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A Difference of Color
Army
Specialist Shoshana Johnson, the African American woman held
prisoner of war in the U.S. invasion of Iraq, was looking
forward to a quiet discharge from the Army. Scarred and weary
from her injuries suffered from the war in Iraq, she has never
received a true heroes welcome as her fellow POW comrade in arms
Jessica Lynch cashes in on celebrity status created by the
media.
There is truly a difference in the
color of stripes, as the public must digest the obvious hype for
a hero. Yet with book and movie deals, Shoshana has merely been
a backdrop to the media frenzy surrounding Ms. Lunch since her
return to the US. But it is the Army that is forcing Johnson to
break her peace. A few days ago, military brass informed her
that she would receive a 30 percent disability benefit for her
injuries. Lynch, who is White, was discharged in August and
reported to receive an 80 percent disability benefit. A
difference amounts to $600 a month. A clear double standard and
apparent racism, the military has missed the marked on this one."
Two
women in the same unit, same war and their risk being equal, the
military has handled these two cases,” said Jesse Jackson to The
Washington Post. Johnson's father, Claude Johnson, himself an
Army veteran, says that while neither he nor his family begrudge
Lynch her celebrity or disability payments, he believes that his
daughter should get her due.
The
Army is denying charges of a double standard. Johnson, 30, the
mother of a 3-year-old daughter, was shot in both legs and is
still traumatized by her war experience. In addition to walking
with a limp, she suffers from bouts of depression. For all this,
Jessica Lynch has been hailed as a hero, starred in a parade,
featured on numerous talk shows, interviewed by ABC’s Diane
Sawyer and split a $1 million dollar book advance with a
journalist. Only Glamour Magazine has given equal billing to
both Shoshana and Jessica recognizing them as Women Of The Year!
Still in this writers’ view, it’s simply a difference in color.
By Preston
Dennard |
