hear! Rape and murder builds character, after all.

[rhiannonmai.livejournal.com]

I love my country. It's the elected officials who allow this shit that scare me!

[spartonian.livejournal.com]

Actually, this is fairly true and not just overseas... sexual assault makes the SITREP pages a little too often.

[flemco.livejournal.com]

Who elected them?

[rhiannonmai.livejournal.com]

Well, we did. At least that's what they're paying the broadcasting stations tell us.
(Your icon ROCKS, btw)

[sterlingspider.livejournal.com]

And people wonder why I am so angry.

[cleodhna.livejournal.com]

What an interesting question. NEXT!

[flemco.livejournal.com]

Where do kitties go when they die?

It also burns calories!

[raie.livejournal.com]

A regular routine of raping really helps a soldier relieve the stress and take the weight off too!

[raie.livejournal.com]

Obviously he was hidden in her vagina.

[raie.livejournal.com]

into Asian cuisine.

[flemco.livejournal.com]

WHOA.

WHAT?

ARE YOU SERIOUS?

[drjon.livejournal.com]

This is why your headgear is restless.

[catsidhe.livejournal.com]

Why do you assume that flemco is the one wearing the shirt?

[kadath.livejournal.com]

Here's the site that her family and other activists have put together.

[cleodhna.livejournal.com]

Usually into a canvas bag or pillowcase which is tied shut and then thrown into a body of water or tossed from a vehicle at high speed, or sometimes...

Oh, did you mean AFTER that?

[torrain.livejournal.com]

Me, I try to be charitable.

Even to the people who forget that what they say in sarcasm, others have said in seriousness.

[sparkindarkness.livejournal.com]

There are no words in existance to describe how wrong this is

[atlasimpure.livejournal.com]

It blows my mind how these things happen.

I mean, if someone even thought about touching one of our girls, they'd be finding pieces of him across five districts.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

It's been happening for years (http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/31584/). Nobody's done a damn thing (http://theweaselking.livejournal.com/1415865.html) about it.

[atlasimpure.livejournal.com]

I'm quite aware and in a very general sense, not as suprised as I might be...having met and/or lived with a few people that were rapists waiting to get caught/happen.

I mean, there's a reason we require all of our females to have a second person with them when traveling around at night.

But the cover-ups? Those blow me away. My command strikes me as first to light the kindling at the burning as opposed to helping and hiding.