Why did this not make headline news....?

July 09, 2007

Media Silence on Antiwar Violence (updated)

Patrick Poole

An Air Force airman was shot by antiwar protestor on July 4th, but the establishment media and liberal blogs yawn. Airman Jonathan Schrieken, 22, is fighting for his life after being shot in the heart by a gunman intending to make an antiwar statement, while standing outside his home near McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey on July 4th. Airman Schrieken, a loadmaster with the 6th Airlift Squadron based at McGuire, remains in critical condition at a Camden, New Jersey hospital.

The antiwar gunman, Matthew J. Marren, killed himself after shooting Schrieken and left two suicide notes explaining that he was "mad at the government".

Meanwhile, the establishment media ignores the story. The initial Associated Press report on the incident never mentioned Marren's motive for shooting Schrieken. The first media outlet to discuss Marren's intent to make an antiwar statement on the 4th of July by killing a member of our military was Phillyburbs.com, and the story has only gained national attention after a post over the weekend at LittleGreenFootballs.com.

A member of Marren's family described to Phillyburbs.com his reasons behind the attack:

Marren's aunt, Terina Henderson of Trion, Ga., said she spoke to Marren's mother yesterday who told her Marren left two notes, one in his home and one in his car, indicating he was upset with the government.

She said she did not know the exact wording in the notes, but said Marren was "mad at the government and wanted to make a statement ... that's why he did what he did on the Fourth of July."

Over at LGF, a friend of the Schrieken family described the attack:

He had been on leave here in Ohio and got back to his home off base and was unpacking stuff from his car when this 22 year old guy walked up to him and asked him if he lived in the house. When Jon said yes, the guy said "not any more" and shot him point blank in the chest. He tried to shoot him again, but his gun jammed. Jonathan made it into the house. The guy then shot himself.

This makes it clear that Marren had nothing short of murder on his mind. Providentially, the gun jammed, allowing for Schrieken to escape into his house, where he lived with several other Airmen.

If Airman Schrieken had been an abortionist or homosexual, this story would be front page news for the New York Times and the lead story on CBS News with Katie Couric for at least the next month. But since Schrieken is serving in the military, even his hometown newspaper, the Columbus Dispatch, has ignored this story.

Predictably, a law enforcement spokesman says that Marren's suicide notes "were indicative of an individual suffering from mental-health problems", but that raises the question of how anyone could identify anyone suffering from mental-health problems amidst those devoted to bizarre conspiracy theories and the virulent anti-Americanism of the antiwar movement. If anything, Marren would have fit right in unnoticed.

It is also worth noting that Marren was merely following the logic of the anti-war movement's standard public rhetoric. Their language is laced with suggestive undertones justifying attacks against our military, calling our armed forces fighting the War on Terror "baby-killers", constantly invoking the specter of Abu Ghraib, and citing their grossly inflated statistics of civilians accidentally killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Such reckless and unbalanced rhetoric (they're not quite as adept at keeping statistics on those murdered by terrorists) fuels the hatred that drives someone like Marren to violence against a member of our own military.

Antiwar supporters will no doubt disclaim any responsibility for Marren's attack, but in any other circumstance involving someone engaged in a politically incorrect crime, Leftists would not hesitate to point their fingers at the conservative movement. One might recall the attack on "right-wing talk radio" following Matthew Shepherd's murder and Hillary Clinton's indictment of the same after the Oklahoma City bombing. Add to that the attacks by the ACLU and others on the pro-life movement after the shootings of two abortion doctors in the 1990s.

But now that someone has acted on the antiwar movement's anti-military rhetoric, don't expect to hear any apologies from Cindy Sheehan, International A.N.S.W.E.R., Daily Kos, or Rep. John Murtha. And certainly don't expect the establishment media to give this heart-rending story the coverage it deserves.

I hope that Airman Schrieken will quickly and fully recover from his injuries. Realistically, his injuries may very well force him out of the military. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Schrieken family.

Update:

Readers wishing to send Airman Schieken a get-well card and thank him for his service to our country can reach him at:

Jonathan Schrieken

Room 720 by the door

Cooper University Hospital

1 Cooper Plaza

Camden NJ 08103