"Thank You for Your Service” As America Ignores Its Veterans’ Mental Health Crisis With Blissful Ignorance
We say it like a reflex.
"Thank you for your service."
But when veterans come home from war mentally broken — and become the ones pulling the trigger in mass shootings, or turning the gun on themselves — our country looks the other way.
In this extended breakdown, we dive into
two recent mass shootings committed by
combat veterans, one at a
church in Michigan, the other at a
bar in North Carolina. The headlines said they were isolated tragedies. The truth? They're part of a disturbing pattern we rarely acknowledge.
🔺 Veterans make up
6% of the U.S. population, but
26% of mass shooters.
🔺 In 2022,
6,392 veterans died by suicide — nearly
three-quarters using a firearm.
🔺 The VA reports over
4,400 severe staff shortages, with
psychologists in highest demand.
This isn’t about dishonoring service. It’s about confronting the deadly consequences of
neglecting mental health,
ignoring red flags, and
refusing to talk about veteran perpetrators because it makes us uncomfortable.
We don’t stop to ask:
– Why are so many veteran shooters known to law enforcement
before the violence?
– Why is the VA failing to provide timely, consistent mental health care?
– Why do we thank veterans for their service, then fail them in crisis?
This segment is a call for accountability — not just for the shooters, but for the institutions that looked away. If we want fewer headlines like these, we need more than symbolic patriotism. We need real help, real care, and real conversations about
who we’re losing — and what it costs when we stay silent.
🔗 Veterans Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1 | Text: 838255 | Chat:
veteranscrisisline.net
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