That kid who ran off to Iraq?
An Elder of the “Greatest Generation”: I hate to bring up a thought like this at this Season of the year, and I do not like to keep referring to my Military Years, but I believe in this instance I MUST pass on an old, old, Military Maxim [saying?] that I cannot seem to shake off; there are people in this world who are too damn dumb to live. There, I’ve said it and I’m glad! And I do not care what the Dumbass’s reasons are for going to a war Zone, unarmed, unknown, untrained, and definitely unthinking.
After reading the Post I was completely at a loss to visualize what his thought processes??? must have been like to bring him to doing such a thing. Does he NOT ever watch the News, at least CNN? And the thing about going down to the Mosque is beyond thought and Stupidity… Sorry! There I go, getting emotional again…
On the good side of the boys life I can give his parents one bit of advice on the boy’s future education; Dentistry! that will keep him out of trouble and may just be the Career that can keep him alive for a few years more while doing good things for them and their “adopted” country.
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Moi: I don’t know quite why, but I find myself shrugging and saying “Good for him!”
Stupid? Sure. But at least he did something.
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“Zen” Libertarian-like guy: I’m afraid I must admit that I, as a young Zenman, did any number of really stupid, dangerous things. Things so ridiculously idiotic that I’ve rarely, over the years, divulged the details to any of them. Things so incredibly asinine that I, to this day, cringe when I think about them.
I think it’s always been the case that males coming into age tend to have this sense of indistructability, especially if nothing really bad has ever happened to them. Combine that with the overwhelming need to impress one’s peers and you’ve got the formula for some particularly severe dumb behavior.
As dumb as some of the things were that I did, I must say tho that teenage Zenman was handily out-classed by this kid.
H’mon, you have a point, tho, lol. At least he wasn’t just sitting in his room playing Mario Brothers. For some reason I’m reminded of Lawn Chair Larry who, when they asked him why he tied 24 large helium balloons to a lawn chair and headed for the stratus sphere, said: “A man can’t just sit around.”
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Farris said he became scared when he tried to buy food at a Baghdad market using the phrasebook while suspicious strangers jostled around him, making fun of his white Nike trainers and jeans.
“I’m like, ‘Well, I should probably be going’,” he said. “It was not a safe place. The way they were looking at me kind of freaked me out.”
A military official said that Farris’s looks saved him from harm. His parents, who are divorced, were born in Iraq and moved to the US 35 years ago. AP reporter Jason Straziuso said Farris would have been in trouble as soon as he opened his mouth. “He hadn’t picked up any mannerisms or customs. Any close inspection was going to reveal that he was American,” he said.
Um. Am I too young to be allowed to say “Ah. The naivette of youth.”?