Living dangerously!

[sgtmac_46]

'Using money his parents had given him, he bought a $900 plane ticket and took off from school a week before Christmas vacation started, skipping classes and leaving the country on Dec. 11.
His goal: Baghdad. Those privy to his plans: two high school buddies'
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10643329/

You know, a lot of people will talk about what kind of idiot this kid is. I don't happen to be one of those people. My hat's off to this kid (though, I don't envy his parents). This kid has a lot of stones (or very little sense), but either way, it's an old style adventure. He'll have a story to tell his grand kids.

Hats off to this kid for heading out to a larger world, to experience it himself, rather than to be content to watch it in two-dimensions. Hemingway would have understood perfectly.

 

[Blotan Hunka]

I think this guy will go far in life (if he lives) with brass ones like that!

 

[sgtmac_46]

I think this guy will go far in life (if he lives) with brass ones like that!

I agree, this kid isn't afraid to put it all on the line, and he's apparently pretty good at finding a way to accomplish his goals. That's a sure fast track to success....or an early grave. Either way, I guess you can't fault the kid for taking the road less travelled.

 

[michaeledward]

I have done my best to avoid this story. I don't know if this young man is brave or foolish or both. The MSNBC post ascribes these quotes to him:

“There is a struggle in Iraq between good and evil, between those striving for freedom and liberty and those striving for death and destruction,” he wrote.
“Those terrorists are not human but pure evil. For their goals to be thwarted, decent individuals must answer justice’s call for help. Unfortunately, altruism is always in short supply. Not enough are willing to set aside the material ambitions of this transient world, put morality first, and risk their lives for the cause of humanity. So I will.”

I don't know that Hemingway would ever have accepted the complete dehumanization ascribed to some fighting in Iraq.

Vague assertions of "[t]hose terrorists" certainly doesn't meet any standard of journalism. Black/White and Good/Evil dualities come up short of explaining any situation.

Immersion Journalism .... not really.

 

[green meanie]

Regardless of the young man's reasons for going and the opinions he's voiced before, during, or after being there you have to give the kid credit for going where his heart led him to go. And at least he's voicing an opinion based on what he witnessed (or believes he witnessed) instead of simply voicing an opinion from home with no experiences to back it up.

 

[jdinca]

'Using money his parents had given him, he bought a $900 plane ticket and took off from school a week before Christmas vacation started, skipping classes and leaving the country on Dec. 11.
His goal: Baghdad. Those privy to his plans: two high school buddies'
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10643329/

You know, a lot of people will talk about what kind of idiot this kid is. I don't happen to be one of those people. My hat's off to this kid (though, I don't envy his parents). This kid has a lot of stones (or very little sense), but either way, it's an old style adventure. He'll have a story to tell his grand kids.

Hats off to this kid for heading out to a larger world, to experience it himself, rather than to be content to watch it in two-dimensions. Hemingway would have understood perfectly.

Not an idiot but very naive. I'm impressed at the ingenuity it took for an American teenager to get all the way to Baghdad. He's got a hell of a story to tell his grand kids.

 

[jdinca]

I have done my best to avoid this story. I don't know if this young man is brave or foolish or both. The MSNBC post ascribes these quotes to him:



I don't know that Hemingway would ever have accepted the complete dehumanization ascribed to some fighting in Iraq.

Vague assertions of "[t]hose terrorists" certainly doesn't meet any standard of journalism. Black/White and Good/Evil dualities come up short of explaining any situation.

Immersion Journalism .... not really.

He's 16 years old.

 

[Dan G]

Good effort! :asian:

 

[Sapper6]

cheers to him. probably not the smartest thing in the world to do, but what is life if you're not willing to take chances?

 

[AdrenalineJunky]

I think it's pretty damn stupid. If it was my kid he'd be comming home to an *** beating. Did he stop to think about his parents, his family; I'm sure they appreciated spending Christmas freaking out, wondering if their son was coming home alive. As I have demonstrated, time-and-again, it doesn't take balls o courage to do something stupid, it takes stupitidy. Coming home in a body bag would have been the perfect gift for his parents. Dumbass, thank god for the 101st, otherwise this kid would have been up for a Darwin award. He's still up for an honorable mention, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[michaeledward]

I think it's pretty damn stupid. If it was my kid he'd be comming home to an *** beating. ... . As I have demonstrated, time-and-again, it doesn't take balls o courage to do something stupid, it takes stupitidy.

The more I think about it ... (something I am desperately trying to avoid) ... the more I agree with you.

 

[Martial Tucker]

I hope/assume the family is responsible for the costs of saving his *** and bringing him home.

 

[AdrenalineJunky]

I hope/assume the family is responsible for the costs of saving his *** and bringing him home.

I don't assume the family can afford the fuel for the choppers and whatnot. Could you imagine is some soldier died trying to rescue this retard? Try explaining that to some poor family. . ."yeah, I read a book about journalism, took my teacher too seriously, flew in the middle of a war-zone, with very little forethought, planning, or knowledge of exactly what I was getting myself into. Thank god your son rescued me; if it's any consolation, that is a really nice, government-issued, folded American Flag you've got there. . .what does something like that cost you, anyway?" Little bastard should have been caned whilst he was there.

