Fought back tears this morning when answering my 5-yr-old's questions

[bunkerbuster1]

I wish I could link the page-6 Atlanta Journal-Constitution photo that I happened upon during breakfast, but it's not online. Suffice to say that it wasn't the most disturbing thing you've ever seen, but rather, an Iraqi policeman carrying a young girl who'd been injured by a roadside bomb.

The girl's eyes are open, she doesn't seem to be in horrible pain--she's probably still in shock. Other than what looks like a bloodied left elbow, what we see is not especially grisly.

My five year old saw this photo, and asked questions that seem so naive and yet reveal so much about how all of us have become so hardened by this horror.

She: Is that her daddy?

Me: No, it's a policeman.

She: But the policeman, he doesn't have a, um...

Me: Uniform?

She: Yeah.

Me: I don't know why, but the caption says he's a policeman.

She: How was she hurt?

Me: A bomb went off. You know that bombs can hurt people.

She: Where's her daddy? <points to other uniformed soldiers, facing away in the picture.>

Me (getting a little emotional): I don't know. I don't think either of those men are her father.

She: What's her name?


(...that's when I almost lost it. Of course this girl isn't identified in the photo. Why should she be? She's just camera fodder for this newspaper, just as she's IED fodder for the ratfuckers who set the bomb, just as she's "Peeance and Freeance" fodder for this moron of a President and his idiot followers. But my little girl's first thought is, who is she? She's not fodder to my daughter--she's just a little girl who's hurt.)

Me: I don't know her name, honey.


And I'm fighting them back again as I type this. <and try to edit it so it makes some sense.> Fucking hell.

[opihimoimoi]

In the militerists minds, its all ok if the outcome is Peace

What they don't seem to realize is Peace efforts is so much less painful and cheaper...but then what do I know?

[havocmom]

1. We will all work a little harder today, in our efforts to expose & stop

the maddness. We will all work harder, being reminded that your child deserves answers, and a better government.

[bunkerbuster1]

3. Thank you.

There are mostly good people out there who hate this crap. I know there are always solutions to problems, and we'll find a way.

It's just hard to get control of yourself when blindsided as I was. I had to wipe away all my emotion and try to get my little girl settled down (she went off to another room, growing more upset about this) and ready for school today.

Pretty small potatos compared to the problems that these Iraqis face every minute of every damn day.

[havocmom]

6. It's not small potatoes at all. When we have trouble answering

the questions of a small child, we need to change what is going on. THAT is IMPORTANT!

I like to say the toughest part of raising children is trying to keep a straight face. Sometimes it is trying to keep from crying.

:hug: We are hear for you anytime you need to blow steam or have a safe place to cry. We all get by with help from our friends, whether we have actually met them or not. Everybody needs a shoulder to lean on at time.

[MuseRider]

2. Damn.

Innocent children, both of them.

I don't know what to say. I answered questions similar to that but not nearly as difficult during Desert Storm. My boys are now grown.

I wish I could help more but all we can do is keep working for peace.

[canadianbeaver]

4. It really is sickening that you have to explain that sight to your child.

I am crying for/with you....my heart cracks a bit more each day and I am trying to heal each day...this world is breaking along with all of our hearts!!

:cry:

on edit: child

[bunkerbuster1]

10. I just hope she's going to pull through, after all this.

There's a photo of a young boy that I saw two years ago, he'd been caught in the hell of Fallujah.

He was missing a leg, but holding a toy in his hospital bed and smiling for the camera.

Brave kid. I still want to bawl my eyes out when I think about him.

[Surya Gayatri]

5. Bless you & your daughter for holding on to

your humanity and empathy in the face of an onslaught of indifference and disdain from the Corp. Media and BFEE.
SG :grouphug:

[stop the bleeding]

7. leave it to a child to show us what is important -

I can barely type right now because my eyes are welling up.

Nominating for the awareness factor.O8)

[sinkingfeeling]

8. Think the same picture was in the Arkansas Dem-Gazette this

morning...
http://epaper.ardemgaz.com/Daily/Skins/Arkansas/?AW=1140797183249

[bunkerbuster1]

9. Those are the same people, although not the photo I saw.

Much more disturbing, the Dem-Gazette view, actually.

[seabeyond]

11. i hear ya..... mama to mama

peace

[bunkerbuster1]

12. Who you callin' mama?

Not that I consider it an insult, but for the record I'm a pappa.

[newswolf56]

14. Thank you for posting this. From the mouth of a child...

a lesson in what it means to be fully human. (Kicked/recommended.)

[seabeyond]

18. i kept going over in my mind, could be a papa

mama or papa..... just the same in love of child. heart to heart. thank you for sharing your status. i appreciate

[Frank Cannon]

13. "Unless you turn and become like children..."

you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

--Matthew 18:3-4.

