While many are eager to thank the Bravos, very few people go out of their way to give the squad anything which could help them. The only exception I can think of is when the "boojee lady" sitting in front of Bravo squad gives the passed out Lodis her Snuggie (262). While the lady never actually thanks the troops for their service, I think this is the type of "thank you" which the troops are most appreciative of because the lady was thinking about their well-being. While a Snuggie isn't a lot, it is certainly a more tangible thank you than what the troops received from anybody in the upper levels of Cowboy ownership. These men have accumulated an unimaginable amount of wealth, yet they only give their words as thanks to Bravo squad. March Hawey claims that watching Bravo squad's video was one of the biggest thrills of his life (192). If this was truly the case, I would think that given the amount of wealth and power he has he would be able to give something more to help the Bravos. Of course, the same can be said of Norm Oglesby. All of the thanks Norm tries to give in the novel are just attempts to increase his already unimaginable amount of wealth and to push the brand of the Cowboys. He doesn't actually care at all about the well-being of the troops. This is perhaps made most evident by his insulting movie offer to the troops, but just how cheap he is is made apparent when Billy can't even get an Aspirin from the Cowboys airplane hangar sized equipment room.
By the end of the novel I was really disgusted with how uncharitable and greedy many of the characters with power are. There are tons of other ways which the Bravos were shafted in the novel, I chose to focus on a couple examples. I found this book funny at times but mostly depressing because of all the rich assholes in it. How did the book make others feel?
Going off of your ideas, the majority of the time, Billy is offended when people bring up the war to him. He cannot fathom the idea that people have “the luxury of terror as a talking point.” (114) People think that if they see a soldier in uniform, they are obligated to talk about the war. However, this is what really bothers Billy. Americans just assume, “if you’re a Bravo, you’re here to talk about the war, because, well, if Barry bonds were here they’d talk about baseball.” (116) The fact that everyone who encounters Billy expresses concern about the war shows how Americans feel the need to overtly show their support, as if it doesn’t count otherwise. It is similar to the way Americans feel the need to prove to people they are charitable and understanding of other countries, as seen in Americanah. The need for approval that Americans’ need shows how selfish the average citizen can be when it comes to their motives for “supporting the troops” and other political discussions. It is as if citizens use their knowledge of war and politics to prove to others that they are deserving of being an American citizen. Instead of seeing these soldiers as people, they are only seen as pawns for battle and discussion topics. That is why when the boojee lady gives up her snuggie, it is such a profound moment. She sees the soldiers as fellow individuals instead of just soldiers.
ReplyDeleteWhile I don’t mean to be a pessimist towards people who support war and our soldiers, I think it is very important to look at why many people outwardly support the troops and feel the need to always discuss war politics with them. To Billy, it seems as though not talking about the war is more respectful then bringing up the war at all.
I noticed this as well. Despite the gratitude expressed constantly to the soldiers by those in power in the novel, their words never seemed to be truly sincere and I believe this to be because they weren’t. The Bravos were on their victory tour. Only being back in the United States for a short time, the respectful thing to do would be to let them relax at home with their families. Instead, The Bravos are whisked away to a football game to be paraded in front of the nation as supporters of a certain NFL team. They are also shown off in front of friends of the team’s owner, Norm Oglesby, so that he can make long winded speeches about patriotism and look good in front of his peers.
ReplyDeleteWhile the Bravos are given all sorts of privileges during their visit to the stadium like meeting the players and the cheerleaders, as well as touring the Cowboys’ equipment room, they aren’t really treated as respectfully as one would hope. The football players do not recognize how difficult and risky it is to be a soldier and disrespect Billy, the cheerleaders are superficial, focused only on getting the most camera time, and like you said, he could not even get aspirin from the equipment room. I feel like this is most evident when the Bravos are asked to leave Norm’s private box and go to sit in the cold in only their uniforms because Norm has invited more important people than he considers the soldiers to be to his box. If not then, the lack of respect can be clearly seen with the provocative dances of the entertainers around the esteemed men. All in all, the American expressions of gratitude can be seen for what they are, insincere.
For me the way in which people react to Bravo was one of the most interesting issues raised by the novel. I agree that the soldiers don´t appreciate the endless stream of overly confident/optimistic thank yous they get from the public. Billy expresses this distaste when, after giving away his autographed football “he is sick of the squishy sentiments of the day and will not let this be yet another Moment” (190). The striking thing about these “Moments” that Billy talks about is that there are people like Norm Oglesby who seem fake when expressing their appreciation of the troops, but there are also people who seem to be completely genuine in their gratitude and patriotism. The woman who cries during the national anthem is, ostensibly, being sincere in her display of patriotism. And yet to Billy it makes no difference—the genuine and the disingenuous seem equally as tedious and ridiculous in their conversations with Bravo. I think it boils down to Billy´s thought, “don´t talk about shit you don´t know” (66). But that leaves the reader, the non-military public, in an awkward position—we´ve never served and have no idea what these men have lived through. So what should we say when meeting someone who has served? What does Billy actually want to hear? I´m not sure that Fountain ever gets around to providing an answer. And maybe that lack of an answer is meant to convey that war is such an intensely messed up thing that there is no good way to express gratitude or sympathy to soldiers.
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