Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for March 05, 2011

A day in a life of a man suffering from PTSD.

Tiger, I’m not sure about PTSD. Remember the “T”” is for “Traumatic”. Ray’s actually looking forward to being back in a combat zone. Seems to me he’s more of an adrenalin junkie.

read the book’war’ by sebastian junger and you will quickly see the relevence of this sequence in doonesbury. this seems to be especially true for those who go back again and again.

Ever wonder how motorcycle gangs started? After WWII too many veterans had difficulty readjusting to civilian life and took to the roads for that renewed sense of freedom. It went a bit awry in the intervening years, but some soldiers have always had a tough time readjusting. So glad you’re running this arc. Garry.

Gee, my generation of returning vets were refered by the press as “crazed killers” I am glad this generation are heroes.

My old Dad (31years MSgt USMC; China, WWII, somehow we missed Korea, ‘twilight cruise’ in SFO while I was in Iwakuni and Danang) told the story about returning WWII vets going through “readjustment to polite society” classes;

Q: Corporal, how do you enter a room?

A: Throw in a grenade and come in shootin’!

On return from my second tour in Danang and Chu Lai, if my little girls ran in and slammed the screen door, I was behind the couch; sounded just like a 122mm rocket. Gradually got better.

There may be two related but not entirely identical issues. One is the PTSD, which seems to plague victims on and off for decades. The other is the adrenaline rush - the intensity of life on high alert - which ex-soldiers miss.

God bless our awesome veterans !!

(@Chikuku)– MCAS Iwakuni, Japan - Southern Honshu, some 30 km from Hiroshima.

Cinderella liberty, never got to take the train up there.

208 bars in Kowashima, starting just outside the main gate. Interspersed with restaurants and tailor shops.

@joefish: You’re right, but not all the vets were thrilled. My dad was XO of the Hell’s Angels squadron and had no love for the outlaw bikers who succeeded the original club members.

They going to kill off Ray this time around?

Teresa: It sounds like you live in a condition of unchallenged favor…sometimes you don’t have the freedom to choose situations that respect your freedom to choose.

And being in a situation that doesn’t respect your freedom to choose may change you, permanently, and rob you of your freedom to choose ever again. It would be well to try not to judge anyone.

My question is, what is Ray going to do when all the “tours” end? Maybe become a free lance mercenary? Maybe end up like Rambo? If he is addicted to an “adrenalin rush”, maybe he should look into race car driving?

Well, some people see it easier to stick with what they know than to change. I don’t know why. It can be hearbreaking. My ex was one of those people. And, it wasn’t me requiring the changing completely. He was military, too. That’s why I was wondering about May, yesterday. I couldn’t deal with the leaving then coming home and sitting in a corner making no emotional contact with me.

He’s just doing what he knows how to do. Wish I had done the same thing. I still haven’t adapted.

Compliments to Trudeau. This is a theme in which he truly excels. If some of his other themes were not so suspect, I would presume he has “been there.” But then, all of us can only hope to be right a lot of the time. PTSD is sort of a “crutch”, a term that the behavioral people have applied to well known syndrome. World War II, the general term was combat fatigue, and World War I it was called shell-shock. Regardless, combat in particular, but not to exclude the work of firemen, police, EMT’s, disaster responders. Each individual handles these experiences differently and each is changed to different degrees for the rest of their lives.

The idea of killing Ray off is just horrifying. Where else in “comics” does his character exist?

Same for his wife, actually. Even though her role is small, it’s been carefully built up over the years. My regrets about either or both are that GT has so few African American characters. In fact, other than Ray, is it Celeste?, and Elias, I can’t think of any. I guess comic strips are not equal opportunity employers but GT’s characters are so real (except when they’re not) that I still wish for more diversity.

Heard an interview with GBT where he explained that when BD got his leg blown off, it was the first time ever that he was depicted without his helmet.

Have to wonder - what’s the significance of Ray not wearing his headgear?

