Q — Andy Raya never fired a shot in Iraq, but when he returned form driving trucks in one of the bloodiest war zones, the nineteen-year old Marine unleashed a military-style assault on police in his hometown. Was he a soldier who snapped or a gangbanger wanna-be bent on killing cops? — from Rolling Stone, Issue 980, August 11 2005, in a piece titled Corporal Raya’s Last Stance, by Jeff Tietz.
A — He was a gangbanger wanna-be and a cop-killer. Period. And if anybody shares culpability in his murderous actions, Rolling Stone magazine does more than President Bush or the Marines ever could.
Rolling Stone—who devotes almost as much ink to anti-war rhetoric as they do to promoting drug use and the gangster-lifestyle—spends 9 full-pages trying to find a way to pin Andy Raya’s cocaine-fueled ambush and murder of a police officer on the War on Terror and on President George Bush.
If anyone (besides the primary culprit, Andy Raya) shares any culpability in the actions of Raya, Rolling Stone is a much more likely suspect than the Republican administration.
Rolling Stone celebrates and promotes drug use and hypes the gangster lifestyle in issue-after-issue. So, when a young man fills his system with cocaine, and then goes out on a mission to kill police officers like a true gangster…he was simply acting out the glorified stories that Rolling Stone prints every week.
But President Bush is to blame? Whatever helps you sleep at night, RS (well, other than your sleeping pills, cocaine, weed, and whatever drugs you take that have obviously blurred your vision of reality).
Bush isn’t to blame, but if you truly think going to war had nothing to do with it then you’re nuts. War is a horrible thing to go through, and not everyone reacts the same way. The army’s own studies show that 30% of returning soldiers have mental health problems, and that truck drivers (like Raya) are more likely than any other group to develop them which isn’t surprising if you read Rolling Stone’s description of what those soldiers go through. If you’re going to support the war, you’ve gotta support the troops. They’re coming home with mental problems, and you should be willing to accept and acknowledge that so that something can be done about it, not deny anything is wrong because it makes Bush look bad.
Have you been to war, Squish?
I have. Iraq to be exact. And yeah…you see some terrible shit. We all did. And yeah, there are some mental health issues associated with being in a war zone.
But not to the extent that you go get fueled up on cocaine and then plan an ambush and execution of police officers.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a very real thing. Using it as an excuse to kill police officers? Uh, no. That’s just a drug-ed up ganster wanna-be.
No one’s using it as an excuse to completly justify his actions. We’re saying it could have led to him snapping. The high percentage of mental problems needs to be adressed, not swept under a rug. Things like the high suicide rate, and underfunding of the VA need to be adressed. It’s a shame that we already have homeless vets of this war.
The army’s own studies show that 30% of returning soldiers have mental health problems
Do you have link verifying that?
The overall Army suicide rate during this war is 12.8 per 100,000 soldiers.
Army officials said these figures remain lower than the national average of 21.5 per 100,000 for males ages 20 to 34, which is the age bracket for most U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
So, Army soldiers who are faced with jobs that are infinitely more stressful, dangerous, and horrendous, commit suicide at a rate almost half of their civilian counterparts.
See that’s what happens when you only present some of the fact (if you present any at all).
Do you have link verifying that?
Of course. Link
The overall Army suicide rate during this war is 12.8 per 100,000 soldiers.
The suicide rate for the general public is 10.7 per 100,000, according the government.
And, I’m not talking about their overall army suicide rate. I’m talking about the rate of those in Iraq, which, at its highest point, was 17.3 per 100,000 soldiers.
Your numbers also assume that there military is made up 100% by men. You have to adjust the rate to include women. Women have a suicide rate of about 7 in 100,000. You’re also leaving out the fact that we have an all-volunteer army with standards. You can’t join if you have pre-existing problems. As in, everyone entering the military has to be sane to begin with. You would have to adjust your comparative rate to be “non-military men and women between 18-34 who were not diagnosed with a serious metal disorder before their suicide” The average age of onset for most major psychological disorders are in the late teens and early twenties (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, etc). A person who develops those problems is disqualified from active duty. I’m assuming that the normal military suicide rate is the rate adjusted for gender and the lack of people with serious and chronic mental issues.
