Sgt. Stryker reports that the hometown of one of the Abu Ghraib torturers is rallying round their boy, like "a tribal society that takes its behavioral cues from The Godfather," as Stryker puts it. Even more fun is how they bring Christianity into it:
At the Tuesday rally, they pray for Jeremy, they sing for Jeremy, they rail about the lack of God's teaching in society and the school, they rage against pornography and Bill Clinton and they rise en masse, without prompting when "God Bless America" blares from the speakers, just to the right of the American flag and the portrait of Jesus.
Casting this aberration as a left-right divide strikes me as an unnecessary distraction. Certainly the left has its own history of lionizing violent criminals, such as Mumia, Peltier, the Weathermen, and the Black Panthers.
Also, the comment that "they believe Sivits was following orders and is being made a scapegoat" echoes the views of many on the left, who seek to place blame higher up the chain of command.
As to Lehman's comment about ratting people out, it certainly sounds scary and tribal to me too, but when the national media blithely insults your community as "recycled hillbillies," it's maybe a bit more understandable that you might band together a bit. From a Christian point of view, it's worth noting that Dante placed traitors in the lowest circle of Hell. I agree with you that his duty of loyalty was owed to the ideals of the nation, not the tribe, but the military does make a huge deal out of "unit cohesion," and so I can see how it is at least possible for these people to think that they are following Christian and American ideals, albeit losing sight of the forest for the trees.
And, while it hardly excuses the boorish behavior of the majority, it's worth noting that the local community is not united. The linked article quotes people who support Darby, and the fact that military police were guarding Sivits' family at the ugly rally suggests that they expected some dissent.
Finally, on a better note, Fox News writes "Friends and former neighbors in Pennsylvania said they are proud of Darby."
Posted by: Tom T. on May 27, 2004 09:45 PM