[Bridget Burke]

15. "What about the children?"

Wasn't that the cry of offended Republicans when they had to explain what Clinton did? And his dalliance would not have been in the news without their witch hunt.

I'd think the sad image you describe would have more impact on a kid. And on most adults.

[mopinko]

16. someone posted an anti-landmine commercial the other day

it showed a landmine exploding in the middle of a girl's soccer game. the tagline was something like- if there were landmines here, we wouldn't tolerate them anywhere.
i think the same can be said of all these foreign wars. the most stunning crime of this all, to me, is the failure of the media to make these idiots see what is being done in their name. the truth, the fucking truth. then a 5 year old can see how fucking wrong it is.

[bunkerbuster1]

19. I saw the commercial at DU as well

wish I had the link, it was very powerful.

[hyphenate]

17. War would not be tolerated

if personal issues made the headlines. War is all about generalizations. There is no heart in statistics, which is why they are quoted so often and with deadpan emotions.

As a result, lucky photographs which bring any crisis to a personal level wend their way into our consciousness, and show us the true horror of war. The young child running naked down the road with the napalm on her is an example. The young girl from Life Magazine with the beautiful hazel eyes, the fireman carrying out the dead child from the Oklahoma City bombing--these are images that are forever in our minds and will always be associated with specific events and the cruelty of man versus man.

To the "big" men in power, they must keep our minds away from such imagery. They know that people can be distracted by those photographs by referring to some insubstantial "glory" they talk about in public speeches, jingoism at its finest, and considering the whole of the warring people as criminals, antagonists, or far worse. People have a greater tendency to "follow the leader" when their humanity level is challenged in such a manner.

Your daughter has obviously hit the nail on the head, and I hope she never changes! It is those moments, when the true level of loss is insinuated, that allows us all to look more closely at the subject and deal with it (or not to deal with it) on an individual basis. War is hell, but for those in power, there is something to be gained, and they will do anything to make their populace think that something grander is at stake, even if they have to lie outrageously to convince people of that.

[speedoo]

20. Thankyou for the reminder of what's really important.

Namely that human beings are suffering and dying, for absolutely no good reason.

If there is a God, Bush and his accomplices will be punished for this.

[centristo]

21. thanks for that post

it never occurred to me that they leave off the names of the victims of these photos. It's like they are extras in a movie cast as "Iraqi Wounded #1" or something.

[driver8]

22. I have a four year old and a two year old and everytime I see

a picture of a child in Iraq it breaks my heart. I cannot imagine the damage being done to these innocent children, who have no idea why people want to hurt them and their families.

[CoffeeCat]

23. I have two girls, ages 5 and 6...

...and I applaud you for being as open and candid as you were.

I totally shield all of this from them. I just don't want them to hurt. I'm hoping that all of this will change--for the better--in a few years. Then maybe there won't be any need to explain.

I feel for our children who will grow up in a different world than we did. It's just not the America we all once knew.

Also--the little Iraqi girl has a mother too--somewhere. No longer can she answer questions for her child or try to make sense of the madness that surrounds her. It's just so devastating. All of the lives that we have ruined, and all of the children that we have killed. And for what? What a waste. What a sick waste.

I commend you for being a good mom and for trying to explain something that is so difficult for even grown ups to understand.

[LibertyorDeath]

24. Is this the pic

[bunkerbuster1]

26. It's the same two people, but not the same pic.

The girl actually looks more distressed in this photo than the one we saw.

[Jokinomx]

25. None of us are smart enough to know all the answers....

I have often stated that when a person can ask the question.... they are ready for the answer. Your Daughter brought home the reality that we are all brothers, sisters, friends and neighbors even if we live across the world.

The fist emotions that I looked for when my Daughters were young were compassion and empathy. It looks as though your Daughter has developed both very well. She of course seems to be taking after you...:-)

Currently, my Daughter is in college and studying to be an attorney. Her major is political science and She hopes to run for office someday. She hopes to change this world for the better. This week she was in St. Louis, Missouri participating in the "Model U.N." competition. I say this because your Daughter reminded me of mine so many years ago asking similar questions about the Gulf War I. Just remember that her tough questions are a good thing. The frustrating part for me was not being smart enough to know all the answers. I did the best I could with what I understood.
I have come to the conclusion that there must be another reason to be here on Earth than to know all the answers. So WHY are we here? That answer became the easiest to understand of all the answers and I have raised my Daughters with this simple phrase in mind.

Before you die, make the world a better place than when you came.

Children may not remember all the details of their early childhood, but it certainly can influence the rest their lives. Keep up the great work in your parenting and keep answering those tough questions. One person at a time this world will get better.

:toast: