2008 Woodie Awards
Guilty of being a victim
Nadine Goldman
Issue date: 4/19/07 Section: Op/Ed
We've heard about British sailors who were taken hostage by Iranian captors and who are now selling their stories to the media after being granted permission from the Ministry of Defense. We've also heard about their goody bags from the Iranians on eBay. Most recently, we've heard about how Don Imus's racist and sexist remark about the Rutgers University Women's Basketball Team members being "nappy-headed hos" has scarred one of the players for life.
The story we didn't hear about is that of Private Johnson Beharry, who was awarded the Victoria Cross, Britain's equivalent to our Medal of Honor, for two extraordinary acts of heroism in Iraq. Private Beharry is the first person to receive the Victoria Cross, since 1982. He one of just 12 living recipients, the first since 1969. He is the youngest recipient of the Victoria Cross and the first black serviceman to be honored with the award.
We might have heard more about him; however, BBC decided not to air a 90-minute documentary about Beharry, because it was thought to be "too positive," and because BBC didn't want to risk alienating viewers opposed to the war in Iraq.
Setting aside the issue of journalistic bias, it is worth noting the media preference for "victim" stories. The stories of victims are getting excessive media attention while the stories of heroes are being ignored. Glorifying these examples of victimhood can, and is already having a serious negative impact.
By raising victims to the level of heroes, we forget what real heroism looks like. I'm not in a position to critique the British sailors and Marines who were captured, but it's impossible to raise them to the hero pedestal. A U.S. Marine who was a former hostage taken captive by Iranians in 1979 for 144 days recalled how he and his fellow Marines hid their faces during the propaganda videos and suffered beatings and starvation for refusing to cooperate with their captors. Private Johnson Beharry twice braved heavy ambush fire and suffered a serious head injury to save the lives of his comrades. While the British sailors deserve our sympathy, their conduct, including their willingness to cooperate with their captors within three days and the profiteering off of their stories, just does not reach the level of "hero."
The story we didn't hear about is that of Private Johnson Beharry, who was awarded the Victoria Cross, Britain's equivalent to our Medal of Honor, for two extraordinary acts of heroism in Iraq. Private Beharry is the first person to receive the Victoria Cross, since 1982. He one of just 12 living recipients, the first since 1969. He is the youngest recipient of the Victoria Cross and the first black serviceman to be honored with the award.
We might have heard more about him; however, BBC decided not to air a 90-minute documentary about Beharry, because it was thought to be "too positive," and because BBC didn't want to risk alienating viewers opposed to the war in Iraq.
Setting aside the issue of journalistic bias, it is worth noting the media preference for "victim" stories. The stories of victims are getting excessive media attention while the stories of heroes are being ignored. Glorifying these examples of victimhood can, and is already having a serious negative impact.
By raising victims to the level of heroes, we forget what real heroism looks like. I'm not in a position to critique the British sailors and Marines who were captured, but it's impossible to raise them to the hero pedestal. A U.S. Marine who was a former hostage taken captive by Iranians in 1979 for 144 days recalled how he and his fellow Marines hid their faces during the propaganda videos and suffered beatings and starvation for refusing to cooperate with their captors. Private Johnson Beharry twice braved heavy ambush fire and suffered a serious head injury to save the lives of his comrades. While the British sailors deserve our sympathy, their conduct, including their willingness to cooperate with their captors within three days and the profiteering off of their stories, just does not reach the level of "hero."