The real "disorder" is NOT being traumatized by war

juan cole quotes george carlin...

[T]hanks to the lies and deceits surrounding [Vietnam], I guess it's no surprise that [what was called shell shock in WWI was now] called post-traumatic stress disorder. Still eight syllables, but we've added a hyphen! And the pain is completely buried under jargon. Post-traumatic stress disorder.

I'll bet you if we'd of still been calling it shell shock, some of those Viet Nam veterans might have gotten the attention they needed at the time. I'll betcha. I'll betcha.'

and adds some thoughts of his own...

I have concluded that Carlin was right about that issue. Being traumatized by war is not a disorder. In fact, if you are not traumatized by the sight of body parts flying all around you as you are splattered with the blood of people you know, then you would have a disorder. Why not just say "war-traumatized" ? Or better yet, "war-scarred" ? The PTSD phrase has the unfortunate effect of making it seem abnormal for people to be negatively affected by wartime violence.

just another instance of how susceptible we are to being quietly and subtly brain-washed by those intent on making war a never-ending feature of our lives...

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