I should add that the suicide rate in Iraq has gone down a lot lately, but because the military admitted there was a problem, unlike Bush supporters who for two years advocated sweeping the problem a rug because it makes their war look bad. They actually did something about it, and probably saved lives. They added more mental screenings and sent home a few hundred soldiers because they were considered “at risk”. What’s important now is making sure that returning soldiers who need it have adequate access to mental healthcare.
You could choose to ignore those numbers, but I’ve chosen to devote my life to the prevention and treatment of psychological disorders so I’m not putting my party ahead of my conscience.
I should add that the suicide rate in Iraq has gone down a lot lately, but because the military admitted there was a problem, unlike Bush supporters who for two years advocated sweeping the problem a rug because it makes their war look bad.
Do you have a link verifying that?
If you guys read all of the article in rolling stone, you would notice that Raya was a wannabe gangbanger long before he joined the military. i’m sure what he saw didn’t help much, but his actions were based on the music he listened to as well as wanting to be a part of the gang that was in the area he lived in.
it’s the classic case of a development problem in his head. although most of the time it’s associated with violent video games, it’s basicly the same thing. growing up, his mind comprehended gangs and killing differently than most people do. another thing that caught my eye in the article was that his fellow soldiers said he was an outgoing guy and was normal while he was overseas. the real question is: was it the parents’ fault, or was there something wrong with him that no one picked up on?
Corporal Raya’s actions had nothing to do w/the type of music he listened to or his association w/so called “gangbangers.” Let’s be realistic, America: No one should have to see the horrific atrocities that our young men and women in the military are seeing every single day and moment in Iraq. These experiences are traumatic. Just keep looking at the picture of Corporal Raya, where he is holding a sign in his barracks to express what he’s seen over there. He had such an innocent face. He was a baby, never having ever seen the other side of the world. Of course I do not condone his actions and my condolences to the family of Officer Stevenson.
i think the fucken goverment shouldnt send kids so young out to iraq for those who support the war……take a first flight ticket out there…. go represent for what the so called true colors…red white and blue….. andy quoted….”let those who support the war head over there”.
Remember the US army is a military machine of virtual conscripts, compared to the smaller, ‘professional’ armies of less militarised countries, who are more selective, better trained, and less likely to make blunders like ‘friendly fire’ incidents. When you’re from a minority and the only reasonably well paid job you can get is in the military, you’re bound to get a few unhinged people applying and getting in. Regardless of whether they are truly susceptible to PTSD or not.
A “military machine of virtual conscripts”? Sigh, from the m0uth of a foreigner…
Our military is made up entirely of volunteers. To suggest otherwise is such a played-out meme, and shows a complete lack of knowledge about the US Military and recruiting (what part of Asia do you live in, Sean?)
Other countries with “more selective, better trained” troops would still get their asses handed to them if they were pitted against the US Military.
[...] I’ve taken Rolling Stone to task numerous times for their editorial style, in which they glamorize the drug culture, encourage kids to drop out of school, and unabashedly bash the men and women of our military. [...]
well raya isnt the one to blame its george bush im in a wheel chair and im sixteen this war is against the president no one else.
January 9th 2005 Andres Raya killed a Ceres Police Officer. In the months that followed the El Campo Farm Labor Camp and the poorest areas of Stanislaus County resembled a war zone.
This is the story of my direct action regarding this incident.
http://localblack.com/godblessandyraya.cfm
Andy Raya is a cop killer. And for you to created a site called “Bless Andy Raya” is despicable and shows you to be a morally bankrupt individual.
Whatever your grievances with the city police, to support a person gunning down a cop in cold blood is disgusting.
I hope Andy Raya’s black soul is rotting in hell.
u go to hell with your white trash bullshit fuck you and the U.S.
RIP andy