It’s not surprise in our country that there be some disgusting jerk who would trample on the memory of a fallen hero, but it still rankles when you encounter it nonetheless, especially when my tax dollars are subsidizing his ability to say it.
Rene Gonzalez, a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, wrote an op-ed for the campus newspaper in which he said that Army Ranger and former NFL player Pat Tillman is not a hero and got what he deserved. Gonzalez says he’s mystified how anyone can say Tillman is hero. He calls him a “real Rambo,” a pendejo, Spanish for “idiot.” He called Tillman’s, and the hundreds of thousands of other soldiers’, belief that they are defending and serving America “absurd.” He says Tillman should have kept his comfortable life, since he didn’t have to join the military out of financial necessity or to get an education (as if that’s the only reason a sane person would join). Gonzalez accuses Tillman of “acting out his nationalist-patriotic fantasies forged in years of exposure to Clint Eastwood and Rambo movies,” as if he knew Tillman personally or what motivated him.
Where can one almost always reliably look to see the complete opposite of courage, nobility, sacrifice, of being one of the good men without whom evil would spread? Just about any campus newspaper or graduate studies department. Rene Gonzalez? What a morroon.l
A well-meaning commenter posted Gonzalez’s phone number and email address here, but I deleted them. I don’t think it’s appropriate to harass him for his views. He’s already feeling the heat in the civilized manner. No sense descending to his level.