A Shot in the Dark
So now we’re learning that Sgt. Kimberly Munley, who allegedly shot Nidal Hasan at Fort Hood, may not have actually been the one to shoot him. Oops! According to an eyewitness, as reported in the NYT, Hasan shot Munley as she rounded the corner, and she fell to the ground. Hasan turned his back on her and started reloading. That’s when Senior Sgt. Mark Todd found Hasan and shot him. But Munley’s just so darn cute that she was the one who became an instant media celebrity—the next Jessica Lynch!—while Todd, the true hero, was, as far as I know, never mentioned. This is not to suggest that Munley did not deserve praise for the taking down of Hasan. It’s just that, you know, she wasn’t actually the one who took him down.
Like I said, she’s cute. Just the way the media likes ‘em. Obviously the authorities contributed to the misinformation surrounding Hasan, who was supposedly dead but then not really, who was helped by two other shooters but actually acted alone. There’s more than a little wiggle room here. But seriously? The media, mostly cable news, eats this stuff up. Witness all the missing white girls (the unwatchable Nancy Grace being their main spokeswoman).
Sgt. Todd’s wife, Lisa, said her husband had asked the Army to protect his identity, and did not consider himself to be the real hero of the day. “They were in this together,” she said. Both Todd and Munley appeared on Oprah yesterday but did not give a detailed chronology of what happened, although Todd acknowledged that he had played a major role and that he had “fired at the suspect, kicked his weapon away and placed him in handcuffs.”
Seems pretty straightforward to me. But I bet Secretary of Defense Robert Gates didn’t drop in at Todd’s house for a visit after visiting Munley in the hospital for a photo-op. I’m pretty sure a Facebook fan page wasn’t set up for Todd.
The day after the shooting, Chuck Medley, the director of emergency services at Fort Hood, reported that “Sergeant Munley had encountered Major Hasan, pistol in hand, chasing down a bleeding soldier. She fired at him, he turned, they rushed at each other firing and both fell.” MADE FOR TELEVISION.
Medley also noted that, “She fired a couple more rounds and fell back, continuing to fire. She struck him a couple times in the upper torso and he went down…When she rounded that corner she made a split-second decision to put her life at risk.”
I’m not saying that Munley’s at fault. She did put her life at risk. I’m just saying that the media is so hungry for good-looking heroes and heroines that sometimes they miss the truth. And maybe we’re all too eager to believe them.
Tagged: kimberly munley, mark todd, nidal hasan.
potted meat says:
Damned libel media.
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Two more, two more says:
The Statesman was actually on top of this a week ago – I *know*, shocking – but I presume since it was, after all the Statesman (even though AP), no one believed it. Or, as you say, he’s not as cute as she is.
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West Texas Hillbilly says:
And that, folks, is why we keep coming here despite the lack of truthiness.
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treehugger says:
If she fired her weapon at the guy and missed, and the other cop shot him and put him down, I’m good with the original story. If she just got shot without even discharging her weapon then maybe there’s a story here. We won’t know until Agent Abby completes the investigation of the bullets they dig out of the guy.
I could really use one of those instant Mass Specs.
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julyfargo says:
don’t hate me because I’m beautiful……
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Don't Mess w/ Pink says:
If I’m not mistaken, the HouChron consistently reported that Todd was the one who got off the shot that brought the guy down. I believe they also reported that she shot at him, but not that she necessarily hit him. And I think *he’s* cute. But then, I’m not a member of the media.
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Eileen says:
The cuteness factor is definitely more of a cable news phenomenon, not so much the newspapers. But personally, I had never heard a word about Todd until now.
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Don't Mess w/ Pink Reply:
November 12th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
It probably has something to do with the fact that I poured over every single piece I could find about the shooting, because it felt so close to home and because I’m obsessive like that. One can’t expect that from normal people.
/Eileen normal? Nah …
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all_hail_the_pink says:
I think the person that kicks away the weapon and puts the guy in handcuffs wins…that’s pretty straight forward.
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Amanda says:
maybe Todd, maybe that girl, who knows… but it seems you jump to come to that conclusion with not having much evidence other than your liberal friends don’t like women who appear conservative or serve their country by getting in harms way — opposed to blogging, a far superior way of helping the worlds ills.
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Don't Mess w/ Pink Reply:
November 13th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
First of all, Amanda, Officer Munley is a woman, not a girl — or had you not noticed that she’s older than 18? And second of all, if you had read this site at all, you would know that there are veterans and people from military families who regularly comment and who are ardent supporters of our troops, not to mention law enforcement. So save your sanctimonious claptrap, and see if you can wrap your tiny brain around the concept that you wingnuts do not have the market cornered on patriotism.
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Eileen Reply:
November 13th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
First of all, my friends aren’t liberals, they’re communists. And secondly, I missed the part where she shared her political views with America.
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Don't Mess w/ Pink Reply:
November 13th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
I am not a communist. I’m a socialist.
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Jed says:
i am not a socialist. i think security should be purchased on the free market, and education eliminated.
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pixelated potted meat says:
I’m pixelated, and you can have my pixels, when you pry them from my cold dead hands. And mouse.
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