Who gave Garry Trudeau a military jargon dictionary? I’m getting a bit weary of all military, all the time…I feel as if the strip should be running in Stars & Stripes.
Has he ever gone on record as to the change of focus (or to put it charitably, the expanded focus) to active duty military and/or the problems of returning veterans?
Every since BD volunteered for Nam back in 72, Trudeau dealt with the problems of veterans, both in-country and home.
So…38 years, more or less. Where have you been?
Been reading it without interruption since BD went to 'Nam. When BD came home from Vietnam, Trudeau’s interest in the military disappeared. He’s treating Iraq & Afghanistan very differently.
He went to Walter Reid to research after BD got injured, and apparently got interested in veterans issues. He’s donated the proceeds from two of his books to Verterans groups and done other fund-raising type work for them, so I suspect the strip is just reflecting the current interest of the author.
I’m loving it. If Garry’s found a way to provide support to vets, then I’m all for it.
Although, I dislike the fact that this gives more of the pundits and talking heads insight to the lingo that service members share. It is one of the things that separates civilians from soldiers. Basically, it allows those who haven’t “walked the walk” to “talk the talk”. Though it’s not like they couldn’t get this knowledge otherwise, right?
But that’s an aside. People make fun of me for reading Doonesbury for so many years. So screw 'em. It is sorta like reading a strip in Stars and Stripes, but I guess I’m showing my age.
My problem is that I put Trudeau in this category. AFAIK, he’s never served in the military. Simplicio’s story sounds about what I suspected, and if so, at least he’s supporting a good cause.
There are a lot of different groups that try to keep a specialized lingo for themselves to obscure their meaning from outsiders rather than to communicate, and I invariably find it annoying and pretentious. If military folks do that, then they’re being annoying and pretentious. Y’all don’t need a secret club code*, and the idea that somehow he’s letting cooties in is ridiculous.
Daniel
*except, of course, when you do need a code–obviously I’m not talking about cryptography.
Has he ever claimed to be? How is he being deceptive or trying to “walk the walk?” Is a writer not allowed to be accurate in an attempt to portray a particular subculture?
Not sure how you can consider the Gulf War I storyline with Ray Hightower, Buttsy, et al to be anything but “interest in the military.”