Do I wake or sleep?

Oh. Oh man.

Jesusjesusjesus

I'm thinking about what happened in Fallujah on Wednesday. I just cannot wrap my head around that kind of insane savagery. Mike and I were talking about this last night--what kind of...creature...do you have to be to do that to another human being? How can you surrender your humanity like that? I don't understand it at all. These creatures look human, they have human faces and talk and move like humans, but it's as though there's human skin stretched over an abyss of evil, the heart of darkness. "Under the tiger-mask, a man, yes. But under the man-skin--a beast."

There are so many awful things about this--these men, the victims, were not only civilians, but they were providing for food delivery, which means they may have even been trying to help the Iraqis. And reports say that there were young boys there, helping the savages and cheering them on. Children. Cheering them on. Bringing them gasoline. I don't...I don't even know how to respond.

A friend of mine online posted on a message board:

You know, I'm watching Nightline and it's showing images of the carnage in Fallujah today, and I'm thinking, okay, do these people know who they are playing with? Seriously? We could FUCK THAT ENTIRE COUNTRY UP. And right now I'm thinking, hey, what the hell? Who gives a shit, drop about a million bombs.

I don't think they know what game they're playing. If they think America is a big beast now, they have NO idea what could happen if we got REALLY pissed off.

And then in another post:

Thank God this county is slow to anger. Really. We could burn the place down and salt the earth, that's what I'm saying. And I don't know if those "insurgents"/"terrorists"/"residents" of Fallujah really fathom that. The only thing that could stop us from doing that...is us.

Jesus. Jesusjesusjesus. God give us strength not to give in to that, because that would make us no better than the savages who did this. God give us strength to do what needs to be done, to finish the job we started. And please keep my brother safe.

Got this email from Stuart:

I'll see many of you soon, I'm off to Iraq for a bit. Keep in touch, love to everyone.

Stu

I'm trying so hard to keep it together. Please, please, please stay safe, little brother, dear little baby brother.

Prayingprayingprayingprayingprayingprayingprayingprayingprayingprayingprayingprayingprayingprayingprayingprayingprayingprayingprayingprayingprayingprayingprayingpraying...

Oh God. Scary, scary news. My brother Stuart is being sent to Baghdad (he's in Naval Intelligence) for six months. He leaves next week.

Everyone, please pray for him. I'm so scared for him.