JOH The Lost Blog

Greetings ~

I missed a blog, I think the first one of the second half, so
when I heard a news report on the way to work this morning, I figured I would pass on the example.

Earlier in the year we discussed the PoMo characteristic of view them, or OTHERS, or the ALTERITY as having less value, or deserving of less consideration than we Americans. Relating to Zizek's statement:

"It is surprising how little of the actual carnage we see [...] in clear contrast to reporting on Third World catastrophes [...] The real horror happens there, not here" (M 232)

a clear message was sent yesterday in the realm of U.S. military justice. Check out this bit of information -

[A US marine has been sentenced to 18 months' jail in a Californian military court over his role in the kidnapping and murder of an Iraqi man in April.
The sentence of John Jodka III was reduced yesterday after he pleaded guilty to his part in the killing of Hashim Ibrahim Awad, 52, in Hamandiya, west of Baghdad. The military judge in the case, Lieutenant Colonel David Jones, said five years in prison and a dishonourable discharge were appropriate, but due to a "very fortuitous pre-trial agreement", the sentence was reduced. Jodka III is one of seven marines and a navy corpsman accused of kidnapping and murdering Awad, a retired Iraqi policemen, in April this year. The crippled man was picked up, taken to a roadside hole and shot dead. The soldiers later conspired to cover up the incident.
The 20-year-old soldier, the youngest and lowest ranking member of the squad, had earlier pleaded guilty to charges of assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice, while charges of murder and kidnapping were dropped. As part of his plea deal, he has agreed to give evidence against the other defendants in the case.]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1949429,00.html

Wow.

Wow.

Life really doesn't mean as much over there. I was shocked this morning while listening to the report. LOOK, I am in real touch with the idea that I have NO IDEA what pressure U.S. soldiers are under over there. I can imagine that being over there could be close to a living hell. I got it. I also know that humans are capable of some f'ed up stuff under duress, pressure, and out of fear. Got that too. Additionally, I know that the media can alter the perception of the message in order to achieve the impact they are aiming for. Yet this incident appears to be about a man, a human (yes, though he's from the land of sand and the AK-47, he is human) being abducted, murdered, and the attempted cover up.

The sentence was reduced, from ~5-8yrs to 18 months, because he said "Ok, ok, I did it. That was bad. Oops!" No dishonorable discharge?!

How might this trial/sentence look if the group of American soldiers abducted, say, Bob Jenkins from Plymouth, MA, out of Toyota Camry, took him to a roadside hole, shot him in the back of the head, and tried to cover up the story - obstructing JUSTICE to save their own ass, preserve their code?

Now, I do have this in perspective. I do not plan to chew my day with anger over this. It is just interesting to see some more of this theory in action. What an intriguing (frightful) experience it would be to have, for a minute, or hour, but not much more, a glimpse of foreign emotion when considering cases such as this one. I wonder how Arab-Americans feel when they see this subjugation of human value.