THE MEDIA AND WAR VETERANS

EDUARDO GERDING

This article deals with the interaction between the media and war veterans.

The media and war

Perhaps one of the best examples of the media and its influence on the public is its actions during the Vietnam War. The issue is controversial because some maintain that the media were largely responsible for the US defeat and that the Press even gave valuable information to the enemy.

However, the American public's disappointment was due to several causes and not just the media.

What ultimately determined public opinion to support the war or not was the number of casualties, especially in 1968 after the Tet offensive. 11

During the Malvinas Conflict, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and some Conservatives, aware of the Press ´ influence, complained about the BBC's excessive impartiality in referring to the combatants as "British" and "Argentinian." instead of “our forces” and “the enemy.” (John Campbell, Margaret Thatcher, Volume Two: The Iron Lady (London: Jonathan Cape, 2003).

This was nothing new for the British as they had already experienced public opinion's rejection of the British Army´s military actions during the war between Great Britain and the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State in October 1899. One of the most shocking episodes to public opinion despite censorship, was the account of the Boer murders carried out by British soldiers at Vlakfontein and recounted by Edgar Wallace for the Daily Mail.

The concentration camp system implemented by Lord Kitchener was the first time in history that the objective was to decimate an entire nation. 45 concentration camps were created for Boers and an additional 64 for colored Africans.

Between 18,000 and 26,000 Boer women and children perished in these concentration camps from disease.

Here arose the brave figure of Emily Hobhouse, native of St Ive, Cornwall, England, delegate of the South African Women and Children's Distress Fund, who in 1911 published an article accusing the British government of an extermination policy .2,3, 8, 10

After the 1991 Gulf War, the United Kingdom created the unit called 15 Psyops (Psychological Operations) after observing the success of a similar US unit. Until then they had had a hard time countering negative information in the media coming from Baghdad. 5

We must say that this group received the Firmin Sword of Peace award in October 2012, which is awarded to units of the British Armed Forces for activities that go beyond the normal role of the unit and that improve relations with the community, whether within the UK or abroad.

How the media influences the public image of war veterans

The media plays an important role in shaping public opinion and attitudes regarding mental illness, suicide, and other issues involving war veterans. 13

The media often stereotypes or stigmatizes messages about veterans through newspapers, television, movies, and social media. Some stories focus on negative aspects (the resentful veteran), metaphors (that veteran is a ticking time bomb), the poor little veteran (the war kids), or even family submission to an alpha veteran. 12

Hollywood movies help create stereotypes where the soldier is either a madman, a weakling, or a Rambo-type superhero.

In video games the soldier kills without consequences. All of this disfigures the public perception of the war veteran.9

Media bias

Afghanistan war veteran Lionel Desmond bought an automatic rifle on January 3, 2017 and killed his mother, wife and 10-year-old daughter before committing suicide in his rural home in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Beyond the terrible fact, an investigation revealed that 62.5% of the published articles described the method of suicide and 98.5% did not inform readers about how to ask for help in a similar situation. 89% of the posts did not include opinions from mental health experts and 64% did not include opinions from other war veterans. 13

Further investigation revealed that as early as 2011, Desmond had been diagnosed with PTSD following two violent missions to Afghanistan. Desmond suffered from a traumatic brain injury, attention deficit disorder, and hallucinations about his wife's fidelity.

How the news can affect war veterans

Some bilingual online question and answer platforms permanently fuel irresponsible antagonisms between Argentina and the United Kingdom, discredit the efforts of Argentine war veterans and never talk about reconciliation.

When one analyzes the authors of these opinions, one realizes that they are not war veterans, they have not been in any conflict, they are not historians recognized by any university nor have they been part of any Armed Forces.

In medieval times a saying arose in Spanish that says "speaking through the mouth of a goose", which means speaking without knowing and repeating other people's knowledge without further analysis and criticism. The equivalent in English would be to parrot.

In 2006 at the Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem pub, a meeting of Argentine and British soldiers in an atmosphere of respect and camaraderie, impartially analyzing the successes and mistakes committed during the conflict. (Photo by the author)

Media factors that can trigger adverse mental situations in war veterans.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental condition triggered by a frightening situation whether experienced or witnessed. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and mild distress as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the situation.

Rumination Syndrome is a condition in which a person regurgitates undigested or partially digested food multiple times.7

Rumination in Psychology is a cognitive coping mechanism that is characterized because the sufferer focuses attention on difficult or negative aspects in a repetitive and passive way. This can cause increased heart rate and sleep disorders.

Rumination is associated with Anxiety and Depression and is often a symptom of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

Rumination often accompanies PTSD. When the veteran does not control rumination, he turns to alcohol and drugs.4

Example of Anxious Rumination:

Several years later, a war veteran reads a headline which reminds him about a not too good performance in combat (stressful event). He keeps thinking over and over again about the impression he may have left on his superiors or his comrades (consequences).

He usually says: Even when I sleep I hear my thoughts. The patient has a severe internal dialogue. This can cause depression.

The mind has a pernicious tendency to go to the past. It always focuses on the error, on what can be improved.

It may also have happened that a superior has called his attention. At the time he did not give greater importance to the fact, but at the end of the day this useless, repetitive and negative thought about the observation has an extremely negative connotation.

