marine corps

[somewhatinspired]

as a small child i grew up with a kid the same age as me.
his name was mason. i moved to Florida when i was in middle school, and i later found out he moved to Idaho in high school. i found him on myspace a few months ago. he is in the marine corps.

i could go on for hours about all this.

but it is really upsetting me.

he was always a really kind kid.
he got picked on a lot because he had obsessive compulsive disorder, and it made him inadvertently do all kinds of weird twitches and little movements and stuff.

well ive spoken to him, and hes a pretty hardcore dude.

he is all sarcastic and egotistical,

and he pretty much just wants to go to iraq to kill people, because theve brainwashed him to be that way.

he joined the marine corps because he wanted to be a police officer, and he thought that it would be good training.

i know that inside he is a good person, and ive told him i am a muslim, and tried to talk about it. but i am sure he just thinks i am crazy.

what in the world can i say to this man to help him.

i've told him that i don't support what he is doing and all, and he was just like thats fine, i can deal with that.

he wants to visit me before he leaves for Iraq in October.

this was pretty much my only true friend as a kid.

i really want to say something to him that might spark some sort of self reflection or moral question.

it might also be mentioned that the marine corps tells them that they are going there to help the Iraqi citizens.

and he is thoroughly convinced that he is helping cleanse the land.

 

[Bawar]

i can't imagine how upsetting it must be for you. i hope he will take you seriously when you two meet. its hard to know what is important to him in life, but those type of guyes are really brainwashed. so, perhaps you can try to tell him something like; "if you can't give life, you should not take it neither".
or, "suppose you survive the war and live to an old age, when you are physically weak, you can't kill and can't harm anymore, but need help in feeding, movement etc. how would you think back about your actions and the people you have long deprived of their right to live?"

or "is killing really helping? won't you be making a child/ren orphan, a woman widow?"
or "don't you see that Iraq was a happy country before the war and people had access to free education, health, school, clean water..and they had hope. And now they have nothing and their country is in ruins?"
or does he simply want to help in destroying it further. perhaps he still suffers psychologically due to the bullying that he went through in his childhood and needs to retaliate to satisfy his sense of inferiority.

i really hope you can help him as well as Iraqi families by saving them from his anger and hatred.
ameen
wassalam

 

[nyerekareem]

:salam2:

inshAllah you'll be able to reach the young man. however keep in mind that he has been programmed to see islam in a negative light, especially if he's in the battlefield in iraq. however do not be upset if you aren't able to convince him that islam is the truth. Allah SWT guides whom he will, so if you aren't able to convince him don't think that you have failed.

 

[firdeus]

Assalamu alaikum brother,

Only one suggestion I would give. The day tha he is expected to come, pray two rekat salat to Allah to ask for guidance. Don't be on your own devices. And rely on Allah totally , that will make the difference. And the one that always leaves strong mark is your own example. May Allah help you and guide your friend.

:salam2:

 

[kayleigh]

I've known a lot of people who have gone into various branches of the military and yeah, especially now, their training really can make the nicest person into someone rude, crude, egotistical, and even cruel. That doesn't mean there are exceptions though. My best friends boyfriend is in the Marines and is still one of the kindest guys I know.

If he's in the Marines, it really doesn't matter whether he thinks what hes doing is right or wrong. They have to do what they're ordered to do, and they're trained to think that what they're doing is right. I know a lot of guys who have come back from Iraq and feel horrible about what they had to do, but I also know guys who have come back and go on about how they killed Iraqis (except their language was more crude). I think the only way they know how to cope with what they see and what they have to do, is to tell themselves that what they're doing is right.

I think a lot of the soldiers coming back (or all) need some serious therapy. Unfortunately, a lot don't ever seek it because they think it makes them less manly to ask for help.

I guess the only thing you can do is try to tell him that what he's going to do is wrong, and tell him to try to really look at things instead of listening to his COs and thinking what they tell him to think. But honestly, it'll make that big of a difference.