Mainstream Media Idles as Mourning Spirits Need Answers About Pvt. Danny Chen

by dWriter729 in Issues, October 15, 2011

The media carefully selects what news are reported based on the interests of society. The freedom of America is limited to what those in power want you to hear, see, and know. There remains many unheard voice that deserve attention, respect, and justice.

There are no headlining editorials or columns offering further discussion about his death. To add insult to injury, interested readers will have to scroll past news about squirrels running amuck and a purse snatcher before finding a short excerpt about Pvt. Danny Chen (Source: NY Post – Local Manhattan News).

A brief glance into the Chinese newspapers has offered twice the information and insight about Pvt. Danny Chen than I was able to obtain with almost a week’s worth of digging in America’s media. (Full article: http://ny.stgloballink.com/community/201110/t20111006_1650041.html)

I fully understand now, maybe the death of Pvt. Danny Chen is a matter that only concerns the Chinese community…which is of minimal concern to journalists, except to fill the pages for a day or two. Only the Organization of Chinese in America’s New York requested that a thorough investigation and complete autopsy report be provided swiftly.

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Before his premature death, Pvt. Danny Chen expressed his disappointment about “being the only Asian guy there” as reported by a close friend Justin Lum. As the story unfolds and more details revealed, the bitter irony becomes blatant. Pvt. Danny Chen represents the ambitious and selfless spirits scattered across the country.

Minorities like Pvt. Danny Chen and his family struggle on a daily basis to become accepted and appreciated. But so far all we know for sure is that soldiers of all backgrounds are welcomed by superiors with open arms…at the recruiting office. Beyond that, all that’s left is a brewing silent war fought not on the battlefield, but on military grounds.

After all, the government will always need able bodies like Pvt. Danny Chen to fight their battles yet cannot contend to the distorted mentality of unfit superiors and wrongful actions of pitiful followers. No regulation reform can bring back the life of this young man and no amount of media coverage can justify his death.

So how can society right this wrong? “We want the truth now. It’s really sad he is getting buried and we don’t know what happened,” said Winsy Dong, the sister of Pvt. Danny Chen’s best friend, Raymond Dong. The unfortunate but universal truth is that a vast majority of American society expresses minimal and masked concerns towards issues that do not directly affect them.

When will military abuse and oppression of young souls become a societal issue? What will it take for the world to care? How does the story of Pvt. Danny Chen have to be told for our generation to stop worrying about check-ins on Facebook or Twitter tweets, to ask for the truth and justice? What will be left for the next generation to look back on?

The answer is reality TV, smart phones that can start automobiles, and dead soldiers like Pvt. Danny Chen who fall at the hands of those who were meant to guide them, in the background. Sadly, the momentum of society’s interest goes as far as “aww-ing” it until the next episode of Jersey Shore airs.

Perhaps you will need to lose YOUR son, brother, or best friend in the most unjust way possible, to understand what loved ones of Pvt. Danny Chen are going through.