The wandering thought

When you are ruminating on a thought, the Default Mode Network (DMR) or Medial Frontoparietal Network is overactivated in the brain, which controls thoughts that are independent of the stimuli. RMD controls what you think when you are not concentrating on something. People are often sad when their minds wander.

Functional Magnetic Resonance Showing Default Mode Network Regions; the medial prefrontal cortex, the posterior cingulate cortex, the precuneus, and the cingulate gyrus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Default_mode_network

How do you turn off the RMD?

The RMD is turned off through two mechanisms: 1) Applying Mindfulness and 2) Exercising an Action Plan.

Mindfulness, also called full attention or full awareness, consists of being intentionally attentive to what we do, without judging, attaching, or rejecting the experience in any way.

For the Action Plan, the veteran takes note of his symptoms (neck tension, nausea, etc.), notes what triggered these symptoms (a malicious article, a movie that transgressed the reality of combat).

When the Veteran observes his mind he realizes its deceptions. For this, a good therapist helps him move from an abstract and negative thought to a concrete and real one (Rumination Focused Therapy). It is important to schedule spaces for distraction of the mind and practice relaxation techniques.

Rumination should not be confused with Deconstructive Analysis of the Past where the stressful event is reviewed but the negative and positive aspects are analyzed. The patient does not remain stagnant as in Rumination.

To treat rumination linked to OCD, some use the Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) Technique.

Intrusive thoughts

Intrusive thoughts are unwanted, uncontrollable, persistent thoughts that arise in an involuntary and automatic way in the person's mind. They generally refer to the future and have no scientific basis, are distorted and irrational. They cause discomfort because they cause shame and guilt. 1

They are negative, violent, inappropriate, obsessive, they appear recurrently and do not coincide with our beliefs and values. They scare us because we don't want to have them. Intrusive thoughts are experienced more in situations of stress, anxiety and life crises.

An example would be a veteran who, without meaning to, has recurring thoughts of death or suicide. Or maybe yelling or doing something inappropriate in public.

Intrusive thoughts are treated with Psychological Therapies and Medication, Relaxation Techniques and Social Support.

-What are Flashbacks?

In the field of mental health, a flashback is a phenomenon in which an individual vividly relives a past traumatic experience as if it were occurring in the present. This experience can involve any combination of the five senses and emotional perception. Flashbacks are a characteristic symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Some war veterans experience flashbacks when watching war scenes on TV or in the movies.

Benefits that media can provide to war veterans

Research conducted by Kleykamp on war veterans in Iraq and Afghanistan revealed that the generous benefits given to veterans upon their return arose thanks to the description they gave of their sufferings to the media (merit and victimization) 6

Conclusion:

The influence of the media on public opinion is undeniable. This can be favorable for war veterans, but it can also convey a distorted image that has an adverse impact on the mental health of the veteran and his or her family. Therefore, without censorship, topics must be addressed with impartiality and tact.

“Tact is the ability to make another see the light without making them feel the lightning.” (Henry Kissinger)

The best advice for our war veterans is that they learn to detect the traps of the mind and, when they or their family members see those headlines that degrade their actions or undermine the country, use the Delete key, which fortunately is on all PCs and cell phones. or change the channel. That they know how to seek specialized help when they need it.

Bibliography

1-Acuña, Cecilia-Que son los pensamientos intrusivos y claves para lidiar con ellos.Ohlalá-20 de mayo de 2024.

2-Beaumont Hughes, Jacqueline-The press and the public during the Boer war 1899-1902.

https://www.google.com.ar/search?q=Boer+war+and+the+press&sca_esv=ec94a8f682f800d7&ei=iJzUZpGaHpbR1sQPisbo0Qo&ved=0ahUKEwiR_oaMm6KIAxWWqJUCHQojOqoQ

3-Beaumont, Jacqueline-The British Press and censorship during the South African war 1899-1902.Oxford Brookes University.South African Historical Journal 41(Nov 1999)

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02582479908671894?needAccess=true

4-How to Stop Rumination in Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress-Heroes´Mile.

https://www.heroesmile.com/how-to-stop-rumination-in-veterans-with-post-traumatic-stress/#:~:text=When%20veterans%20ruminate%2C%20they%20get,damage%2C%20especially%20for%20combat%20veterans.

5-Information Operations-WWW.Parliament.UK

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmdfence/57/5718.htm

6-Kleykamp, Meredith, Hipes Crosby-Coverage of Veterans of the Wars in Irak and Afghanistan in the US media.-Sociological Forum-Vol 30-No2 ,2015

7-Marks, Tracy MD-Two things you can do to stop Ruminating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAT9pFN2GqU

8-Morgan, Kenneth-The Boer war and the media (1899.1902)- Twentieth Century British History, Volume 13, Issue 1, 2002, Pages 1–16.

https://academic.oup.com/tcbh/article-abstract/13/1/1/1717115?login=false

9-Parrott, Scott et al-When we post about veterans: The role of news media in guiding social media dialogue about military veterans-Journal of Veterans Studies-Volume 8-Issue 1-2022.

https://journal-veterans-studies.org/articles/10.21061/jvs.v8i1.311

10-Second Boer war concentration camps-Wikipedia-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Boer_War_concentration_camps

11-Spector, Ronald-The Vietnam War and the Media-Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Vietnam-War-and-the-media-2051426

12-Veterans in the Media-Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families.

https://atlasveterans.ca/knowledge-hub/veterans-in-the-media/