Today’s MaxDisclosure Memorial Day assignment: read this Twitter thread and every single comment.
We talk about knowing your audience before communicating with them. Well, you Big Animal … this is your audience. Or one of them. Part of one.
For the non-link-clickers, here’s a sample:
The question, from the U.S. Army’s Twitter account: “How has serving impacted you?”
Some responses:
My brother went into the Army a fairly normal person, became a Ranger (Ft. Ord) & came out a sociopath. He spent the 1st 3 wks home in his room in the dark, only coming out at night when he thought we were asleep. He started doing crazy stuff. Haven't seen him since 1993.
— Nondescript Human Being of Questionable Origin (@currentidentity) May 25, 2019
Someone I loved joined right out of high school even though I begged him not to. Few months after his deployment ended, we reconnected. One night, he told me he loved me and then shot himself in the head.
If you're gonna prey on kids for imperialism, at least treat their PTSD🖕
— bemundolack 🏴❤️ (@Bemundolack) May 25, 2019
My best friend from high school was denied his mental health treatment and forced to return to a third tour in Iraq, despite having such deep trauma that he could barely function. He took a handful of sleeping pills and shot himself in the head two weeks before deploying.
— Shane Burley (@shane_burley1) May 25, 2019
my grandpa developed parkinson’s disease from agent orange exposure and is hardly able to swallow food, talk, or stand. he immigrated from costa rica to serve and now we are watching him die from a highly progressive degenerative disorder with no cure. talk about #ArmyStrong
— saturn girl (@vixenriah) May 25, 2019
This thread is heartbreaking
— Jesse Hawkins (@TheJesseHawkins) May 25, 2019
Is there a solution here? Is it even, necessarily, a problem that people are sharing their pain and stories on Memorial Day weekend?
I don’t know the original post’s background, or what they intended to draw out from the masses. I don’t know if they considered what our G2 brethren would call the most likely and most dangerous courses of action. I hope they did.
Open ended questions are tricky as a PR strategy. But like a choose-your-own-adventure book, you’ve got to keep following the path.
Although there may be some value in allowing people to grieve and share their grievances it’s not the PAO’s job to provide that venue on social media. These people’s comments, though important, do not help us ensure the resources, authority and support we need to protect America. So how do you make lemonade out of these lemons?
Maybe this Memorial Day we’ll get a video response from the Chief of Staff of the Army, to acknowledge the commenters’ pain, thank them for sharing, and talk about the things the Army is doing now for its veterans.
In the meantime, enjoy those barbecues today. These are our people.