 

[jdinca]

I don't assume the family can afford the fuel for the choppers and whatnot. Could you imagine is some soldier died trying to rescue this retard? Try explaining that to some poor family. . ."yeah, I read a book about journalism, took my teacher too seriously, flew in the middle of a war-zone, with very little forethought, planning, or knowledge of exactly what I was getting myself into. Thank god your son rescued me; if it's any consolation, that is a really nice, government-issued, folded American Flag you've got there. . .what does something like that cost you, anyway?" Little bastard should have been caned whilst he was there.

Kaneing is a much underutilized deterrant to bad behavior. :whip:

I think all they had to do was drive to the hotel and pick him up. Lucky for him, lucky for them.

 

[sgtmac_46]

Oh, he'll get enough of that 'how stupid can you be' blah blah blah, and rightly so.

Still, can't help but admire his persistence. And, michael, it isn't his 'political statements' Hemingway would understand. This kid was out there doing, while others were just talking. That's what Hemingway would have understood. They both heard about something going on, and they both wanted to see it for themselves (rather than listen to a bunch of alleged know-it-alls telling them WHAT to think about something they've never seen).

Props, kid, apologize for your 'stupidity' to all those who want to hear it, and never forget...... 'Fortune Favors the Bold', no matter what the timid might claim. If it wasn't for boys like this, who become men by wanting to experience the world themselves, there'd be no stories of adventure. There was an age long past when this kind of journey at 16 would have been laudable.

What's more, had this kid gotten himself killed, well, I guess that's part of the risk of living on the edge. The kids that likely picked him up in the 101st were probably barely 2 years older than he was.

As a sign of earlier times, Colonel David Hackworth joined the Merchant Marines at age 14, and then lied about his age at age 15 to join the US army. He wasn't alone.

"Don't be afraid....Taste everything,....Sometimes I think we only half live over here. The Italians live all the way."
Ernest Hemingway

:asian:

 

[Dan G]

His pre-journey research seems a bit dodgy, but he was impressively persistent in flying in from Lebanon when he couldn't cross in from Kuwait. Seems to have done a pretty good job of finding his way around until the embassy got to hear of him.

Lots of respect for going down the mosque to get a first hand view on the politics too. An inquisitive and open mind is a real gift.

He deserves a decent mark for the assignment anyway.

 

[sgtmac_46]

His pre-journey research seems a bit dodgy, but he was impressively persistent in flying in from Lebanon when he couldn't cross in from Kuwait. Seems to have done a pretty good job of finding his way around until the embassy got to hear of him.

Lots of respect for going down the mosque to get a first hand view on the politics too. An inquisitive and open mind is a real gift.

He deserves a decent mark for the assignment anyway.

Agreed.

 

[AdrenalineJunky]

You guys are making this thread really, really hard to keep foul language out of. This is by far, the most absurd form of encouragement I have witnessed. Endeavors of this magnitude are admirable, but not when the stakes are as high as they were in this case. Moreover, as I said before, imagine if a soldier had died rescuing him; or anyone died in some altercation that ensued as a result of his presence. Seriously, people, why are we ignoring the obvious? This was stupid, there are much safer stupid things to do; I know, because I do them.

 

[sgtmac_46]

You guys are making this thread really, really hard to keep foul language out of. This is by far, the most absurd form of encouragement I have witnessed. Endeavors of this magnitude are admirable, but not when the stakes are as high as they were in this case. Moreover, as I said before, imagine if a soldier had died rescuing him; or anyone died in some altercation that ensued as a result of his presence. Seriously, people, why are we ignoring the obvious? This was stupid, there are much safer stupid things to do; I know, because I do them.

Nobody risked their lives rescuing this kid. They found him wandering the streets of baghdad, the same streets they were wondering anyway.

What's more, nobodies encouraging anyone, unless this kid is reading this forum. What I said, and let me make this perfectly clear, is that this kid had some guts to engage in this trek. I didn't say that he was showing wisdom, but at 16, who does.

However, in a past age, we'd have told stories about this kind of adventure. So, again, I think you're missing the issue. I admire this kids determination, not his judgement. Some people are content to watch the world on 2 dimensional screens, this kid wasn't. Say what you want about his choices, his desire to experience it for himself was commendable. With some real world experience and better judgement, this kid will go far. See it for what it is, not what it isn't....which it isn't an endorsement of his actions, just acknowledgement of his ambition.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

Nobody risked their lives rescuing this kid. They found him wandering the streets of baghdad, the same streets they were wondering anyway.

What's more, nobodies encouraging anyone, unless this kid is reading this forum. What I said, and let me make this perfectly clear, is that this kid had some guts to engage in this trek. I didn't say that he was showing wisdom, but at 16, who does.

However, in a past age, we'd have told stories about this kind of adventure. So, again, I think you're missing the issue. I admire this kids determination, not his judgement. Some people are content to watch the world on 2 dimensional screens, this kid wasn't. Say what you want about his choices, his desire to experience it for himself was commendable. With some real world experience and better judgement, this kid will go far. See it for what it is, not what it isn't....which it isn't an endorsement of his actions.

I agree! Respect his grit, and spank his behind for his lack of judgement. So many people, with only secondhand knowledge, have strong opinions about the Iraq situation. This young man has come closer to the truth than a dozen radio talk show hosts - right or left.