I just saw Mel Gibson’s latest film, “Edge of Darkness.” I’ll leave the full-blown film critique to someone better equipped.<\/p>\n
But there is one infuriating moment in the movie that deserves a quick, firm and unambiguous apology from Mr. Gibson<\/p>\n
In the middle of an otherwise fairly inoccuous whodunit, Gibson’s character suddenly begins scoffing at soldiers who suffer from post-tramautic stress disorder. <\/p>\n
I can’t give the exact quote, but the gist goes something like this:<\/p>\n
I didn’t come home changed from the war. Whatever people say about PTSD, in my opinion soldiers come out of combat pretty much the same as when they went into combat. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I know, I know: This is a character talking, not Gibson.<\/p>\n
But this is one of Hollywood’s most powerful actors, in a major studio film, parroting the tough-guy skepticism that the US military has spent years trying to overcome.<\/p>\n
This portion of dialogue is entirely superfluous: It’s a sudden detour into the most appallingly ignorant nonsense.<\/p>\n
For the record, here’s what we know about Americans suffering from PTSD, from an Associated Press article in 2008:<\/p>\n
Records show roughly 40,000 troops have been diagnosed with the illness, also known as PTSD, since 2003. Officials believe that many more are likely keeping their illness a secret.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think right now we \u2026 have good numbers,\u201d Army Surgeon General Eric Schoomaker said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Defense officials had not previously disclosed the number of PTSD cases from Iraq and Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
Army statistics showed there were nearly 14,000 newly diagnosed cases across the services in 2007 compared with more than 9,500 new cases the previous year and 1,632 in 2003. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Gibson has walked on thin ice before, with a drunk driving incident and an anti-semitic rant that nearly derailed his career.<\/p>\n
This bit of disrespect was buried in a largely forgettable film, so maybe it will overlooked.<\/p>\n
I hope that doesn’t happen. I hope Mr. Gibson will acknowledge publicly that soldiers suffering from PTSD deserve and should receive adequate help.<\/p>\n
What’s certain is that next time Mr. Gibson want to establish his macho credibility, he shouldn’t do so by calling out soldiers injured while defending the United States.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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