That “adrenaline thing” and PTSD, can be channeled through things like racing motorcycles, cars (on tracks), climbing, hang gliding, or other pursuits where CONTROL at the “edge” is required. EMT’s, firefighters, police, SAR, and other professional or “volunteer” activities also give a legitimate, and valuable, outlet.

@SCAATY and Teresa

You’re both right about Ray. He wants to get back to a violent world where he’s not responsible for his choices. This “normal” life has always involved our making a rational choice and then learning from the result. To imagine there’s some way to avoid choice—or trial and error—is to waste time deluding yourself.

Milton said it best in his great essay arguing that censorship deprives us of choice:

“It was from out the rind of one apple tasted that the knowledge of good and evil as two twins cleaving together leapt forth into the world. And perhaps this is that doom which Adam fell into of knowing good and evil, that is to say, of knowing good by evil.” (Areopagitica, 1644)

Milton’s censors take away a reader’s freedom to choose what she reads. Ray shows by his actions that he finds “normal” freedom burdensome and he wants someone to take away his responsibility—either by locking him in prison or sending him into a battle from which there’s no escape.

First, for the strip. Wow! well done.

Second, there’ve been a lot of insiteful comments so far. To add to the ‘Once in the line of fire, it never goes away’ theme … no one has mentioned how the re-adjusted BD still agrees with Ray. It sounds sweet to him. Not too sure about the relation but this reminds me of ex-smokers or drinkers. They got over, or mastered, their addiction, but can still visualize the enjoyment and miss it.

*diggitt said, about 1 hour ago

The idea of killing Ray off is just horrifying. Where else in “comics” does his character exist?

Same for his wife, actually. Even though her role is small, it’s been carefully built up over the years. My regrets about either or both are that GT has so few African American characters. In fact, other than Ray, is it Celeste?, and Elias, I can’t think of any. I guess comic strips are not equal opportunity employers but GT’s characters are so real (except when they’re not) that I still wish for more diversity.*

Ginny Slade. Joanie’s friend from law school. And her husband Clyde. Clyde replaced Lacey Davenport in Congress when she stepped down.

I have to go read The Old Wolf’s guide to GoComics style so I can remember how to do quotes!

Kadena, Iwakuni, Sasebo, Danang, Bien Hoa, the Mayaguez and being shot at didn’t make sense until I had to retire.My friends know if not shooting at food, coyotes, or cougars if I open a full burst they settle down except New Years day and 4th of july. I close the drapes, put in earplugs, and surround my self in heavy metal music. Semper Fi, Ray, just warn your neighbors, oh wait SD shot vet who lived up the hill from me, no sea story!

He does have a responsibility to choose, & his choices are important enough that mistakes can result in trial for war crimes. It’s a dirty job, but he’s good at it & likes his work. I’m sure that Trudeau has read an occasional letter from a veteran, since the first time B.D. shipped to ‘Nam, & has learned a couple things.

@ChukLitl

Interesting point. Ray misses the thrill of battle where every choice is meaningful. Compared to war “where everything makes sense,” civilian life doesn’t “rock” and its choices seem trivial.

Marines and soldiers like Ray confront us with the dilemma of Plato’s Guardians—those who act as “watchdogs” to the Republic. They have to be fierce enough to defend us, but also intelligent enough not to bite us.

Yo, people, anybody at all notice what BD said????????

I thought that in panel 4 BD was being sarcastic - that what he said was just the opposite of how he felt.

I suspect GBT gets plenty of feedback and background from all his friends in The SandBox (there should be a link at the top of the page), so these characters are quite real and ring true.

Sure, BD misses the rush, but self-preservation usually comes back to us after a while back in The World.

I’m hoping the VA psychiatrists are reading this….. You guys make more sense than anything I’ve ever heard coming out of the VA.

Know what would be cool right now? BD and Ray go to a comrade’s funeral and are confronted by these looneys:

http://comics.com/rob_rogers/2011-03-05/

When he retires from the army, he can become a fireman. That’s the name of that tune, too.